Is It Time to Change Your Major?

Sometimes it can be quite tempting to change your major. Like when you’re pulling an all-nighter for the second night in a row, studying for finals. Or when it takes all of the strength you have to not fall asleep during a required class that only meets at 8:00 a.m., three times a week.
Yes, these situations are not a lot of fun, but they are not reason to change your major.
Changing your major is a big decision. It can keep you from graduating on time and it can end up costing a lot of money since you might not be able to transfer your credit hours from one major to another. There can be a lot of obstacles to changing your major, and it’s not a decision to make lightly. However, it can be a really good decision if you put enough thought into it.
Changing your major can be a wise idea if:
1. You are miserable with your current major. When you were a freshman, majoring in biochemistry seemed like a great idea. But now that you are a junior, the classes are awful. You don’t understand half of what your professor says, and the other half just isn’t interesting at all. You dread going to class every single day and pray your car will break down on your way to school. Majoring in anything else sounds better than your current major. If this is the case, you might want to change your major.
2. You realize your major isn’t going to prepare you for a career field you want. Maybe you were in high school band all four years and music has always been a huge part of your life. But now, you are starting to realize that you don’t want to compose music or teach music classes for the rest of your life. You actually want to do something completely different. Take some time and figure out what you really want to do, and then consider changing your major to something that will teach you the skills you need to do that.
3. You realize that you are not getting the education you thought you were going to get. Different schools offer different classes for the same major. If the classes you are taking are not meeting your expectations, you might want to research which major will give you what you want, and switch to that major.
Changing your major is a really big decision. So put some serious thought into it before you make a change. Talk to your family, college advisor, or someone else whose opinion you trust.
If you do decide to change your major, don’t worry about it too much. Most students change their major at least once during college; it’s actually pretty normal. Chances are you will have to work harder to graduate on time. But, if it will make you happier, then it might be a good idea for your future.