Students crowded the Duke Ellington Ballroom to shop for majors and minors Monday.

The Exploring Majors Fair exposed students to the variety of paths offered by NIU. Dozens of different colleges had tables set up where representatives handed out brochures, candy and stress balls.

Students enrolled at NIU weren’t the only ones who visited the fair. Prospective students roamed the booths to find a fitting major.

“Some of them are coming here to get some information, some of them are already business majors trying to decide, but they all seem very interested,” said undergraduate accounting adviser Angela Grimaldi.

Booths advertised the potential career paths of students by showing where past students found work after graduation. Statistics were also shown in each booth with high rates of employment to encourage students to consider their major.

“Its more about the careers,” said freshman undecided major Erik Swanson. “Not as much about the majors, but what you can do with them.”

Other departments sought to break from their stereotypes. The geography department featured a tree slice dating back decades, with important events labeled on the rings. The geography department is trying to reshape the “outdated stereotype” of staring at maps and studying rocks, said geography department chair Andrew Krmenec.

“Geography in high school is not geography in college,” Krmenec said.

Groups, and not just college departments, offered information at the fair. The Writing Center, the ROTC Program and Career Services were present, among others.

“I found a lot of students discovered things that they probably wouldn’t have even thought about if they hadn’t been able to talk to somebody in that particular area,” said Gail Jacky, University Writing Center directory.

Jacky said the University Writing Center’s position is to support the students as they further their education.