Dear Parents,

Spring break comes early at Notre Dame this year, and try as I may, it is difficult to think of March 5 as Spring especially with snow still on the ground. I think most students will be glad to get away for a week from South Bend and its gray skies. Despite the weather, the first part of the semester has been a good one with the New York Philharmonic at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and both our women’s and men’s basketball teams performing well.

In addition to the day-to-day activity of classes, papers and exams, student concerns during this semester turn to more long-range planning. By the end of March, students must declare an intended college program for their sophomore year. For some the decision is simple and was made months, even years, ago. Our experience shows that the majority of students are much less clear about their goals and find this period of decision making very difficult. I suspect that this may be related to a very insightful comment by Sally Brown of Peanuts fame: "How can I know what I want when I don't know who I am?" This can be a difficult question when you are eighteen.

I want to share with you the resources that we make available to students to assist them with their decision. As you speak with them over the next few weeks, please encourage them to avail themselves of the opportunities that are provided.

I am including with this letter a reprint of an article, "Major Decisions: How to pick your major in college," which appeared in Notre Dame Magazine in the winter of 1987. We make this article available to first-year students, and I thought that you would enjoy reading it. The article speaks eloquently of the principles which should govern the choice of a college and eventually of a major. I am also including a letter from Mr. Lee Svete, the director of Notre Dame's Career Center, in which he offers some words of advice.

In the First Year of Studies we offer a web based assessment tool called MyRoad, which helps students to explore their interests. This well researched and up-to-date program provides an instrument for self-assessment with links to information on dozens of majors and related careers including interviews with students and professionals who have pursued these educational paths. Students can gain access to MyRoad by meeting with their advisors.

The program choices available to first-year students include: Arts and Letters, Business, Engineering, Science, and Architecture. Those choosing Arts and Letters may indicate a major if they are prepared to make this commitment, but a major choice is not required until the junior year. The College of Business has a common sophomore year curriculum and students are not permitted to begin a major until the junior year.

Students who are planning to study engineering should choose a major at this time from aerospace, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, and mechanical engineering, or from environmental geosciences and computer science. Science students should also choose a major at this time from biological sciences, environmental sciences, chemistry, biochemistry, mathematics, physics, preprofessional studies (pre-medical and other health-related professions), and collegiate sequences (science-business, science-computing, science-education). Students pursuing the five-year architecture degree should currently be enrolled in architecture courses.

The months of February and March are devoted to providing students with information relevant to their decisions about college programs. The Dean's Newsletter and postings on the First Year of Studies home page give students details about all upcoming programs (http://fys.nd.edu/). The First Year of Studies works closely with the other academic units to set up these sessions.

Several information sessions took place during late February and more are scheduled for March which can help students with program choices. The College of Arts and Letters will sponsor an Information Fair in which all departments will participate on Wednesday evening, March 16. All colleges will sponsor Information Sessions in March after the break.

Advisors in the First Year of Studies are available to answer questions and suggest strategies for decision making. However, in the final analysis, each student must decide which program to pursue. Knowledge, including self-knowledge and knowledge about the various programs, is a pre-requisite for making an informed decision. I encourage you to support your daughters and sons as they make these important choices, but don't make the choices for them.

The midsemester break marks the three-quarter point in your children's first year. I hope that Notre Dame has been a good experience for them and that you have seen them grow in wisdom and age and grace. I hope too that over the past six months you have come to feel a part of the Notre Dame community. If there is some special way that we can be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

As we wait together for the warmth of spring and the new life that we celebrate at Easter, may Notre Dame, our mother, strengthen and inspire you.

Sincerely,

Eileen Kolman, Ph.D.
Dean

219 Coleman-Morse Center --- Notre Dame, IN 46556-4617 Phone 574-631-7421 --- Fax 574-631-8141 --- E-mail - fys.1@nd.edu Copyright © 2002 University of Notre Dame