What to do if you regret your university course or major? 😔
How much do we really know about ourselves when we’re 18 or 19? Yikes, we can’t even decide whether to get chicken rice or hokkien mee for lunch, how are we supposed to choose a major that is going to determine our future?
Figuring out what to study in university or polytechnic can be overwhelming but you’re not alone. Research has pointed out that freshmen students entering university are not developmentally ready to make effective decisions based on deliberate self-reflection of their identity. For all 18 years of our lives, we’ve been living under the guidance of others. We haven’t had the time to understand more about ourselves, what more make an effective choice on what we should major in?
If you’re stuck in a major or degree programme you don’t enjoy, don’t worry there are many others like you. Dayna, a recent graduate from NUS, is one of them and we will be sharing with you her experience throughout this article.
Read on to find out how you can get yourself out of this situation.
1. Reflect — Take a moment to understand your discontentment
Before taking the leap to transfer out, take a step back and objectively ask yourself these questions:
- Why did you choose to major in this field in the first place?
- Did you make that decision in your own interest or because you wanted to appease others? Were you influenced by your friends or family members’ expectations and opinions that are not your own?
- Were there parts of the course you enjoyed? What exactly do you not enjoy about your course? Would this reason stay the same even if you changed your major?
- How would changing your major make you happy?
These questions are important because you need to know exactly why you are unhappy with your current situation and make sure you are changing your major for the right reasons.
If you still need some inspiration, check out these TED talk videos here.
2. Seek help and advice — Be 100% sure about your decision
There are many like you who changed majors and have gone through your predicament. Reach out to your school’s career counsellor or advisor to seek their professional advice. If you have decided which major to switch to, talk to at least 3 friends who are currently majoring in that field. Ask them for their lecture notes and curriculum. Spend some time sitting in a few of their classes and lectures to see if you would enjoy the lessons.
Woah, sounds like a lot of work? If you think this feels like so much effort, you might want to rethink about switching majors. Spending these extra hours and days now is going to save you a lifetime of regret after your 4 years of university education.
Need more help choosing your university course? Get some tips from four real undergraduate students here.
3. Be prepared to face the fire — It won’t be easy
Okay, so you’ve got good reasons to change your major. You’re ready to take the jump. But let’s be honest, things are going to be difficult from here.
Once you declare to your circle of friends and family about your decision, be prepared for one of the biggest interrogations of your life.
First, you’re going to have to think of how to break the news to your parents who might not be convinced that you are doing the right thing. Then, you will also need to be comfortable with making new friends again and bidding goodbye to your former course mates. Along with these emotional tensions, you will also need figure out how to graduate on time and ensure you aren’t incurring more student loans.
Have courage and stay on the right track. These obstacles above are just trivial matters you have to be prepared to deal with and overcome. As long as you are convicted and stay true to your decision, trudge ahead with confidence.
4. If you can’t change your major — it is not the end
After spending so much time and effort finally submitting that transfer application, if all you get is a rejection letter, bawl your eyes out for a day (or two) and move on.
In Nanyang Technological University (NTU) alone, out of the average 420 students who apply to change their majors, only 40% of them successfully do so every year. If you fall in the same plight as 60% of these other NTU students, or you can’t change your major due to other reasons, don’t worry. There are still many ways you can work around your current situation.
Whatever the field of study you’re interested in, go read absolutely everything you can get your hands on and take up relevant lessons or elective modules. During your summer breaks, taking up internships also give you valuable experience in your field of interest and boosts your resume. Are there also options for you to choose a minor in the course you are interested in? This could actually be an advantage because you can still keep your current major while pursuing your interest at the same time.
There are so many ways to work around this. Don’t let your major define you. Your actions speak more than your graduation certificate.
If you somehow stumbled your way to this article, it means that you’re somewhat unhappy about what you’re studying now. Before you leave this page and continue going through the same motions at school and regret not doing anything, remember these four things:
- Reflect — Take a moment to understand your discontentment
- Seek help and advice — Be 100% sure about your decision
- Be prepared to face the fire — It won’t be easy
- If you can’t change your major — it is not the end
More importantly, don’t be afraid to admit that you made a bad decision and don’t be afraid to change majors. It is absolutely normal and there are more students in same dilemma than you think. I honestly wished I had the courage to switch majors early and I wished I had someone tell me all these things. Looking back, my life would have been very different if I took that leap of faith.
If you don’t like where you are, move. You are not a tree.
If you want more help or just need someone to talk to, feel free to drop us a message at contact@praxium.sg — we are friendly people who don’t bite!
References:
1. Evans, N., Forney, D., Guido, F., Patton, L., & Renn, K. (2010). Psychosocial identity development. Student development in college: Theory, research and practice (2nd ed.) (pp. 52–54). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
2. Yuen Sin (2017). The road to flexibility in changing majors. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/the-road-to-flexibility-in-changing-majors
3. Liz Freedman (2013). The Developmental Disconnect in Choosing a Major: Why Institutions Should Prohibit Choice until Second Year. https://dus.psu.edu/mentor/2013/06/disconnect-choosing-major/
