How to Explore Interests That Could Become Your College Major

“What should I major in? What are the top majors for employment after I graduate? Should I pick a major based on what I’m actually interested in? What if it’s silly? What if my interests change? How do I even know what I like or want to do?”

When picking a major to study in college, it’s more than likely you’ve had these questions run marathons through your mind. It’s one of the most important decisions you have to make in your younger years, and there’s no doubt it can feel more than intimidating. But guess what?

In fact, a study of 1,000 students found that 1 in 5 respondents reported "frequently" or "very frequently" experiencing doubts about choosing the right major/field of study.  Even college students often change their majors—according to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 30% do within three years. As students, it’s easy to feel distant from our futures, but time doesn't wait for us to figure things out. As college approaches, juggling numerous priorities, long days, and competition can make it feel overwhelming to focus on your major search.

Fortunately, many students have a passion or an interest they enjoy. Whether it’s playing a video game, drawing, playing sports, or even just reading a good book, chances are there’s something you gravitate towards after a long day or week of classes and homework. 

What if we told you that that could be a really great place to start when thinking about your potential college major?

Today, we’re going to dive into how to use the things you love to help you find a major that’s a good fit for you, as well as what to do if you're not sure where to start. We’ll go over why exploring interests early can help you get a jumpstart in your major search, how you can find an interest that’s right for you, and ways you can translate that into a major that you enjoy.

High school is a critical time for every student to learn more about themselves. Trying new classes, clubs, and opportunities can make you feel appreciated for your growth and motivate you to pursue what sparks curiosity, paving the way for a brighter future.

Why this matters: Discovering activities you enjoy as a teenager can boost your confidence and empower you to make choices that align with your future aspirations. As you engage in these pursuits, you'll notice personal growth and confidence in your choices/decisions, and as you advance to more difficult tasks, you'll uncover aspects of yourself that you never thought possible.

Challenging yourself by trying new hobbies can also help you develop strong critical thinking skills. When we push ourselves out of our comfort zone to try new things, we begin strengthening our problem-solving muscles, often through tons of trial and error, which can make us feel more capable and confident in our problem-solving abilities.

Why this is important: Critical thinking is a skill you’ll heavily rely on throughout your academic, professional, and personal life. By working through challenges you face, you’ll start noticing patterns, develop your own methods of solving problems, and learn to make decisions based on what’s working. This will give you the strength to continue pushing when things get hard. Most importantly, you’ll gain the confidence to see challenges as opportunities for more growth.

Another reason prioritizing early exploration of interests is essential is that it gives you time to try new things. Sometimes, when we rush the hobbies we’re exploring, we might skip or rush through an activity. But by taking a little more time to explore and enjoy the process, we might find a connection to that activity and actually want to pursue it further.

Why this is important: Life can become stale when we repeat the same activities. But by stepping out of our comfort zone, we can unlock new possibilities for meeting new people, exploring new concepts, and thinking differently. These can all lead to greater resilience as we face more challenges throughout our lives and can help us build key skills for college and beyond.

Not every hobby we pick up will be the right fit for us. Sometimes, that might not go as planned, but viewing these moments as opportunities to build resilience can make you feel more empowered and confident in your ability to bounce back and grow from challenges.

Why this is important: Resilience is one of the most sought-after traits by colleges and employers alike—it shows you can learn, adapt, and grow. Additionally, overcoming initial discomfort when trying new activities can foster a deeper connection with ourselves, build self-efficacy, and broaden our perspectives. Not everything is going to work out the first time, but we get up and try again. And who knows, you might find you’re incredibly talented at it or just genuinely love it.

Discovering your interests early can also help you save time and avoid unnecessary pressure later. Your later years of high school will undoubtedly become busy, so taking the time to explore new and ongoing interests now can help you feel more in control and less overwhelmed as you prepare for college.

Why this is important: Remember how we mentioned self-efficacy earlier? Well, when you have more time and feel less frustrated, you tend to be able to take more time in any activity you choose, such as studying, sports, and pursuing potential interests. This helps you build that confidence to push forward, become more resilient, and believe in yourself more often. On the other hand, when you’re more rushed, those valuable lessons become harder to achieve due to time constraints.

If you’re not sure exactly where to start on your journey, you’ve come to the right place. There are many avenues you can travel down when trying to discover new hobbies, passions, and interests, such as internships, online courses, or volunteering—all of which can help you learn about yourself in the process!

Recognizing your passions can inspire confidence and help you feel more connected to your future choices, making the process of exploring majors feel more meaningful. The best first step in any self-discovery journey is to look inwards. Reflect on things you’ve worked on in the past, hobbies you enjoy, or even find memories of activities you took part in to help you understand what you’re currently working with/identify opportunities to try something new. 

Try this practice to help guide your reflection. Choose a quiet space, grab a sheet of paper and a pencil, and put a timer on for 10 minutes. Here are a few questions to think about:

• What are some of the things you like doing daily or weekly? 
• Are there hobbies, interests, or passions you could see yourself doing as a career? 
• Have you had any dream jobs you’ve always wanted to pursue as a kid? 
• Is there anything you’ve always been curious about but never tried?
• If you could do anything in the world, what would you choose?

You can also use personality and strengths assessments, such as Myers-Briggs or StrengthsFinder, to generate ideas.

Another great way to discover interests that could lead you to your dream college major is through exploring different activities that pique your interest. While you might not have all the time in the world, being able to set time aside to try something new each week can help bring a ton of clarity to your search, even if you don’t continue with those activities into the future. 

Wondering where to start? Take the reflection practice you just did as a starting point. See any activities you wrote down that you feel compelled to try? That’s a great place to begin your search. Use Google or other activity search platforms to help find clubs, organizations, or even unique ways to explore these extracurriculars or experiences on your own. Give it a try for a few weeks to see if you connect; if you don’t, go back to your list and try the next option.

Additionally, don't overlook free platforms like Coursera, edX, and YouTube to dip your toes into topics you’re curious about. You can often find new and exciting topics that may pique your interest and help you learn more about what you might like to pursue in the future!

Another great way to gain valuable experience and find something you connect with, all while boosting your college application, is to volunteer or take on an internship. These opportunities allow you to help your community or get involved in companies doing potential real-world work, all of which can help point you in valuable directions for your future.

There are dozens of unique ways to volunteer that look good to admissions officers, no matter your interests. Even more, you can make a genuine difference in your community or at a larger scale, revealing something new to you and leading you down new paths towards a bright, fulfilling future you enjoy. 

Another helpful way to find a passion or interest that speaks to you is through talking to others. Counselors, mentors, or professionals within fields you enjoy often have a ton of unique experiences and have found a way to do what you are interested in professionally, so they can be a great source of knowledge and support as you embark on this discovery journey. Even more, talking to others, especially those with more experience than ourselves, often helps us learn more about ourselves and potential careers or experiences we may not have ever considered. 

When connecting with potential mentors or professionals in the fields you’re most interested in, ask for informational interviews. These conversations will allow you to learn more about what the fields take to succeed, any good tips and tricks along the way, and how you can best find your own unique path forward as you move through high school, college, and beyond. Remember: Informational interviews don’t need to be formal—just a 20-minute chat can spark tremendous clarity.

Here are some places you can find and connect with mentors:

• LinkedIn
• Local colleges or universities
• Competitions, like hackathons, sports competitions, and debates
• Organizations and internships like the Harvard-Smithsonian Science Research Mentoring Program (SRMP), the Stanford IFSS Program, the UC Santa Barbara Research Mentorship Program, and more

Finally, choosing a single interest to pursue as a future major can be difficult, so why not combine different interests in unique ways? Many universities provide interdisciplinary majors to help students pursue new and creative careers and solve unique problems.

During the pandemic, Nicole, a current 10th-grade student, discovered her passion for cooking homemade meals using fresh fruits and vegetables from her own garden. She began experimenting with this new hobby, posting simple videos on social media to stay connected with her friends and family while documenting her journey. Slowly, her videos started to gain popularity, attracting a modest following and viewership, and ultimately forming a small community of gardening and cooking enthusiasts around the world. Although Nicole didn’t particularly enjoy science or math in school, she found great joy in learning how to improve the quality of her plants and enhance the flavors in her cooking, all while growing her personal brand.

Although Nicole was uncertain about her field of study, she had a successful hobby with a promising future. With the proper guidance and tools, she gradually developed a website and blog that began attracting traffic and generating a small income stream, alongside her social media presence and a small YouTube vlog. This enabled her to run a small personal business. After discussions with her counselor, she decided to pursue a potential double major in biology and industry at a university near home. This new and unique path was incredibly exciting for her and opened numerous opportunities for a bright future… all because she thought a bit outside the box and combined different things she loved!

If you’re like Nicole and may want to pursue an interdisciplinary major, there are many to choose from! Some examples include Cognitive Science (psych + CS), Environmental Economics (sustainability + policy), and Health Communications (bio + media studies). Be sure to do some research and get creative—you never know what might work best.

Check out these different extracurricular ideas from one of our Empowerly students to help spark some ideas:

Finding your own path forward to a major you love? It can be a tricky challenge, but it is also an exciting ride. With so many new doors to open and so many possibilities to explore, this time of self-discovery is one you shouldn’t take lightly. Take your time and enjoy the journey! 

If you need extra support and guidance, Empowerly is here for you. Our team of expert counselors and unique, individualized programs can help you discover new paths and build confidence along the way. Our team spends on average 25x more time with students than the average high school counselor, so you can feel confident that we’ll be here for you at every step of the journey, no matter your needs. Schedule a free consultation with our team, and we’ll help you get on the right path to success.

You’ve got this! We’ll be cheering you on every step of the way.

Here are some additional resources to help you get started!

https://empowerly.com/content-guides/empowerlys-guide-to-extracurriculars/

https://empowerly.com/grade-levels/8-factors-to-consider-when-choosing-a-major/

https://empowerly.com/majors/learn-to-choose-the-best-major-that-aligns-with-your-needs/