> Perhaps it's different in America (where one need not choose CS before university starts).
Not really related to the original article, but this stood out to me as not quite accurate.
Even within the US, this actually varies from school to school. My university required you to declare a major before you started, but the average student changed majors at least once in their college career (I changed twice, landing in CS). Other schools require you to start undeclared and declare at some point, as your comment implies.