This is a graphical representation of the results of a survey conducted in 2012 at nine public universities. In the survey, researchers asked roughly 1800 students who influenced two of their biggest decisions: which college to attend and what to major in while attending college. As you can see parental influence was significant in determining which college to attend. When students were asked who influenced their major, the most common answer was, "myself". In my mind, what makes these results so compelling is that "myself" was not actually an option on the survey. Students who answered "Other" were given an open ended section to specify what they meant. Of the nearly 1800 students surveyed, 488 of them answered "Other" and then answered "Myself."
While the privatization of higher education causes tuition to rapidly increase, one would expect external factors, such as "Career or Earnings Goals", to be more influential in determining a student's college major choice. However, the results of this study suggest that internal factors, such as personal interest, are the most influential factors.
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