Beerman says he has dropped his shortlived dream of being a pre-med after a brief experience with Chemistry 10. Beerman is planning to concentrate in economics or government. But he's still not sure.

Andrina D. Ngo '96, a biology pre-med, says she was discouraged at first by the stigma that pre-meds are work-a-holics who use four-color clicker pens and hang out in Cabot Library.

"Most people are undecided in the beginning because there is a lot of stigma against pre-meds," said Ngo. "I was in [one professor's] office and there was another guy there [and] the professor asked him what [he] is planning to do."

The two got into a debate about getting an M.D. or M.D. Ph.D.

All this, while most undergraduates are still struggling to decide how they are going to fill their "Literature and Arts C" requirement.

The much maligned core, however, has also been a source of student indecision, according to Bresman.

The core, which is intended to broaden the approaches to knowledge of undergraduates, may have actually done more harm than good in some cases.

"I've liked my core classes," says Bresman, "But it has lent itself to my indecision."

Bresman says that after taking a core class on Jerusalem, he almost went on an archaeological expedition with the professor of the class.

"That's crazy, I almost went on an archaeological dig and at the last minute I went to summer school," Bresman said.

Beyond Harvard

While choosing courses and thesis topics may be a source of angst for seniors like Bresman, the prospect of actually getting a job is often beyond comprehension for the indecisive.

"I don't want to go out in the world and get a job, but the academic thing is getting boring," Bresman said. "The idea that in order to survive you have to exchange your services for little green pieces of paper [which you use] to buy tangerines...is silly."