According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 80 percent of college students in the United States end up changing their major at least once. But what this data doesn’t reveal is how many of these students tell their parents before they make the switch ... or even shortly thereafter!
One mom recently complained to me that she didn’t realize that her daughter had dropped Biochem in favor of Gender Studies until she saw a list of final grades that didn’t include a single science class. Another parent learned about a major move only after overhearing his son’s phone conversation with a friend. And the number of “Ask the Dean” questions I receive from flummoxed—or downright angry—parents who were left out of the major-change-decision loop seems to be on the uptick.
My approach with my own son has been, “This is your choice to make. Dad and I would love to weigh in but that’s your choice, too.” However, I know that many other parents feel that they should be consulted before a teenager takes a new academic path, and some even insist that, if they’re getting the bills, they should get veto power as well.
So I’m interested in hearing from CC parents whose children made major changes, especially those that seemed to come out of left field or that involved moving from one academic area to a very different one. Were you consulted first? Did you believe that you should be? And if it’s in your rear-view mirror now, how did it all work out?
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