Most of the time, students in their senior, junior and even sophomore years of high school get asked the following question: Where are you going to college? Once that is answered, they receive a follow-up: What are you going to major in? This follow-up does not stop being asked once college has started regardless of the first question no longer being applicable. Instead, students are asked in their classes on the first day of each semester to introduce themselves in an ice breaker. The standard information one is supposed to share is their name, year and what they are majoring in. However, there is not always a solid answer to the last part. Sometimes, someone is unable to confidently reply “English” or “communications” or any other major. An average of 11.1% of incoming first-year Berry students from the combined fall of 2017, 2018 and 2019 were undeclared at the beginning of their first year, and that is perfectly fine.

There is a stigma around not having an answer. It tends to feel as if all middle-aged adults expect college students to have their entire life figured out. They seem to have forgotten how overwhelming and difficult this time period can be. Even school officials who are around these students nearly everyday seem to not understand the slight pause students without a declared major give before saying their answer—they do not know. This expectation that all upcoming college students should know what their major is and what they are going to use it for is unrealistic. There are so many options to explore and students applying to college are still very young. They have not had a lot of time to examine their interests versus what may be a passion. They may not have even had very many opportunities to do so. It is okay for them to need a bit more time and a new stage in life to find the passion they want to study.

This assumption is stressful not only to those students who go into college undeclared but also to students who may end up changing their major at some point while in school. The vast majority of college students undergo at least one change in their major at some point. The University of Tulsa cites the National Center for Education Statistics as saying that roughly 80% of students change their major at least once. When adults have expected students to have a life plan since they were seventeen years old, getting rid of that life plan to make a new one at a supposedly late time can add stress to an already stressful enough time in life. These adults again seem to have forgotten something—college is designed for students to be able to wait to declare a major until the end of their second year.

That is one of the wonderful things about Berry. The liberal arts education Berry students receive gives us plenty of time to explore a large variety of topics that we may be interested in but had never thought to explore. We can take the first two years to fulfill foundation requirements, the same requirements that have us taking classes we may wrinkle our nose at upon first glance but love in the end. Students should be allowed to fully immerse themselves in these different classes before picking a major. Those that go into college with a declared major should not feel pigeonholed and like they cannot explore anything outside of that major.

It is good to have direction in life, but too strict of a plan can stop students from doing something they love. The expectation to have a set plan can cause unnecessary mental health issues. Going into college undeclared and changing majors once in college should be normalized, not stigmatized.