The Danger of Going into College “Undecided”
What are the dangers of a student entering college as “Undecided?” The truth is, there are quite a few. Outlined below, you’ll find the top three dangers to this path. Then, we’ll offer some guidance on an alternative approach.
- 70% of students change their major 3 to 4 times throughout college, which is why it takes the average student six years to graduate from a four-year college or university. The reason this statistic is so prominent is that most of these students are doing their career research during college, instead of planning ahead and diving deep into meaningful research during the high school years. Going into college with an “Undecided” major will worsen this already terrible statistic.
- The college’s advisors will meet with your student and allow them to change their major and/or minor as many times as they want as long as your checks are clearing. They do not have your financial interest at heart. The longer your student stays in the college, the more money they receive as a business. Do not leave your student’s career choices in the hands of those advisors.
- What if the student figures out what s/he wants to do halfway through sophomore year and the college s/he is currently attending does not offer that program? The student will then need to transfer which will cost the student time, credits, and money.
In response to these dangers, you might be thinking “well, what’s the other option? My student is only x years old and
it’s too early to know what s/he wants to do.”
Our response: it is never too soon to start considering the future. This forward-thinking is rare because students are not given the tools or space needed to truly consider all of the opportunities out there that align with their personality, interests, skills, and values.
So what is the alternative? Answer: Deep research and meaningful conversations about career interests during the high school years.
One of the most important parts of our program revolves around this career research. This is how we combat the dreaded “Undecided” major. First, the student takes four assessments. These assessments will match your student with hundreds of career opportunities out there based on the amount of schooling your student wants to pursue (for example 2-year, 4-year, Masters, Doctorate).
The next step is to dive deep into these career matches and learn as much as possible about all of these opportunities. We supply guiding questions and videos to help your student move through this process. Over the course of this program (ideally 2-3 years),
your student will select 2-3 career options of interest. The student’s college list will be based on these top careers of interest.
Once the student has those top careers selected, it’s time to get out there and gain some practical experience! In order to fully understand whether or not these careers would be a good fit, the student needs to understand what the day to day life will look like, along with many other considerations.
Overall, the more exposure to and information about those careers of interest your student learns, the more equipped your student will be to make these decisions before it becomes very expensive (during the college years). Also, the less likely your student will enter college with an “Undecided” major.
Remember, it’s free for students to change their minds as many times as they’d like in high school. When they get into college, it becomes extremely expensive.
To learn more about the College Planning Success Course offered at College Strategy, be sure to sign up to receive a free demo session.
