paramount, there are a lot of (mostly private) colleges and universities out there which don’t mind accepting undeclared applicants with the goal of counseling them heavily to decide on a major ASAP but before sophomore year ends, at the latest.
Most of them are “liberal arts” colleges. That’s not such a bad thing … if money isn’t a problem or the kid has a scholarship. Not every kid knows what they want to do with their life at 18. Sometimes it is better for them to be away from home to figure it all out.
A couple of (OOS) schools I checked into for my youngest (when they were a jr/sr in HS) assigned academic advisors one on one to freshmen. These counselors would remember their names, walk with them on campus between classes and try to lunch with each one on their list and also bring them into their offices for “career aptitude tests.” They would also remain chained to their “charge’s” ankles during their college “career” to remind them of deadlines and keep abreast of their grades and progress they are making towards their chosen major.
My kid wasn’t interested in attending college OOS but I don’t see anything wrong with this if the money to attend isn’t a problem. In a small college (of less than 5K students), this is very doable and freshman often receive all these services, beginning upon their arrival to campus.
Rushing for selection into a Greek organization is also important for a freshman in the first month of college, IMO. Upon selection and indoctrination, the new frat/sorority member is automatically bestowed with tons of “support” from upperclassmen (or women, as the case may be) and they are immediately assigned an older “sister” or “brother” who will likely be “shadowing” them for awhile to the point of annoyance (to make sure the new member learns the “lay of the land” quickly and assimilates into their classes). Every member is required to show up at weekly meetings in business attire (WITH a blazer), NOT tight shirts/tops and skinny jeans with holes in them or gangsta clothing. It’s part of the whole experience of becoming an adult and getting out of the crass, public HS homie mindset.
I think a lot of kids are still trying to figure out who they are and what they want even at 18-20 years old. Again, if money isn’t a problem and/or the kid has a scholarship, what’s the harm? I’ll repeat here that its better than sitting in mom and/or dad’s back bedroom after HS playing video games and working at Starbucks while “pretending” to take 1-2 classes at a time at CC while constantly texting to meet up with your homies that you’ve known since K.
It’s the same concept as putting your kid in preschool and/or pre-K to learn rudimentary academics, social skills and how to be a friend and good student in elem school. I think most parents would agree that sending their kid(s) to preschool and/or pre-K was a good investment.
