# College Students: Anybody changed their major multiple times?



## cybernaut (Jul 30, 2010)

cool deal


----------



## Moonlight86 (Jun 20, 2012)

Yes, I have. I studied Occupational Therapy for 1½ years, then dropped it, because I absolutely hated everything about it. 

Then I chose to study French. I only managed to get through about 3 semesters, though I was actually in Uni for 3 years. So I could've finished French, but I didn't. 

Then I chose to study Information Science. By the end of 1st semester, I was so stressed out and felt so horrible that I decided to take a break and start over again. So...in September I'll be repeating my 1st semeste in Information Science. I feel really embarrased about all of this...like I'm the biggest failure of the Universe. But I guess I'll just have to try again...


----------



## TheQuestion (Jun 19, 2012)

Yes, I've changed it 5 times now (not exaggerating). I'm going to be a junior this fall. As a matter of fact, I still have second thoughts to change it again despite all my hard work to get accepted to this major (pretty competitive at my school), but decided I'm just going to go with it and finish to the end now. Luckily, graduation hasn't been delayed but all those anxiety attacks before changing majors have been very tolling.


----------



## TheQuestion (Jun 19, 2012)

And I can relate to you too, I'm sick of my parents criticizing my indecisiveness, so I don't blame you for not telling them. They don't understand the stress and pressure we had to go through with our decisions. Follow your heart, don't let anyone else make that choice for you or tell you otherwise.


----------



## applesauce5482 (Apr 26, 2012)

I just completed my first year of college. I was headed towards a business degree but I'm not sure if I still want to go down that path.

I don't tell my parents what I'm doing cause they would only criticize me on my choices.


----------



## DeeperUnderstanding (May 19, 2007)

I'm in my 6th major right now. I started off with Web Design, then went to Journalism, then Nursing, then Graphic Design, then Audio and Video Production, and now am in Computer Programming and Database Management.


----------



## cybernaut (Jul 30, 2010)

Thanks everybody for sharing your experiences. Good to know I'm not alone. Really hope that we are all able to figure out what we want to do soon.



321kyle said:


> I just completed my first year of college. I was headed towards a business degree but I'm not sure if I still want to go down that path.
> 
> *I don't tell my parents what I'm doing cause they would only criticize me on my choices*.


My mom kept saying stuff about Business too. With my personality, I don't see myself running any type of business on my own like how she does. And I definitely agree with that last part.



TheQuestion said:


> And I can relate to you too, I'm sick of my parents criticizing my indecisiveness, so I don't blame you for not telling them. They don't understand the stress and pressure we had to go through with our decisions. Follow your heart, don't let anyone else make that choice for you or tell you otherwise.


Yeah, seems like its best to tell them as some times passes. And your right it is stressful. I've been revising my schedule like crazy this summer just to ensure that I won't be taking classes that will be a waste. We're the only ones who know our interests at heart in the end anyway.


----------



## velocicaur (Aug 8, 2009)

Pick something that you find interesting enough so that you can knock out the required classes and get the hell out of there. Changing majors just wastes time and money. Imo, the longer one is in college, the more taxing it becomes. Semesters seem to get longer, papers become more trivial, etc.

Pick something and call it a day. If you want to go back, you can get a master's degree in pretty much anything with only a few prerequisite courses. 

You're young, you (likely) don't know what you want to do yet. Getting that check mark on your resume opens some doors. If you need further schooling, you can just into that via a master's program in a specific field.

Good luck!


----------



## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

velocicaur said:


> Pick something that you find interesting enough so that you can knock out the required classes and get the hell out of there. Changing majors just wastes time and money. Imo, the longer one is in college, the more taxing it becomes. Semesters seem to get longer, papers become more trivial, etc.
> 
> Pick something and call it a day. If you want to go back, you can get a master's degree in pretty much anything with only a few prerequisite courses.
> 
> ...


How can you know you will like biology or computer science till you have taken at least once class in the subject? Or you might find out that even though you like it you suck at the subject. It is true that it's not a good idea to waste too much time. Education is expensive.


----------



## laura024 (Aug 11, 2006)

I changed from English major, education minor to psychology major and English literature minor.


----------



## velocicaur (Aug 8, 2009)

Well, you get a good briefing of classes in high school. 

Math, English, Social Studies, and Science for basically 12 years.

Usually people fall into the English/Social Studies group or the Math/Science group. You know which group you fall in, this gives you a good start.

During your first year of college, taking the beginning courses of each major also qualifies for the general education requirements. This gives you another and more broad taste of majors such as sociology, psychology, and art. 

One thing to remember is that you have ~35 credits of general education requirements, and ~40 for a major and required cognates. This gives you 75 credits of the 120 needed for a bachelor's degree. That leaves you 45 "free" credits to take as you please and gives you time to "waste" if need be. Of course there are exceptions like engineering and business which require more classes, but still. I think engineering is the only major where this doesn't apply to. Even getting started on a business degree early leaves you with many options (management, finance, account, marketing, etc.) which when picked early, still leaves you options in the end since they all share the same 25-30 core credits.

At the same time, if you feel pretty confident about your major and being able to complete it, you will have a lot of free classes to dabble in other areas of interest. Major in Math, minor in art and spanish? No problem. Major in Psychology, minor in computer science and philosophy? Sure, why not? Picking and sticking with a major early gives you a huge advantage. It doesn't limit you, it allows you more choices in the long run. (I picked what I think are "odd" combinations just to show how much you can complete when you pick and stick with something early.) 

Of course, this is all hindsight from someone that also switched majors when I started out. I know what it's like. Unfortunately, you aren't given the big picture and/or you don't see it for yourself until you are almost finished or actually finished. Colleges don't care, they want your money. Look at all of our majors! Try them out so we can suck you dry at $400/credit. Okay, that's another rant. However, I think the first part of my post is somewhat useful for a freshman/sophomore in college.


----------



## lpsierra (Jun 22, 2012)

im planning to
im doing premed and i finished my first year with a 2.4 which is really low so i probably have no chance into getting into med school/pharmacy school.

im going to go back one more year to see if i still really want to go into medical stuff. but now im leaning towards engineering, business or computers 

better to switch majors rather than stick with finishing one and having to do it for the rest of your life and hating it


----------



## pita (Jan 17, 2004)

English > anthropology and geography > journalism > English and linguistics > just English

Mind you, I didn't spend very much time as anything other than an English major. Or English specialist, as my alma mater called it. Makes me sound so serious(ly nerdy).

Sometimes the first choice is the best one.


----------



## Magus (May 19, 2010)

Engineering ---> accounting and pre-law----> mathematics and physics. Fortunately, lost only a year at most but I feel it has made me a more well rounded person taking this path and finding myself.


----------



## Magus (May 19, 2010)

pita said:


> English > anthropology and geography > journalism > English and linguistics > just English
> 
> Mind you, I didn't spend very much time as anything other than an English major. Or English specialist, as my alma mater called it. Makes me sound so serious(ly nerdy).
> 
> Sometimes the first choice is the best one.


You must be a UofT alumni.


----------



## gusstaf (Jan 1, 2012)

I changed several times. Started as a music therapy major. My school cut the music therapy program and, for whatever reason, I didn't switch schools to study music therapy elsewhere. I changed to a music major, realized that majoring in music at my school meant about 80 percent written theory and switched to education. Later realized I wasn't cut out for being a teacher and finally switched to English and Library Science, which I have amazingly stayed with since then.


----------



## silentcat (Jun 26, 2012)

I also changed majors a few times. I tried computer technology, pharmacy, communications, accounting, and finally graduated with a major in psychology. I didn't know what I wanted to do, either, so I just decided on psych because it was the most interesting subject to me, and there seemed to be more of a range of jobs you could do with a psych degree. The classes were also easy so there was less stress for me.


----------



## dracial (Feb 22, 2012)

I started in CNS (Computer Networking Systems), changed to CEET(Computer Electronic Engineering Technologies), and now I am changing my major again. Also I am gonna probably move cause I am changing colleges. Not sure of all the details yet but I am not sticking with something I don't like. I don't care if I am good at it. I need to be able to enjoy where I will be working. I have been considering media arts, music, or game design. I know music may seem a bit random but I have taken 9 years of music. I dropped it for a while but I am reconsidering it.


----------



## Ricoa (Nov 26, 2013)

I'm in my 6th major right now. I started off with Web Design, then went to Journalism, then Nursing, then Graphic Design, then Audio and Video Production, and now am in Computer Programming and Database Management.


----------



## Rainbat (Jan 5, 2012)

I was IT/Networking then changed to CS and I'm planning on going for a master's. I already decided that if software engineering doesn't work out as a career then I'll go back to college for either math, mechE, or aeroE.

Out of curiosity why did you not like CS, OP? It baffles me that you could make such a drastic change; going from an engineering-esque discipline to sociology/spanish. They're like night and day. I would think that if you already like math and science then you'd always like math and science.


----------



## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

from 2002-2013 Ive changed majors about six times. Im currently a Psych major with a minor in nutrition. The degree plan I had was outdated so luckily I was be able to get a ba in psychology with minor in nutrition.


----------



## Tabletofloorlove (Jul 22, 2013)

Pre-dental/psychology>sociology>social work>communications>communications management

My freshman year of college I was all over the place with what I wanted to do. I was so confused as to even why I was there and I felt so disconnected with all the choices I was making that would depict the rest of my life...aside from being unconfident about my major choices before my current one, I never showed up to class or did any of work out of rebellion, out of fear and out of frustration and self negativity. 

Fortunately, when the school year came to the end, I had made the decision to transfer to another university that was much bigger and how I came to decide to be a COMM major was very unplanned and spontaneous. It sort of just came to me one night and it has felt right ever since; it was quite the unexpected choice. I still get cold feet every now and then but I think that's normal.


----------



## vanishingpt (Mar 9, 2012)

I haven't necessarily changed my major, but I've thought about a lot of different specializations. My program, everyone just starts out in the arts. Then I took some graphic design courses and fell in love with that, did some volunteering and extracurricular stuff with that (and still do), but I've officially decided to pursue designing in the architectural field.

Right now I'm working towards a BFA with honours and minoring in architecture. Afterwards I'll be pursuing a Masters of Architecture, and luckily art courses fall right into place with recommendations from the architecture faculty at my school. There have been a lot of times where I've doubted my degree and seriously wondered what I was doing and where I'd be going after I graduate… but at the same time, there were a lot of moments where I fell in love over and over again with what I was learning and what I was doing. Moments that made me think I wouldn't rather be studying anything else or doing anything else for the rest of my life.

Kind of scary pursuing something that's not so stable and secure, especially in a town that emphasizes oil, gas, and engineering more than anything but hey… I think I've found my niche and couldn't be happier


----------



## noiseyy (Dec 16, 2013)

In the beginning I was undecided between psychology and music, but eventually settled for music. Music is probably the only thing I can do anyways.


----------



## Grignard (Jan 16, 2013)

I started off Premed Biochem but it was simply for prestige sake, to cater to my parents. Now I'm stuck between Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. If you aren't interested in the subject field, though, you should probably change asap and talk to someone in the department you are thinking about transferring to.


----------



## IntrovertedLoner (Aug 23, 2014)

TheQuestion said:


> And I can relate to you too, I'm sick of my parents criticizing my indecisiveness, so I don't blame you for not telling them. They don't understand the stress and pressure we had to go through with our decisions. Follow your heart, don't let anyone else make that choice for you or tell you otherwise.


That's right! College is NOT easy and it is very stressful because of the difficult major subjects, professors I hate, annoying classmates or schoolmates, etc. I wished they'd just understand our situation... :frown2:

With regards to the thread starter, I've only changed my major once since I was a former nursing student (only finished it for 2 years, but I didn't finished it since it's not my passion - I like helping people, but I don't like other people as well). Now I am 6 years already as a Comp Sci student since it is really a hard course, my professors are apathetic (no sympathy to unpopular students like me) and my classmates are so insensitive, careless or selfish "Mr./Ms. know-it-alls". Even though I only have a few major subjects remaining, I don't think I will be a programmer in the future... I wish there's a job for undergraduate students like me. College is not for everyone, especially for people like me who is often bullied for some unknown reason. :frown2: I wish they should just leave me alone...


----------



## acidicwithpanic (May 14, 2014)

I changed my major twice. I started off as a forensic biochemistry major, switched to general biochem my third year, and now I've been a math major for a year. At my old school you were weird if you didn't change your major.


----------



## westgreen (Jun 7, 2015)

I think it's unrealistic for people NOT to change their major in college at least once in college. Also, why does society expect students graduating high school to know exactly who they want to be/what they want to do for a living when they're still in the process of developing their personality/individuality?


----------



## normalsucksbutsodoesSA (Apr 2, 2015)

I wanted to do chemistry because it is a huge passion of mine. But then I considered physics because well physics. (is amazing)
Then I said screw it and realized I could master both on my own time so I went the practical route and chose electrical engineering because what is theory without getting your hands dirty?


----------



## Imbored21 (Jun 18, 2012)

No. Don't want to waste more of my parent's money. It's not like I'm going to get a job anyways.


----------



## thetown (Aug 16, 2014)

Im a pfrosh and planning to double major in cs and ece


----------



## BlueDay (May 6, 2014)

silentcat said:


> I didn't know what I wanted to do, either, so I just decided on psych because it was the most interesting subject to me, and there seemed to be more of a range of jobs you could do with a psych degree. The classes were also easy so there was less stress for me.


If you don't mind me asking, what did you end up doing with the psych degree?


----------

