If you haven’t selected a college yet, you may just want to pick your college and decide on a major later. Most colleges will let you stay “undeclared” or “undecided” for at least a year. After a year or so of taking real college classes, especially ones in a variety of majors or electives that you think are interesting, you’ll likely have a much better idea of what you’re interested in. If in doubt, choose a large, public university in an area that you would want to live and study in. A larger school will probably have a good variety of majors, and if you pick something that is only at another school, your credits are more likely to transfer than they would at a private school.

For picking the major itself, think about what you’re interested in. Yeah, I know that sounds cliche, but you’ve got to start somewhere. Think about your best subjects in school and ones that you liked, even if they were challenging. Also, talk to people. If you have parents you get along with, ask them. They’ve known you since you were born (unless you’re adopted) and have seen you in a variety of situations, including when you were very young. And they had to make the same decision, too, once upon a time. You can ask siblings, cousins, friends, or whoever. Just take every suggestion with a grain of salt. You know yourself better than just about anyone.

If that doesn’t work, you might seek professional help. Most colleges have career counselors who are trained to help with such decisions. I visited one at my school, and she gave me different tests, as well as online and electronic resources through the school. High school counselors can also help in similar ways.

If you’re an independent person, do research on your own using the internet. Career sites like Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com let you search through real job openings and have tons of articles. If you use FastWeb to search for scholarships, you already have an account with Monster, its parent company. There are plenty of other websites that compile information like lists of the best paying jobs for each degree, and the jobs most likely to grow over the next 20 years. You want to be able to find work with decent money once you graduate, right?

If all else fails, you can just select General Studies or whatever your school’s equivalent is. Some employers frown on such a degree, but at least you would be well rounded. And most of everyone’s bachelor’s degree is general education classes anyway. You might find something interesting you want to major in your junior year and still be able to graduate on time after switching! You never know.

The bottom line is that almost everyone struggles with this decision if they go to college. I’ve heard that over half of students switch majors at least once before graduating, and many people work in fields not directly related to their field of study. Just relax and take your time thinking about it. The worst thing is to rush into something and regret it later. You’d be amazed what a few months can do to give you insight.

Get acclamated to the college lifestyle first, get your gen ed courses out of the way, and see if anything pops out at you.