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Electives are classes too, take them seriously. | The Triangle
Opinion

Electives are classes too, take them seriously.

Jan. 31, 2025
Photo by Gabby Rodriguez | The Triangle

As university students, it is easy to put up blinders and focus solely on our majors. We choose these programs for good reasons – to pursue a passion, to achieve a job aspiration or maybe just to assuage a demanding parent. Major requirements are demanding; higher-level courses in particular, those usually only taken by students majoring in that field, require time, energy and lots of effort. Nothing is worse than registering for a sixteen-hour course load with intense major-specific classes, then finding out you need to take an elective.

Every student at Drexel University (and, indeed, at any reputable four-year university in the United States) is required to take a wide variety of elective classes across various disciplines. We must all take the first-year English sequence and Intro to Civic Engagement, along with other requirements that vary by major. For most students, these electives are considered a total pain – a series of speed bumps that must be conquered with minimal effort.

In numerous conversations, I have been told that “it’s just an elective.” This statement is often followed by a list of ways the speaker intends to avoid spending too much time on the class: playing 2048 during lecture, missing as many classes as the attendance policy will allow or using ChatGPT for ‘help’ on an assignment. I will be the first to admit, I have phoned in quite a few electives during my years at Drexel, and, yes, it shows in my GPA. Still, I have a proposition to make: we should all make an effort to take our electives seriously.

While yes, it is my major classes that will (hopefully) land me a job someday, when I reflect on the classes that have truly shaped me, a lot of them are electives. These classes, chosen at random to satisfy a checkbox in DegreeWorks, have become new personal and academic interests, have introduced me to incredible friends and have shifted my perspectives on important subjects. The writing-intensive class from my junior year sparked a love for creative writing that I never knew I had. I met a close friend in an honors class during first-year. The professor who taught me has become a mentor and inspiration. That social science credit you have been putting off for two years could become a minor you add to your degree, could be your meet-cute and could make you see your world through new eyes.

For a long time, taking a wide array of courses from different areas of study was considered a core benefit of a four-year degree. Being an educated person meant knowing not only about your industry, but also literature, philosophy and all the other subjects that get labeled as pretentious nowadays. Of course, this was an era when far fewer Americans pursued undergraduate degrees and when having a bachelor’s meant an almost guaranteed job, and a cushy one at that. In today’s competitive job market, knowing about Austen as an accountant feels pointless.

Classes in English, history or political science, however, do not just teach names and dates. They teach valuable skills in critical thinking, in analysis and interpretation and in arguing a position. The more invisible skills of the liberal arts are ones that apply to any career and also serve to make an individual more well-rounded, more interesting and a better member of their community.

After all, we all made the choice to come to Drexel. We chose an academically rigorous, fast-paced environment for a reason. We understand the value of a Drexel education, which means we should commit as much energy as we can to every part of that education. That is not to mention that your education comes with a price tag. Taking all your courses seriously – and taking all the courses that you can – is the easiest way to get your full money’s worth.

I could spend time arguing that slacking in your electives will hurt your grades and that, contrary to popular opinion, college grades do kind of matter. I could tell you that every Drexel professor has worked very hard to get to their position, that they’re passionate about what they teach and that they can actually tell when you are watching Netflix instead of taking notes. Really, though, my point is only to give your electives a chance. Do not let ChatGPT write your discussion board posts or, worse, your tests and papers. Try to pay attention to the slides or at least make an effort to attend every class. Who knows what might happen? Worst case scenario, it is only ten weeks.