MAKING MAJOR DECISIONS: ‘COLLEGE IS ABOUT FINDING OUT WHAT YOU WANT’

ANGELA WATERMAN, TRUMPET GUEST WRITER

At some point along a student’s college career, they may wonder if they chose the right major. As many as 50 to 75% of all undergraduate students change majors at least one time before earning a degree, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Entering college not knowing for sure what major to pursue can be nerve-racking, but changing majors in college can also be stressful and frightening. However, it is not uncommon for college students to change their major.

Kyle Hoffman, third-year psychology major, changed majors the summer before the 2019 academic year. Hoffman was originally pursuing a degree in music therapy, but decided it was not the best path for him.

“I didn’t see myself being a music therapist for the rest of my life and psychology was something that I was always passionate about,” Hoffman said. When deciding whether one wants to change majors, students need to assess their strengths and interests.

“I’ve always been interested in helping people and I want a career that allows me to help people which is originally why I thought being a doctor or something in the medical field would be for me but I liked social work better,” Leah Campos, third-year social work major, said.

Campos has minors in leadership and Spanish and has changed majors more than once while attending Wartburg. “I came in as a freshman and I wanted to do biochemistry for forensics,” Campos said. “Then I switched to bio pre-med and then I switched to neuroscience. Now I’m a social work major.”

Students interested in changing majors should take courses in many different fields. One class could help students make the decision to switch disciplines.

“I took human behavior and I just fell in love with it and everything we did in class,” Campos said. “It was the only class I looked forward to every day.” Depending on what major one switches to, the classes might be very similar or completely different.

Hoffman said that most of the music therapy classes were the same classes he needed to take for psychology, so changing his major was not difficult in that aspect.

For more information on changing majors, contact the Pathways Center, located on the third floor of the Vogel Library, at (319)-352-8615.