Tara Malone didn’t know what she wanted to major in when she was vetting colleges as a high schooler.

“It killed me because I am that type of person that, I always want to plan and I usually have everything together, and so I came in undecided and I was just, I was very, very flustered about it. I wasn’t happy about it at all,” says Malone, now 19 and a sophomore at Louisiana State University–Baton Rouge studying chemical engineering.

“A lot of high schoolers these days are just overwhelmed with the amount of options that are out there,” says Liz Fujita, a coordinator in the Center for Pre-College Outreach at Michigan Technological University and a 2012 graduate of the school, who works with local middle and high schoolers. She was undecided on a major at first, too, but ultimately earned a dual degree in mathematical and social sciences.

[Find out the pros and cons of applying to college as an undecided major.]

But Malone, a Mandeville, Louisiana, native, also had some reservations about the school she chose.

“I looked at the schools and there wasn’t one that was calling to me the most, but I knew I had to make a decision and I did and I ended up loving it,” says Malone. “Sometimes you really do have to just jump into something and you won’t know until you are in it.”

Here are three factors that undecided students should consider when vetting colleges.

1. A strong general education curriculum that allows students to explore: A strong, structured core curriculum allows students to explore many different academic areas and opportunities they have intellectually, says Wes Waggoner, associate vice president for enrollment management at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and a former high school counselor.

Sammie Farmer, a senior at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, landed on her major of international affairs, with a concentration in peace studies and a minor in economics, by taking a course as part of the college’s core requirements freshman year.

The now 21-year-old took an international politics class and really liked it. She realized she had taken many other core courses that fit within international affairs, an interdisciplinary major that covered many of the topics she wanted to learn about.

[Get advice from current students on choosing a college major.]

2. A lot of academic programs to choose from: But students should see if schools are flexible with students changing or adding majors and minors if they decide they want to study something else, says Waggoner.

If they go to a school that’s too big, it may be harder to move around, he says.

Ohio State University–Columbus has more than 200 majors, which can be intimidating to some students, says Amy Treboni, director of the university exploration program.

But undecided students shouldn’t limit their options by selecting a school just because it doesn’t have as many majors, she says. Majors have similarities, so if students determine they don’t like a particular subject, such as biology, they could rule out similar majors or ones that share characteristics they don’t like.

Treboni suggests students look for schools with many resources and guidance to help students choose a major.

3. Faculty that are available to students: Undecided students may find faculty can be helpful when picking a major. Faculty can provide mentorship, ideas and inspiration, and show students the possibilities within a particular major or subject area, says Waggoner, of SMU.

Francesca Thomas, a 22-year-old senior at Miami University–Oxford in Ohio, says she was undecided on a major when she started school. After connecting with Ritter Hoy, a family friend in the news and public information office at the school who is now her mentor, she was inspired to major in media and culture. Later she added a family studies major.

Waggoner suggests prospective students see how willing faculty are to talk when they visit campus, or by phone or email. They could also look at a school’s faculty-student ratios, average class sizes, especially for freshman courses, and figure out who teaches freshmen — tenured faculty or graduate students.

[Consider out-of-school experiences to help choose a college major.]

Thomas says undecided students should take everything they feel into account when vetting schools. One campus visit isn’t always going to help students make a decision, she says, and that’s OK.

“You don’t necessarily have to fall in love right away.”

Farmer, the Marquette student, tells applicants, “It’s a one-year decision.”

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3 Things Undecided Majors Should Look for in Colleges originally appeared on usnews.com