University of Memphis sophomore Scarlet Williams is changing hermajor for the third time. Williams came to The U of M as atechnical theatre major and then switched to film.
"I realized that I did not want to waste any more time or moneyin a major that I don't want to study," Williams said.
For Williams, like other U of M students, the decision to switchmajors came after taking courses in varied disciplines.
"Theatre was too technical ,and now I realize film is too,"Williams said. "I have always wanted to perform and was just tooscared, but I am not going to let that stop me anymore."
According to U.S. News and World Report, college students changetheir majors an average of two times before graduating.
To avoid switching majors throughout their college career,students should really focus on general education courses that arerequired of all majors, said Mary Jones, College of Arts andSciences graduation analyst.
"Until students decide what they want to do, then they shouldavoid major courses," Jones said. "Switching majors can cause a lotof problems depending on the major, especially when it comes tomath and science, because different majors may require differentsequences."
Sophomore criminal justice major Laurielle Altman said she feltpressure to choose a major as soon as she entered school.
"If we would be allowed more time to get to know ourselves andwhat we want to do, then there would be no need for all of thismajor changing that college students do," Altman said.
Sophomore Amber Noel, transfer student from Indiana, exceededthe two-major average. Noel has had three majors so far.
"I don't know what I want to do or be when I grow up," saidNoel, 24.
Noel began college as an elementary education major at PurdueUniversity North Central. After transferring to The U of M, Noelchanged her major to childhood education.
"I realized I didn't want to spend every day of the rest of mylife with children and so I decided to change my major from allforms of education to psychology," Noel said.
Noel later dropped psychology after realizing it wasn't quitewhat she wanted to do. She is currently an English major but willreturn to Indiana next fall as a liberal arts major.
"I like to write, but I don't have the grammatical writingskills that I need," Noel said. "I was never one of those kids whosaid, 'I want to be this or I want to be that.' I want to doeverything."
