“What’s your major?”

According to my most reliable source (my own experience), this is the third most-commonly asked question on a college campus. (Numbers one and two? “What is your name?” and “Where are you from?”)

In my interpersonal communication class, we talked about the uncertainty reduction principle. Basically, it suggests that humans have an innate desire to reduce the levels of uncertainty that they experience on a daily basis. In order to do this, we gather information about people through our senses (especially vision) as well as asking the afore-mentioned get to know you questions.

While I am currently unaware of any principles that have been established concerning college students and their majors, my experience has revealed that one of the quickest ways to gather information about someone and reduce uncertainty is to ask them about their major. In general, students seem to have both personal reasons and investments in their major. There are logical (and often interesting) reasons that cause a student to choose one major over another.

Once a student chooses a major and gets accepted, they need to be mentally prepared for a shift in the way they are perceived by others. While the student themselves may not feel any different, the way that their peers, family and friends view them may change based on their major status.

Unfortunately, humans are hard-wired to be judgmental. As a result, some people are inclined to create a false hierarchy in their minds, considering some majors to be more prestigious than others. In this case, the prestige or value of a major is in the eye of the beholder.

For example, students at the University of Washington (UW) would give their first born child (if they have one) for a spot in a competitive major like computer science or another STEM field. Our university gets a lot of funding for these fields and has maintained the status of a prestigious research institution. In general, STEM majors assume that liberal arts majors are “easier” or “less work” than STEM majors, which could not be further from the truth. Write me a ten-page literary analysis paper and let me know how that goes.**

The truth is, all majors in college are difficult, just in different ways. I learned this lesson the hard way early in my college career. Buckle your seat belt, this is going to be a bumpy ride…

I came to UW intending to major in Biology and was thinking about applying to their medical school to study physical therapy. Then, I was going to work for a dance company as as a physical therapist. As a former dancer myself, this was a way I could stay close to the art and still make money.

While I have always enjoyed biological concepts, anatomy and physiology, I was never a strong science student. I believed that if I could work smarter and study harder, eventually I would get better at science. Once I did that, I would achieve my dream of becoming a PT.

Another reason why I wanted to major in biology was the prestige I perceived in the major. Getting a science degree from UW, one of the top public schools in the country, is a pretty big deal. I wanted to be able to say that I survived the gauntlet that comprises the STEM track at UW. In addition, generally there is good money to be made in medical professions. So motivated by prestige and money, I had effectively convinced myself that my hard work up front would pay off in the end.

I started my journey down the science track with the introductory chemistry and biology courses. I didn’t do amazing, but I didn’t fail. So far, so good. I had to work incredibly hard to get those mediocre grades, but I knew that I had to put in the work to get my reward. Meanwhile, I was taking English and dance courses just for fun and to round out my schedule.

In the fall of my sophomore year, it was time for me to take organic chemistry. I was looking at PT school requirements and at that time most only required two quarters of organic chemistry. “Great!” I thought to myself. “I’ll just take this two quarter series instead of the three quarter one that all the other people are taking.” Apparently, “short program” is code for “accelerated”, meaning that we went through the same amount of material as the three quarter series, just at an accelerated rate.

This course was by far one of the most challenging experiences I have ever had in my life. I read the book and did practice problems, yet I would sit in lecture and understand nothing. I felt that if I had more time, I probably could have understood the concepts, but the accelerated pace of the course made it unbearable. I hated the class and had to force myself to study. I remember having trouble sleeping because my heart was beating too fast. When I recognized that this program was compromising even my physical health, I knew that something needed to change.

I am not one for quitting, so I resolved to stick out the course. I remember after I failed the midterm, I went to talk to my professor. For some reason, the stress and fear of failure overwhelmed me and I cried in his office. It was pretty awkward for both of us because I hate crying and, well, he was a nerdy organic chemistry professor. That was the first (and last) college course I ever failed (I’m not kidding, my GPA was 1.7).

At that point, I was exhausted of working my hardest and still getting terrible grades. In addition, the stress continued taking a toll on both my physical and mental health. Remember how I was taking English just for fun? “Well,” I thought to myself. “What if I did these classes that I enjoy and am actually good at as my major?” Since I already had so many English credits and wanted to stay at UW for four years, I decided to double major in the related field of communication and to do a minor in dance.

Ever since I learned how to read, English has been my passion. There are few things in life that I enjoy more than getting lost in an excellent book. In fact, I took a UW English course my senior year of high school and I loved it. While I continued to excel at English in school, I continued seeing with tunnel vision and was determined to improve in science.

Looking back, changing my major changed my life in many ways. My quality of life improved immensely, in addition to my physical and mental health. I didn’t have to spend every waking moment studying. I didn’t have to sacrifice my gym time (which is super important to me) in order to study for bi-weekly exams. Instead, I was reading books, writing papers and giving presentations, all of which were challenging and interesting to me.

While the change in my major was generally a positive one, there is still part of me that feels like a failure. I was so determined not to get “weeded out” of the UW science system at the introductory level. Sometimes I feel like a quitter, even though I know that’s not true. Sometimes I feel like I chose an “easier” major, since my GPA has improved significantly since I made the change.

The truth is that it really doesn’t matter what you choose as your major. That’s right, I’ll say it again: your major does not matter.

In my case, I chose to put my quality of life over having a certain degree or career. Once I changed my major, I never had to force myself to study. When I get out of class, I am excited to bury myself in a novel or a piece of critical theory. I know I am in the right major(s) now because I am naturally engaged and passionate about my work.

In the end, your major should be a program that makes you more excited about learning, rather than calculating the days until your next break. You should be passionate about your major and proud of it. You should major in a field that you love because majors and careers are fluid. At a medical school panel a couple years ago, the advisor told us that half of the students in the UW medical school did not major in a STEM field. This idea works in the opposite way as well. Just because you majored in STEM does not mean you have to go into that field.

In the end, your major does not matter because what you choose to do after college is completely up to you. You could go to medical school, go backpacking through Europe, start a business, write a novel or do anything else you can imagine. You have so much more potential than the word above your name on your diploma. Rather than seeing your major as a track into a specific field, try viewing it as a launching pad into a wide variety of unknown opportunities.

In general, people might look down on you or up at you because of your major. This type of judgement is part of life, since people judge one another about everything under the sun. Without letting money or prestige cloud your vision, choose a major that could launch you into something great. Ultimately, your major does not matter. If you choose a major that you love, you will never study a day in your life.

 

(**This section includes a sweeping generalization. Not all STEM students look down on liberal arts students, although some do. I’m not here to point fingers or make someone look like a bad guy. I’m just speaking from personal experience.)