If you go to a college or university, or if you surround yourself with friends that do, then you have had the obligatory debate about which major is the hardest. Chances are, your friends have for some reason decided that STEM is hardest, over humanities or social science majors.
As a more humanities and social science-based girl (sociology and poly-sci for the win!), this debate pisses me off. Everyone seems to think that STEM is harder because you have to do things like memorize mini molecules while humanities majors just have to read and write essays.
But humanities and social science majors are hard. This past semester, I was assigned seven final papers and an in-class exam all due during the same week. I was stressed beyond belief during this week, especially because I was only in four classes and this number of assignments just didn’t seem to add up. During finals week, I was spending ten hours in the library every day, just like other students pursuing other majors. It wasn’t easy and, although I love to write, it was not fun.
For anyone who claims that humanities and social science majors just write, know that it really isn’t easy. A lot of mental and physical work that goes into sitting and reading over 150 pages of literature per day. Last week in my history class, my professor assigned an entire book to read over the weekend. We literally had to read the entire, 300-page book over a single weekend. I couldn’t deal with it. The book was so dense, and it cost me so much brainpower to read about the history of America. Although I love history, this assignment was too much. I have had other assignments like this that make me feel like my brain is going to fall out of my head. Nevertheless, I push through because I can’t afford to fall behind.
To make things even more challenging, I’m on a sports team. This makes budgeting my time even more difficult.
My sister is currently pursuing a STEM major and she complains about online quizzes, labs, and critical reviews. Honestly, I feel her pain. Writing, regardless of the discipline, is challenging. Especially when you’re trying to write well! I consider myself a strong academic writer, but I devote tons of time to becoming an even stronger writer.
Regardless of the major, coursework is coursework and it’s hard. I definitely don’t think I would be able to examine the concentrations of enzymes that can affect reaction rates and blah, blah, blah, mainly because I find it boring and I don’t have the patience for science. But I definitely can’t deny that it’s hard work! Sometimes, my sister tries to explain her assignments to me and my mind goes blank. At the same time, I know that many STEM majors couldn’t write those seven essays in a week like I had to.
College and university are hard regardless of your major. But, if you can manage your time and find a way to work that works for you, then you will be just fine.
So please, can we all just agree that coursework is hard regardless of the major?
I am sick of having to defend my major to people who think all I do is debate social issues all day. No. Please do research and find out what sociology and political science really are. Thanks.
<3 A social science fanatic.