Undeclared, NOT Unprepared
Has anyone put immense pressure on you to figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life? I was that person– to myself. I constantly compared myself to classmates whom I thought had it all figured out, and had their dreams and goals laid out in front of them like a step-by-step tutorial on how to achieve happiness and success. If you have ever felt even a hint of being behind the eight-ball because you can’t decide on a career path, I am here to tell you that choosing your fate at 17 years old is not all it’s cracked up to be, anyway. You have time.
There are people who, from childhood, know that they want to be a police officer, veterinarian, or pilot. There are also people like me, who had absolutely no clue until nineteen years old what they wanted the rest of their life to look like. I was terrified to apply to colleges undeclared. I’m lucky because I had many adults around me telling me that I did not have to know yet– but I still felt so unprepared.
I committed to Arcadia as an incoming freshman with no idea of even a general career direction. I attended an “Undeclared Students” seminar during orientation week, and, although the material would have been comforting if I let it be, I scared myself even more. I was told I must declare a major by the fall of my second year at Arcadia, and I did not see a reality in which that was possible. So, I did what I could for the time being: I took classes in as many of my areas of interest as I could fit into my schedule. This was key in narrowing things down for me.
I quickly observed things about myself that I wasn’t able to in high school– for example, as much as I love true crime, I did not want to be in a lab studying forensics for the rest of my life. But, I did love analyzing the way in which the media holds bias in crime reporting. Something about just being on this campus allowed me to make those judgments and rule certain jobs out in a way I was too overwhelmed to do previously. I shared these revelations with my academic advisor, who is a person specifically meant to guide students with their major undeclared. She provided me with a fantastic resource– the “TypeFocus Assessment.”
“TypeFocus” has a multi-section assessment that examines your answers to common questions and makes judgments on your character based on four main categories: personality, interests, skills, and values. From there, it provides you with jobs that match four out of four of your assessment sections, then three out of four, then two, and so on. That way, you get to see all career options that match your previously identified characteristics, ordered in a list that begins with your closest matches. You can sort through your matches, save selections that interest you, and then explore correlating Arcadia majors that will get you on the right path. The TypeFocus Assessment is followed by a meeting with Arcadia’s Office of Career Education; a staff member will go through and explain your assessment results.
As you can see, when you enter Arcadia “undeclared,” the school does not simply throw you to the wolves and hope you figure yourself out. There is a system set in place with many different staff members and resources designed to guide you through the journey of choosing your major with as little stress as possible.
I have been on Arcadia’s campus for under six weeks, and I am happy to say that I am now a Media & Communication major. If you told me a year ago that I would be declared this soon, I would have laughed in your face. But, with Arcadia’s help, I have realized things about myself that have led me on the right path. And whether it takes you two days, six weeks like me, or over a year, you will be more than okay.
