Of those ACT-tested students who were enrolled in college for a second year of study, 81% continued in the same major area that they declared during their first year of college, whereas 19% declared a major in a different major area.

Persistence within a major area between the first and second year of college differs by the broad area in which the students had declared a major (see Figure 4). For example, nine out of 10 second-year students (90%) who declared a major in the area of Repair, Production, and Construction during their first year of college persisted in that area during the second year of college. In only three areas—Philosophy, Religion, and Theology; Health Administration and Assisting; and Area, Ethnic, and Multidisciplinary Studies—had fewer than three out of four students persisted in their declared major area from the first to the second year of college.

Eighty-eight percent of students who were still enrolled in college re-enrolled at the same college for a second year of study, whereas 12% transferred to another college for a second year of study. Students who re-enrolled at the same college were nearly twice as likely to persist within the area of their declared major between their first and second year of college as students who transferred to another college. Specifically, 83% of non-transfer students and only 47% of transfer students persisted in their first-year declared major area for the second year of college.

Students who re-enrolled at same college. Of the students who re-enrolled at the same college, 20% attended a two-year college for both years of study, whereas 80% attended a four-year college for both years. Persistence within a major area for students who re-enrolled at the same college differs by the level of the college that they attended. Whereas 83% of four-year college students persisted in the same major area from the first year to the second year of college, a somewhat larger share of two-year college students (86%) continued in the same major area over the same time period.

There were some declared major areas, however, in which four-year college students persisted within their major areas at relatively higher rates than that of their two-year college peers (see Table 4). For example, four-year college students who declared a major in areas such as Architecture; and English and Foreign Languages were more likely than two-year college students to have persisted within these major areas. On the contrary, two-year college students who declared a major in areas such as Health Administration and Assisting; and Agriculture and Natural Resources Conservation were more likely than four-year college students to have persisted within these major areas.

Table 4. Declared Major Areas with Largest Discrepancies in Within-Major Persistence Rates by College Level Among Students Who Re-enrolled at the Same College

Students who transferred to another college. Sixteen percent of two-year college students and 11% of four-year college students transferred to another college for their second year of study. Of these students, 11% transferred from a two-year college to another two-year college, 17% transferred from a two-year college to a four-year college, 40% transferred from a four-year college to another four-year college, and 32% transferred from a four-year college to a two-year college.

The rate at which transfer students persisted in the area of their declared major differs by the college level of the first institution attended and the direction of their transfer. Students who transferred between two four-year colleges have the highest rate of persistence within their major area (at 51%), followed by students who transferred between two two-year colleges (47%), students who transferred from a two-year college to a four-year college (44%), and students who transferred from a four-year college to a two-year college (40%).

Overall, a slightly larger share of males (82%) than females (79%) persisted in the same declared major area between the first and second years of college. Gender differences are more prominent, however, within specific declared major areas (see Table 5). For example, females were more likely than males to persist in declared major areas such as Health Administration and Assisting; and Health Sciences and Technologies. Males, on the other hand, were more likely than females to persist in declared major areas such as Engineering Technology and Drafting; and Computer Science and Mathematics. 

Table 5. Declared Major Areas with Largest Discrepancies in Within-Major Persistence Rates by Gender

In general, students with the highest levels of entering academic achievement were more likely than their peers with lower academic achievement to have persisted within the same major area between the first and second years of college (See Figure 5). Among students in the score ranges of 1–15 through 24–27, roughly eight out of 10 students persisted within their declared major area, compared with 84% of students in the score range of 28–32 and 89% of students in the score range of 33–36.

Persistence within a declared major area differs by whether the declared major area was consistent with students’ precollege plans. Eighty-four percent of second-year students who declared a major during the first year of college in an area that was consistent with their plans persisted in that major in the second year of college, compared to 76% of students who had declared a major that was inconsistent with their plans. This advantage in the within-major persistence rate for students who initially declared a major that was consistent with their plans holds across all declared major areas.

Among first-year students who did not declare a major consistent with their plans, those whose declared major was an improvement in fit with their measured interests were more likely than their peers to persist in their declared major area. Specifically, 79% of students who improved their Interest-Major Fit between their planned and declared majors persisted in their declared major area. In comparison, 76% of students who had no change in their Interest-Major Fit and 74% of students whose Interest-Major Fit worsened persisted in their declared major area.

The Interest-Major Fit index measures the strength of the relationship between the student’s profile of ACT Interest Inventory scores and the profile of interests of students in a given major. Thirty-six percent of second-year college students who declared a major during the first year of college chose a major that is a good fit with their interests as measured by the ACT Interest Inventory; another 32% had a moderate Interest-Major Fit, whereas 32% had a poor fit. As with the consistency between students’ declared and planned major, the extent to which students’ first-year declared major aligns with their measured interests is a good predictor of whether they will persist in that major between the first and second year of college. Specifically, 83% of students who had a good fit between their first-year declared major and their interests persisted in that major area in the second year of college, compared to 81% of students with a moderate Interest-Major Fit and 77% of students with a poor Interest-Major Fit. This same positive relationship held across all planned major areas but in Architecture; Health Administration and Assisting; Philosophy, Religion, and Theology; and Social Sciences and Law. In these major areas, there is no definitive relationship between Interest-Major Fit for students’ declared major and their persistence within those major areas.