How many Louisiana graduates regret their college major?
More than half of the undergraduate degrees awarded at some of Louisiana’s largest colleges may be in fields that graduates later regret studying, an analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Education and the Federal Reserve Board shows.
The Federal Reserve Board’s report on the “Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2021” shows that around 38% of those surveyed said they would have picked a different field to study in college if they could go back, with areas like the humanities, social sciences and vocations seeing the greatest share.
Louisiana’s largest colleges – those with at least 5,000 undergraduate students – gave out a significant number of degrees in those areas during the 2020-2021 year, according to federal education data, with around 44.1% of degrees being in fields that at least 40% of the Fed study respondents regretted studying.
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What fields did people regret the most?
Nearly half – around 48% – of graduates that studied humanities or the arts said they would pick a new field, according to the survey. Close behind at 46% was behavioral and social sciences, followed by undeclared or other at 44%.
Around 42% of respondents that went through vocational training or studies at a college said they would pick a new field, as did 40% of those that studied education.
Thirty-seven percent of business graduates would pick a new field, as would 36% of those who studied life sciences, 36% of those who studied law, and a third of graduates in physical sciences or mathematics.
A third of graduates who studied health said they would pick a new field, as did 32% of computer or informational sciences graduates. The major with the least regret listed in the study was engineering, with around 24% saying they would select a new field.
How many Louisiana students study in these areas?
The majors listed in the survey make up between 79% and 99% of the undergraduate degrees awarded at Louisiana’s largest higher education institutions – colleges with at least 5,000 undergraduates.
The colleges include: Bossier Parish Community College in Bossier City, Delgado Community College in New Orleans, LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, McNeese State University in Lake Charles, the University of New Orleans, Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Southern University in Baton Rouge, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Tulane University in New Orleans, South Louisiana Community College in Lafayette, and Baton Rouge Community College.
Around 44% of the undergraduate degrees awarded by these schools in 2020-2021 were in fields where at least 40% of respondents said they would choose another field – humanities/arts, social/behavioral sciences, vocations, and education.
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BRCC has the highest proportion of these graduates with more than 81% of the degrees going in those areas. Two other schools – SLCC and Delgado – had more than 50% of their degrees go to those fields.
The community colleges leading the pack in that measure isn’t necessarily surprising, as they would be the only institutions with a significant number of students earning vocational degrees or certifications.
Louisiana Tech had the lowest proportion of high-regret degrees, with less than a quarter of undergraduate degrees being in those fields.
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This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Report: A third of Louisiana students and grads regret their major
