By Rhea Choudhary | Staff Writer
“Just explore. You don’t have to decide yet. You can figure it out later.”
It is this kind of advice that college students, usually first-year and second-year ones, are hearing constantly from advisers, professors, mentors and friends. It is meant to be reassuring, a reminder to take it slow, noting that not everyone has their life perfectly mapped out at 18.
However, for many students, this advice is neither freeing nor relieving. It simply feels more stressful because, unfortunately, not everyone can afford to “figure it out later.”
There is an assumption not spoken about that comes with that phrase, that the time, financial stability and career flexibility are all equally accessible to every student. They’re not. The ability to explore different major options, easily switch career paths or prolong decisions usually depends on something talked about much less: your financial and family background.
Many students see college as a time to freely experiment, but for others, it is a high-stakes investment they can’t afford to mess up.
Research supports the claim that this divide is real. According to studies on cultural demographics of career decisions, students from lower-income backgrounds have a higher chance of choosing “safe,” career-oriented majors, such as nursing, accounting or education, due to those paths holding stability and a reliable return on investment.
On the other hand, students who come from higher-income families are statistically more likely to pursue fields with more unpredictable futures but higher long-term payoffs, including careers in the arts or humanities. The difference in picking between these careers is one choosing a safety net over ambition.
When a student’s family can support them financially if things don’t work out, “figuring it out later” is a choice for them. But when they can’t, it is a risk many are not willing to take.
That risk can lead to real costs.
Changing your major, adding a minor or merely taking an extra semester to decide can usually mean staying in university for longer, thus paying more. Financial aid is not an indefinite option. The most common federal programs, including Pell Grants, are limited to around 12 semesters. For students who heavily need that aid, an extra semester can mean losing the ability to afford college.
That reality can turn one’s indecisiveness into higher costs.
It can be easy for students to romanticize “finding yourself” in college; for students working part-time jobs, who are responsible for taking care of family or just trying to graduate with less or no debt, their exploration can only reach so far. Each additional class and delayed decision has a negative effect.
Nonetheless, finances are not the only pressure.
For first-generation and minority students, choosing a major is not just about personal interest; it also reflects one’s sense of responsibility. Their career decisions encourage them to consider their family’s expectations, financial security and willingness to give back to a community that may have sacrificed in the first place to make college possible at all.
This inevitably creates a tension that the usual “follow your passion” advice barely recognizes.
As an example, a study from Wichita State University revealed that Asian American students reported increasingly greater difficulty in making career decisions because of cultural and familial expectations in comparison to their white peers. Those students don’t just think of “figuring it out” as personal but as relational.
Statistics can support this uncertainty, as stated in a survey conducted by BestColleges. Sixty-one percent of college graduates said they would go back postgrad and change their major if they could. That statistic is proof that it is okay to not have everything figured out.
However, it also shows that many students don’t have the chance to make the “right” choice when picking their future the first time around, and not everyone can afford a second one.
Similarly, college is becoming less generous. 2025 Data from the National College Attainment Network shows that only around 35% of public four-year universities were considered affordable for the average family. When access to higher education is already a financial struggle for many, the margin for error decreases even more.
None of these facts means students should not be exploring; in fact, exploring is essential. College should be the time and place for students to grow, question themselves and make change. However, we need to be more realistic and honest about who actually has the freedom to do so.
Telling students to “figure it out later” ignores the fact that some are working on borrowed time, not to mention borrowed money. It can burden students who can barely afford it with uncertainty, while presenting that uncertainty as a shared, harmless experience.
For some students, figuring it out later could mean taking an interesting class or switching their majors a few times. For others, it means risking financial aid, wasting time or choosing between passion and stability. These are not the same situation.
Maybe the conversation should begin to shift. Rather than handing out blanket reassurance, we should be offering better advice with clear academic paths, more openly transparent financial advising and support that acknowledges the different pressures that all students face.
“You’ll figure it out” is unfortunately not always comforting. Sometimes, it is just a reminder that you don’t have the luxury to.
