Picking your electives for a semester can be a stressful task, especially if it’s already week 1 and you have to make some quick decisions. There are multiple aspects of classes to consider when deciding if you want to make a 12-week commitment to it. Here are some aspects of classes to consider in your deciding process.
Interest
How interested in the topic are you? If it’s something that you’re on the fence about, try looking at the syllabus to see the specifics of what you’re going to be learning. If a lot of the topics are making you cringe, you might want to get out of there.
Time Commitment
If this is an elective course and it takes 20+ hours a week time commitment, you have to really like the class to stay in it. Most profs will give you an estimate of how long you need to spend on the subject each week. This is especially important to look at for online courses!
Assessment Method
If the class you chose for calls for a 30% paper and 70% final, and you test terribly, this might not be the class for you. Everyone excels in different types of assessments and it’s important to pick what’s right for you. It’s also important to look at how different subjects test, if you’re not a writer, you might not want to take a history course with essay exams.
Giving it a Chance
If you drop a course without attending at least one of the lectures, I don’t see how you can be making an educated decision about it. You might absolutely love your prof for that course, but you’ll never know if you don’t attend.
Weighing the Above Categories
All the above categories will influence your decision to stay in a class or not and it’s important to consider them collectively. For example, a class may have a huge time commitment attached to it but if you’re obsessed with the topic, it could be worth it to stay. It’s all about finding the right balance.