How to pick the right major for you

ORLANDO, Fla. – There are 5,300 colleges and universities for a student to choose from in the U.S.

Last year, over 19 million students went to a college, with more than 7.6 million over the age of 25. Each student has an important decision to make that will have a lasting effect on their life.

A major is one of the most important decisions a student will have to make. Yet, 75% of them start college without one or change it. With so many options out there, how did they decide on one?

According to a study by Niche.com, the most popular major in 2017 was humanities, with over 600,000 degrees awarded. Nursing, business, health professions, and biology were in the top five as well.

Zety.com suggests choosing your major based on your passions, interests and values. The website also suggests looking toward the future into things such as employment and stability. A study by Georgetown University showed that education and health have the lowest unemployment rate. And according to Kiplinger.com, the best major for money is electrical engineering with over one million job postings a year and photography is the worst with less than 10,000 postings.

Students who go into college without a major are called exploratory students. They have until the beginning of their junior year or earlier to declare a major.