How do I know if my major is the right choice for me?

Hi Savana. I understand the concern around selecting a major as an incoming freshman. I remember my concerns when I first applied to school.  I would recommend seeing if you can find details about the major on the university website, such as a list of courses you'll be required to take. That can give you a better idea as to whether this may be a good fit for you. Also, keep in mind that even if you do declare your major, it is usally pretty easy to change your major in the first year or two of college if you realize that it is not the right option for you. But if there are other options you are interested in investigating, you could chose to be undeclared and explore a bit more.

One final note would be to look more into detail regarding a career as an athletic trainer (or any other careers you may be interested in). The National Althetic Trainers Association has a great amount of detail that would be helpful- including the fact that a master's degree is strongly recommended in this athletic training- https://www.nata.org/about/athletic-training/education-overview

Best of luck!

Hi Savana,

I've also been there before. I knew I wanted to pursue a particular area without knowing which major to pursue. In my case, I actually ended up changing my major during my junior year (from a business major to a humanities major). I would also have to agree, that at first I was worried about wasting my time and money by being hesitant in making a decision, but, I realized that that answer came to me as I continued to pursue my major. For example, when I entered college, I decided to pick the major that first felt right to me. Mostly because I didn't want to go in as undeclared. As I continued my studies, that's when I realized that there were some classes I liked but some that I hated. Slowly the classes I hated which were specific to my major began to outgrew the ones I liked, and by the time I was in my sophomore year I was uncertain and questioned my choice in the major I've been pursuing. I started to question myself, "If I hated the classes now, what possibility is there for me to like it out in the real world?" It was around that same time that I decided to reach out to my advisor and ask for her opinion. Then she told me, "why not look at the ones you liked?" That's when I started to look back at my course audit paper and started to take a look at what classes I enjoyed, and what I classes I wanted to take while assigning my next semester classes. That's when I realized that the courses I liked, actually all fell into the category of another major on campus. That's when I decided to change my major during my junior year, and I have to say it was one of the best decisions I made in college. I even graduated on time!

So, what I'm trying to say here is this, if you continue to stay on the path you 'think' you would like to do and enjoy, you might just end up with the right major along the way. Or, you can even find out that the major you've chosen is actually the right one for you!

Kind Regards,

Lora Kim