What's a great major for undecided college students?

try the military. I promise when you get out you will know what you want to do. And than let them pay for it

Go with where your skills are. And ignore the major until you finish all your GEC courses.
Know in advance if you intend to get a BA or a BS (or a BFA, etc).

Spend your time learning all you can about everything you can. Ask if you can intern at things that you find sorta interesting. Talk to your counselor. They really can help.

Don’t feel pressured to join the military.

Please don’t join the military during wartime because you can’t pick a major.

Like delirium said, get your requirements out of the way and in the process you might start to figure out what your interests are. Psychology is a popular one as is English. If you want a bachelor’s degree that will net you a good job fresh out of college, try nursing, engineering, or teaching.

Personally I think everyone should be a scientist just like me, so I’ll curb my advising there.

Hey there are safe jobs in the military. And please give those guys respect for what they do even if you don’t agree. I have friends there

business. you’ll always benefit from understanding how companies are run and you might find that you love the idea of making money. but it’s pretty boring

start with something simple (liberal studies, communications) and enjoy partying for your first year. then get serious and get ready for the day when you leave school.

find an internship as soon as you can as well. it’ll help you to afford school, and to graduate with practical experience

I respect them, I just don’t think its a good ‘back up plan’ for someone who has so much potential in other places.

For example: I’d never date Anyone in the military unless they joined for monetary reasons. (As in… if they couldn’t afford college any other way). I HATE that whole machismo thing that seems to always go hand in hand with it.

If your friends hadn’t signed up, they wouldn’t be in that predicament. I’m sure they’re perfectly lovely people but signing up to fight this war has got to be one of the worst decisions anyone could possibly make. I guess we all make mistakes.

I would not call it a back up. I and many others went in as a calling. And we all got out(my friends) and got our degrees.

For the first 2 years, it really doesn’t matter what you major in. You’re just filling your general requirements anyway. My first 2 years was filled with physics, philosophy, business, history and language studies.

Just decide between a B.A. or B.S. and work on your gen requirements. You’ll discover something that lights a fire during that time period.

Marine Biology. Although I’m only saying that because a friend of mine is studying it as he’s not sure what he wants to do, and thinks Axolotls (http://youtube.com/watch?v=4wwo7_kjBHI) are the most adorable things ever.

And can we please stay on topic?

@richardhenry MUDKIPS!!(id have an axolotl if they werent illegal in NJ) Marine Biology is awesome im thinking about going back to college for that actually. If your interested in the ocean i would recommend that path there are so many interesting things to learn about the ocean and everyday it seems we are discovering something new.

My peacock mantis shrimp is way cooler than an Axolotl ;)

Definitely pick something you like, but I would suggest majoring in something (anything really) that forces you to learn analytical skills, whether in the sciences or in the liberal arts. Being able to critically analyze information will be a very useful skill that will be highly valued by future employers.

A lot of schools have programs where you can create your own degree. See if there’s an interdepartmental degree program at your school. Usually the way it works is you write a proposal for a curriculum and if it gets approved, you’re good to go. I think Liberal Studies is similar but there are usually already established requirements that have to be met.

I reccommend Psychology – not only do you learn the very valuable information of what makes people tick, but at most schools you can either go “hard” or “soft” with a BS or BA depending on the extent of your scientific interest. Also, start accumulating work experience ASAP – not only will it give you an idea of what you would like your eventual work to be like, but most employers won’t give you the time of day without it, no matter how fancy your degree is.

Communications is a great degree for an undecided student because there are so many practical applications in the job field (if your school has a good communications department.)

And a minor in a foreign language is great too.

Economics, so I’ve heard. It encompasses pretty much everything and is generally good for keeping you out of your parents’ basement after graduation. I for one, majored in anthropology. It’s also all-encompassing but harder to negotiate its relevance to employers.

sociology

Don’t just pick a major because you’re undecided. Don’t do something because it’s easy. Don’t do something just because it makes a lot of money. Don’t do something just because your friends are doing it. Don’t do something because someone told you to do it.

First figure out things that you love and enjoy to do. Then find a major that most closely resembles your interests.

I forgot who said it first but, “If you do what you love, then you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”

jcs007, I totally agree about doing what you love. The question was posed not for me, but my teenage son who doesn’t have any idea for his career choice (yet).

I would chose philosophy or literature. See how the mind opens up, and then see where that takes you.

in no particular order:

anthropology (study of people, culture and the world)
communications (enough said)
business (despite the corporate BS most people deal with, it can be quite interesting)

What a great question. Looks like many good answers. And wow a chance ot slam the military. I like the idea of getting the first couple years out of the way then see where an interest takes you.