<p>On my last thread I asked if I had a shot of getting into an ivy .yes, I realize I may be only 15 but I only have about a bit over a year left. Thanks to the people actually helped answering my questions. </p>
<p>Well for a more realistic question What do you do in your first two years of college? I want to major in classics, and I heard I couldnt start majoring in anything until junior year. I was told it was more of increasing your general knowledge the first two years. But do you still take courses that will help you in your major? And to major in a subject it takes two years, right? </p>
<p>Unless you are in a specific major that has first year classes (nursing, architecture) usually your first two years of college are spent taking the liberal education requirements or the "core" of whatever that particular university offers.</p>
<p>Mhmm. Some colleges have extensive cores (Columbia), some have just about nothing but that offered (St. Johns), and some have no general education requirements at all (Brown). These are just exapmles and other schools fall within or in other slightly different categories. Most people that I know, regardless of the school, are taking at least a class or two in the subject they wish to major in or pre reqs for that major in addition to the other classes for their general education requirements.</p>
<p>Some people like requirements or what is required at a particularl place, whereas some hate them, and then they apply and try to go to schools accordingly. Who in their right mind who wanted to construct their own program would go to St. Johns and not Brown?</p>
<p>Much good comes from the general education requirements. They are there to help you read, write, speak, think, and perform in a manner that will help you in life and better help you work in your other classes, particularly the classes in your major.</p>
<p>You ask "to major in a subject you can only start in your Junior year and it takes two years, right?" Well, few people are not taking classes in the subject in which they plan on majoring before declaring a particular major. In fact, one usually has to take a few classes in a subject to be eligible to declare that major. For philosophy, I have to take three specific classes to declare, of which I'm in 1 during my first semester of my freshman year, and I will probably take at least one of the other ones next semester. For Rhetoric, I am in one of two classes needed to declare. Really, I am undeclared because I am unable to declare, but I am surely studying that which I plan on majoring in. Often times the pre reqs to declare take two years to fulfill, or the school only lets you declare after your second year, or the school makes you declare no later than the end of the second year. You will, in all likelyhood, have taken at least a few introductory Classics classes prior to being declared a "Classics major."</p>
<p>A lot of people don't know what they want to major in, so they take general courses that either satisfy general education requirements or classes in fields they may be interested in majoring in. Then, they decide which of those fields they want to major in & take primarily those classes required. My freshmen year I told people "I'm a chemistry major for now - but that may change" - but whatever I'd change it to would still be in the physical sciences - so I took classes which seemed to be the prerequisites for several of those majors (math, physics, chem). the hardest point was when I was picking out classes for my 2nd year, so I just took the next round of classes for a chem major. That worked out well so I just decided to stick with being a chem major. Good thing too.. I'm starting my 4th & final year!</p>
<p>Check out the web sites of colleges under the "academics" section. That will tell you what courses you need for each majors, and whether the college has required courses that all students need to take. For instance, some colleges mandate that all students take a freshman seminar or a writing course.</p>