Correction appended
Like many of her Weinberg peers, Debbie Myung arrived at Northwestern last fall unsure what she wanted to study. She was thinking about majoring in chemistry, but by Spring Quarter, she had realized that a science major wasn’t for her.
As a sophomore, Myung needs to declare a major by the end of this year. She’s now considering an anthropology major, which she would like to pair with a political science minor or an international studies adjunct major. Or something like that.
“I’m considering a pre-law track, which is why I think those would help,” said Myung. “I’m being a little vague because I’m not totally sure.”
Myung is far from alone. The Office of the Registrar has not reported official enrollment figures for this year, but last fall, 2,015 degree-seeking Weinberg students had not declared a major, according to the office.
To help undecided students, the Academic Advising Center and University Career Services held two workshops Monday called “Choosing a Major.” The quarterly workshops took place Monday in the Wildcat Room in Norris University Center.
While both coordinating offices heavily marketed the event, only three students showed up.
The Northwestern academic advising system includes peer advisors, faculty advisors, school advising departments and athletic academic advisors in addition to the two centers. Yet even with so many options, some students are unsure where to look for help.
Christina DuBreuil, a freshman in Weinberg and the School of Music, has not declared her Weinberg major yet. She said she is interested in both history and writing, and she is also considering transferring into McCormick.
DuBreuil said she thinks her Weinberg advisor will be able to help her decide on a major, but she might seek extra guidance as well. When asked where she would go for the additional help, she didn’t know.
“I haven’t looked into it yet,” she said. “Hopefully I’d find somewhere that could help.”
Monday’s workshops were aimed at helping students like DuBreuil, but like the vast majority of students, she did not attend. The emptiness of the Wildcat Room did not escape the workshop organizers, Gregory Cera and Mary Lou Taylor.
“Often we struggle with attendance,” said Cera, assistant director of academic advising .
“Well, you never know,” said Taylor, UCS senior career counselor. “We’ve had 10, 12 (students), but not recently. Recently it’s been one or two people coming in.”
Taylor and Cera agreed that a lower attendance can be beneficial as it allows them to give the students more attention. The students who attended the first session on Wednesday left satisfied.
Weinberg sophomore Elyse Glab came in for advice on deciding whether psychology or economics would be a better fit for her.
At Taylor’s suggestion, Glab now plans on taking either the Myers-Briggs Instrument or the Strong Interest Inventory, two assessments offered by UCS that help students identify areas of interest.
The other attendee, Weinberg sophomore Sophie Meyers, came in with an interest in both history and sociology but no declared major. After the workshop, she said she plans on doing more research talking with department faculty.
Cera and Taylor have experimented with holding the workshop at different times during the week to increase attendance, and they try their hardest to advertise them in advance, Cera said. But while he said a full room would be ideal, the workshops are just a small part of the role that the two offices – and the university as a whole – plays in helping students choose majors.
“There are so many advising resources available to students, both within their schools and outside their schools, that on the whole I believe students do receive the support they need for choosing a major,” he said.
Myung admits that she hasn’t been “desperately seeking” academic advice. While she still needs to declare a major in the next two quarters, she said both she and the system share responsibility.
“I don’t think that I blame Career Services or the university,” she said. “I think a lot of it has to do with me. But at the same time, I haven’t felt that much outreach from them.”
Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story included an incorrect number of undeclared Weinberg students. The number is 2,015.
