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Abstract & Works Cited For Final Research Paper

Abstract: This final research paper explores the fact that an increasing number of students are choosing to enter college unsure of what major they are going to pursue. To better understand the students who make this decision, the paper explores the underlying causes and backgrounds of undecided students, and how their futures are impacted by their lack of decision at time of entry. It highlights the monetary, educational, and professional setbacks that an individual forfeits when they postpone their decision of a major to a later date proving that this choice is only an option for affluent students. The term “phase-adequate engagement” is used to describe how individuals engage in their own transitions including what goals and strategies they apply and the effectiveness of their strategies being categorized as adequate or inadequate. Undecided students are said to have inadequate phase-engagement because they lack the necessary tools to make an informed decision. This paper further discusses the negative consequences of selecting an undecided major that follow a student into their adulthood, when they face difficulty choosing a career. These individuals experience “Delayed Adulthood” because they only partially transition into adult roles after college due to their lack of decision making skills and career motivation.

 Link to Final Paper
Works Cited
Armstrong, Elizabeth A., and Laura T. Hamilton. Paying for the Party: How College Maintains Inequality. Harvard University Press, 2015.
Arum, Richard, and Josipa Roksa. Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses. The University of Chicago Press, 2011.
Arum, Richard, and Josipa Roksa. Aspiring Adults Adrift: Tentative Transitions of College Graduates. The University of Chicago Press, 2014.
Dietrich, Julia,P. Parker and K. Salmela-Aro. “Phase-Adequate Engagement at the Post-School Transition.” Developmental Psychology 48.6 (Nov. 2012):1575-93.
Freedman, Liz. “The Developmental Disconnect in Choosing a Major.” The Mentor (June 28, 2013), dus.psu.edu/mentor/2013/06/disconnect-choosing-major/.
George, Gallup. “Chapter 4: Picking A Career In College.” Teens & Career Choices, Mason Crest Publishers, 2005.
Gordon, Virginia N. The Undecided College Student: an Academic and Career Advising Challenge. Charles C. Thomas Publishers, Ltd., 2015.
Hansen, William. “OPINION: Research Confirms an Urgent Need to Improve How Students Are Supported When Choosing College Majors.” The Hechinger Report, 13 Nov. 2017.
Lewallen, Willard C., et al. Issues in Advising the Undecided College Student. 1994.
Nathan, Rebekah. “Student Culture and ‘Liminality.’” My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student, Penguin Books, 2006.
Onink, Troy. “Bad College Advice.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 8 Oct. 2012, www.forbes.com/sites/troyonink/2010/12/16/bad-college-advice-the-undeclared-major/.
Ronan, Gayle B. “College Freshmen Face Major Dilemma.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 29 Nov. 2005.
Selingo, Jeffrey J. “Six Myths About Choosing a College Major.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 3 Nov. 2017.
Uebel, Lisa. “Colleges Shouldn't Offer An Undecided Major.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 14 May 2015.
“Undecided.” Rutgers Undergraduate Admissions, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 2017, admissions.rutgers.edu/academics/find-your-major/undecided/new-brunswick.
Vesper, Nick, et al. Going to College: How Social, Economic, and Educational Factors Influence the Decisions Students Make. Mason Crest Publishers, 2003.

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