In its effort to reach out to even more high school students who have questions and concerns about applying and making the transition to college, CampusCompare is happy to debut its new advice column, Dear Babs. This week, Babs will be writing her column based on the many questions and comments that have been posted on the CampusCompare website. Do you have a question for Babs? She’d love to help.

Dear Babs,

All of my friends seem to already know what their majors will be in college. I’m a pretty good student, but I still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. I’m finding it hard to decide what schools to apply to as a result. Any advice?
 
Signed,
“Undeclared”

Dear Undeclared,

Don’t fret—you are certainly not the only high school senior unsure of what to study in college. Keep in mind that most colleges do not require you to formally declare a major until the end of your sophomore year, so you’ve got plenty of time before you need to do more serious soul-searching for your future profession.

I’ve got two words for you: liberal arts. During your college search, take a closer look at schools that offer a wide range of majors and subject areas, often grouped together under the term “liberal arts.” Large universities are great for undeclared majors because there are so many academic options within the various schools that you don’t have to transfer to a different school if your interests change. Want a smaller school? There are hundreds of smaller liberal arts institutions, too.

A liberal arts school will allow you to explore different interests until you find a good fit. It is not uncommon for college students to jump between wildly different majors; in my own college experience, I knew a pre-med student who switched to business and an art major who is now a successful dentist!

Remember, they don’t call college “higher education” for nothing. Not only will you eventually figure out what interests you, but you will begin to figure out what you want to do in life.

Collegially yours,
Babs

Don’t know your SATs from your EDs…Here are some of the most popular questions when it comes to Admission and Application. Everything from campus tours to test scores to test scores to letters of recommendations. Get the full list after the jump.
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