Aimee Chlebnik came to CSU as a music therapy major. After her
freshman year, however, she decided to change her major.
“Working so hard on music made it not fun for me anymore,” said
Chlebnik, now a junior recreation and tourism major. “I wanted a
career where I could be outside in the mountains all the time, in
the sunshine.”
Chlebnik began searching through the CSU course catalogue until
she found a program she felt suited her interests.
“I didn’t want to do anything really sciencey, but I’m big on
conservation and wanted to be able to play outside,” she said.
Statistics have shown that many students change majors at least
once during college, said Becky Thomas, an academic adviser at the
Center for Advising and Student Achievement.
“At one time, students who arrived with a declared major changed
(majors) more than open option students, because it’s so hard to
know what you want before you come,” Thomas said. “A student who
comes to college needs to try (a major) on for size and match it up
with their needs.”
Thomas said it’s important for students to find a major that
satisfies them.
“I see a lot of students trying not to do what they want because
they think it’s not practical,” she said. “The minute they have an
idea what they want and it matches their interests, they do much
better. They’re motivated and have a sense of purpose, which helps
to succeed at a job.”
Thomas recommends students who are interested in exploring
majors make an appointment with a CASA adviser. During these
appointments, the students and advisers work together to select
some potential courses of study.
From there, Thomas said students can talk to the key adviser in
a specific department to learn more about the major and various
course requirements.
“We often refer students to the Career Center if they have no
idea (what they want to study), because they can test a student’s
interests and skills as well … it helps to narrow it down,”
Thomas said.
Once a student has settled on a couple of majors to explore,
Thomas suggests taking specific courses within those departments to
really get a feel for the academic program and the potential
careers.
Finally, Thomas recommends talking to people working in the
field a student wants to study.
“If you’re interested in advertising, you can look in the Yellow
Pages under advertising and ask a professional if you can do an
informational interview to learn about their career,” she said.
Discussing options with family and friends is also a good way to
gather both professional and personal information, Thomas said.
At first, Chlebnik said her parents were skeptical of her
decision.
“I’m kind of an impulsive person,” she said. “Eventually my
parents got used to the idea … they think it’s really cool
now.”
Students who are ready to officially change, declare or add a
major or minor may do so by filling out a change of major form,
available at the Registrar’s Office in the Administration
Annex.
The process for most majors is relatively simple, said Associate
Registrar Nolan Oltjenbruns.
“Pick up the form from us, fill it out, gather all the necessary
signatures and then return it to us,” he said.
However, the process varies from department to department.
“In some cases, students have to do sort of an exit interview,
in some it’s just a matter of filling out the form,” Oltjenbruns
said.
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