Deciding on a major is a choice that can profoundly affect a student's future, but not everyone is ready to make that decision right away.

About 70 students interested in exploring academic options live together in a special living option called Discover House on the third floor of Leete Hall in North Halls.

"The goal is to provide an opportunity for students who may be exploring academic paths to live together and participate in some programs to explore that," said Karen Feldbaum, associate director of the Office of Residence Life.

Most of Discover House's students are enrolled in the Division of Undergraduate Studies and are focusing on general education courses.

Too often, said Marilyn Keat, associate director for special projects in DUS, students and faculty think of general education as something that stands in the way of the student's major.

General education courses provide students with the broad knowledge informed citizens need, Keat said.

Laura Brown, Discover House program coordinator, said she is pleased with the first weeks of the semester at Discover House.

"They are so committed to learning as much as possible about themselves and about the university," Brown said.

Discover House students attend programs together, such as last week, when a panel of alumni who were also in DUS addressed them. There also are dinners planned with faculty members, and each month a different college is going to be featured.

"We're looking to help students find their passion," Brown said.

She said the programs and general education courses will help students explore their interests, test their abilities and consider alternatives.

The students also attend activities that are not directly academic.

They went to see the movie Erin Brockovich and also attended her speech. They've gone on scavenger hunts and an ecology walk, and they plan to attend a play together in November.

"These kinds of activities give students the broadest perspective of how an undergraduate education can relate to a whole myriad of things," Brown said.

Special course sections designed to emphasize the importance of general knowledge are open to Discover House students.

There are two of these sections of English 15 (Rhetoric and Composition) this semester, and in the spring, there will be two special sections of Speech Communication 100 (Effective Speech).

Marie Phifer (freshman-DUS) said she enjoys sharing classes with her floormates because they can help each other with homework. "It's a lot of fun because we all know each other," she said.

These courses are funded in part through a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which gives funds to institutions that pursue ways to improve the perception and quality of general education.

The foundation provided $150,000 over two years for Discover House, but the organizers hope Discover House will continue well beyond two years.

The program has grown in just the first weeks of the semester. At the beginning of the semester, not everyone assigned to live on the floor was part of the program, but since then a number of those students have joined, Feldbaum said.

Jeremy Milewski (freshman-mechanical engineering) said he didn't request to live in Discover House on his housing option form, but he joined it a few weeks into the semester.

"It's a good way to meet people," he said.