Every college student thinks about switching majors at some point in their college careers.  Maybe you’re all of a sudden not as passionate about organic chemistry as you were your freshman year, or maybe you can’t handle the intense workload of computer science, or maybe you can’t relate to the people in your classes and want a change.  There’s a million reasons to consider switching majors in college, but there are just as many reasons or excuses not too.  It’s one of those big decisions that can be life changing, so there are several things to consider.

First of all you may be thinking to yourself: “I’ve already come so far, spent the last X years in this major, I would be throwing all of that away if I switched now.”  However, think about what it means if you don’t switch out now.  You’ll be spending the rest of your life doing something that you’re not 100 percent passionate about.  You may always wonder what it would have been like to follow your gut feeling way back in college.  The most common misconception while you’re in college is the fact that your years in college are long.  They really aren’t in the grand scheme of things.  Four to six years of college is nothing compared to the rest of your life.

One option you may consider is taking a couple classes from the major you want to switch into before making the leap.  It may seem like a waste of time at first because you’re probably overwhelmed with classes you have to take for your current major, but it’s a lot better than jumping into another major and wanting nothing more than to return to your first choice.

The end of the semester is here—your professors will be calculating your grades very soon. Hopefully, you’re confident that you’ll be getting A’s in all of your classes. But, as anyone who has gone through college will tell you, that’s not very likely. What is likely is that you’re not too sure about some of your grades; and if you’re not doing so hot, you might be worrying about some of them. You only have a couple days (at the most) to convince your professor to kick your grade up a notch or two. What are you going to do?

This isn’t a useful strategy in this situation, but I have to say it. Next time, don’t let your grade fall throughout the semester! Work hard through your class, and you won’t have this problem.

But that’s not the case. You’re worried about your grade, so you’re trying to figure out what to do about it. One of the best ways to show your professor that you’re concerned about the class and working hard to improve your grade is to do really well on the final. Easier said than done, yes, but you have to work hard to get out of the hole you dug yourself into. Start early, and get some serious studying done. Use effective study strategies, get enough sleep, and get out there and slay the test. If you can get an A on the test, your professor might be willing to bump your grade up a bit. If you class has a final project instead of a final exam, do the same thing. You have to create a pretty strong impression, so don’t mess around.

If you’re not so confident in your abilities to impress your professor academically, you’ll have to take more direct measures. Go talk to your professor about the class. Don’t bring up the subject of your grade, but ask questions about the test or your project. Get some clarification on things you don’t understand. Show your professor that you want to turn your academics around and that you’re willing to work hard for the class.

Similarly, going to class-organized study groups is a great way to show your commitment. Your professor may show up to one of these sessions, or s/he might get a record of who attended. Even if the professor doesn’t find out that you were there, it’ll help you test-taking or project-completing.

An absolute worst-case scenario strategy is to directly approach your professor about your grade. This isn’t likely to work, and can be extremely awkward, so I don’t recommend it, but you might be able to get moved from an F to a D- if you make a really strong case. If you have to go this far, I wish you luck, because you’re going to have a tough time. But it could be worth it!

One of the most valuable things that you can receive as a student is good advice. There are many places that you can receive this advice—from teachers and professors, academic advisors, coaches, your parents, your friends, even this blog. But one of the best places to get good advice is from a mentor, someone dedicated to helping you out.

A mentor, really, is anyone older than you who takes you under their wing. Mentoring is about giving advice and offering guidance. This can be socially, academically, spiritually, or any other number of ways. Mentoring relationships are found between friends and family members as well as in other places. There are many formal mentoring programs, but there are just as many informal mentoring relationships. How you find one is up to you.

My alma mater has a great example of a college-level mentoring program. Alumni can sign up to be part of this program, and if they do, they are paired with an undergraduate student. Every so often, the mentor and the student meet for lunch and talk. It’s very informal and relaxed, and students can gain a great deal of useful information from the alumni. Sometimes it’s serious things, like how to make the right decision when it comes to declaring a major. Other times, it’s things like the best bars at which to find cute guys. It depends completely on the mentor and the student.

Whether you choose to engage in a formal mentoring program or just meet up with someone you look up to every once in a while, I highly recommend finding a mentor. You can use online directories, such as can be found through statewide mentoring partnerships, or talk to someone in at your school (usually academic counselors and career development services have good ideas on this topic). Mentoring is great for everybody, but it can be especially helpful for college students, so many campuses provide resources for making these connections. You can also find useful information on finding a mentor at Goal-Setting-College.com.

Once you’ve found a mentoring relationship, it’s important to be willing to put time and effort into it. This can be difficult if you’re not a socially outgoing person, but it’s crucial to the effectiveness of the relationship. And because there is so much that you can get out of it, it’s essential to be willing to step out of your comfort zone just a little bit to make the most of it. Ask questions, share stories, and get to know your mentor. It may be a little awkward at first, but most relationships are—so take some time, be patient, and you’ll be rewarded. Remember this experience, too, because you may find yourself on the other side of the table in a few years!

Mentoring is a very fulfilling experience, and I hope that you’re able to find a mentor that can help you throughout your college years. I also hope that you’ll step up as a mentor yourself one day!

Your connection to your college is, sometimes, like a relationship. Sometimes things are going really well; sometimes they aren’t so much. You have to put in work to make your experience a positive one. The administration and faculty of your university has to put forth effort, as well. And, like relationships, sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Maybe one party isn’t willing to put forth as much effort as the other would like. Or there’s just too strong of a personality difference. No matter the reason, you may feel like it’s time to part ways. And if this comes in the middle of the year, you’ll be making a mid-year transfer.

I’m slightly conflicted on transfers (especially mid-year ones). On one hand, I’d like to say “you should address the issue and see if you can make it better for yourselves and other students who may be having the same problem,” but on the other hand, I’m also of the mind that “if you don’t like where you are or what you’re doing, get out!” So it makes it difficult to make a general prescription. It really depends on your situation. I do, however, strongly encourage a good deal of thought (probably more than a letter-to-an-advice-column’s worth) about it. Transferring is a big deal, even if you haven’t been at your school very long. You’ll be going to a new campus, new students, new professors, and maybe a new city. Possibly even a new state. It’s a big change, especially in the middle of the year—and adding stressors like these can make it tough. So think about it before you make the decision.

If you’ve decided to transfer, my most important piece of advice is to start the process as early as possible. Let your academic advisor know, so he or she can help you out with the things you need to do. Contact the admissions office of the school you’d like to transfer too, as well, so you know exactly what is needed on their end. The more information you can gather, the easier the process will be.

One point to make sure to cover thoroughly is transferring credits. It’s important to not only get to the new school, but to take your classes with you. You’ve probably paid a lot of money to get the credits that you have, so do your best to make sure that your classes will apply towards graduation requirements at your new school.

Once you’ve gotten the formalities taken care of, it’s time to start familiarizing yourself with your new school. Go check it out, wander around the campus, and explore the city that it’s in. Find the nearest coffee shops, grocery stores, and pizza parlors. This will be your new home—get excited about it! It’s fun learning new places and meeting new people. It may be stressful, but you’ll have a good time. Good luck!

When high school students are trying to decide on which colleges to apply to, there are many factors to take into account. The school’s academic reputation, selectivity, size, job placement rate, and location are all important. One of the other factors that often comes up is whether the school is public or private. And while this can make a significant difference, it’s often negligible. Knowing the differences between public and private schools can be helpful, so I thought I’d lay out a few here.

One of the first differences that comes to mind is that many private schools are religiously affiliated, where as public schools are secular. This, like most other factors, can be either significant or pretty trivial. It depends on the particular university. My university, for example, was affiliated with the Catholic church. All students are required to take three theology courses (not all of them are necessarily Catholic- or even Christian-focused, however). I know of other religiously affiliated colleges that only require one or two theological courses, and I’m sure there are some that have no such requirements. On the other hand, there are some very conservative schools that have pretty strict requirements based on the tenets of their particular religion. So while this seems like it might be a big deal, it usually isn’t, and depends very much on the school.

Another common question about public and private schools is the cost. Public universities are often less expensive than private ones. There are some very expensive public colleges, but the most expensive will always be private. This is because the public schools receive state funding (this is why they are called “public”). One thing to keep in mind when comparing tuition costs is that public colleges usually have in-state and out-of-state tuition, so you may end up paying quite a bit more if you go to a public university in a state other than the one in which you live.

On the other hand, private colleges usually give away many more scholarships. There are quite a few schools that give at least some money to every incoming freshman, so the listed tuition cost can be a bit deceiving. This is a good thing to talk about with an admissions counselor—they have the best answers to questions like this one.

While most public universities are liberal arts schools and offer a great deal of education options, some private schools are more specialized. There are schools that focus on foreign languages, business, music, art, and just about any other field. And while many public schools have very strong programs in one of these areas, they’re often more focused on providing a well-rounded education. So if you know exactly what you plan on doing, you may want to consider a highly specialized private college.

Both public and private schools have advantages and disadvantages, so don’t limit yourself to one or the other when you’re choosing colleges to apply to. Every school has its merits and its downfalls—base your decisions on these instead, and you’ll end up at the right school.