Dear Abe, How do I plan for a major when I have no idea where to begin?
Hello, friend! Don’t worry about major planning! I know it can be a stressful period of time, especially for a first year, but there are strategies and steps you can take to minimize your anxiety.
First, brainstorm a list of potential majors or academic fields you find interesting. Then, you can understand what you will want to pursue in the future.
Then, gather all the information you can on those majors/minors. List all your general education requirements alongside major/minor requirements. Then, cross off what you have completed this year—even if just general education credits, that is helpful. Every course counts.
Now, after you have all of your requirements together and can see what you have left to do, research if certain courses are only offered certain years and/or semesters. Certain majors have required courses only offered in the spring or fall, so you should be aware of those when planning.
Once you have done that, you’ll have already begun planning when you have to fill in certain classes. If there are prerequisites to certain courses, you should place them in earlier semesters. With these types of requirements, you can create a rough idea of what courses need to be completed by what semester. Then, with any general education courses left and major requirements still needed, you can fill in spots in your fall/spring/Centreterm semesters.
Now, once you have this rough draft of scheduling, it is imperative to talk with other people. Consult your upperclassmen friends in the same major or trying to complete similar workloads to see if they approve of your plan. Also, you should discuss with your advisor how your workload seems—realistic, a stretch of your abilities, impossible to complete—since they will know what actually works when getting a degree (they have one) and may know if some information you found is outdated.
However, after you figure out all these schedules and consult with people, try to keep your own health in mind. Be realistic about what you can handle. Don’t try to force yourself to take more classes or majors than you can handle yourself but also hold yourself accountable for keeping at a good pace for completing major courses. Find a balance between major courses and general education credits if you can’t handle focusing on a single subject in every class for a whole semester. You’ll only succeed if you take your own abilities into account in your schedule as well as requirements.
Scheduling is stressful no matter where in your college career you are. Major/minor planning is even more anxiety-inducing. However, if you take it step-by-step and approach the issue with plenty of information, advice, and self-awareness, you will succeed in creating a schedule that will get you where you want to be.