How to Break Up with Your Major
Steps to take when your major just isn’t working anymore
by Jacqueline Liu
You’re halfway through college, and, suddenly, the path you’ve been walking no longer feels right. The spark you once felt for your current major is flickering out, and the excitement that once fueled your interest has ignited elsewhere. You’re left pondering the ever-growing thought of how to cut ties, part ways, call it quits… or, in other words, how to break up with your major.
Switching majors in college can feel like a daunting step filled with uncertainty, guilt, and everything in between, but it’s more common than you’d think. On average, undergraduate students swap their majors at least three times throughout their college career.
Lucky for you, I’m here to guide you through this breakup in two simple steps:
Step 1: Do some soul-searching and figure out what you really want.
Will Winarno (CAS ‘25), a computer science & economics major who switched from mechanical engineering in his sophomore year, has experienced all the emotional turmoil encompassing this dilemma. In the spring of 2022, he felt a deep sense of sadness after reflecting on his life at BU and realized that his rigorous major “became all-encompassing” and left him “no time to fully embrace every facet of [his] college journey.” He highlights that this change in perspective can feel “more detrimental than people realize” because the entire trajectory of your life appears to be shifting, making you question where your future is headed while everyone else “seems to have their paths mapped out already.”
Despite Winarno’s concerns, he eventually felt optimistic; once you “start talking to other students going through similar experiences,” you discover that “you’re not alone on this journey.”
Step 2: Make the switch.
For Ryan Li (CAS ‘25), a senior who decided to double major in economics and political science in his junior year, he found the transition to be a particularly practical one. Economics seemed to be the natural next step for him because it “broadened his career prospects and unlocked more opportunities for [his] future.” While this may not be the case for everyone, Li confidently decided that “it just felt like the right move for him.”
Whether you’re an incoming freshman or a graduating senior trying to identify your direction in life, if you take anything away from this article, it is the fact that no one, and I mean no one, has their life completely figured out.
“At the end of the day, undergrad isn’t for you to become some technically trained economist, but someone with strong critical thinking, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. I can promise you even that one kid—sitting front row in your 8 AM lecture who seems to have it all under control—has probably reconsidered his future countless times.” (Li CAS ‘25)
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