<p>I'm a student at my state flagship university, and I've run into a problem academically--I just don't really feel challenged.</p>
<p>I hate to come across as cocky or something. But for the most part my classes are so simple, yet a significant amount of my classmates struggle in them. For example, I do Crosswords for my entire Government lecture, barely study, and still make As on all the material, while several people have had to drop due to the difficulty. For other classes, when I have discussion sections it can be frustrating because I feel like other people haven't read the material/don't speak up, and I don't feel like I'm really getting deeper insight into the subject matter or learning anything.</p>
<p>I have friends in different majors (I'm Liberal Arts, they're Science/Engineering/Business) who pull all-nighters on a weekly basis. I don't know if I just manage my time better than them, but I've yet had to pull an all-nighter for school. And while maybe I should be happy with that, something inside me tells me makes me wish I had that much work.</p>
<p>It can be frustrating because I came to college hoping to be intellectually challenged (and to thus, grow academically) and thus far--I haven't really found that in my classes nor my peers. I've got friends here and stuff, but I just don't feel like I'm really "getting smarter" here at college.</p>
<p>I say take advantage of the low level of coursework and really involve yourself on campus. Get involved in extracurricular activities, research, internships - really build a strong resume and leadership experience. Go to your professors’ office hours and have more in-depth conversations with them about the material. Or get a job and make some extra money. </p>
<p>If you have the ability to apply and transfer to a more rigorous school, that could be an option as well. But I would take advantage of all that free time and accomplish more than the ordinary.</p>
<p>Liberal Arts covers a pretty broad area. Maybe you need to narrow things down a bit. There are some majors that are just known for the workload…engineering is one of them. I assume if you’re that bright (don’t mean to sound snarky) you probably AP’ed out of alot of the general freshman classes, right? So it seems like you would/should have a little more freedom with course selection.</p>
<p>As far as Extracurriculars, I’ve gotten more involved in those this semester, and that’s definitely helped some, this semester is way more busy, I’m sure a job might do the same, these might solve the free time issues, but wouldn’t solve finding an environment that is “academically challenging.”</p>
<p>I’m not really looking to change Majors (English), because it’s the one thing I really have a passion for. I’m not sure yet, but I probably want to go to Grad School for it. I probably could do Math/Science/Engineering, but that’s not where my interests lie, and while I know financially (and probably in workload) those would probably be more rewarding–I’d rather be more challenged intellectually in a field I have an interest in, instead of challenged in one that I don’t.</p>
<p>JoBenny–you’re right, I AP’d out of a lot of my GenEd requirements, and used it as a way to “shop around” and take some Intro Courses that interested me. Stuff that wouldn’t be available in my high school (Sociology, Art History) to see if I was deadset in my major. And maybe all these Intro courses are part of the problem, but still these are not my entire schedule.</p>
<p>Likewise, I didn’t apply to my College’s Honors Program as a prospective Freshman, and in Liberal Arts you’re pretty much locked out after that. I know that that’s probably where the “like-minded individuals” I’m looking for probably are.</p>
<p>I just got into my departmental Honors program, so maybe that should help, as well as moving into upper-level coursework as a Sophomore. I really don’t want to transfer–I’ve met some great people, and love my extracurricular activities, and it would be difficult to start from scratch, (not to mention the dearth of financial aid available to transfer students at most schools)–but I feel like if things don’t get better, the money I put towards admission might be used better elsewhere.</p>