Planned Major Status

When students register for the ACT, they can select a college major that they plan to enter upon enrolling in college. Among ACT-tested graduates, 79% selected a specific planned major, whereas 15% indicated that they were undecided; 6% did not provide a planned major (i.e., Missing).

Chart Table

Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates with Different Planned Major Statuses by ACT Composite Score, 2013

ACT Composite Score Range	Selected a Planned Major	Undecided	Missing
1–15	71%	12%	17%
16–19	80%	13%	7%
20–23	82%	15%	4%
24–27	81%	16%	2%
28–32	80%	18%	2%
33–36	78%	20%	2%

Graph reads: 17% of the ACT-tested high school graduating class of 2013 with an ACT Composite score in the range of 1–15 did not provide a planned major at the time of ACT registration.

A larger share of students with scores in the middle of the ACT Composite score scale selected a planned major relative to the share of students at either the lower or upper ranges of the score scale.
The percentage of students who were undecided about their planned major choice increases with ACT Composite score.
Conversely, the percentage of students who did not provide a planned major decreases with their ACT Composite score.

Chart Table

Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates with Different Planned Major Statuses by Gender, 2013

Planned Major	Female	Male
Selected a Planned Major	82%	77%
Undecided	14%	16%
Missing	5%	8%

Graph reads: 82% of female students from the ACT-tested high school graduating class of 2013 selected a planned major when they registered for the ACT.

Note: Based on 99.5% of the ACT-tested high school graduating class of 2013 who reported gender.