This week of May 2025, Judge seniors are taking their exams and are anticipating graduation. For those who are taking a higher education after high school, picking a major of study is important but is also a difficult choice. This brings the question, what are Judge’s seniors’ major decisions, and why?
In May 2025, 56 Judge seniors took a survey about their choices for majors in higher education and information about how it relates to their time at Judge.
It found that the most popular categories of major that seniors were interested in were engineering at 11.3%,
business, management, marketing, and related support services” at 5.7%, biology and biomedical sciences at 5.7%, psychology at 5.7%, and computer and informational sciences at 5.7%. In comparison, the actual major categories that seniors are taking are engineering at 10.6%, “business management marketing and related support services”, biological and biomedical sciences at 8.5%, and psychology at 8.5%.
Most of these majors are dwarfed by a large amount of people reporting that they are entering a higher education with an undecided major, at 7.5% for interested in the choice and 10.6% for picking, this choice is second only to engineering.
Senior Kylee Bunting wrote, “I am going in undecided so I can find out what I really want to do. My future university, Regis, really pushes their freshmen to go in undecided to figure out what they really want.”
A notable difference in interests versus choices is with engineering, with 11.3% having interest in engineering but only 10.6% taking it.
The survey found that being Judge has likely impacted seniors’ major decisions. On whether Judge has affected their choice in a major, 24 seniors, about 42% of the surveyees, reported that their time Judge has affected their major decisions.
The most impactful subject on major choices, according to the surveyees, was science. More than 80% of seniors reported science classes having been significant in a major choice. Biology, physics, chemistry, and/or engineering classes were reported as having at least one impactful class by seniors.
Sydney Ramirez, a graduating senior who said that she plans on taking biochemistry, said that biology and chemistry were big influences for her major.
“I would say that honors chemistry, taught by [Dr.] Gibbons definitely impacted my decision. It was a challenging class, but overall it was rewarding. And that kind of made me realize my affinity for the sciences and why I really like chemistry. Same with Dr. Dasch, I really like the way that he taught biology and just the labs that he did in that class, it made me want to do biochemistry.”
English was second place in impactful subjects with around 50% of seniors reporting having English classes as influential to choices for majors. Seminar, English Twelve, English Literature, Contemporary English Language, and Literary Magazine were the most popular among these choices.
Carter Barber, a graduating senior, said that he in as undecided, though he is interested in pursuing “art or writing.” He found many English classes – and teachers – as influential.
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From the student-ran Instagram account “judge decisions“
“[As an influential teacher,] Mr. Jeffreys, for writing … The original creative writing class I took in a freshman, sophomore year. That was a great class. The advanced writing class I’m taking right now is also very great. And intensive … and AP seminar class with Mx. V [Vanderlaan], who no longer works here, but, the class was great. Somehow I didn’t do good on the exam, but it was really fun … It was a great class. A lot of a lot of English teachers in general are pretty great. Dr. Chappell’s admittedly pretty cool. That one guy we had freshman year ever that, like, banged this table talking about Superman? I don’t know… Mr. Steffens! Yeah. Mr. Stevens, he’s great. You can see him on the news, and his helicopter.” Mr. Steffens worked at KUTV 2News before being an English teacher at Judge, and stopped teaching Judge in 2021, when 2025’s seniors were freshmen.
Sophia Lyon, another graduating senior, said that she was going to be pursuing journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She agrees that English classes have been influential for her major decision.
“I would say my new media class with Dr. Sloan has influenced my decision. Dr. Sloan’s new media class has influenced my major just because I never really knew what journalism was until I took that course. I wasn’t very interested in stories or anything but Dr. Sloan, and made me realize how awesome it is.” Lyon was an editor-in-chief of this year’s Bulldog Press, of which students in the new media class are the majority of writers.
Of social studies subjects: economics, American government, and US history, were reported as the most impactful on decisions for majors.
Fitness for life, weight training, and health were the most impactful of physical education classes.
Of visual art classes, every class was reported as significant to a major decision by surveyees who found visual art as a subject impactful.
About art classes, Barber said, “The art class has been great … We have Ms. Sobotka here, a wonderful teacher. Great at making us have fun at doing art. And then AP art comes along and you don’t really have much fun anymore, but you’re locked in, so it doesn’t really matter. And you’re you’re making cool stuff all the time. So, that definitely made me [interested in art]. I’ve always liked doing art, but I’m going to be honest, I haven’t been good at it for until recently. So I’m glad that I’ve built up my skills now.”
Out of other art classes, theatrical production, film studies, piano techniques, jazz band, and men’s dance were the most impactful.
For other electives that don’t fit into a subject category, Student government is the most impactful, according to 12% of surveyees.
An issue with the survey is that the amount of respondents is only 57, about one third of the 147 seniors who are set to graduate Judge in 2025. Just because some classes were not selected as significant to major picks does not mean that no one found them significant, as two-thirds of potential data is missing. The survey, if distributed much earlier, could have gotten more responses than its release, which occurred days before seniors left Judge. However, despite the relatively small research group, it still provides a glance into an understanding of Judge’s influence on graduating seniors and their majors.
What should Juniors and underclassmen take away from this, and what advice do seniors have?
Work hard, said Jake Marland, a graduating senior who said he is going to Montana State University to study Civil Engineering.
“Take the initiative to take harder classes and just challenge yourself in every aspect of school and your social life. It’ll pay out so much more than you think.
Barber said to always have options and be sure that you’re always doing what works for you.
“My advice is, if you you seem very set on a path you’re going towards, I want you to chase that if you’re absolutely certain of it. But if you’re not entirely sure, or even if you are, you need to remain open … Be curious. Your life isn’t gonna go how you’re going to expect it, most likely. So just follow what makes sense and what’s going to work for you. And, be flexible ….
Go Bulldogs!”
