What if I can’t choose a major?

When I first got out of high school and decided to go to university, I was certain that business was the path for me. I enrolled, bought all my textbooks and eagerly awaited the first day of classes. It took me about a month to realize that accounting was my least favourite thing in the world and I was standing at the precipice of a very long four years. I dropped out as soon as I could, escaping with only a wasted month and some bookshelf trophies of bad decisions.

I took a semester off, experimented with writing and programming and found something that I loved to do before applying for the Bachelor of Computer Science program. Now, four years into a computer science degree, I’m completing my last required courses for the program, but I still need more credits to graduate, even having taken electives throughout my degree.

Now, at the very end of my degree, I’m signing up for a grab bag of courses, anything that looks interesting or easy or has ‘video game’ somewhere in the description. Something I should have done first year: If I’d surveyed classes before choosing a major, I could have made friends from all sorts of faculties, avoided dropping an entire semester of courses and I wouldn’t need any more credits for graduation.

So, if you’re a new student, unsure of what you want to study, don’t be afraid to take a general year and check out various survey courses. You can experiment to see what you like, make some friends along the way and have credits for when you do choose a major. For existing students, don’t be afraid to try out classes you think are interesting. You could find an elective that you love and you might end up needing the credits after all.