When you graduate from high school and continue on to college, most people are excited, not just for going away, but to finally be able to study their topic of choice. We spend 12 long years in school studying the basics, as decided by the government. College should be the place where we can finally study our topic of choice and only our topic of choice. High School provides the baseline in math, science, history, and English so once we graduate we should be done, right? Wrong.
Even though you’re going to college to study specialized subjects, even though you get to choose your major, and yes even though you’re literally paying for college there are still general education requirements you need to take in order to graduate. Now, I could go on and on about how gen eds are a scheme for colleges to keep you (and your tuition money) an extra year, but that isn’t going to change the fact you still have to take them. So here’s some advice:
Take the easiest ones possible:
You need to take a science? Ask the science majors which class is easiest. Asking the students of that subject is the best way to go because they can also probably tell you which professor you should take it with as well.
Make sure you pass, but don’t stress about it:
If you’re only taking a class for the requirement, chances are you care very little about that subject. You don’t have to be in love with the subject in order to do well, but since the class isn’t in your major, don’t worry too much about it.
Take them with friends:
Being in class with your friends is 10x better than being in a class alone, especially if you’re only there to fulfill a requirement.
Don’t buy the textbook:
Why buy a book if you’re only ever going to use it a few times for a subject you’re never going to study again? Instead of buying that textbook, share with a friend! Or ask to borrow someone else’s for assignments! You can also take pictures of the pages you need.
Gen ed classes are a pain, but they’re a pain that’s not going away anytime soon. Just take your gen eds in a smart way and you’ll save yourself a big pain in the ass!