Some Boston University students say the school puts pressure on them to declare a major before they are prepared, forcing them to deal with tougher class schedules than anticipated.
“I felt a lot of pressure,” said Amanda Rottier, a College of Communication and College of Arts and Sciences junior. “I just picked my major, and now I’m not even sure I like it. I’m just going through the motions.”
Rottier said the biggest reason she is pursuing a double-major is because BU pressured her into prematurely choosing her major.
BU requires students declare their major before their junior year, but they must enroll in a specific school at the very beginning of their time at the University.
“I feel like BU places too much pressure on freshman to pick a school,” said Aubrey Levitt, a COM sophomore. “I feel like it is too late to switch, and I’m only a sophomore.”
The BU Career Services Office offers advice and counseling for students on prospective majors and how useful they are for future careers. Richard Leger, director of Career Services, said whether or not a student picks a major before others depends on the student’s experiences.
“I don’t think that you need to come in here with a major in mind, but the sooner you can come up with a sense of direction the better,” he said.
“The University wants all students to succeed academically,” said BU spokesman Colin Riley. “Part of that success comes from proper planning. There are students at CAS who are undeclared and exploring different disciplines, but inherent in that quest is the reality that at some point they must choose a degree program in which to concentrate so that they can complete all degree requirements in four years.”
To many students, choice of major is a vital component of a school’s academic appeal.
“My reason for transferring was because of my major,” said Megan Grenter, a COM senior majoring in broadcast journalism who previously attended Emory in Atlanta. “I felt like they were discouraging me from going broadcast journalism because of the competitiveness.”
Not all students’ decisions to change majors are the result of the University’s influence, however. College of Engineering sophomore David Puzzo is currently attempting to transfer to the School of Education, where he hopes to major in human movement.
“I thought I was good at it,” Puzzo said. “Boy, was I wrong.”
“I wanted to do history,” said CAS junior Jordan Vanek, “but I found out it was too hard … IR is easy.”
Vanek, a former College of General Studies student, complimented CGS for giving students a broad view of everything available before making them choose a school or college.
“Classes offered by CGS give a wide spectrum, so it gives you time to think about what you want to do,” Vanek said.
David Whitt, a CAS junior majoring in International Relations, said students need time to figure out where they fit in.
“It takes a semester for students to decide what they really want to do, free from their parents’ influence,” he said.
Jennifer Hennessey, an ENG junior, said one of her friends changed majors from aerospace manufacturing to manufacturing engineering and then back again, just so she would receive a Palm Pilot, which is issued to manufacturing engineering students.
While some students change their major more than once, CAS freshman Jason Eastman said he knows the record holder.
“When I was at orientation there was a guy who changed his major three times in one day,” Eastman said. “After that they wouldn’t let him do it anymore.”
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