Over the course of multiple years in college, you will take classes within and outside your major. Out of all these classes, some will be perfect, with great professors and great content. Others, not so much. In celebration of the beginning of another semester, here are 9 types of classes you will definitely take at some point in your college career.
1. The deceptively hard class
You either took a class with the same name in high school, or you were told by an extremely smart senior that it would be an easy class. Either way, this class will end up taking up the most time out of all of your classes, and you’ll still somehow struggle with it. Calculus was definitely not this hard in high school, but suddenly you’re scoring 75 percents on your exams and you’re regretting ever choosing it. You thought Astronomy would be all about constellations and cool stories about stars, but you were so wrong. An essay a week, short answer exams, all for a general education class. Everything is terrible.
2. The notoriously easy class
While you will take some insanely hard classes in college, you will also choose those classes that you know for sure will boost your GPA. Whether it was word of mouth or the fact that the 250 person class filled up within the first two days of registration, this class will be your best friend. Not only do you get a grade booster, you can do absolutely no studying in the class while at it.
3. The final-heavy class
The good news about this class is that there are very little homework assignments and no essays. The bad news is that the final exam is worth 60% of your grade, and the midterm is worth 30%. Perfect attendance and participation will only score you 10%. In classes like these, you have no choice but to try to ace the final. May the odds be ever in your favor.
4. The nonstop exams class
The word midterm should imply an exam in the middle of the semester. So why in the world does this class have 4 midterms every semester? Unfortunately for science students, this is a common occurrence. If you stop studying for a week, you’re already behind because others probably started studying for the next exam the second they walked out of the last one.
5. The pass/no pass class
This class will probably be one of the required general education classes outside of your major. If you’re a humanities major, it’ll probably be a science class. If you’re a STEM major, it might be an essay-heavy class. You will dread this class with a passion and do only the bare minimum in order to pass the class. Attending class is optional, and you probably spend the time you’re actually in class either shopping online or doing work for another class.
6. The empty class
This class always starts out with a large auditorium completely filled with students. There will be so many people that people even sit on the aisles and stairs or stand in the back. By week three, the class size will have dropped to about half that size, since the professor posts every single lecture online. By week 6, there might be enough students to fill up the first few rows on a good day. It won’t be until the midterm or the final that you finally see some of these people again.
7. The gum depleting class
You can’t survive this class without a coffee in your hand and some other method of trying to stay awake. This could be a three hour lecture class or a monotone one hour class. Either way, you can never sit through this class without popping a piece of gum in your mouth. This is also the class where you go through multiple ballpoint pens in a semester just from doodling.
8. The participation heavy class
If you’re an introvert, these are the worst type of classes. In this class, participation is worth the same amount as your midterm and final exams. You have to voluntarily raise your hand in class daily, otherwise that participation score threatens to fall. Even if the previous person said what you were going to say, you still need to spew something somewhat related in order to pass the class.
9. The surprisingly rewarding class
Maybe you took this class as a general education requirement. Maybe the class is part of a school you’ve never been interested in. You will walk into class viewing it as just another mandatory class, but by the time you walk out of that class the same day, it will have become your favorite class of the semester. Whether it’s a class that allows you to relax and get away from your otherwise hectic schedule or one that allows you to explore a topic in a mind blowing way, you will definitely remember these classes for the rest of your life.
