We’ve all been in one, two, or twelve or so courses in college where we thought, “Why am I in this class? Why is this required? When am I ever going to use this?”
No matter what anyone says, these questions are valid. There are so many things to learn about being an adult that no one ever takes the time to prepare you for. Things that are perhaps more important than the information from the unnecessarily expensive textbooks required for your current college classes. Let’s be honest – colleges should take the opportunity to offer different courses that students will need after graduation. Our suggestions include:
Course Description: The “college budget” is no joke. Neither is your tuition (or student loan payments), phone bill, or fluctuating gas prices. A splurge every now and then is fine, but you will need to learn that your receipts should never have more digits than your bank account’s current balance.
Objectives: Properly budget Beer/Forever 21 expenses, Breaking your Amazon habit, The Do’s and Don’ts of Debit cards
Course Description: Be honest. Until you went to college you never knew how stressful grocery shopping was. There are too many tempting foods, you’re calculating your total in your head as you shop, and almost every time you forget something important.
Objectives: Make a list of items from different aisles, Choose foods you can’t microwave, Translate the foreign language on the nutrition label
Course Description: “I don’t understand this!” said college students everywhere. Unless you’re a genius or a tax pro like one of those people in the commercials, finals week and tax season are the most stressful and confusing times of the year.
Objectives: Get a better tax return, Know what a tax return is, Understand why we do taxes in the first place
Course Description: It’s hard to believe that a twenty-something would need to take this class but let’s face it, we all know people who still don’t know how to use social media properly.
Objectives: Spot a thirst trap, Be up-to-date with new terminology (BAE, THOT, etc.), Understand and explain #hashtagabuse
Course Description: Only when assignments are due, the ceiling of your dorm room seems so much more interesting, or all of a sudden your entire kitchen needed to be reorganized, or just for that one night you could not miss watching a Harry Potter marathon.
Objectives: To Netflix or not to Netflix, Prepare an outfit the night before, Why sometimes no WiFi = no problem
Course Description: So you haven’t found the love of your life yet. That’s fine! You meet so many types of people and personalities in college you’re bound to meet someone you’ll be attracted to. By now you probably know that relationships are tricky. Remember to tread softly.
Objectives: Choosing your best profile picture, Run away from the douchebag, Why you should delete your ex’s number before drinking
Course Description: Although you might think it’s unnecessary to save up for retirement now, it will definitely help later. Whenever later may be. Not including taxes, you’ll be taking a portion out of your likely already small paycheck.
Objectives: Know what these numbers mean, Know why retirement is important, Realize you’ll be working for the next 40 to 50 years
As strange and silly as these courses may seem, you have to admit they can provide tremendous help. If you think college is hard, remember that the real world does not come with a syllabus.
About the Author
Abbygail is a psychology and communications major at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She enjoys writing, baking, movies, eating, and traveling. She hopes to one day go into Corporate Communications or become a Social Psychologist.