Could you change your major on your fourth year of college?
If you change your major on your last year, will you have to make up more years?
#not-trynna-be-in-college-for-more-than-4-years
#career-change
2 answers
Basma’s Answer
Switching majors in university is very common and a lot of students feel the same way. It is actually even common during first couple of years during your career. Your university major is not a final decision and it does not always define the career path you will take. You can always switch majors and careers, there is obviously the tradeoff of money and time, so weighing the pros and cons of each option is essential before taking actual steps.
Below are couple of options that you can consider when taking your decision:
- Think about what made you study this major in first place, and why is it that you are changing your mind now. Is the reason for change temporary (you do not like certain course) or permanent (you do not see yourself working in the career opportunities open after graduating from this major).
- You can accumulate the credit hours to go towards a minor rather than lost, and then take on more credits towards the major you like. You would not lose the knowledge that you earned and it would add diversified value to your CV.
- Complete your senior year in the current major, and then start some graduate studies in a major closer to what you like - this is not applicable for all majors (especially the technical ones). It is however used as a tool for many people to switch majors or even careers after few years of experience.
I hope this helps! Please reach out if you have any further questions.
I wish you all the best!
Basma
Austin’s Answer
Lizbeth, you can change your major in your senior year of college but I would not recommend doing so. If you change your major senior year you will almost certainly have to stay for a extra few years to take the required classes for your new major. More years in school means that you have to pay more money and who wants to pay more than they have to for college.
There is nothing wrong with changing majors in college, it happens all the time to many people. Most people who change their major do so during their sophomore year, and at the latest during their junior year. I personally have yet of hear of a person who changes their major senior year and there is a reason for that. If you are afraid that you may change your major late/don't know what you exactly want to major in at college, I would recommend going to college as an undeclared student. This means that you have yet to declare your major and you are free to decide what you want to focus on. Typically if you go to college as an undeclared student, you have to decide upon a major by the second semester of your sophomore year. So, this means that you have nearly two years of college to figure out what exactly you want to major in.
I hope this helps. Let me know if I can help in any other way.
Best,
Austin
You can absolutely change your major at any time - it may just mean more time to graduate depending on credits needed. I would think long term about what you want to do post graduation and work from there. Finding a major that will set you up for success is really important.
Kerry Stakem, CPC