Second Thoughts: Making a Major Change 
Parenting Strategies – December 2010 
Copyright © 2010 by Kay Kimball Gruder, SuccessfulCollegeParenting.com

Mid-year, when one semester is ending and your student is existing between what was and what could be, you might notice your son or daughter expressing second thoughts about any number of decisions that he or she has made.   Sometimes the doubts are about one’s academic major, the pursuit of a particular career path, or whether or not the current college is a good fit.   On one hand we only know what we know at the time that we make any decision -- and as we experience more of life it is natural to gain knowledge that informs our choices.  This article explores ways to support your student in his or her choice or change of an academic major.
 

The National Academic Advising Association’s (NACADA) Commission on Undecided and Exploratory Students states, “Undecided/exploratory students represent a significant proportion of the entering student body at most colleges and universities. Many other students (between 60% -75%) who begin university studies as declared in majors, change their majors at least once before they graduate.”   During my years as an advisor it was very common for students to express that they were interested in “many things” – which certainly made sense seeing they were exposed to new academic disciplines and were experiencing a variety of career options through internships. 

I recall advising a student who was certain that she wanted to be a small animal veterinarian, but then through an internship she learned that a lot of the work involved euthanizing sick or severely injured animals and performing spaying and neutering procedures. She took a psychobiology class and realized that she wanted to conduct animal behavior research -- she was previously a biology major, and then declared psychobiology. Another student was an economics major – as she described, “Because my dad wanted me to be one,” but she loved art history. She took more and more art history courses and decided to major in it and declare a minor in economics. She went on to later work in one of the international art auction houses. 

So how can we best guide our student when he or she is experiencing second thoughts about his or her academics? Consider these suggestions:

- Listen to what seems to excite your student when he or she speaks about various courses and reflect what you hear back to him or her.

- Resist the urge to share your beliefs about what career options exist or don’t exist. Instead guide your student to access the career and academic advising resources at the college.

- Don’t draw attention to how your student might be jumping around from one idea to another, but rather view it as a journey and praise your student for taking the time to thoughtfully consider different options.

- Share words of encouragement when your student feels stuck.

- Brainstorm decision making strategies with your student when he or she has a few options to consider.

- Help your student to think creatively about combining academic interests and encourage your student to see what might be possible at his or her college.

- Remind yourself that internships and jobs often shape one’s career path more than a major.

- Support your student to study what he or she loves, because it is going to be his or her focus for the next few years.

- Remind your student to check with the academic advising and registrar’s offices to learn about policies, procedures and timelines for changing a major.

- Encourage your student to visit with professors during open office hours to learn more about what is expected of him or her in various academic disciplines. 

- Ask your student how he or she might connect with students who are already pursing the major.

- Monitor your own reactions to whether or not your student has a major and try not to add stress.
 

Students often get very frustrated when they have second thoughts about their major. They commonly express that the uncertainty they experience makes them feel a bit “out-of-control”. You can provide a bit of relief to your student if you help him or her to reframe his or her perspective by sharing that taking time to figure things out actually places your student in more control of his or her education than if he or she didn’t pay attention to those “second thought” feelings. 

Having a major is like putting on glasses with a particular prescription to view and experience academic knowledge. The lens may be focused on historical perspectives, or scientific and mathematical theories, or creative foundations, or issues in contemporary society, or cutting-edge research, etc.   Having second thoughts about one’s academic focus provides the opportunity to see if there is a good fit in terms of skills needed to do well in the major and to determine  from which lens your student wants to experience and gain knowledge. For most students the major does not even proscribe the career outcomes, but rather provides a framework for options and opportunities. It is truly by examining one’s new knowledge that one can gain a clearer vision for the future.