The cost of changing majors

Key takeaways

  • Students look to their advisors for help choosing majors
  • Half of college students change majors at least once
  • 51% of students who changed majors experienced delayed graduation/completion dates

Student: Chris

When I came to college, I did have to declare a major immediately. I bounced around a few times before I picked one and stuck with it.

I came in as a quantitative finance major with the intention of going into investment banking, wealth management. But seeing the quantitative side of business made me want to change. I went over to marketing seeking a little more creativity. And after that, I wanted to seek out the more interpersonal aspect of business. I love people. I love talking to people. And I love business. So that led me to hone in on marketing with a focus in professional sales.

Some guidance that would have helped me would have been hearing from my advisor that these are careers that this major suits or hearing from my advisor that perhaps certain people with these traits fit into these majors and tend to be more successful.

Changing majors had a pretty big effect on, not only costs, but length of time to get to graduation. I had to take extra courses that I hadn't originally planned on, which of course, adds up. And as far as graduation time, sometimes my advisors weren't always as helpful and present as I would have liked. And yeah, that leads to a delayed graduation time.

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