When choosing college classes, what factors affected your decision?
Did you choose classes in relation to the course work, the ease with which you knew you would pass the class or was it because all your friends were doing it.
Back in the dark ages when I actually attended a brick-and-mortar university, the objective was to earn a degree. The target degree--journalism, in my case--mandated a degree plan which pretty well determined what courses I would be taking. To fulfill required credits in math and science, yes, I selected rather easy "survey" courses designed for us liberal arts geeks; but I also chose electives based on personal interest. To have taken a course simply because one or more of my friends had enrolled in it would have been a total waste of my time and money.
Now I take college-level courses online (www.edX.com) free from the constraints of a degree plan and based entirely on subject matter that appeals to me.
I chose classes that would be beneficial to my career path. If you do not have a chosen career path, then choose what interests you.
PS... In today's diverse America, becoming fluent in any second (or many) language(s) can benefit you in seeking and getting ANY job. Employers need employees that can 2nd as a translator in all job fields and types and many companies hire translators who do nothing else .
Definately not because of friends. That would be a sign of a social butterfly or a weak independent personality or someone who just didn't know what to do. Mainly, the course work. First, I thought I wanted to be an English major so I started with the basics at a community college with the hopes of transfering. Needless to say, my decision changed and I didn't know what to do. So I followed the basic two year curriculum, the course work and requirements. In doing so, I found psychology and management. The classes were the easiest I'd found, I enjoyed the course work most, and the topics were extremely interesting. It's all about what clicks.
1. Classes that are easy/easy teachers (I have my own goals and while I understand college helps, classes with unfairly hard teachers will slow me down)
2. Classes that I enjoy
3. Classes that will help me in my goal (my goal is to cure aging so the class "mechanisms of Aging" is perfect for me even if it is a very high level class)
If you have a degree in mind, your institution usually provides you with a list of courses that are mandatory in order to graduate. Those are the first classes you should worry about when registering (for example, as a history major, I had to take specific classes on the study of history, world history, and american history otherwise I wouldn't be able to graduate).
However, there are generally various options within those mandatory areas. For example, I had to have 2 sciences with 2 labs, so I took Marine Biology and Historical Geology. I could have taken any variety of science courses, but I chose those because they sounded interesting. You can also check websites like "RateMyProfessor", etc. for information on which professors are easiest and sign up for classes that way - which can be helpful if you're worried about your GPA or if you don't want to have to stress out over assignments. I have taken elective courses with friends, but I made sure those electives would fit into the required elective area for my degree before signing up.
But truthfully, you're paying for your time at college, so you can technically sign up for whatever classes interest you. It's just a matter of how quickly you want to get out of college and how much debt you'll have to pay back once its over.
I chose the classes I chose because they were going to be beneficial for the future career I wanted. Choosing classes because your friends are doing them is something a lot of young people do but it's a foolish mistake.
Always make your choices based on where you want to be in the future, not on where you are right now.
Jane
by Brandon Martin 12 years ago
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