how many classes have you taken just because they're interesting

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With the notable exceptions of any and all math, english, and humanities classes, I'd take almost-if-not-all of my courses anyway.

I am a dork.

*I like math and english and humanities just not in uni. 😛
 
I'm a sucker for European history, especially Central Europe/Germany. Best class ever that I didn't need, even for my useless poli sci major: Socialism v. Capitalism... taught by an old-school Russian communist.
 
quite a few actually. one of my favorite hobbies during undergrad was to go around and sit in on random lectures every day. i got a fantastic education from some of the brightest minds in academia, and was exposed to a wide-range of disciplines, but it's not on my amcas, so apparently it doesn't matter. whatever, i'm a better person for it...
 
All of mine have been terrible mistakes. I think its best to take classes outside your curriculum if they're useful, like Speech. I just regret wasting my precious free time on something like history of art...
 
I took Discrete Math and calculus when my major requires only Trig and Algebra 2. Calculus was fun and i got and A; Discrete Math was fun, yet stupid and I got a b- by the skin of my teeth! 😳
 
I've taken a few courses just because I thought the subject/professor would be interesting. The one course I absolutely loved was a political science course taught by Gandhi's grandson (yeah... that Gandhi). The course was about politics in developing nations and I swear, that man has been to every single country!
 
Comp sci for fun. It was easy for me but not the comp sci majors!!
 
2: History of the Crusades and Herpetology
 
1 and probably never again. I've learned it's better to audit or sit in such classes of personal interest.
 
Lots....just some that come to mind:
Foundations of International Politics
LOTS of foreign language (thinking about auditing Cree or Blackfoot next semester just for fun!)
Policy Issues: Affordable Housing
Astronomy
Issues in Women's Health
 
Enough to get a (worthless) second degree in History.
 
etf said:
quite a few actually. one of my favorite hobbies during undergrad was to go around and sit in on random lectures every day. i got a fantastic education from some of the brightest minds in academia, and was exposed to a wide-range of disciplines, but it's not on my amcas, so apparently it doesn't matter. whatever, i'm a better person for it...
Click to expand...

damn that's creepy
 
I've taken or am registered to take a bunch of upper-division classes in like eight different majors on my campus, including psychology, anthropology, chemistry, statistics, biology, biochemistry, ethnic studies, and religious studies. None except for the chemistry were major requirements, I was just interested.

Some of them are really interesting. Like the psychology class was about the psychological aspects of the doctor-patient relationship, the anthropology class was about the medicinal systems of cultures all around the world, and... well, the ethnic studies class is hip hop, rap, and popular culture. Can't go wrong with that. Taking the ethnic studies next quarter, so that should be kinda fun.
 
As of Now: 4
Philosophy and Ethics of the Holocaust
German Cultures and the Holocaust
Holocaust History and Public Memory
(all of those were from study abroad)

Volleyball

Still to Come:
Swahili, a couple more history courses, and maybe a Medical spanish course- but I might chose to do a Medical Spanish Immersion program instead.
 
Communications. Didn't need to take it, but it has been the most important and fun class thus far. Thankfully fourth year is coming and I'll take scheduled electives. Hopefully I'll have a choice and not get stuck with a class though.
 
2 so far...
"Modern Western Traditions" (aka, History 101); I guess it was kind of interesting, but mostly a mistake. Way too much work and reading, the teacher graded very strictly, and I had to put in way too much effort for a B+.

Second was Microecon, which was kind of interesting, but mostly really really boring. I had read Freakonomics before entering college, and it piqued my interest in economics. I thought it would be really cool and that I might actually really like economics. Then I took microecon, which promptly killed any interest I may have had in economics.

There are a few more classes I'm looking to take in the coming semesters though... we'll see how it pans out.

etf said:
quite a few actually. one of my favorite hobbies during undergrad was to go around and sit in on random lectures every day. i got a fantastic education from some of the brightest minds in academia, and was exposed to a wide-range of disciplines, but it's not on my amcas, so apparently it doesn't matter. whatever, i'm a better person for it...
Click to expand...
That's actually a cool idea, if I ever find time for it I might do this at some point!
 
i took a bunch... loved all of them

a harder writing/humanities course (8 units/quarter for 3 quarters)...
gender and pop culture
queer identity and race representation
sociology of sex
spanish (3 months in madrid, spain), which was 10 units in 7 weeks....

loved it.
 
I took a ton as well. Pretty much every experimental Psychology class my school offers... Now that I think about it, I guess all of my upper division Bio Credits are electives as well, that I just thought would be interesting.

I don't think I would torment myself with another English/Sociology/Philosophy class though.
 
My degree is in electrical engineering, so I've had the opportunity to take 0 classes that weren't required 😀
 
Abosolutely none, after Cal 2, Cal 3, Diferrential Exns, Orgo 2, Bio, I may take Yoga or Simming
 
Lots, 'cos of the whole "Liberal arts" thing. I even took Theater dance, and Art. I've to admit they were interesting, but also a waste of time.
 
luv2sd said:
damn that's creepy
Click to expand...

what about it is creepy? i went to berkeley where lectures usually had 800 people in it, so they weren't going to notice me anyway. plus we have some truly brilliant folks around, a lot of whom park in the nobel-laureate designated spaces, and it was cool hearing them talk about stuff that they won the prize for. although my gpa might belie the fact, i'm the kind of person that likes to take advantage of opportunities.
 
almost all of my classes...i mean i chose anthro as a major just to be able to do that, learn something totally different about a different culture or group or even individual as often as possible. Took anthro courses about modernity in india, about women in the palestinian diaspora, etc etc etc. I also took 8 religion courses even though none were required, did a certificate in african american studies for the opportunity to learn with Cornell West, Valerie Smith, and some other phenominal scholars. Took some great literature courses. Art history seemed ilke something i really wanted to take until 1/2way through the semester, stuck wtih it anyway but i'll admitt it was a mistake, although i'm glad i know the info now. Astrobiology. Fullfilled the language requirement twice, with french and then again with spanish. Now i'm taking Paleopathology at Penn and i LOVE it. and yes, this is one of the many reasons my gpa is low; i take courses i have no background in to actually learn as much as possible, but hey, college was $40,000 a year. I could fulfill pre-med requirements anywhere, but since i was already at Princeton and had the chance to learn from some amazing professors, i definitely took it.
 
I took a handful of Piano, Studio Art, and Anthropology classes. I also want to take French (though Spanish will probably benefit more). I still don't have a major ... and a ton of hours (along with my required pre-med classes). Maybe I should start panicking? :scared:

Edit - Oh, and unlike some other replies, I believe these extra classes contributed a lot to my growing imagination, creativity, and did benefit me.
 
2. Both were law classes focusing on the First Amendment. First semester was free speech, the second the free exercise and establishment clauses. They were a great alternative to microbiology every other day.
 
took basketball, weight lifting, choir, and voice classes through college...i also took two classes called "contemporary moral problems" and "measuring social reality", only because my counselor said i needed them, but it turned out that i had my social sciences and humanities covered before i came to college...oh well, still glad i took them
 
this semester: medical anthropology and advanced Biochem

next semester: modal logic, metalogic/ computability, and biomedical ontologies... I was going to graduate early, but couldn't resist taking these classes (I love logic 😍)!
 
On average, about 2 a semester, so about 16 give or take a couple
 
For non-sciences, I give usually give myself one per semester. Science gets one or two per semester seeing as I've already long-satisfied my course requirement... Might as well pick up that molecular concentration while I'm still here, right?!
 
TheNextMD said:
2: History of the Crusades and Herpetology
Click to expand...

I took Herpetology - who wouldn't want to go on field trips in college to look for reptiles & amphibians?

I took about 15 hours worth of classes that weren't on my degree plan just because I could fit them in & because I paid the same amount for 12-18 hours. What is an extra class except for a learning experience that you may never have again?
 
The African Storyteller

Turns out the professor was a crazy old white guy who would stop class to yell at random people. If it weren't for his weird grading system and unusual obsession with "the rite of passage" I might have enjoyed that class

I'm also taking Spanish literature, which wasn't so bad until we had to make videos for the theater unit. Lame.👎
 
i took 2 acting classes, a couple of psych classes, a bunch of history classes (i was like a class or 2 away from a minor), also took linguistics which was fun, and many more.. i graduated with way too many credits now that i think about it.
 
oh wow i took a lot. started philo as a second major just so i could get into the good classes...never finished but took 5. ceramics-- best decision ever. violin for 3 semesters. spent a semester in rome and only 1 counted towards a requirement (italian). maybe i should've focused more on my sciences...
 
Took Calc 3 for kicks. Thought it was just calc 1 with an extra coordinate; turned out kicking my butt for a semester. That was a very hard A.
 
curlywurly said:
The African Storyteller

Turns out the professor was a crazy old white guy who would stop class to yell at random people. If it weren't for his weird grading system and unusual obsession with "the rite of passage" I might have enjoyed that class

I'm also taking Spanish literature, which wasn't so bad until we had to make videos for the theater unit. Lame.👎
Click to expand...

LOL!

I had that exact same professor at UW-Madison, and I HATED the class. If you were two minutes late to class, he would throw you out. The African Storyteller was a huge mistake.
 
I have taken several:

Embryology
Imunology
Abnormal psychology
Teratology (graduate course)
Clinical embryology (graduate course)
Independent study for psychology (I did a research project, first author publication)
Genetics in human affairs

I still want to take:

epimediology
physiology psychology

I'm looking for some online law classes as well. I want to combine a career in genetics and law. So I want to learn as much as I can about the courts so I can be a genetics expert witness.
 
Russian Civilization
History of Opera - Romantic Period
Inside the Performing Arts
Game Theory Analysis
Econ classes
Time Series Analysis
Psychology
Glass Blowing (it's intense--I got some bad burns)
Music as Medicine
 
i'm taking massage therapy next semester! yays! also, im taking a documentary studies class about food. how sweet is that? field trips to restaurants and farmers markets, etc. i love how random those classes are.
 
celithu said:
Russian Civilization
History of Opera - Romantic Period
Inside the Performing Arts
Game Theory Analysis
Econ classes
Time Series Analysis
Psychology
Glass Blowing (it's intense--I got some bad burns)
Music as Medicine
Click to expand...

also, celithu, im REALLY jealous of your glass blowing class. i've wanted to take one since middle school (my art teacher blew glass), but my school doesnt offer it =(
 
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