Opinion: GE Courses Are Underrated

Recently, a friend of mine told me that the General Education (GE) requirements at his university were making him consider dropping out of college. I was initially shocked, but over the coming days, I learned that many fellow students share his aversion to taking GEs. These courses seem to have garnered a reputation as boring wastes of time that simply stand in the way of more important classes. While I can understand why one might be eager to dig into the meat of their major, I’d like to take a moment to explain why I have actually loved fulfilling my GEs.

Your college experience should ideally involve dabbling in various interests, not boxing yourself into one rigid pathway. GEs are a built-in avenue for this scholarly exploration! Even though I’m an English major, I’ve been able to dip my toes into many exciting academic fields through taking a diverse group of GEs on topics like film, ancient history, linguistics, and sociology. Each of these courses has taught me skills that apply to my core major requirements and have even made me consider possible minors. 

My experiences studying for GE classes have also helped me develop my growth mindset. During high school, I never considered myself “good at STEM.” Therefore, I was incredibly nervous when faced with meeting my science GE quota. Pushing myself to take the science classes that I usually would avoid ended up teaching me that I’m capable of so much more than I thought. I took one of UCLA’s Clusters on evolution and outer space as a freshman, and I realized that I can truly enjoy and excel at STEM. I feel thankful that I had the opportunity to challenge myself in this manner and learn to think in new ways.

So whether you’re starting your GEs as a first-year, or are wrapping up the requirements later on in your college career, try to find the silver linings in these courses. GEs aren’t just busy work if you go into them with an open mind.