I’ll be starting community college in the fall and I am currently undecided on my major. I’m leaning toward either Early Childhood Education, but I wanted my first year of college to be more focused on exploring other interests of mine rather than immediately working toward a degree. That being said, I’m interested in taking and Intro to Sailing class simply because it sounds interesting and would be a fun class to try. I’m wondering if this is an okay reason to take the class or if it will seem strange to others? Any thoughts? Thanks(:
It’s absolutely okay and even encouraged! College is all about exploring and that’s exactly what electives are for- taking what you find interesting!
Just for ease of numbers, my university requires 35 units to graduate (most courses are 1 unit), with up to 12 units of gen ed requirements (depends on how you fulfill foreign lang). Most majors are around 10-12 units, so that leaves at least 11-14 units of elective space, generally more. Those classes are meant for you to take whatever you like, regardless of what you’re getting your degree in. Because I came in with AP credit and have planned carefully, I’m actually able to double major (CS and math) and double minor (music and dance) and I still have room for complete electives, but most people just take whatever they want in these spots.
This past fall I took class voice because I thought I’d be interesting and fun (it didn’t count for any requirements). I’m also planning on taking classes that don’t fulfill any requirement for me like History of the Romance Languages, Linguistics, and Stage Makeup (the latter only if I can fit it in…). I also can tailor my gen eds to be classes I find interesting, such as forensic science, and mythology. I decided on a whim to taking intro to costuming in the theater department this coming fall, since I find it interesting (although it does fulfill an elective for the dance minor which is a plus).
Hope this give you some confidence in your decision! Take advantage of everything your college has to offer!
I’ve taken several Spanish classes, as well as English, criminology, ballroom dancing, and (next semester) human geography. It lets you take a break from your major courses 
It’s more than just okay, it’s encouraged!
By all means, explore! You may find that there is something you love that you were never exposed to in high school. Colleges offer majors in disciplines that few, if any, high schools have – anthropology, archeology, geology, astronomy, neuroscience – to name a few. The way people “discover” these as their passion is by answering that call from the course catalog.
And even if it’s not a passion, it’ll make your mind a more interesting place to be.
Is sailing a college-level course that can transfer into a four-year school? Some Physcal Ed does transfer. Find out.
Generally yes. Most majors at most colleges leave room for free electives after using some of your schedule space for major requirements and general education requirements. Free electives can be used on any course you want at the college.
In general, yes!
However, you also want to make sure you are on the normal track for your intended major, that you dont’ take too many hours, that you take pre-requisites you will need for the next semester, you have “general electives” that you are allowed to take and you don’t take a semester with too many easy or hard courses.