Survey: 35% of US College Grads Would Choose Different Major if They Could Go Back

35 percent of college graduates in the United States would choose a different major if they could go back, according to a new report. Among these, the most regretted major is social and behavioral sciences, while the least regretted are STEM programs.

The “Economic Well-Being of the US Households in 2023” report released by the Federal Reserve reveals over 40 percent of graduates regret their decision to study social and behavioral sciences, humanities and arts, as well as life sciences and law, Erudera.com reports.

“Among adults who attended an educational program beyond high school and were not currently enrolled in an educational program, the changes they said they would now make to their educational decisions were also related to the type of educational program they completed most recently,” the report explains.

44 percent of graduates who majored in social and behavioral sciences, 43 percent in humanities and arts, and 43 percent who studied life sciences said they would change their field of study. Other most regretted majors are law and education.

On the other hand, engineering is the least regretted college major, with only 27 percent of graduates saying they would pick something else if they had another chance. Fewer people who majored in like computer sciences, health, or business and management would also choose a different field of study.

According to the report’s findings, the following list shows the most often regretted majors:

• 44 percent of graduates regret studying social and behavioral sciences.
• 43 percent would not choose humanities and arts again.
• 43 percent regret majoring in life sciences.
• 41 percent would not study law.
• 38 percent would choose another field of study instead of education.

The least likely to regret their field of study are:

• Engineering graduates (27 percent)
• Computer and information sciences graduates (31 percent)
• Health graduates (32 percent)
• Vocational/technical training graduates (34 percent)
• Business/management graduates (34 percent)

“Those whose most recent educational program was engineering, computer and information sciences, or health reported the lowest rates of saying they would choose a different field for their undergraduate degree,” the report adds.

A majority of adults (73 percent) who studied engineering said an engineering degree is worth the cost. Additionally, people who majored in other fields also said the benefits of their degrees exceeded the cost.

In 2022, another survey by Zip Recruiter, an American company that helps job seekers and employers looking to hire, found that journalism was the most regretted field of study, with a total of 87 percent of graduates saying they would not study it.

Computer and information sciences, as well as engineering, were also back then the least regretted fields, at 72 percent and 71 percent, respectively.

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