Sunday, November 9, 2014

Undeclared

English, Math, Communications, Biology, Psychology, Anthropology…having the option of choosing from 60 liberal arts majors can almost make students feel the desire for less options for once! Freshman year can function as a time to test out different core classes and find your likes and dislikes when it comes to academics. But, sometimes not having a direct path can leave students feeling a bit lost. Here are tips for taking the edge off of the uncertainty of being “undeclared.”



1. The core: While sometimes daunting upon entering Fordham, the core can be an undeclared major’s best friend. The core offers students the chance to take classes they would not have necessarily chosen on their own. This can either help students find a new interest or simply confirm their previously held preferences.

2. You can change you mind…and change it again: Nothing is set in stone. After experiencing a year away from home, in a new environment, with new people, a student is bound to have some changes in opinion or perspective. With these changes, the Gabelli School of Business could become much more appealing then your originally intended pre-health path. In addition, you may have not known a program existed until the end of your freshman or even the beginning of your sophomore year.

3. You have time: Valentine’s day (The unofficial day for major declaration) sophomore year may seem a while away as a first or second semester freshman…because it is! The core allows for you to have plenty of time to test out different subjects that could lead to a possible major before the time to declare a major comes around.

4. You should feel blessed, not cursed: Even if by the time you have taken your second science course the only thing you have learned is that science is not for you, you are actually getting much more out of it than that. Fordham’s liberal arts core allows you to take a variety of classes that fulfill requirements ensuring that credits (and $) are hardly ever wasted. If you felt that you were passionate about Communications and realized the opposite after taking Comm 1010, you would still have fulfilled a Social Science credit without falling behind.

5. Talk it out: Every student on campus either is looking into a major or has already gone through the process. Talking with upper classman and your peers alike can help relieve the stress of figuring out the future by ensuring you that it does eventually work out, and you are not alone. Also, Career Services’ councilors as well as department assistant chairs are readily available to help decide which majors can lead you to your dream job.




I am a former Business Administration major, who decided to think about Sociology instead and is now a thoroughly confident and satisfied Communications major. Looking back on my days of living “undeclared,” I regret feeling like not knowing what I wanted to do at Fordham meant I was lost in life. This time in college is meant exactly for that! Figuring out what you want to do so that one day you can go out do it!

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