Undecided about your major? There's still time

By Jennifer Ware

Teen correspondent

When people asked Lauren Eskridge which college she'd attend this fall, sheanswered easily: "Liberty University."

It's that next question that became a problem. "What's your major?"

Eskridge, 18, headed into her freshmen year undecided.

"It's not like it's keeping me up at night or anything like that," the 2008 Deep Creek High School graduate said. But it does make her a little nervous.

With her schedule, she's concerned that, in the long run, some of her classes will end up not being useful.

According to "The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 2007," a survey published by the Higher Education Research Institute, 14.6 percent of college freshmen in all baccalaureate institutions were undecided about their probable career. The survey showed the next highest "probable career" choice was as a business executive at 8.4 percent.

The number of freshmen undecided about their major is on the rise, too. The Cincinnati Enquirer highlighted results from the annual HERI survey to show that in 1966, only 1.7 percent of college freshmen were undecided. In 2002, 8.4 percent of the freshmen entered school not knowing their majors.

But that's not always a bad thing.

Bill Heffelfinger, an Old Dominion University admissions counselor, said that students who go in pursuing one major and start the coursework for it, then decide to switch, might not graduate in four years.

"For many students, it can be advantageous for them to come in undecided," he said. "There is definitely a risk involved for students who come in with a declared major and realize later that it is not what they want to do."

Paul Feakins, the director of college counseling at Norfolk Academy, said that students who enter college with a declared major should make sure that they try not to change their major several times. It might cost them extra time in school because they will have taken classes that don't count in that same specific field of study.

"In some ways, there's a benefit with not charging into a certain major."

Feakins said that more than 50 percent of students change their majors and some

even change them several times.

Entering into college undecided also allows students to see what options are available.

Dan Friedman, the director of University 101 at the University of South Carolina, said that around 80 percent of the students at his school take the University 101 class, which is an exploratory class. Many other schools around the nation have begun offering a course like University 101 for first-year students to help students discover different areas that are of interest to them.

Feakins said there are many more courses available to students in college that they may not have seen in high school, like zoology or bioengineering, so students can use their freshman year to explore their options.

Even as a sophomore this year at Duke University, Victoria Jackson, 19, isn't worried that she is undecided because she feels she has time.

"I'm not nervous yet," said Jackson, who graduated from Atlantic Shores Christian School in Chesapeake. "Come November or December and I'm still undecided, then I may be nervous."

Jackson must declare her major by the second semester, but English is her backup.

Jackson plans to take a variety of classes to figure out her passion. She is only sure about one thing - she does not want to major in any technical stuff. While at Atlantic Shores, she was pretty sure that she wanted to be involved with computer science - then she took the class. Jackson said that the basics were fine, but once she started learning the details, she realized that she was not interested in the subject.

Still, one's major may not necessarily determine one's future.

"The world changes very rapidly," said Feakins, who is also the president of the Potomac and Chesapeake Association of College Admission Counseling.

He said that once you get into the business world, there are so many options available that a person just needs to know how to think.

Feakins himself did not intend to go into counseling. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in history. He teaches political science at Norfolk Academy, but also got into counseling after helping in the admissions office his senior year at Dartmouth College.

Craig Zirpolo, 18, does have a major planned in a technical field as a college freshman. After graduating from Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, he attends the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science.

He was also interested in English or other types of science, but he said engineering sounded like the best fit for him. Zirpolo has not decided on a specialty, but he is thinking about biomedical engineering.

Eskridge is thinking of international affairs or humanitarian studies. She's a Travel Channel addict and interested in many different cultures. While attending Liberty University, a Christian school, she said she's taking mission and Bible classes to get her feet wet. She also hopes to take a mission trip next summer.

"I'm usually a decisive person," Eskridge said, "I just didn't want to make my decision too soon.... I want to be confident in my decision."

Jennifer Ware, a senior at Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach and a participant of The Virginian-Pilot's 2008 High School Diversity Journalism Workshop, madflipsjenkicks@cox.net