• Approximately halfway through their time at university, students need to choose which specific college or school they wish to earn their major in. Universities usually have a "College of Arts & Sciences," "College of Education," "College of Music," etc.
• The semantics can be confusing when discussing the university. To clarify, a university is made up of many different schools (colleges), each one offering a discrete major of study.
• Students should usually declare their major by the first quarter of their junior (3^rd) year of university.
• Certain majors require prerequisite classes to be completed before a student can apply to a particular college at the university, and other majors require that students compete against other students for open slots. Students can compete by achieving high scores on standardized tests and also by raising their grade point average.
• The major selection process is often a stressful period for university students, but it is not really as important as they may think it is.
• Students can earn "double majors" and "double degrees" as well. Both of these are almost identical, with double degrees being awarded to students with more credits. Also, students receive double degrees if their two majors are from different colleges at the university.
• A student should select a major that interests, challenges, and intrigues them, rather than something that will merely "get them a job." This will insure that the student remains in school until graduation without "burning out" (losing interest).
• A minor is similar to a major, but does not require as many credits to complete. A minor connotes that less study has been completed than for a major. A minor may not make the student any more attractive to a potential employer, but that can often be said about the major too.

There are several things a student should consider before choosing a major:

• What is the ultimate career goal, and what needs to be done to accomplish that goal?
• What classes in the major will specifically help the student achieve that goal?
• At the university, students must ask themselves two questions: "what do I want to major in?" and "what type of career will make me most happy after graduation?" The question should NOT be, "how can my major get me a job after graduation?"
• The student must remember that the most important thing about a college education is the enrichment and expanding of the mind that it brings.

Once a major is selected and started, what happens if the student decides that they do not want to continue with this career path? There are several options if this happens.

• You can switch majors, you are never "locked in," although changing a major may cause the student to take longer to complete the academic program.
• The average student switches choice of majors three times before graduation.
• Instead of forfeiting any work completed towards a certain major, a student can add an additional major or degree. Although, this will add approximately another year's worth of classes, it is a rather inexpensive investment, as it increases the student's specialization.

What are some of the benefits of choosing to pursue a double-major or a double-degree?

• The student will greatly expand their marketability after completing the university undergraduate program.
• As the student will have already completed the required two years of pre-major classes, those same classes will not have to be repeated, and the student is twice as marketable.
• Students who receive double-majors or double-degrees often feel more confident and prepared for their career choices after the university.
• The additional education opens the student's mind to alternative career paths, creating more diversity in their path choices.