Admissions Blog Posts

The Benefit of Entering College Undecided


Last updated June 7, 2021

By Web Admin

By: Stephanie Trame

Senior year of high school is full of possibilities for the future. College is one of these options for some students! I was excited to begin the college admissions process and find a college where I could meet new people. I wanted to be pushed outside of my comfort zone. My friends and I would constantly talk about where we were applying and what we wanted to study. All of my friends seemed to know what they were planning on majoring in, whereas I, had no idea. To me, it felt like my friends had it all figured out and I was already behind, even though this process had just begun. When filling out my applications, I would stare at the options for majors each college offered, but, in the end, I always checked those boxes as “undecided”.

I was extremely nervous to begin college as “undecided” because I felt that I would need to overload and would not be able to graduate in four years. However, Furman knows that deciding a major is difficult and that a lot of people change their majors multiple times during their time here.

 Because of this, all freshmen enter Furman as “undecided” and don’t have to worry about declaring a major until the end of their sophomore year. This allows Furman students to have the opportunity to try a variety of classes in different departments and explore all areas before declaring a major. Students can now find a path that suits them best, whether they are undecided or already think they know what they want to major in during their first year.

For my freshman year, I took a variety of classes including psychology, political science, sociology, environmental science, education, and foreign language. Throughout this process, I was able to exclude majors that I ultimately did not find an interest in while always finding some that I loved. For example, I thought I wanted to major in political science but after taking an Intro to American Government course, I realized it wasn’t for me. I also ultimately found a love for the foreign language department at Furman and decided to continue learning Spanish.

When I started the college administration process, I was very nervous about being undecided and having no plan about what I wanted to do after graduation. However, after hearing about how Furman allows its students to declare a major after two years, I was excited about this opportunity. As soon as I arrived at Furman and started meeting my classmates, I realized the amount of people who were also undecided. They too had no idea what they wanted to study or do after graduation.

You are never alone in not knowing what you want to study in college. Entering as an “undecided” student can be an amazing opportunity to study a broad range of subjects and learn more about yourself!