“What’s your concentration?” is a question all of us have heard one too many times. Even freshmen are faced with the infamous question, despite having months before they need to make their decision. The expectation is clear—we all need to have a defined path from the moment we step on campus. With course registration opening in early April, the pressure felt from day one is only building. As a result, Harvard students who were taking their time to choose a concentration may expedite an important, life-altering process. Instead, it is important to free ourselves from these expectations and understand the time we have at our disposal to choose a concentration that speaks to our interests and goals.
It is true that concentrations are often flexible and are certainly not the end-all-be-all in the career you pursue. An English concentrator can just as well decide to pursue a career in medicine, and a biology concentrator can go on to become a teacher. However, if you take all the time at your disposal to better understand what it is you truly want to do, the time you spend in college studying that subject will give you an advantage when entering the workforce.
Additionally, for students who are hoping to attend medical school or other graduate school programs, what you major in while in college can be crucial to your acceptance. Studies have additionally shown that a student’s choice of major in college stands to greatly impact their future earning, listing Operations Research as the highest paying major post-graduation at a yearly salary of $112,097, and Cosmetology as the lowest, at $16,072. When so many things are at stake, hastily choosing a concentration can stand to have great financial and lifestyle consequences.
For those who are set on financial success, grades are likely of extreme importance to you. Yet, hard work and dedication might not be enough to get you that 4.0. Doing something that you love can be just as crucial to your success, so it is important to take the time to find what that might be. Research has shown that students who choose a major that aligns with their true interests are more likely to graduate with higher GPAs, while students who do the opposite can experience issues with engagement and retention. Think back on some of the most boring classes you have had to suffer through. It was likely infinitely harder to focus in those classes than in ones where you found genuine interest in the subject matter. So, while you may have been kicking yourself for daydreaming in class when tests came around, your inability to engage was not entirely your fault. When we are genuinely interested in a subject matter, we pay closer attention in class, process information with more efficiency, and can more readily employ our self-regulatory skills. So, make it easy for yourself, and take the time to choose something you love.
Your concentration additionally has the power to affect your overall well-being. Declaring a concentration means dedicating significant time and energy to working with the subject matter, so it is important that you are passionate about what you choose. With 57 concentrations to choose from and a myriad of career paths that stem from each, finding what speaks to you requires time and consideration.
Taking classes in different fields, involving yourself in related material outside of the classroom, and using the summer after your first year to continue exploring your passions allows you to enter sophomore year ready to choose something that excites you, instead of making a premature decision. While students often worry that this wastes valuable time which could be used towards developing skills within a concentration, this process allows you to develop a more diverse skill set that applies to a range of academic fields, including the concentration you may decide to pursue.
Furthermore, when students are greatly concerned about wasting time, switching concentrations is something to be avoided at all costs. The process can be difficult, time-consuming, and can cost semesters worth of time that could have been used to fill requirements. If you choose your concentration without giving yourself enough time to make a decision you are confident in, you may later have to face the consequences of such a hasty choice.
There are more than 3,700 courses at Harvard, each offering instruction on anything from Taylor Swift to Cancer Biology. Your first year, while you have the freedom to explore various courses without the pressure of fulfilling concentration requirements, is the perfect moment to try out something new and exciting. This time can also be used to meet with advisors or get to know professors and students within different concentrations.
When time is given to you, take advantage of it. There is no rush to decide on a concentration before sophomore fall, so dive into all the opportunities at your fingertips while you can and discover what calls to you before committing to something with the potential to have a significant impact on your life.
Sophia Ghafouri ’27 (sghafouri@college.harvard.edu) is rethinking her decision to concentrate in Economics.