The college experience. Parties, drinking, raving, having the time of our lives. It sounds like a dream! Is it really? Well, yes and no. The reality of the situation is that college is for us to make something of ourselves, and to earn a degree. This is our main priority, in hopes that our lives will improve in the present and to prepare for the future.
Along with these goals, for many students, stress is also a part of the college experience. With all of the deadlines, homework, group projects, etc., it’s only expected for us students to be stressed. No one said that college would be easy. It’s hard work, and there have been many times throughout the semester where I've broken down because the pressure is too much. Somehow though, we get through it.
With all the stresses of classes, peers, payments, so on and so forth, I ask myself this one question: Are graduation requirements adding more stress than good to our lives?
Now hear me out on this one. I know that in order to graduate, there has to be some sort of requirement to earn a degree. If not, then anyone could obtain them easily, and they wouldn’t be worth much. However, there are some requirements that just don’t make sense for us to complete in the first place.
Almost all schools require us students to take general classes for us to graduate. I’m a communication major, and so far, I’ve filled many of these general class requirements. Even though I have a focus on TV Journalism and broadcasting, I somehow find myself in astronomy and accounting classes, which I don’t need. While most students face similar situations, we find ourselves asking if these classes are really worth it.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, fewer than 40 percent of students graduate in four years. In public institutions, less than a third of students graduate in this time frame. The so-called “Four Year Plans” are an unrealistic and useless way to track how our time is spent in college. While we're stuck with having to take general classes that have nothing to do with our majors, we lose valuable time, and not to mention money.
These classes are not cheap. Credits, unfortunately, are not free. Since students have to take general classes, we find ourselves hoping to snag a spot in those kinds of classes when we register. For those unfortunate folks who don’t manage to get into a class, we have to beg a professor to let us overload into a class that we sometimes don’t even want to take. If not, we have to take it at some other point. Another semester goes by, and we end up getting left behind and wasting more time.
Even with these requirements, we somehow find ways to cope with the extra stress that's put on us. Even though the situation isn’t ideal, it's important to keep an open mind about these classes. According to many of the universities, these gen-ed classes are used to broaden our horizons and make us more educated human beings. That isn’t bad, it’s just annoying how the system sets us up to spend a longer time in our colleges and universities.
According to many studies, college is a time where students get diagnosed the most with anxiety. There are many resources available on campuses to help with this. Psychological services are available to all students on campus, as well as the health services offices that are there to provide help. If you're struggling in a class, make sure to go to an academic service center to receive tutoring. Even if our requirements don’t work in our favor, don’t worry. Keep on working, and besides, as long as we obtain our degree, it will all be worth it.
