it's the same story today with young people entering college as it was when i attended in '79-the majority change their minds about what career path they will pursue and that's fine-great even b/c people's minds change as they are exposed to new ideas/experiences. that said-i would MUCH rather see a young person fully understanding what can be lifelong financial implications of their choice of college so those changes in interests and aspirations don't negativly impact them for decades down the road.
we live close by 2 community colleges, 2 state universities and 2 private universities. community colleges are a different animal so not even figuring them into the mix, the tutions (no fees or dorms which add many thousands per semester) vary as follows-
state u #1- $8139 per academic year
state u #2- $12701 per academic year
private #1- $48990 per academic year
private #2- $50735 per academic year.
the first 2 years at each are pretty much identical course wise with general ed. other than one being a much better pathway to pursue a medical degree and another law, the ba/bs offerings/credentialing and master's programs are on par with one another. just looking at the numbers, a student at state #1 or state #2 could change their mind once a year delaying gradution with each change by a full year 4-6 individual times before incurring the cost of one single year's change/delay at either of the private.
it's simple dollars and cents that need to be explained to students exploring college. whatever degree they decide to pursue, is it feasable let alone do you want to be looking at incuring and paying for the identical degree/job opportunities (for 5 years which is the average these days with changes of the mind)-
$45,000 ish
$62,000 ish
$245,000 ish
$255,000 ish.
the difference in those numbers can have life altering and life limiting implications.