Your son or daughter is totally undecided about a college major. You don’t want to spend a fortune to have them attend a college without “a plan.” What do you do? Here is one approach.
First of all, this is not an unusual situation. Most 17 and 18 year-olds do not know exactly what they want to do with their lives. They may not admit this because they are tired of people asking, so they usually come up with some sort of major to tell them. College, much more than high school, is the time for students to search, in earnest, for their IKIGAI (their purpose/vocation). Plus, I have heard that as many as three-quarters of all undergraduates either change or modify their major during their four years—some of them more than once. So do not panic if your child is undecided. They are perfectly normal.
Being one of thousands at a huge university that offers hundreds of majors (so they have more choices) may or may not be the solution—it might just confuse them more. Attending a community college may or may not be a solution. Sometimes doing so also confuses more than clarifies (being advised in one direction at institution A, then advised in a different direction at institution B).
Undecided students, in college, need three things: Guidance—Available, coherent, cohesive, and consistent advising; Education—Knowledgeable and patient professors, and professional career mentors; and Experience—Internships and meaningful projects both on and off campus. Small colleges offer all three in abundance.
If you want your son or daughter to have daily access to advisors and career experts without having to stand in long lines or pay extra fees, please consider encouraging your son or daughter to attend a small college. I worked for many years in admissions for a college of 800 students. My favorite recruits were the undecided students (I prefer the term ‘open-minded.’) The faculty at small colleges also enjoy working with these students. Sure, they have posted office hours, but these professors are available outside of office hours too. They bend over backwards to help. The career and counseling center staff also have appointment times available, but they welcome walk-ins as well. Everyone is there to help. If a student is thinking they might want to be a lawyer, there are alumni lawyers who volunteer to advise. If they are thinking about being a doctor, there are alumni physicians who volunteer to advise. There is help and assistance at every turn. It doesn’t take long for students to figure things out. Internships and other off-campus opportunities help students solidify or eliminate certain career paths. Even the smallest of colleges have career and job fairs. They also will often transport students to larger universities in their area to attend their fairs. Most small colleges have over 90% placement (jobs or graduate school) within six months of graduation and provide lifetime career services.
Most small liberal arts colleges offer the main areas of interest: STEM, Business, Computer Science, Nursing, Communications, etc. Many small liberal arts colleges even have ABET-accredited engineering programs or AACSB-accredited business programs. Most offer a wide enough array of majors to satisfy the needs of most students. If your son or daughter is undecided about a major, ask them to make a list of some of their interests and tentative thoughts about careers. Don’t even use the “M” word (Major). As you research colleges, as long as a college has “something” in all or most of their interest areas (and at least a pathway to all of them), it would be a good college to leave on your list.
Financially, there are over 600 small private colleges that are relatively inexpensive after merit and financial aid. Some of them are “meets-need” colleges (like Grinnell or Haverford, for example). Others just give a lot of merit aid and keep their out-of-pocket costs low (like Monmouth in Illinois or Beloit in Wisconsin). The median cost of small private colleges (after merit, without loans) is $28,885 (which is significantly less than their median sticker price of $49,805). The median acceptance rate at these schools is around 75%.(ranging from 3% to 99%)
In the end, visit the colleges on your list and ask their admissions representatives LOTS of questions. If you live too far away, Zoom with them! If you visit in person, ask if you can have an appointment with their career center staff during your visit. Make sure to also complete the Net Price Calculators too. When the admissions representatives ask about your potential major, just be upfront with them and say “I might study X, Y, or Z. I am undecided.” Make sure to ask them if they offer a pathway that would cover all of your interests. Some colleges even have formal programs designed solely for undecided first-year students. Small colleges love working with undecided students. Please give them a chance to prove this to you. Happy New Year!
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