College Elective Credits: A Sanctuary from Your Major

If you are, or were, or will soon be in college, you probably know that a college major can be extremely stressful. Even if you choose to study a field you love, the pressure comes on as you immerse yourself in that field, devoting your time and energy to a single subject over the course of four-or-more years. Regardless of how much you love your major, let's face it: Everybody needs a break from that kind of pressure.

Thankfully, most majors leave a little room for that much-needed break. It's called college electives. While you may have electives within your major-i.e., in some majors you have to take a certain number of prescribed, or required, classes, with two or three electives within the major as long as it's a course within your field-many programs leave room for a certain number of free electives. These credits basically mean you can take pretty much anything you want. While your college may stipulate exactly what the boundaries on your electives are, many give you free reigns: in other words, the electives you take are up to you.

For example, let's say you major in physics, but outside of academics you're also interested in the arts. If you have twenty-one free elective credits, you could take up to seven three-credit classes in art, music, and theater. There are even more opportunities if some of those courses are for one or two credits!

The main purpose of free electives is to give college students an opportunity to explore. College students are curious people; they are constantly introduced to new ideas, concepts, theories, people, et cetera. Colleges and universities understand this curiosity, and in fact cater to it. Through free electives, you as a college student have the opportunity to explore new ideas with your fellow classmates. If you have a friend who always talks about how much they love their Philosophy classes, why not use an elective credit to take a class with him or her? Study something you never would have thought of studying before, just out of curiosity.

There is one drawback to free electives: many students fear taking courses outside of their major because of that dreaded three-letter-standard all college students cringe at the thought of-the GPA. Some students are curious about different mathematical theories; that doesn't mean they should jump into upper level Trigonometry classes. Others want to learn how to manage their finances and have always admired those friends for whom such things come naturally; again, that doesn't mean they should sign up for anything other than an introductory Accounting course!

However, schools also usually have measures in place to ease those worries. Just as many of your single-credit courses are graded on a Pass/Fail scale, many colleges grant students the option of taking some of their free elective courses Pass/Fail. That means if you're interested in taking a music class as a free elective, but know you're not the best singer, you may be able to take the class as a Pass/Fail. For many schools, to pass this kind of class you need to earn a C; however, on your transcripts, and towards your GPA, the class will only show up with a "P" (for "Passed") grade marker, and won't damage your grade point average. That's especially good news for the 4.0 Engineering student who wants to take an Art class but knows his or her talent doesn't match those of his or her classmates!

Here's another benefit of your free electives. Many colleges establish a database of some sort outlining transfer course equivalents. This is a great resource for students studying in another city or state who also have a local college or university nearby. During summer vacation time, these students can use free elective credits to stay busy and work towards finishing their degree. Depending on the number of transfer credits your school will accept, you may be able to place yourself a semester ahead by taking care of free credit courses, or even major courses. The benefit of using your summer to take care of major credits is that it's one less class to take, which puts you a little ahead in the race to graduation, and it frees up your time later for electives. The benefit of taking that time to take elective courses is the same, except it now leaves you with more time to focus on really acing your major courses!

Take advantage of your college electives! Are you interested in philosophy? Take an introductory class in the subject. If you're interested in Theology, use a few electives on world religion courses. If you have a flare for the dramatic that doesn't exactly get displayed in your Computer Science courses, sign up for an introductory acting class! These credits are available to you to grant your curiosity some release. They're there to let you explore fields you know you would never want to study full time but still maintain some interest in. They are the perfect opportunity to find a new hobby, learn some new things, and stretch your mind's horizons! Take the time to explore your options; get in touch with your school's Registrar's office or your adviser and find out what elective possibilities are available to you. Get out there and explore! People say college is the best four years of your life, but that's only true if you make it true! So go on, take hold of the opportunities of elective credits, and have the time of your life with your education!