There are 82 majors available, picking one shouldn’t be so difficult
COMMENTARY
Monique Bhimani

While it’s OK for freshmen to be undecided, remaining a premajor beyond that point is a waste of time and money.

Right about now many students are busy cramming for finals and trying to bring their grades up at the last minute. With this in mind, many undergraduates have already planned or are planning their schedules for next semester. However, the majority of these students choose their classes according to vague guidelines. This should not be surprising considering one of the most popular majors at TCU is not specialized — premajors.

TCU has long prided itself on offering students a solid liberal arts education. This is assuming students will eventually choose a major of their interest. As it is, there are more than 1,600 premajors out of about 7,000 undergraduates here. And this is not simply freshmen. For a school that offers so many specializations, this seems to be a sad fact to bring to light.

There are 82 majors available, yet this year there are 801 general business premajors. That is about 55 percent of the students in the M.J. Neeley School of Business. This is the most popular major. Arts and science premajors in the Add Ran College of Humanities and Social Sciences comes in a close second with 671 students.

While it is understandable that most freshmen be undecided on a major, to remain a premajor beyond this time just seems to be a wasteof time and money. Sure, there are students out there that seem to change majors just as often as they change clothes, but at least they have declared a major. Some goal or vision had prompted them to commit to one of our school’s great programs and try it out.

It is not like TCU has a plethora of mediocre programs either. In the College of Fine Arts, for example, programs have gained international recognition along with many awards in the areas of music, art and theater. Both the School of Education and the College of Communications have nationally accredited programs. As for our science programs, the biology major has attracted 338, the third most popular major this year.

So for those that still question what major to declare, there are many great ones to choose from. And it’s not too late in the semester to turn things around. Students can still fill out a Change of Major form and soon be on the way to bigger and better things (hopefully).

Monique Bhimani is a sophomore international communications major from San Antonio.