Editor’s Note: This originally appeared as a post in our private Facebook group called Paying for College 101. Retired admissions director and author Peter Pitts is a frequent group contributor, and we publish some of his posts as articles to benefit a wider audience. Peter is an advocate for the value of small colleges.
A few words from the “Small College Guy.”
Your son or daughter is totally undecided about a college major. You don’t want to spend a fortune to have them attend a college without “a plan.” What do you do? Here is one approach to consider.
First of all, this is not an unusual situation. Most 17- and 18-year-olds do not know exactly what they want to do with their lives. They may not admit this because they are tired of people asking, so they usually come up with some sort of major to tell them. College, much more than high school, is the time for students to search, in earnest, for their ikigai, a Japanese word for their purpose/vocation. Plus, I have heard that as many as three-quarters of all undergraduates either change or modify their major during their four years — some of them more than once. So do not panic if your child is undecided. They are perfectly normal.
Being one of thousands at a huge university that offers hundreds of majors (so they have more choices) may or may not be the solution — it might just confuse them more. Attending a community college may or may not be a solution. Sometimes doing so also confuses more than clarifies (being advised in one direction at institution A, then advised in a different direction at institution B).
Undecided students in college need three things:
- Guidance: available, coherent, cohesive, and consistent advising
- Education: knowledgeable and patient professors and professional career mentors
- Experience: internships and meaningful projects both on and off campus.
Small colleges offer all three in abundance. If you want your son or daughter to have daily access to advisors and career experts without having to stand in long lines or pay extra fees, please consider encouraging your son or daughter to attend a small college.
I worked for many years in admissions for a college of 800 students. My favorite recruits were the undecided students (I prefer the term ‘open-minded.’) The faculty at small colleges also enjoy working with these students. Sure, they have posted office hours, but these professors are available outside of office hours too. They bend over backward to help. The career and counseling center staff also have appointment times available, but they also welcome walk-ins. Everyone is there to help.
>>RELATED: To Declare or Not to Declare a Major: Does it Matter?
If a student is thinking they might want to be a lawyer, there are alumni lawyers who volunteer to advise. If they are thinking about becoming a doctor, there are alumni physicians who volunteer to advise. There is help and assistance at every turn. It doesn’t take long for students to figure things out. Internships and other off-campus opportunities help students solidify or eliminate certain career paths. Even the smallest of colleges have career and job fairs. They also will often transport students to larger universities in their area to attend their fairs. Most small colleges have over 90% placement (jobs or graduate school) within six months of graduation and provide lifetime career services.
Most small liberal arts colleges offer the main areas of interest: STEM, Business, Computer Science, Nursing, Communications, etc. Many small liberal arts colleges even have ABET-accredited engineering programs or AACSB-accredited business programs. Most offer a wide enough array of majors to satisfy the needs of the majority of students. If your son or daughter is undecided about a major, ask them to make a list of some of their interests and tentative thoughts about careers. Don’t even use the “M” word (Major). As you research colleges, as long as a college has “something” in all or most of their interest areas (and at least a pathway to all of them), it would be a good college to leave on your list.
Financially, there are over 600 small private colleges that are relatively inexpensive after merit and financial aid. Some of them are “meets-need” colleges (like Grinnell or Haverford, for example). Others just give a lot of merit aid and keep their out-of-pocket costs low (like Monmouth in Illinois or Beloit in Wisconsin). The median cost of small private colleges (after merit, without loans) is $28,885 (which is significantly less than their median sticker price of $49,805). The median acceptance rate at these schools is around 75% (ranging from 3% to 99%).
In the end, visit the colleges on your list and ask their admissions representatives LOTS of questions. If you live too far away, Zoom with them! If you visit in person, ask if you can have an appointment with their career center staff during your visit.
Make sure to complete the Net Price Calculators, too. When the admissions representatives ask about your potential major, just be upfront with them and say “I might study X, Y, or Z. I am undecided.” Make sure to ask them if they offer a pathway that would cover all of your interests. Some colleges even have formal programs designed solely for undecided first-year students. Small colleges love working with undecided students. Please give them a chance to prove this to you.
Potential Small Colleges for Undecided Students
Here are examples of small colleges you might consider if you’re undecided about your major:
- Gallaudet University DC
- The Catholic Univ of America DC
- Goldey-Beacom College DE
- Saint Ambrose University IA
- University of Dubuque IA
- Buena Vista University IA
- Graceland University IA
- North Park University IL
- Goshen College IN
- Marian University IN
- Indiana Tech IN
- Indiana Wesleyan Univ-Marion IN
- Friends University KS
- University of Saint Mary KS
- University of Pikeville KY
- University of the Cumberlands KY
- Endicott College MA
- Babson College MA
- Assumption University MA
- Hood College MD
- Thomas College ME
- Alma College MI
- Baker College MI
- Ranken Technical College MO
- Methodist University NC
- Catawba College NC
- Lenoir-Rhyne University NC
- Campbell University NC
- University of Jamestown ND
- Hastings College NE
- Doane University NE
- Clarkson College NE
- Rivier University NH
- Mount Saint Mary College NY
- St. John Fisher NY
- Clarkson University NY
- D’Youville University NY
- St. Bonaventure University NY
- Touro University NY
- Bluffton University OH
- Oral Roberts University OK
- Juniata College PA
- DeSales University PA
- Saint Vincent College PA
- Mount Aloysius College PA
- Thomas Jefferson University PA
- University of Scranton PA
- York College of Pennsylvania PA
- New England Institute of Techn RI
- Trevecca Nazarene University TN
- Southern Adventist University TN
- Cumberland University TN
- LeMoyne-Owen College TN
- Emory and Henry University VA
- Whitworth University WA
- Carroll University WI
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Other Articles You Might Like:
8 Ways Top Students Thrive at Small, Less Selective Colleges
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10 Reasons to Consider Smaller Schools with High Acceptance Rates
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