It’s the little things: Core Requirements

When looking at schools high school students tend to ignore the core. Those pesky general education classes that students have to take to graduate are hardly a blip on a high school student’s radar, because it seems no different from high school.

And that, my dear children, is where you’re going to make a big mistake.

One of the best parts of college is that you get to study things you’re interested in broadly and deeply. You might take a bunch of classes in your history major, and then a few dance or science classes that interest you.

So pay close attention to the school’s required classes before you choose it.

Most schools have you take at least one class in the major subjects (A History, a Social Science, an English/Literature, an Art, a Math, a Natural Science), though some break down a little differently.

For example, even though there are 7 different areas of the gen-eds at my school, you have to take 3 histories, 2 hard sciences with lab (biological and physical), 2 social sciences, 1 English/literature, 1 math, 1 philosophy, 1 art, and 4 semesters of foreign language). The idea is that, because it’s a liberal arts university, you have to take a variety of courses in both sciences and humanities, and it should take up about 1/3 of your time at the college (the other 2/3 being major requirements and electives).

 This did not really deter me very much (though not having to take a physical science would have been great). You can choose to take these classes in whatever department you choose as long as they qualify the requirement. So, for example, I ended up taking almost all of my literature and history classes in the religious studies department, hence my unintentional religious studies major. My music-major roommate takes her history classes in the music department. My fellow psych majors and I take the required psych-stats class for our math and neuroscience classes for our biological science.

Other schools have fewer required classes, but less flexibility in what you can take. So while some schools might have a variety of math classes to take that range in difficulty, others might have one general math class that covers lots of subjects that every student has to take.

This option never appealed to me, because I didn’t want to be pitted against physics and math majors on the same curve. Nor did I want to have to turn in literature essays with the English majors when doing anything but APA citations gives me a headache.

And still, some schools do away with the core entirely. This option is nice because it ensures that everyone in all of your classes really wants to be there. Another pro is that not having to take classes in your weaker subjects really does wonders for your GPA. But this can leave you to be very limited in what you take. Did I enjoy astrophysics? No. Did I learn a lot and am I a more educated individual for having taken it? Yes. And I never would have taken that without my school laying down the law with me having to take physics.

One last thing to learn is how the classes are graded. One of my best friends goes to a school that lets her pass/fail 1 class a semester, even her core and major requirements. This can do wonders for your GPA if you choose your pass/fails wisely. My school, on the other hand, only lets you pass/fail elective classes (no core requirements or major/minor requirements), and only junior and senior year. This system makes sense in the context of my school (hello grade deflation and well-rounded focus), but also can really suck (see previous comment about astrophysics, the most work I’ve ever done for a B).  

So the main things to evaluate about a school’s core are

1.    What subjects must I take classes in?

2.    How many of each type of class do I have to take?

3.    Are there general classes, or can you pick and choose what fills the requirements?

4.    Can I pass/fail the required classes, or must they be on a grade scale to count?