Parent Prep

Is your student trying to decide on a major? For some students, the answer seems obvious. They’ve known for years that they want to become a nurse, engineer, teacher, or accountant.

For others, choosing a major can feel overwhelming — especially when they’re interested in several different things or aren’t sure how their interests translate into a career.

The good news? Your student doesn’t need to have everything figured out right away.

Choosing a major is an important decision, but it’s also a discovery process. As a parent, you can help your student think through their interests, abilities, goals, and opportunities — without putting pressure on them to have their entire future mapped out.

At Cedarville, we want to come alongside students as they explore not only what they want to study but also how God has uniquely equipped them to serve Him and others through their lives and careers.

Start With What You Already Know About Your Student

Before your student starts comparing majors, encourage them to think about themselves and how God has gifted and wired them.

What subjects naturally interest them? What kinds of problems do they enjoy solving? When have you seen them thrive? Do they enjoy working with people, ideas, numbers, technology, or their hands? What activities make them lose track of time?

You may see strengths in your student that they don't recognize in themselves. Share those observations — while giving them room to explore and reach their own conclusions.

Choosing a major doesn't have to begin with the question, “What job do you want someday?” Sometimes a better place to start is, “How has God made you, and where might you use those gifts to serve others?”

Explore Careers, Not Just Majors

Students sometimes choose a major because they enjoy a particular high school subject without knowing where that degree could lead. Others may rule out a major because they only know about one or two careers associated with it.

Exploring careers can help your student see possibilities they haven't considered.

Cedarville's Career Services office provides resources to help students better understand their strengths and connect those strengths with potential majors and careers. Helpful tools include:

• MyPlan: Assessments designed to help you better understand your personality, interests, skills, and values and explore majors and careers that may be a good fit.
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: A personality assessment to better understand how you process information, make decisions, and interact with others.
• O*NET Online: A career exploration resource with detailed information about hundreds of occupations, including the skills, education, and interests associated with each.
• Occupational Outlook Handbook: A resource provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that allows you to research careers, including typical responsibilities, required education, work environments, salaries, and projected job growth.

Encourage your student to use these tools as starting points rather than answers. An assessment can't tell them what they should do with their life, but it can give them new questions to ask and possibilities to explore.

Explore Career Services Resources

Get a Closer Look at Potential Majors

Researching a major online is helpful. Experiencing it in person is even better.

A campus visit gives students the opportunity to picture themselves as college students and learn more about the academic areas they're considering.

Cedarville's Academic Preview Days are especially helpful for students who are narrowing in on an area of interest. Depending on the event, students may attend classes, participate in hands-on activities, hear from faculty and current students, tour facilities, and learn more about what studying and working in a particular field is really like.

Academic Preview Days are offered in several areas, including:

• Business and Communication
• Engineering and Computer Science
• Healthcare
• Industrial and Innovative Design
• Nursing
• Pharmacy
• Science and Math
• Theatre

If your student is deciding between two areas, visiting can also give them better questions to ask: “What will I actually study?” “What are students in this program doing outside the classroom?” “Where are graduates working?” “Can I see myself enjoying this work?”

Explore Other Campus Visit Options

Give Them Permission To Explore

One of the most helpful things you can give an undecided student is permission to explore.

Changing direction doesn't necessarily mean your student made a bad decision. Sometimes eliminating an option is an important part of discovering the right one.

Encourage your student to talk with people who know the field they're considering. Faculty members, current students, alumni, family friends, and professionals can all provide perspectives that aren't available in a course catalog.

And when your student asks for your advice, resist the temptation to focus only on which career offers the highest salary or most obvious job path. Those are important considerations, but they're only part of the picture.

Help your student consider questions like:

• What am I genuinely interested in learning more about?
• What abilities has God given me?
• What kind of work would allow me to use those abilities?
• What opportunities exist in the fields I'm considering?
• What kind of education or training will I need?
• How could I use this work to serve others and glorify God?

What If My Student Is Still Undecided?

That’s OK! Your student doesn’t need to have a major — or a career — completely figured out before they apply to college. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), around one-third of undergraduate students will change their major at least once.

In fact, starting college undecided can give students time to explore their interests, experience different academic disciplines, and learn more about where their strengths and abilities might lead.

At Cedarville, undecided students can connect with academic advisors, faculty members, Career Services, and other campus resources as they explore their options and begin narrowing their interests. Many of Cedarville’s undergraduate programs offer an “intro to” the profession course that can be helpful in assessing interest and alignment with career goals.

If your student is still deciding, encourage them to use that time intentionally. They can take courses in areas they’re considering, talk with faculty and students in potential majors, explore related careers, and continue praying and seeking wise counsel.

Not Sure College Is the Right Next Step?

For some students, the question is bigger than choosing a major: They aren't sure whether they're ready to commit to college at all.

Cedarville's Smart Start program offers another option. Students can begin taking Cedarville courses online as an undecided student, giving them an opportunity to earn college credits for general education courses that will apply to any degree online while taking time to prayerfully discern God’s direction for their future.

For a student who isn't ready to choose a major or commit to a traditional four-year college experience, Smart Start can provide a lower-pressure way to move forward rather than feeling like they have to have everything figured out before they begin.

As they take courses, students can continue exploring their interests, considering possible careers, and determining whether pursuing a college degree is the right path for them.

There’s no need to choose a major — or a college path — simply for the sake of having an answer. The goal is to help your student make a thoughtful, informed decision about the next step God may be calling them to take.

Explore Smart Start at Cedarville

Choosing a Major Is Part of a Bigger Journey

Choosing a major matters, but it doesn't determine every detail of your student's future.

College will give your student opportunities to learn more about themselves, develop new skills, encounter fields they may not have considered, and receive guidance from faculty and mentors. Their first job may introduce possibilities they can't see yet.

So, if your student doesn't have a perfectly mapped-out career plan, that's OK.

As you prayerfully consider the options together, focus less on finding the one “perfect” major and more on helping your student take the next wise step. At Cedarville, we'll continue that process alongside them — helping them grow academically, professionally, and spiritually as they discover how God can use their gifts for His purposes.