Rachel Grove, sophomore in ACES, entered the University last fall completely unsure of what she wanted her major to be. She had no interest in majoring in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. In fact, she did not even know such a concentration existed. After almost a year of exploring, however, she discovered a love for this field and is now switching from general curriculum in Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) to Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES).

Grove is not alone. About 25 percent of all freshmen on campus declare general curriculum as their major when they enter the University, said Julian Parrott, LAS assistant dean and director of the general curriculum center.

Parrott believes there are many reasons why undecided freshmen should choose general curriculum, one of which is the expertise of its advising staff. The staff is well-acquainted with every program and resource on campus and tries to put forth a holistic advising goal for each of its students.

“There are many opportunities for all of our students to develop a very personal relationship with their adviser,” Parrott said. “We really think that this is the key to our students’ success and to our success as an advising unit.”

In addition, being undecided allows students to explore a variety of classes and majors while still fulfilling general education requirements, said Brandon Bute, assistant director of the University’s Career Center.

In recent years, the University has created a spring Web-based “assignment” asking incoming freshmen to list classes that they would be interested in taking. LAS students are told to bring the list to summer orientation, and based on it, advisers help the students craft a schedule.

Parrott encourages students to look at courses that they have an intrinsic connection to, a sense of familiarity with or a strong sense of interest.

“It makes so much sense that if students are interested in a class, they’re going to like the class and they’re going to do well in it,” he said.

Getting involved with extracurricular activities and attending career fairs can also help an undecided student. The Career Center, 715 S. Wright St., offers a variety of workshops including “Finding a Major That Fits” and “I Have a Major, Now What?”

“It’s not a big deal to come to college without a major. Just keep an open mind and think about stuff you never considered,” Grove said. “So many kids come in without a major and graduate in four years.”

Tips for deciding on a major

• Figuring out your interests: These interest inventories, personality profilers, and other similar programs help you get a sense of how to match your interests to possible careers.
• Knowing your skills and abilities: Building on your strengths can help you excel along your career path. But even if you don’t have a skill now, you can find ways to develop skills or to improve the ones you have.
• Uncovering your values and passions: Your values show in those activities that have personal importance and significance to you. Work that’s in keeping with your values makes your job meaningful.
• Looking at different majors: If you want to choose a major or change the one you have, take heart, you are not alone! It is a common experience for college students to have questions related to majors.
• Linking majors to careers: Often, there isn’t a direct link between a major of study and the jobs students get.
• Exploring occupations, opportunities, and careers: It is important to have accurate information about the world of work because we can easily make career decisions based on faulty assumptions.
• Deciding on a career path: In deciding on a career path, you will have to take a lot of things into consideration, and you’ll have to do some research.
• Developing your skills for success: As an undergraduate student you can begin to acquire career skills for success.

Source: www.careercenter.uiuc.edu