The Facts: N.C. State accepts students directly into their major so they can begin taking classes in their major as soon as possible. This system is very different in comparison to other universities that make students wait until they’re a sophomore before allowing major selection.

Our Opinion: Selecting a major is an important task because it has the potential to guide you into a specific career path. If a student desires to switch majors, there are many pros and cons to switching. Students should weigh their options carefully.

N.C. State is one of the only universities that accepts students into their major of choice when they apply. Here, students have taken at least two or three classes in their major by the end of their freshman year along with their general education classes.

Other universities, like our baby-blue rivals, do not allow students to declare until they’re sophomores. This way, students can take general education courses for a year in order to determine what they want to major in.

There is nothing wrong with the way N.C. State conducts its major selection process, but, as many have said before, students often do not know what they want to do at the age of 18 with the rest of their lives. Because of this, students should be careful when selecting their major and deciding to switch it.

Students select a major for a lot of different reasons. Some students pick the major they know will guarantee them a job once they graduate. Some students pick solely based on what can lead to the career with the highest salary. Others make their major selection because of what they enjoy, what their parents want them to do, or even what they think will be the easiest.

Regardless of how you have decided to select your major, hopefully you were careful. If not, you can always switch to a different one. To change your major within your own college, it takes under a minute as long as you have at least a 3.0 GPA. It’s more difficult with a lower GPA. To switch into another college, the process is much the same as applying to college all over again.

If you’re one of the small number of students who simply cannot decide on a major, the ease of switching between majors in your own college only serves to make matters worse. Since switching majors takes less than 60 seconds, switching seems less of a big deal than it really is.

Your major dictates what you’re going to do for the rest of your life. For some, that may be a scary thought. However, it’s something everyone should remember when deciding whether to switch majors. If you’re unhappy or doing poorly in school, a change in major might be a positive thing.

However, switching majors can also present a problem. If you switch to something completely unrelated to your previous major, classes you have taken might not transfer over. Because of this loss of classes, you may end up staying in college for an extra year or two. For some, this may be not be feasible due to finances.

Switching majors is not an easy decision, and there are many pros and cons. Students, you should carefully weigh both pros as well as cons before deciding on or switching their major. It will determine the path you will ultimately take after you graduate.