Image courtesy of College Data. 

Choosing a major is one of the biggest choices that a student has to make when starting college. This choice is so important, we are encouraged to start thinking about it really early on in life. As a kid, lots of people asked you, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It then surely came up again and again, throughout all your years of schooling until you finally made it to college. 

By that time, many students are eager to study a field they have been looking into all throughout high school. Several online quizzes and teacher’s opinions likely validated your choice, and you took the right high school courses to prepare you for that major. 

Not everyone feels so sure about their major when they enter college. Some students choose a major just to get on track towards earning some type of career even though they aren’t certain. And for some students, even though they felt very sure when they decided on their major, something happened along the way that made them change their minds. Maybe the major didn’t feel as fulfilling as expected, or they became passionate about a whole different subject. Either situation a student is in, changing your major can be a difficult process. It can be stressful, tiring, and it can even cause strife with your parents. 

Even though your parents want you to be happy, they probably think they know what’s best for you even if that doesn’t always align with your own feelings. Whether they are likely to be supportive or not, it can be stressful to break the news. They probably had high hopes for your first aspirations and might not know how to feel about your new ones, or they could simply worry that you’re wasting time and money with your uncertainty. 

College isn’t often a smooth experience, and changing majors is a common part of the process for many students. There are a few steps that you must take to navigate the process and then deal with the aftermath. 

How to Change Your Major

Changing your major is not a very difficult process. 

How you will go about changing your major depends on your school. Each school has a different process for changing your major. Some may be more complicated than others, but it is overall not a difficult process. Before you change your major, it is necessary to know for sure that changing your major is the right move for you. It would be best not to switch back and forth because you can’t decide on what to do. If that’s absolutely necessary, then go ahead, but you want to limit the interruptions in your education process. Since different majors have different requirements, you don’t want to be too far behind when you finally hit your stride and make the right decision. So make sure to think long and hard when changing your major. There are likely additional resources at your school meant to aid you in this process as well. 

Research Your Intended Career Path

When deciding on your career goals, it is ideal to choose something that you enjoy and can find success in. Keep in mind your talents and interests when you’re working on changing majors. Something can sound great in the moment, but then when you look into it a lot more, you can find out that it’s actually not that great of a fit for you. Compatibility matters when it comes to your major. You don’t want to make the wrong choice and then discover that you don’t actually enjoy your new major the way you thought you would. 

When making such a big decision as changing your major, you need to have all your bases covered. Research the career paths that you can go into with that intended degree as well as the earning potential. Make sure that it’s not a subject that will be impossible for you to grasp, and if it is somewhat more difficult than your current major, check out all the resources that might be available to help you succeed online and on campus. 

Taking a more difficult path towards earning a degree can definitely be worth it for the outcome. You might also find that you have an easier time when you change your major simply because you are more fond of the subject matter. Organizational tools will help you keep track of all your research. 

Speak With An Advisor

Your advisor is there to help you navigate the college experience. You likely have a general advisor and an advisor related to your current major. Your general advisor is a good person to go to when you have questions about changing your major. Your advisor knows what you will need to fulfill your major requirements and what you need to graduate. They can let you know about the requirements of a new major and if those new requirements will lead to you spending more time in school. 

Your advisor can help you discover information that you can’t easily find out on your own. Not everything can simply be found on your school’s website. If some previous requirements that you’ve already fulfilled can apply to your new major requirements, your advisor will let you know. 

They can tell you how many more semesters you will need to attend school and how many courses you can take during a single semester. If you’re wondering how your financial aid can be affected by this change, they can help you with that as well. If you want to take summer courses to make up for lost time, they can teach you how to go about it. 

Your general advisor can help you with any questions about major changes, but a specialized advisor knows even more about the specific major that you want to go into. You will need to reach out to an advisor for the department you want to join to learn more about it. When you want to know about how many major credits you will need to graduate and the prerequisites to take those classes, an advisor from the department is best for you to visit. 

Once you change your major, either they or one of their peers will become your new advisor. It is a great idea to meet with one of them beforehand just to really learn what challenges you might be in for once you officially change your major. Even if you feel sure about what you’re doing, it is always best to check with an advisor. They can inform you about any details you missed or didn’t know to look into. 

Fill Out the Required Paperwork

When it’s time to change your major, you will need to fill out some paperwork. This process will be somewhat different at each school, but it is usually necessary to make your change in major official. Your advisor can point you in the direction of the right paperwork, and it is also simple to find it online. If you just google your school’s name along with the words “change major,” the major change form will immediately pop up. 

For most schools, when you fill out this form, you will turn it into the office of the University Registrar. You can do this in person or you can send them an email, but that also depends on your school. At some schools, this is a process that has to be handled in person. You can fill out the form and print it out anywhere if you have a lap desk that allows you to comfortably use your laptop at any location. The form will request basic information from you about your current major, your intended major, and likely your current advisor. 

Once you turn in all this information, you will likely have to await your dean’s approval. You are not likely to be turned away when you want to change your major, so this approval isn’t something that you really have to worry about. It is all a part of the process. 

When Do You Tell Your Parents?

Telling your parents about this major change can feel complicated. 

Your parents have a vested interest in what you do throughout your college career, which can make you nervous when approaching them about major changes. If you go about it the right way, it doesn’t have to be as nerve wracking as it might feel. Whether you are faced with a strong or a mild reaction will depend on your parents, but you still have to tell them anyhow. It is also better to get it done sooner rather than later. Waiting to reveal this big change for as long as you can will only make you feel a lot more stressed out than you need to be for a longer period of time. 

Tell your parents about this major choice as soon as you can. The best time to do it is while you are still in the consideration process. Not when you are early on in the process and still unsure if you will actually change your major or not, but once you are close to actually going through with it. There is no need to bring it up to your parents while you are only somewhat considering the change, but once it is actually about to happen, it would be best to inform your parents about the choice you have been working on making. 

It is best to go about it this way because your parents won’t end up being too shocked when you do officially change your major. If you just drop that fact without warning, they are likely to feel as if the choice came out of nowhere. They may worry that you are making an impulsive decision that could hurt your future. When you let them know in advance that you are considering changing your major, they will realize that it is something you actually put some serious thought into when you do end up making it official.

Another way to prove that you put thought into your change of major, and to convince your parents that you are making the best choice, is to list out all the potential benefits your change in path will bring you. You have done the research for yourself, and it may be necessary to relay the information that you’ve learned to your parents. 

Tell your parents about the careers that you can head into with your new major and about the potential salary you can earn. Tell them about all the things you’ve learned about the industry that they might be curious about. You should also inform them how this may affect your time in school and the cost it could have. They won’t worry as much about this change when they feel like they have some good information on it. Make it clear to them why you are making the choice and what the effects will be. 

The final thing you can do to make this conversation with your parents comfortable is to have it in a relaxing setting. At some point, when you are with your parents having a relaxing time while eating, watching TV, or shopping, is when you should start the conversation. When your parents are already in a good mood, they are more likely to be positive about what you are saying. Any kind of revelation goes best when everyone is in a good mood. 

Changing your major is a life changing step that can bring you a lot of simultaneous stress and excitement. You can make the situation much less stressful on yourself if you make sure to do all the research that’s needed for you to make a well informed decision. Once you’ve covered all your bases, you can easily look to your future with happy anticipation, rather than fear!