This article is an excerpt from the book Guide to College Majors

As you deliberate on your major, take a minute or two and think about why you're going to college in the first place. You might be heading off to school just because it's the thing you do after high school without giving much thought to what you want to accomplish once you're there. Figuring out why you're going to college at all is a good first step in figuring out what your major should be.

Do you want your college education to prepare you for a specific job? Career preparation is a popular and valid reason for heading to college. If this sounds like you, then consider a career-focused major like engineering, business, education, or nursing. Your education will be geared toward a specific vocation, and you'll likely take a job in that field when you graduate.

Another reason for attending college is to expand your knowledge in general, without a specific career in mind. Generally, in this case you should consider the liberal arts, since these majors emphasize critical thinking, creativity and integration of information, among other skills. Majoring in a field such as history often won't lead you to a specific type of job (how many actual historians do you know?), but you'll graduate with a whole slew of marketable and legitimate job skills, and you'll ideally be ready to test the waters in a variety of positions and industries.

Although everyone finds her major in her own way, we thought we'd give you some ideas here on how to start your search.

First, forget high school. You know what we mean. College is a whole new ball game. Subjects you hated senior year might turn out to be completely different in a brand-new time and place. Mind-numbingly boring civics might suddenly come alive; tear-your-hair-out calculus might suddenly become crystal clear and beautifully illustrated by the physical world around you. In other words, don't automatically rule anything out, even if you don't think it's for you. Give everything at least a small chance. You never know.

Now that you're open minded, take advantage of some of the general education courses you're required to take. Don't just pick whatever's easiest. If your college offers several courses that will fit the requirements, try to choose ones that strike an inner chord, even if they also sound more challenging. "Football Physics" might get you an easy A, but it probably won't make your pulse race or leave you with a real sense of achievement. And once you're in your classes, be aware of what really compels you. Did the lecture in calculus on Enlightenment philosophers have you on the edge of your seat? Did your ears perk up when your bio professor mentioned the debated origins of life? Have your radar on for clues that might be pointing you in new directions.

Bear in mind, however, that "testing" a major by taking a course in that field sometimes isn't the best way of investigating a major. Courses within a major often focus on a specific topic, and if you happen to find that one topic uninspiring, you might rule out the entire field prematurely. Look for introductory courses that are broad enough to paint a clear picture of what the major is like. Some colleges offer survey courses for just this reason. Or talk to your advisor or the head of the department for reasonable options.

Some other suggestions:

• Use your college bulletin. Take an afternoon and go through it page by page. Highlight any class that even remotely interests you. Notice any patterns? If you've marked two engineering classes and twenty English classes, well . . . your interests might be clearer than you think.
• Talk to your advisor about possibilities and doubts. That's why your advisor is there. Schedule a block of time for the two of you to discuss your host of options.
• Look online to find class syllabi. See what the assignments are like, what books are required, what sorts of essays must be written. Do the requirements for the courses in one major seem more palatable (i.e., interesting, not easy) than another? Try to pinpoint why. If you're drawn to math problem sets over essay assignments, that's another clue to where you might be headed.
• Discuss majors with upperclassmen, like your resident advisor. Are they happy with what they're studying? Are they inspired by the work they do? Do they look forward to class or dread it? Is the major what they'd thought it'd be? Why or why not? Try to find out what their interests are, and how they channel them through their major.
• Check out majors on PrincetonReview.com. We're continually adding new profiles of majors to the site. These include information on sample curriculum, the kind of material you'll study, and other related majors that can aid you in your search.
• Make a list of some careers you might eventually like to pursue. Read about them on PrincetonReview.com. We list majors that often lead to those careers.
• Talk to professionals in fields you find interesting. Ask them exactly what their jobs entail, how the jobs do (or don't) relate to their college majors, and what those college majors were. Learning about the paths others took to get where they are is often valuable and enlightening, and even more often, surprising.
• Pay attention to your passions. If you love playing video games, that might mean you'd love making them.

Got the idea?

Take a proactive role in exploring possible majors. Treat your search as another class, and devote as much time to this "homework" as to any other.

No one major is objectively better than any other, and different people are cut out for very different things. Meaning, your major does not determine your life. You do. Your values, personal ambitions, and dreams will ultimately be what propel you into the kind of life you desire. You may not know what career you want right now. But give some thought to the general sort of post-college life you want to build for yourself, and that, too, will help propel your decision on choosing a major.