10 Tips to Help Students Choose Their Major

By Emma Sarran Webster for Teen Vogue

Some students start school knowing exactly what they want to "be when they grow up".  But for the majority, it can be a hard decision-making process with little useful guidance.  
For this article, I was interviewed for one of ten tips that can help students make this important choice.  I was quoted as:

• Narrow it down.  Unless you have a clear career path in mind, it can be very overwhelming to choose a major from the nearly endless list of options. Rather than simply look at a list of majors your school offers and try to pick one, break down the process. “Avoid decision paralysis by narrowing down the choices,” Dr. Luz Claudio, author and professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, tells Teen Vogue. “It will feel less overwhelming if you focus on having to select from three different majors than from 10. Lay out the two or three most appealing choices. Are there some common themes? Perhaps you can combine them. If you narrowed it down to pre-med and computer science, is there a way in which you can combine the two? Increasingly, graduates from multidisciplinary programs are more appealing for graduate programs and employers.”

The other 9 tips are: 

• Take your time.  Don’t feel pressure to select your major before or immediately after you get to college. 
• Explore. Not only will slowing down the process give you time to weigh your options, this will also give you the chance to discover new career paths and passions.
• Ask for feedback.  Declaring a major isn’t a decision you have to make alone. Leaning on others can help you realize things you wouldn’t have come to on your own. 
• Consider the class requirements associated with different majors.  It’s tempting to choose your major solely based on a career path that sounds interesting to you. But, in reality, it’s important to understand what that major will mean on a more practical level. 
• Look to the future. Your major doesn’t, by any means, have to dictate your future, but it is worth it to think about what your different choices may lead to, especially if you have a specific passion or career path in mind.
• Consider how the major you choose will impact your bank account.  It is hard to tell students that they have to consider their economic situation to make a decision about the work that they will do for their lives, but in the current climate, this must be part of the equation.  
• Consult your academic adviser.  Academic advisers and college counselors are trained to help students figure out what they want to do with their lives and how to go about achieving their goals. Every campus has a Student Services department, so utilize this resource.
• Follow your dreams, no matter how big they may be.  You can aim high — just put a plan in place. Study what you love, apply for internships at companies you're interested in, and create actionable goals. Learn exactly what it takes to get where you want to go. 
• Don't know what you want to do yet? Don't worry — big decisions take time.You can go through all these tips carefully and still find yourself asking, "What do I major in?!" That's perfectly OK. Take a lot of different classes early on that might help provide some clarity. You can also consider a double major. Find what works for you, even if that means taking extra time to figure it out!

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