Going to college requires students to make a lot of choices. Once they have determined which colleges to attend, they must decide what to major in. This requires students to consider both their personal interests and career aspirations.

First, they should consider in which academic areas they are talented. These areas may open doors to obtain scholarships, which can be enormously helpful when considering how they will be paying for college. For example, students obtaining good grades in biology may be eligible for merit-based scholarships if they pursue a major in biology or a related major.

Next, they should consider career fields of interest. In addition to a desire to work in a particular field, they should consider the job growth in these fields to determine their overall viability. Some career fields may offer college money in the form of grants. For example, people planning to pursue careers as teachers, doctors, nurses or other careers in demand may be eligible for a variety of grants from government and professional organizations.

After that, they should review the credit requirements for the college majors they are interested in. Some majors, such as some types of engineering, often require students to complete the equivalent of five years of education for a bachelor's degree. They should consider whether the time required to complete their chosen majors fits in with their overall academic and career plans. If not, they should review other college majors and see if there are related majors that do not require as many credits.

Lastly, they should realistically consider their own academic capabilities. Both schedule requirements and academic strengths are important to consider. For example, students pursuing education degrees must complete three months of student teaching. People who work full-time day jobs may have constraints on the amount of time they can spend away from their full-time employment. Additionally, students strong in one academic area but weak in another may not perform well if they to pursue majors in subjects that are not their strong suit. For example, students who are strong in English and writing but weak in math and science are unlikely to do best when pursuing physics as a future career.

When students take honest inventories of their academic strengths and weaknesses, schedule limitations, personal desires and career aspirations, they can narrow down their college major options and choose majors they will enjoy studying, perform well in, and utilize in their chosen careers.