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Many students who
enter the University are not yet able (or ready, or willing) to
identify an academic major. Some students are simply not sure
what direction best suits them. Others may have difficulty
selecting one from among several areas of interest. These
students receive a variety of assistance from the Academic Services
Center and from the one-on-one relationship with a faculty member
who has volunteered to assist students through this period of
exploration and adjustment.
| TYPES OF EXPLORATORY
STUDENTS |
All exploratory
students are not alike. They may be:
- Completely undecided
(25%)
- Tentatively undecided (50%) -
have couple of ideas about a major but need time and information
before deciding
- Uncommitted undecided (25%) -
have made a tentative choice but unwilling to commit
Others choose a major when they
apply to SRU but are only tentatively decided and need to confirm
that decision. Others make decisions prematurely by making
choices that are unrealistic or uninteresting to them. Since
estimates are that 70% of all students change their major at least
once before graduating, almost all students need the same academic
and career exploration services that exploratory students
need.
A number of studies have shown
that exploratory students are no different from students who have
declared majors (midstate, p. 433 and p. 5.276, from Gordon, 1981;
Ohio St, p. 65).
Correlates of Indecision
Closely related to the issue of
undecidedness are the following concerns:
- Date seeking
orientation--Students may need information on which to base a
decision. They often need a realistic basis for making
judgments.
- Self-identified concerns--Some do
not feel pressure to make an academic or career choice, but are
more interested in self-discovery.
- Multiplicity of interests--Many
exploratory students have a lot of ideas about a major. These
possibilities compete for consideration.
- Anxiety--Some are uncomfortable
about being undecided.
- Humanitarian
orientation--Sometimes students feel the need to choose majors that
benefit society. Many have an interest in the social sciences and
humanities but do not know how to direct that interest (Ohio St.,
p. 65, from Apple, Haak, Witzke, 1970).
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