New York—Some kids decide at age twelve that they want to major in anthropology, engineering, or physics, and they go on to do just that in college. Then there are the hordes who remain undecided long after they matriculate.
At the College Board’s annual conference on Wednesday, I listened to an intriguing discussion of how a student’s choice of major may shape her college experience, not to mention her odds of gaining an admission offer in the first place.
Robert Springall, dean of admissions at Bucknell University, described how he weighs information about an applicant’s intended major, or the lack thereof. Mr. Springall, who brings in about 920 new students each year, said that such information is crucial to meeting a variety of enrollment goals.
“I can’t have 920 students who all want to do the same thing, and I can’t have 920 students who all come in undecided,” he said. “I can’t over-enroll engineering and have no classics majors.”
Such are the demands of shaping a class, an act that one might liken to doing a jigsaw puzzle while balancing on a tightrope. Mr. Springall must ensure that there will be enough—but not too many—students to fill each of the university’s four clusters: arts and humanities, natural and physical sciences, the school of management, and the school of engingeering.
On many campuses, the failure to spread the wealth of students among different disciplines might incur the wrath of faculty members, cause scheduling headaches, and perhaps even jeopardize an institution’s accreditation. Moreover, if a student isn’t interested in, say, engineering on day one of his freshman year, he might have problems getting on the engineering track later.
This is why Mr. Springall looks for applicants whose academic interests are at least somewhat defined. “We’re seeing the importance of starting these conversations at the high-school level and, yes, at the middle-school level,” he said.
Later, one member of the audience expressed concern about teenagers feeling pressure to declare a major prematurely: “How the heck do they know? They’re 16!”
It’s a balance, Mr. Springall replied. Exposing teenagers to different majors and career possibilities is important, especially when you’re trying to get students interested in STEM fields. But some students certainly need time and space to choose their paths, he agreed.
There are different kinds of undeclared majors, several experts suggested. The good kind: those who have many interests, and who want to explore before they commit. Then there are the “profoundly undecided,” who may lack direction, and the “prematurely decided,” who may have chosen a major based on their parents’ wishes.
All of the above might need extra encouragment from colleges, but so, too, might students who arrive with a sense of what they wish to study. Mr. Springall described how his institution has bolstered its support for engineering majors, by creating an Engineering 100 course, providing more mentoring, and establishing an “engineering success alliance.”
All of the above is based around a saying that could apply to any major, Mr. Springall says: “It’s not a question of if you will struggle in engineering. It’s a question of when and how you will handle it” Colleges, Mr. Springall said, must do more to help students prepare for that struggle—and overcome it.