UMD students discuss general education course experiences

By: Katie Ng

Even with 100+ undergraduate majors across 12 colleges at the University of Maryland, students are required to take general education courses outside of their major. When looking for and choosing classes, students have to make sure all of their general education requirements are fulfilled.  

While searching for the perfect class, some students search for general education courses on Testudo and then read course reviews on PlanetTerp.

“I will go to like PlanetTerp or something to see if there are any reviews, and especially to see what the grade averages have been in the past to see if it would be, you know, likely I think to help or hurt my GPA, and to see if the professor is hopefully decent,” Madeleine Frechette, a senior neuroscience major, said.

The University of Maryland provides all students with an advisor that helps students choose classes and build a schedule that works for them. Advisors help students create a four year plan that outlines which classes you need to take and when. Lauren Smith, a sophomore public health science major and College Park Scholar, uses this to her advantage. 

“I see where I can overlap gen ed requirements with other classes that I need to fulfill,” Smith said.

Nick Samsel, a sophomore kinesiology major on the pre-medicine track, already took general education classes at community college. When he registered for classes, he asked an advisor what they recommend and what will help him with his pre-medicine track. SPHL 100, a foundations of public health class, was one course he didn’t enjoy.

“It’s just not my thing,” Samsel said.  “It doesn’t really help me with my major at all. It’s just kind of there.”

Frechette enjoyed PSYCH 221, Social Psychology. It was interesting to her to learn about peer pressure and acceptance within a group. However, she didn’t enjoy COMM 107. 

“Some of the assignments were just kind of annoying, and we would have to make outlines for our speeches in advance and format them like an English class,” Frechette said. “I thought it was too much effort for the COMM class.”

Ultimately, general education course registration comes down to interest level for these students. They want to find classes that fit into their major, but also fulfill general education requirements. And with Maryland’s wide range of classes, being able to pick any class is a privilege that we get to have. 

“I think it’s fun to be able to just pick, like, any class that you want to take,” Smith said.

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