College Survival Tips

Note to Undeclared Majors

Every year a good number of students come to Polytechnic as an Undeclared major. There are many good reasons for doing this. Sometimes a student is still not certain about what specific path should be taken for undergraduate studies. Sometimes the difference between certain majors are not completely understood (Computer Engineering and Computer Science, for example) and it may be worthwhile to wait a semester or two before making a final decision.

There are, however, a few things you should know about Polytechnic before you choose to be an Undeclared major.

1. Many academic departments are currently requiring students to take major specific pre-requisite courses in the second semester of freshman year .
   This means that if you are still undeclared by your second semester, you may start falling behind in the requirements for your eventual major. This may cause a delay in graduation. To facilitate a timely and thorough decision you should do the following:

• speak to your academic adviser about the various majors offered at Polytechnic
• visit the different departmental websites at www.poly.edu to learn about academic programs and future job opportunities
• attend Undeclared Major workshops sponsored by the Academic Advisement Center during your first semester at Polytechnic
• meet with friends and classmates and talk about their major decisions
  

1. You may miss out on important information regarding your major department .
   If you are officially undeclared but are actually interested in a particular major at Polytechnic, you may not get on email lists or hear about major related meetings, program and course changes, etc. To stay in touch with your department and to know what’s going on in the field, the department would have to know you are interested in that major
   
2. There is a difference between Undeclared and Undecided students .
   If you are not sure about what major you’d be most interested in, you are undecided. In that case, it might make sense for you to take a semester or two to understand what different departments offer. However, some students are clearly interested in a certain major, but don’t want to feel “locked in” to that decision by officially declaring it. These students should still declare their major. There is nothing wrong with changing your major later on while you are still a freshman or even a sophomore. Many courses you take in your freshman year will carry over to different majors. Declaring a major and taking the course work required for it might be the best way for you to decide if it’s right for you.

Click here to see Polytechnic Majors and Their Websites