Picking which college to attend is a daunting and difficult task. Whether you want to be at the beach or in the mountains, it is always important to consider which major is right for you.

“You need to figure out what your major is first,” said Sarah Joyner, Career Development Coordinator. “CollegeBoard has a good college search where you can select a major as well as other things you want. If you want it to be a big school or have a football; It narrows it down from there.”

Changing a major while in college or transferring can lengthen a student’s time until graduation.

“At NC State,” said Joyner, “I started off in High School Education and switched to Business and Marketing Education. I lost five classes.”

In North Carolina, there are many great schools that offer a variety of majors, but what school is right for the major you want? Some major schools in North Carolina are UNC, Appalachian State, NC State, Duke, Wake Forest, and UNCW. Putting all sports rivalries aside, each one of these schools offers great programs that should be taken nto consideration before choosing a school.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Close to 16% of students working towards their Bachelors right now are majoring in Social Sciences. These students study the way that people think and why they think in those ways. According to socialsciencecareers.org, some possible occupations that a Social Science can lead to are Social Psychology and Social Work.

Appalachian State: One fifth of students at App State right now are Business majors. This math-intensive track sets students up to be successful in the business world in positions such as financial analysts and accountants, according to education-portal.com.

North Carolina State University: Almost one-quarter of the students currently at NC State are engineering majors. Mtu.edu reported that in 2014 the average salary for engineers was around $50,000 to $60,000 for entry level positions, but that number jumps up to roughly $90,000 as an average mid-career salary.

Duke University: Duke’s three most popular majors include Social Sciences, Engineering, and Biology. Not only does Duke offer many study abroad opportunities as well as valuable internships, payscale.com reports that the average Duke graduate makes close to $60,000 in their first year of working. For a young college graduate, $60,000 is not a bad amount of money.

Wake Forest University: Like Duke, Wake Forest is a private university that offers multiple majors, but the most popular is Social Sciences. Wake Forest has an excellent law school, so a social sciences degree may prepare a student up for great success going into law school.

University of North Carolina at Wilmington: UNCW is obviously a great choice for beach lovers, but it is important to consider more than location when choosing a college. The two top majors at “The Dub” include Business and Education. Wilmington is also known for its excellent, yet extremely competitive nursing program.

It is recommended to pick a major before choosing a college or university, but in many cases it is not absolutely necessary. Competitiveness, passion, and location are all also important factors that should be considered when deciding where to apply and enroll.

This information and much more can be found on CFNC.org as well as collegeboard.org.