From the outside, the idea of going to college to get any kind of degree seems perfect: pick a school, attend for four years, pass your classes, get your diploma, and never look back. Simple, right?

Wrong. Oh, so very wrong.

Although it seems like the perfect concept, the education system is flawed. This finals week, I noticed something rather alarming. The finals students were freaking out for the most had nothing to do with their intended degree.

I for one am I Chemistry Biology dual major and I spent hours and hours in the library this finals week. But I wasn’t spending the majority of my time on chemistry and biology disciplines; I was spending it on physics. Don’t get me wrong, I think physics is an important class for me to have a basic understanding of a science major, but at what point should I be more worried about that class than I was for organic chemistry?

Once I pass physics 1 and 2, I will never have to draw a free body diagram, or figure out the acceleration of a projection, or even the frequency of a wave. These topics will have no relevance to my core courses, but more alarming, will have no relevance to my future occupation. If I enjoyed physics and wanted to learn it, I would be a physics major.

Alright, so maybe this doesn’t seem that alarming. A science major being forced to take a few courses outside of her direct discipline?

Allow us to look at a business, speech pathology, and education majors now.

My roommate, Jennell, is an accounting major with a political science minor. The final she was freaking out the most about did not come from any business course, rather a science course: astronomy to be specific.

If anyone can explain to me why this business major was panicking about learning what sun spots and black holes are, instead of spending her time learning how to use Excel for her major entrance exam, I’m listening.

My other roommate, Claudia, who at the time was a speech pathology major, spent hours and hours outside of class finishing her pottery final project. These hours should’ve been spent making study guides and writing her final papers, yet here she was behind a pottery wheel. What did she possibly learn that is going to enhance her future from spinning clay?

Finally, one of my good friends, Mel, is an education major. She put in extra time every day working on her final dance routine for her ballet class. This, again, was precious time wasted that could’ve been spent on her final papers for her education classes.

We spend the majority of our time learning material we are never going to use in our post college lives. Why are students being forced to spend excessive amounts of time on courses that, quite frankly, are going to irrelevant after the semester is through? The education system is flawed and needs to be changed.