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Going into college undecided
How does going into college undecided work?
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Jane S.’s Answer
MOST people are undecided when they enter college! And some are still undecided when they leave. 20 years later, it will all become clear. Unless a school demands that you decide - for example, in pursuing engineering - keep yourself open for at least two years. College is supposed to be a place and time when you CAN explore. Enjoy yourself, keep learning, and you will feel a pull towards one or two areas where you can specialize. Relax!
I appreciate this, thank you for the advice.
Jedidah
Updated
Sree Padma’s Answer
I am a historian, and I see going to college without any decisions would make you an ideal candidate to try various courses. This will serve at least three purposes: You can get educated, you will find your passion, and you will make an informed decision about what you like to major in.
Thank you so much for the advice.
Jedidah
Updated
Dexter’s Answer
Hi Jedidah,
My information is more than 20 years old and is specific to the college I attended (UC Berkeley), so please use the following with a grain of salt
When I applied to UC Berkeley, I had dreams about being an aerospace engineer.I had grown up loving military aircrafts; given that I had poor vision (which means I couldn't be a pilot) and I did well in math/science classes, I thought that aerospace engineering was a perfect fit for me. Unfortunately, UC Berkeley did not have an aerospace engineer degree program. So, I did the next best thing and applied to the department of engineering as an undeclared major.
The engineering department has a list of recommended courses for various majors and the undeclared track was no exception. The courses that I was recommended seemed like the common denominator of the most popular engineering tracks. I ended up taking three physics classes (7a, 7b, 7c), four computer science courses (3, 61a, 61b, 61c), and multiple math courses (1a, 1b, 53, 54, and possibly more). I think I was also recommended to take a chemistry class and a few other courses, though I had those requirements satisfied due to AP courses I had taken in high school.
These courses allowed me to get a taste of what the different engineering majors would be like and ultimately, helped me decide to major in electrical engineering and computer science.
I hope this was helpful Jedidah! I'm sure you'll have more questions, and if you do, feel free to ask them in the comments, or to ask new ones on this website. Cheers!
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Dexter
My information is more than 20 years old and is specific to the college I attended (UC Berkeley), so please use the following with a grain of salt
When I applied to UC Berkeley, I had dreams about being an aerospace engineer.I had grown up loving military aircrafts; given that I had poor vision (which means I couldn't be a pilot) and I did well in math/science classes, I thought that aerospace engineering was a perfect fit for me. Unfortunately, UC Berkeley did not have an aerospace engineer degree program. So, I did the next best thing and applied to the department of engineering as an undeclared major.
The engineering department has a list of recommended courses for various majors and the undeclared track was no exception. The courses that I was recommended seemed like the common denominator of the most popular engineering tracks. I ended up taking three physics classes (7a, 7b, 7c), four computer science courses (3, 61a, 61b, 61c), and multiple math courses (1a, 1b, 53, 54, and possibly more). I think I was also recommended to take a chemistry class and a few other courses, though I had those requirements satisfied due to AP courses I had taken in high school.
These courses allowed me to get a taste of what the different engineering majors would be like and ultimately, helped me decide to major in electrical engineering and computer science.
I hope this was helpful Jedidah! I'm sure you'll have more questions, and if you do, feel free to ask them in the comments, or to ask new ones on this website. Cheers!
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Dexter
Thank you for the advice, Dexter.
Jedidah
You're welcome Jedidah! Let me know if you have any more questions!
Dexter Arver
Updated
Kate’s Answer
Hi! Recent college grad here; most of my friends ended up switching majors because they chose a major they didn't end up liking. Going into college as undecided has more pros than cons, especially when you don't have an idea of what you would like to do in the future. It will allow you to take courses from many different areas of interest, and you be tied down by courses that are required. You will have to take general courses that every student has to take, and when you end up choosing a major, you could be farther behind in coursework than your peers in that major (depending on how long you were declared as undecided),
Updated
Jamie’s Answer
I worked as a college advisor for many years, and entering college with an Undecided major is completely normal and a great idea if you want to try a few classes before making a decision! My one piece of advice is to make a list of any majors that you think you're interested in, then map out the courses required for graduation for each of them. You want to make sure you take any classes in your first year that are required to be taken in the first year in order to graduate on time.
For example, let's say you are potentially interested in majoring in Math, History, and Biology. If you ended up choosing Math, you would need to have taken Algebra during your first year, but you didn't realize that until you chose the Math major in your second year. Now, you will be graduating a year later.
Even better, ask your advisor to help you with this!
For example, let's say you are potentially interested in majoring in Math, History, and Biology. If you ended up choosing Math, you would need to have taken Algebra during your first year, but you didn't realize that until you chose the Math major in your second year. Now, you will be graduating a year later.
Even better, ask your advisor to help you with this!