Monday, Nov. 2, marked the start of week six for fall quarter 2015. At this point, there’s no need to remind anyone about finals steadily creeping up.
But there’s another worry on the minds of many students this time in the quarter: majors.
Some student start experiencing major panic as far back as high school, taking those “find your perfect career” tests and listening to speeches from guidance counselors.
Others arrive at college and begin to feel the pressure when they see their peers declaring.
But it’s a phenomenon felt by a great many college students, and one that often ends up causing more stress than it needs to.
As classes begin to head into their final laps, many students may begin to consider whether the tracks they’re on are really the ones they want to be running.
After six weeks, it’s easier to see whether those creative writing classes are just something you’d enjoy doing in your free time, or whether accounting is a job you’d enjoy going to every day.
But it’s also easy to feel like it’s too late to do anything different. Time and money have already been invested toward classes, so doing something completely different would be a waste, right?
Absolutely not. College is a time of self-exploration and experimentation and we all deserve the chance to spend as much time as we need finding our paths.
It’s easy to think once a choice has been made it’s been signed in blood, sealed in concrete and never to be changed again. One trip to the counselor’s office equals one future all wrapped up and ready to go.
But statistics from La Verne University prove that’s not true. On its website, the university says that about 50 percent of college students across the country enter universities as undecided about their majors.
Not only that, but 50 to 70 percent of students will change their majors at least once while in college; most will change at least three times.
Finding new interests is what college is all about, and Western houses hundreds of options. On Wednesday, Nov. 4, Western’s Career Services Center will be hosting Ask an Alum, an event where students can talk to graduates about their experiences after leaving school.
Weaving such events and workshops into the final weeks of fall quarter can be extremely in planning for quarters to come.
In addition, the Career Services Center offers a place for students to go to seek guidance choosing their majors, changing their majors and finding jobs and internships.
If money is your concern, talk to representatives from the financial aid office or the scholarship center. All it takes is a little effort and you can be rewarded for your dedication to education.
So don’t be afraid. Go out and try some new things during these final five weeks of fall.
Check out some different departments between classes; talk to some professors and other students; talk to graduates and upperclassmen and find what’s right for you.
People don’t move in straight lines; we twist and turn and change direction. So don’t think your education has to be straight and narrow.
