Choosing a program of study is an important decision for community college students, in large measure because of the consequences it has on their future employment and earnings. Yet research indicates that many students enter community colleges without a clear idea of their intended major or how to select one. The lack of guidance provided to new and continuing students, along with the wide range of program offerings, means that many students may not consider unfamiliar high-value programs of study, such as those in STEM fields.
Using the first wave of survey data from students attending four community colleges (in California, Maryland, Ohio, and Texas) during their first two months of college, this report explores how students think about choosing a program of study, their certainty about their choice, and how well their educational and career goals align at the start of college. In the survey, students were asked to list multiple programs and careers they were considering and how confident they were about these choices.
The authors find that the majority of entering students who responded to the survey were considering multiple programs and careers, often in unrelated fields; at the same time, half the students reported being very certain about their selection of their first-choice program. The authors go on to discuss the implications of these and other findings for colleges seeking to better support students as they choose a program of study. Future reporting will describe findings from additional waves of the student survey to better understand how students’ decision-making might change over time.