Dear Anteater who has not a single inkling of an idea of what they would like to major in,
If you’re worried about being undeclared and you feel like you’ve fallen behind your classmates because you still have no idea what major you want to choose, I completely understand because those were my very own fears coming into UCI. All my friends were working towards career or major goals in high school already: future engineers, writers, artists heading to college to finally work towards their life’s dreams. I, on the other hand, always had “oh I don’t know yet I’m undeclared” at the ready when people asked me “what do you want to do?” Even though I’d convinced myself that this was the right choice for me and I was being smart with my decision, I secretly felt the aforementioned fear that I was not on par with my classmates for my lack of academic and professional vision.
Honestly, being a part of the Undeclared program makes it easier to experiment and test out new subjects and classes without the burden of required courses. I was intentional with choosing classes, careful to add classes that I would consider pursuing in the future. Each quarter I chose 2-3 classes that I found super interesting and 1 class I wouldn’t be caught dead doing in the future: in my case that was a physics class. I think finding out what you don’t like is just as important as finding out what you do like. There is no such thing as “wasted time” in college. If you hated a class with every fiber of your being, that’s one major crossed off your list, narrowing down the list of prospects and leading you closer to finding one that you’ll love. The physics class was tough and I did not like it, but now I’m 100% sure that it’s not for me and I can dedicate my time to more worthwhile subjects.
Another advantage to being undeclared is the resources. There’s a special class called University Studies that’s exclusive to the Undeclared students that basically teaches you “how to UCI.” You’re shown how to register for classes, how to navigate the school website, and are given tons of resources on choosing a major that’s right for you. There’s a week of University Studies that requires you to take personality quizzes and career quizzes to help you get a better idea of what would suit you best in your coming years. I would suggest taking University Studies in your first quarter because with all the newness and unknowns of college, it helps clear away a lot of that uncertainty and is a really great starting point in your journey to figuring out what you want to do further down the road.
Overall, don’t be scared of wasting your time or falling behind. You are doing just as well as everyone else and figuring it all out in college is a normal and completely valid thing to do. I’m proud of you for taking your time and I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful first year.
Luv, an Anteater who took her time and is now confident in becoming a Business Admin Major 🙂