Column:
Undecided is a decisively good option
Published Sept. 15, 2009
Since I was about 8 years old, I have known where I wanted to go in life: law school, and after that, go to work with the judiciary in some way, probably as a judge. I have repeatedly questioned my assuredness, thinking maybe I would be happier in politics or in the legislature or any number of other paths in government. Regardless of the details, I have always known that I want to end up in government. And I have always returned to the idea of being a judge.
I am fully aware I am somewhat of an anomaly. Most 8-year-olds are more concerned with Barbies and Tonka trucks than they are with elections and Supreme Court decisions. Certainly, they are not usually considering what they want to do with the rest of their life.
Even as they grow older, most people do not really know what they want to do for a career until their 20s (and some people never figure out what they want to do and are content with floating from job to job all their life). But given that most of us are not really sure what we want career-wise, why is it that the first question we are asked once we enter college is inevitably "What's your major?"
It is the most overused college pick-up line. It is considered the easiest way to get to know people. It is used in every introduction for the entire four (and sometimes five or six) years you are enrolled in a university. It is considered a means of definition — it can define your personality, ambition, interests and even your group of friends.
But what about the undecided majors? When someone says they are "undecided," what do people think? In my experience, it seems as though those who are undecided are defined as lacking direction, goals, etc. Truly, though, I would think it shows a bit of wisdom from the person.
Think about it for a minute: It is estimated the average college student changes majors three times. This is not usually due to a monumental change in their interests or ambitions, but typically because they have better defined where their interests and ambitions best fit into a career. The change in majors demonstrates a lack of confidence in the way their previous major fit into their life plan.
Those three average changes could all be avoided if the undecided option wasn't so stigmatized. During my freshman year, I had a professor who informed my class that those who enter college as undecided majors are more likely to graduate with a degree than those who define their major from the get-go. Another professor claimed being undecided was the wisest choice for freshmen because it is the only option that allows students to shop around to figure out their major.
More than anything, I hear from freshmen that they are not really sure about their major but are going to "see how it goes." What this usually translates to is a lot of major-specific classes that become elective credit once they realize they have no interest in that major and switch. Instead, they should have gone in as undecided, taken some general education classes and zeroed in on their perfect major. No classes wasted, and more importantly, no time wasted in a major you don't completely love.
The undecided option is available for one reason: so people who are not absolutely positive about what their major should be have the chance to get their bearings. College is a time for just enjoying yourself. Are you really doing that if your major is engineering, but you are truly passionate about anthropology?