would more people go to college if there were no required courses?

Question

i'm doing a paper in school on required college courses. some of my friends said that required classes in college are one of the reason's why they've been discouraged to attend (besides the obvious financial problem that keeps them from going as well) . they feel that they shouldn't have to take classes that are irrelavent to what they want they want to do and if they didn't have to take those type of courses that they wouldn't mind paying all that money to go since they really are going for what they want to be. so i need more opinions! help!!!

Answer 1

Your friends seem to be laboring under the delusion that college is vocational school.

College is not preparation for a job, it is preparation to be a responsible citizen, a critical thinker, and a lifelong learner.

The reason there are general education courses is to introduce students to the many kinds of knowledge that exist, and to show them that there are very many ways of approaching and solving problems. That's preparation for life, not for a particular job. Want job skills? Go to a technical or vocational school.

Answer 2

I disagree. I think required courses are necessary. If you want a degree, then there needs to be a certain amount of consistency and expectation on what you should know. When an employer hires someone, there is an expectation of a bare minimum of knowledge there.

Aside from math, science, and technical fields, who would take math courses in college? Don't you think it is crucial that just about every college student take a college-level math course? Don't you think that if it wasn't required, most people that would have otherwise been required to, wouldn't?

Plus, these courses are rarely spelled out. It only says that you need a certain amount of humanities, or a certain amount of sciences. The choice of which class is entirely up to the student. The courses that are called out by name are required by a degree. How can you claim to have a degree in a field if you haven't taken a prescribed set of classes that are considered fundamental? Even in your major area, there is room for taking whatever classes you feel would help you the most once you have the fundamental classes out of the way.

And if you feel so strongly that you want to take whatever you want, there are many college that grant "General Studies" degrees that allow you to design your own degree. However, if you think this is a good idea, you could research the success people have with these programs.

Answer 3

That is actually one of the aspects I liked about my undergrad years. I'm in grad school now and every class is in my specialization, which makes things boring. There are a lot of classes in english or history that I wish I could take as an elective, but can't. Plus, every person I know and talk to seems to be in my program, which sucks. I miss taking classes in french, biology, math, and economics. I took a lot of great classes out of my major, like jewish studies and the history of science and technology in the west. I also got to meet a lot of people from outside of my major, which i wouldn't have otherwise. I can understand your friends feeling that way, but after experiencing both sides, I can honestly say that studying something new and interesting can be fun. A lot of the classes I take now seem boring because I already have a background in the subject.

Answer 4

Many colleges let you take any number of courses which are not required, yet it will not lead to a degree. They are there for personal fulfillment.

Some students seek college for their own enrichment rather than the goal of a degree. It is up to the student.

I do agree with you that degree requirements should "cut the fat" out of what is required. The requirements should be useful, practical, and helpful to the student. Too many required classes will have no value to the student when he/she enters employment.