Undeclared Major - Declaring Your Major as Undeclared

Starting college can be stressful. You have to think about possibly dorming or living in a college apartment and all of the things you need for that. You also have to (gulp!) think about what you want to do with your life. This is perhaps more stressful than thinking about living with a roommate! You may not want know what you want to do right out of high school. And that’s okay.

Some high school students seem to have it all figured out. They know really early what career they want, they know what they want to major in, and they have every single thing planned out. This is great, but it may make you feel a little bad because you may not have that part figured out. You just know that you want to go to college and learn so you start out as Undeclared. 

Starting out college as Undeclared isn’t a bad thing, it just means that you have a little more work ahead of you. You’ll spend this beginning time as an Undeclared Major by taking your core classes. Yes, there’s even a core group of classes in college! As you go through these classes, if you’re finding you’re really interested in one of the subjects, talk to your professors. Talk to your advisors. See what’s out there in the field that you might be interested in doing. Go on the internet and research the careers for that major. Maybe shadow someone working in a career you’re interested in. You may have more leg work as an Undeclared Major, but you get to have a sampling of different things you can do so that you know when you do make a choice it is the right one. And if you shadow someone or do research of a career and find that it is something you really don’t want to do? That’s okay, too! In fact that’s more than okay, and don’t get upset that it wasn’t what you thought. Just move onto the next thing. Don’t dwell on the fact that something didn’t work out. Know why? Because you found that out now. You found that out before you declared it as a major and got a career in it and that, college student, is extremely valuable!

Of course, you can’t stay Undeclared forever. Your college will have a time that you need to declare a major by, so you need to do your leg work pretty much right when you start college. Get involved in some groups and clubs at college, look through the college course catalog and explore your options. The most important thing you can do though is talk to your professors and advisors. However, you can’t expect them to do the leg work for you. As an Undeclared Major, you will need to take initiative and explore the options that are out there for you. Take time to settle into the college routine then start exploring. Remember – being Undeclared at first isn’t bad. Don’t let yourself get frustrated because others are at a different point than you are in planning their careers and majors. Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle point and good luck!

Organization

Organization is one of the keys to succeeding in college. It sounds weird, we know. How can staying organized really affect your grades, after all. The truth is, organization is going to affect your grades – a lot. And it isn’t just making sure your clothes are picked up, it’s everything that needs to stay organized. Pretty much if you’re not organized, you’re going to be stressed. And college is a little stressful on its own.

To start with, you need to make sure all of your college course supplies are organized right down to your pens. You need to know where everything is in your dorm room. You’re going to be on the go quite a bit for your classes, and the last thing you want to do is hunt for a pen that you thought was in this certain drawer. Keep your things organized from the start. This may be harder if you’ve never really been an organized person, but once you get used to it, it will be easier. When you’re unpacking when you get to college, find designated spots for things and make sure you always keep those things in those spots. In other words, when you’re finished with your index note cards or other supply, make sure they get put back where you originally decided to keep them. It will make your life so much easier to have all of your class supplies neatly organized.

One of the most important things that need to stay organized are your notes and homework. We’ve talked about it before, so I won’t say it again other than this – you need to have a good planner for college. You need to be able to keep track of your homework and have it all in a convenient place so you don’t forget to do something. Outside of the planner, you need to keep your notes organized. Don’t get in the habit of highlighting every single thing in a book because you think it’s important. Same goes for your notes. Highlight headings and important terms and if there’s something your professor stresses that you need to know, highlight that too. Invest in binder dividers so you can keep your units separated – you don’t want to throw out your notes after a unit is done. There will be exams at the end of the school year that you’ll need those for. How you organize your notes doesn’t matter – if you’re typing them, you can keep them organized in sub folders off of the folder for the class. If you’re handwriting the notes, keep them in folders or have them divided or even invest in those small Sticky Note Tabs to separate the topics. If you’re keeping your notes in loose leaf paper in a binder, make sure you have paper reinforcements, too. You’re going to be turning those pages a lot – you want to make sure all the notes stay in your binder! And most importantly – make sure you have homework that you have to turn in in a separate folder or pocket of your binder. You don’t want to have to search through everything like you may have done in high school to find your assignment!

How to Save Money on Your College Textbooks

As you’re getting closer to the start of your college classes, you’re going to be purchasing your college textbooks. Those college textbooks can get quite pricey…they will range from a couple dollars for a novel for English depending on the version up to well over $100! You can very easily spend $400 or more on textbooks for your classes, and that’s just in one semester. Imagine spending that much every single semester, because it is very close to what will be happening. College textbooks are expensive, but there are ways you can save money on them.

Buy Used – You can and should buy your college textbooks used. There may be flyers around your college campus where college students are selling used textbooks from certain classes and your class may be one of those. Take advantage of this – make sure the book is in usable condition and is a price you’re willing to pay. There may also be textbook rental programs or you can even buy them used online. One thing you want to make sure of, however, is that it is the same edition of textbook that your class requires. If you’re buying your textbooks from the college bookstore, get used if it’s available. Often the used version isn’t in bad condition and is almost as good as new. Flip through the book and make sure it’s in a condition that you can live with throughout the semester. For example, every page may be highlighted top to bottom – compare dealing with this with saving money. It’s your personal preference how much writing, highlighting, and page fold overs you want to have in your college textbook and if you think it will bother you when you're studying and taking notes.

Selling Your Textbooks Back – You may have seen signs around college or heard from other college students that you can sell your textbooks back at the end of the year. Don’t do it. Trust me. You could spend $400 and get $20 back. There are other options – remember the flyers around the college that we were talking about before where other college students sell their textbooks back at the end of the year? You can do that too! Of course, it’s been used so you will want to sell it at lower than what you bought it as, but it will be a better value that will help you buy your next round of textbooks. There’s also the option of not selling your books. For example, you may not want to sell back college textbooks for the subject you’re majoring in because you will want to reference them later. This is okay to do – simply box them up and store them in your room at home or in a storage area of your apartment. 

High School Versus College

At this point you’re probably wondering how High School and College are going to be different. You don’t know what you’re walking into with moving into your dorm or going into your first class. It’s an exciting time, so enjoy it all! I’m going to warn you though – it’s also a little stressful. It’s the stress of being put in a new situation on your own and learning to navigate through it. You will do just fine, you’re not the only one in this same situation.

You already know college is different because you’re living in the dorm rooms, so this is going to focus more on your classes because it can be quite a shock. Your college classes are going to be completely different from your high school ones, and it helps to be prepared.

Your first day of class, your college professors will hand you a syllabus which they didn’t do in high school and if they did it was 1 or 2 pages. The college syllabus is a terrifying document of 15-20 pages but after your initial fright of getting this document in your hand, it won’t be so bad. In fact, you won’t be able to thrive without it. The syllabus is going to lay out course expectations, attendance policies, and what you’re studying every single class as well as what homework will be assigned. If you’re handed a syllabus for your favorite subject, you may even get excited to see what you’re going to be studying! In other words, don’t be terrified by this monster document! It’s going to be your best friend in your classes.

Your high school teachers may have given you guided notes. They would hand you a packet and show a Power Point presentation and you would just have to fill in words here or there. You won’t be getting those in college. At all. Your professors are going to lecture, you’ll have a discussion, or you’ll get a presentation about what you’re learning. You’re going to be taking notes. Furiously. Invest in plenty of pens, highlighters, and paper now. Or remember to take your laptop or tablet to class. Be prepared to have as many as 15 pages of notes per class period.

Your high school teachers may have hunted you down up to a month after a paper was due if you didn’t turn it in or give you multiple chances to re-do an assignment. Your college professors will not do that at all. They may give reminders here and there to the whole class that there’s an essay or exam that is due, but they won’t hunt you down for an assignment. When it’s due, it’s due and that’s it. They may have a late policy, but unless there is an emergency of some sort, get your assignments in on time! Remember – you’re paying for college. In most circumstances, you didn’t pay for high school. If you do badly in a class because you didn’t do the work or didn’t come to class, you’re going to be stuck in that class with that same professor again because you need a certain grade in order for the credit to count for your degree. If you have to retake a class, you’re going to be spending more money, especially if you took out loans.

This was probably on your mind at some point but you felt embarrassed to ask so you were just going to go with the flow. You won’t have gym classes, study halls, or lunch periods built into your schedule like in high school. If you want to exercise, you have to go to the college gyms on your own free time. Studying is going to be worked into any free time you have so you have to learn time management. And you’ll have to build lunches into your schedule yourself and grab a bite to eat in between classes.

You won’t have a locker. And if you’re dorming, you won’t have time to go back to your dorm room in between classes. That means you’re going to be carrying every notebook and textbook you need for the day with you all day. Everything you need has to be with you when you walk out of your dorm, apartment, or house in the morning. Invest in a sturdy backpack with plenty of space in it to carry everything, and don’t take more than you need to class.

The good news is you won’t be taking standardized testing with everyone else taking the class. You will have exams but they will be with the rest of the college students in your class period. These exams aren’t the type of high stakes testing that you experience in high school. That doesn’t mean they’re any less intense. You’ll end up writing very long essays in college and taking intense exams that last one or more class periods. Study for them. You need to study for them. Seriously. You can’t just take the exam without studying like you may have done in high school. The questions are going to be more intensive and need more than just one word or one sentence answers. Make sure you know your stuff.