2008 Woodie Awards
Busting the general education myth
Don Nickel
Issue date: 6/2/08 Section: Features
Whether working toward a De Anza College degree or preparing to transfer, students work on both general education and major requirements. New students at De Anza often assume that it is better to work on GE classes first and work on major prep courses in subsequent quarters.
For those of you planning to transfer to a competitive university, this could be a dangerous plan. Here are some reasons to encourage you to work on your major prep right away.
1. Students applying to competitive majors for transfer are not going to be accepted because of high GE grades but based on high major prep grades. A student applying for a fall transfer in 2009 to a UC or CSU will apply in November 2008. A student who has focused mostly on general education up to that point will not be as competitive as a student who has completed major prep, along with English and math.
2. A student who focuses on general education first may actually complete too much GE if they decide on a major that relates to any of the sciences, especially if they intend to transfer to a UC. High unit majors typically have 50 or more major prep units. Since students can transfer with a minimum of 90 transferable units, completing both major prep and GE can easily add to 110 units or more.
3. We all like the concept of "killing two birds with one stone" when a class can satisfy both a major and a GE requirement. Suppose a student takes BIOL 10: Introductory Biology to satisfy a GE requirement and later decides to transfer to San Jose State University and major in psychology. In reviewing the lower division major requirements as listed on http://assist.org, the student might be surprised to learn that BIOL 11: Human Biology is a major requirement, which could count for general education as well. The student has now taken a biology class that wasn't necessary to take.
4. Many students focus on general education first because they don't know what their major is, and they don't want to waste time taking major classes they aren't sure about. However, taking a class of interest is a good way to find out if that subject may be a good fit or not. You won't know if computer programming is for you until you take a programming class. For some, deciding on a major requires some risk taking and some trial and error.
5. Many majors have sequences of coursework in a particular subject matter. For example, a biology major typically has sequences of biology, chemistry, calculus and physics. To complete GE first and then start major course sequences could easily add two years to the transfer process.
You are invited to come into the Counseling Center to work on a long-term education plan. After all, our goal is the same as yours - to get you in and out of De Anza as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Focusing on English and math along with major prep and backfilling with general education is a strategy for success.
For those of you planning to transfer to a competitive university, this could be a dangerous plan. Here are some reasons to encourage you to work on your major prep right away.
1. Students applying to competitive majors for transfer are not going to be accepted because of high GE grades but based on high major prep grades. A student applying for a fall transfer in 2009 to a UC or CSU will apply in November 2008. A student who has focused mostly on general education up to that point will not be as competitive as a student who has completed major prep, along with English and math.
2. A student who focuses on general education first may actually complete too much GE if they decide on a major that relates to any of the sciences, especially if they intend to transfer to a UC. High unit majors typically have 50 or more major prep units. Since students can transfer with a minimum of 90 transferable units, completing both major prep and GE can easily add to 110 units or more.
3. We all like the concept of "killing two birds with one stone" when a class can satisfy both a major and a GE requirement. Suppose a student takes BIOL 10: Introductory Biology to satisfy a GE requirement and later decides to transfer to San Jose State University and major in psychology. In reviewing the lower division major requirements as listed on http://assist.org, the student might be surprised to learn that BIOL 11: Human Biology is a major requirement, which could count for general education as well. The student has now taken a biology class that wasn't necessary to take.
4. Many students focus on general education first because they don't know what their major is, and they don't want to waste time taking major classes they aren't sure about. However, taking a class of interest is a good way to find out if that subject may be a good fit or not. You won't know if computer programming is for you until you take a programming class. For some, deciding on a major requires some risk taking and some trial and error.
5. Many majors have sequences of coursework in a particular subject matter. For example, a biology major typically has sequences of biology, chemistry, calculus and physics. To complete GE first and then start major course sequences could easily add two years to the transfer process.
You are invited to come into the Counseling Center to work on a long-term education plan. After all, our goal is the same as yours - to get you in and out of De Anza as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Focusing on English and math along with major prep and backfilling with general education is a strategy for success.
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