by Matthew John Phillips > University of Maryland, College Park | photos Kate Cassalia
So you’re new to college? You face an overwhelming future full of countless books, papers and professors. And let’s face it, every person for the last eighteen years of your life has told you just how important college is; for your future career, your future opportunities—your future life. Imagine compounding all of that with the harrowing realization that you don’t even have a major yet. You’re immediately labeled “undeclared,” and college has just become a nightmare.

Though “undeclared” may make you feel immature or less prepared than your declared peers, it’s not a bad thing to enter college without a major. Many students don’t know what they want to do with their lives, and delay a commitment to a specific field of study.

"It’s perfectly fine to be undecided. There are so many opportunities in college that you just want to give yourself a chance to explore the landscape,” said Liza Lebrun, Academic Advisor for the University of Maryland, College Park Honors Department.

In fact, many students change their major at least once, if not multiple times throughout the course of their college experience—so why not save yourself the trouble and take time to explore your options? By not committing yourself to a specific major, you free yourself from the structured environment to take classes that appeal to you on a personal, rather than practical level. Take a look at the classes you really enjoyed in high school and build from there. The most important thing about being undecided is to be open to your experiences in your first semesters at college—it will more than likely be in these courses that you find what appeals to your interests.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and I didn’t feel I was ready to make such an important decision,” said Tamar Cooper, a junior psychology major who used to be undeclared. She often felt upset or jealous of her friends that had majors.

“I felt unprepared. I felt that maybe I should have known what I wanted to do, since they seemed so sure,” she said.

Trying to compete with declared friends and trying to make parents happy can be the most difficult parts of being undeclared.

“Very well-meaning people like to give a lot of advice,” says Lebrun. “I think it kind of clouds their thinking.” Students inevitably feel compelled to do what their parents think is best or what their friends are doing. But Lebrun warns against following any advice that isn’t your own. The process of choosing a major, while not necessarily as emotive or intuitive as people assume it to be, is nonetheless a personal one.

So, now that you know not to panic about being undeclared, and you’re taking some classes that you think might be interesting, what else can you do? Lebrun suggests you figure out what majors are available on campus.

“It’s impossible to know what you’re going to major in if you don’t know what is available,” she said.

If you’ve decided on a couple options, then go to your campus bookstore and look at the required books for those majors to get an idea of what the material entails. Also, talk to students in the major not just to get their experiences, but to find the best classes or professors to take. Cooper finally declared psychology because she enjoyed science and math and knew it would be a good combination of the two.

More than anything, Lebrun suggests you disregard the misconception that your major determines your career. While it is true that some majors, such as engineering or architecture, prepare you for those specific fields, most majors give you a broad education. A sociology major could just as easily work for the government or in health care as in publishing or editing. The most important thing is to research your interests, options, and opportunities.

“And of course,” Lebrun said, “always think about yourself and what you want.”