Most college students do not know how to file their taxes, but as long as they know how to calculate a derivative, real life skills don’t matter because they will be academically well-rounded.

The required GER and UCORE course loads that students take are ridiculous in that they are required even for students who do not wish to go into that field or occupation.

As college students, we are all required to take courses that do not pertain to our chosen major. There are nine different categories of classes all students must complete in order to graduate, in addition to the classes they take for their particular degree.

The categories are: roots of contemporary issues, quantitative reasoning, written communication, communication, inquiry in the social sciences, inquiry in humanities, inquiry in the creative professional arts, inquiry in the natural sciences, diversity, and an integrative capstone, according to the university website. These courses are meant to give students a broad education and make them versatile, but not many of them are going to utilize the introductory knowledge they learned in a contemporary issues or creative professional arts class throughout the rest of their lives.

As a transfer student majoring in communication, I have already taken a handful of classes that will not assist me in my future profession. Though geology and the history of rock & roll are interesting courses, they will not help me pursue my future goals in a way that I can currently see.

As a student, I believe that if I am paying thousands of dollars for tuition, books and other mandatory fees in the pursuit of a future career, the classes I should be worrying about need to directly pertain to my field of study. They should not be courses that teach me how to identify different types of rocks if I am not seeking to become a geologist at any point in time.

If students are required to take courses that do not relate to their personal major, they should be courses that teach life skills that can be used on an everyday basis.

At some high schools there is a class usually referred to as home economics. High school students learn and understand the skills necessary in managing their future lives. College students, being closer to actually being in the real world, should have required classes that are similar to home economics.

These courses could teach how to handle balancing a check book, paying taxes, changing the oil in a car, creating a good credit score, or even how to cook a healthy meal. Students should be taught these skills rather than what happened in the music industry 50 years ago.

It is not that the courses currently being offered are completely irrelevant for everyone; it’s just there should be more options. Students should be taught something they will use for the rest of their lives instead of being forced to take courses that have nothing to do with their majors and future aspirations; especially if they are paying good money to do so.