#graduation requirements

[alwaysbewoke]

because she broke up a fight. BECAUSE SHE BROKE UP A FUCKING FIGHT!!!!!

THIS is why i refuse to send my black child to a public school. They are not here for us. SMFH!!

#student suspension #public comment #school board meeting #emotional plea #graduation #curriculum #appeal process #disciplinary action #student code of conduct #disciplinary process #appeals process #graduation requirements #military enlistment #police involvement #board of school commissioners #resolution #FERPA #white supremacy #racism #social justice #equality #end hate #anti-racism #racial equality #stop racism #no to hate #dismantle racism

[addierose444]

Message Response: Double Majoring

Last week I received the following comment on an old blog post.

Thinking about declaring a second major as well. Currently a computer science major. How many classes and how much more time on your degrees will it add possibly?

I wrote up some initial thoughts, but as my response exceeded the character limit I ultimately directly messaged the reader. The ease with which I was able to write those initial thoughts indicated to me that I had a good start for a full blog post. If you have questions for me, feel free to submit them here. If I’m knowledgeable and interested in your question I may write up a blog post response. Otherwise, I’ll try and send a quick message that either answers your question or acknowledges my inability to answer said question. For more about my current approach to handling reader questions, click here.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m an engineering (B.S.) and computer science double major who declared both of these majors during my first year of college. You can read about the declaration of my first and second major at the respective links. 

Many of my thoughts on double majoring are universal, but the calculations I perform are Smith-specific and not applicable to fellow engineering students. Let’s start off with Smith’s graduation requirements. To graduate, one must earn a total of 128 credits and complete a major. We have what’s known as an open curriculum, so outside of your major, there is a ton of flexibility. The only additional requirements are that you complete a writing intensive course during your first year and that 64 of your credits come from outside of your major. This 64-credit rule doesn’t apply to engineers like myself pursuing a B.S. degree. We must instead either complete the Latin Honors distributional requirements or minor in a non-STEM field. I personally opted for the flexibility of the distributional requirements route which you can read more about here. 

At Smith, a normal course load is 16 credits per semester which equates to four 4-credit classes. Over 8-semesters of taking the normal 4-course course load, you can take a total of 32 courses. Taking an extra credit or two is common in STEM as lab classes are 5-credit hours. Students may also opt to take a few 1-2 credit electives, but we’ll focus our analysis on a standard 4-course course load. As a major only requires 10-11 courses, double majoring really is not all that difficult. To give you a sense of what those 10-11 courses may look like, we’ll use the recently redesigned computer science major as an example. The computer science major requires a total of 11 courses: 2 introductory courses, 3 core courses, 2 math courses, 4 intermediate electives, and a 300-level course. If you’d like to learn more about Smith’s computer science department, check out their webpage and these posts of mine. 

Here are some tradeoffs to keep in mind. First, double majoring reduces the number of electives you can take. Here is the basic math. Take for instance two 11-course non-overlapping majors for a total of 22 required courses (plus one for the writing intensive). This leaves 9 free electives which essentially translates to an elective every single semester. This presumes that you start on your double major early on. Adding a second major “late” is sometimes doable, but definitely isn’t easy. 

I will also note that there’s a difference between double majoring in similar and disparate fields. If the majors are super different, taking fewer electives may not be a big deal as you’ll naturally be taking a range of courses. With similar majors, there may be some overlap which in turn could free up an elective or two. 

The other note about this calculation is that it only takes into account doing the bare minimum for both majors. This can be a tradeoff in itself. Depending on your post-college plans, doing the bare minimum for your primary major just may not cut it. I don’t know the specifics, so do your own research on what graduate schools and employers in your specific field expect. Furthermore, it’s also my understanding that honors projects are in addition to your major requirements. 

While I’ve generally demonstrated the feasibility of a double major, that does not necessarily mean everyone should do one. At least at Smith, double majors are actually very common. Because of this, I think a lot of students feel pressure to double major. Despite being a double major, I’m more anti-double major than you might expect. Beyond the aforementioned tradeoffs, the reality is that your time may be better spent just taking the courses that are most interesting and relevant to you rather than worrying about specific requirements. By requirements, I’m not just talking about the number of classes. We’ve already established that it’s not exorbitant. What I’m getting at is that majors typically have core classes and aim to provide some breadth of knowledge in the given field. If you’re double majoring primarily because you think it looks impressive, seriously don’t bother. If you want to actually be impressive, excel in a single major. If you’re only a course or two short of a double major, sure go ahead and take the extra classes. 

If you have a specific second major in mind that you are excited about, I recommend creating a 4-year plan to map out the required courses and some of the electives you would like to take. If the plan looks interesting and doable, go for it. In other words, I don’t think double majors are inherently bad. I’m just of the belief that they should be done thoughtfully and for the right reasons. You could instead consider a minor as they typically require 5 courses which affords you an extra 5-6 electives as compared with a double major. It’s my belief that minoring is a good compromise to double majoring, but that adding a minor just to add one is sort of pointless. To read a bit more about how I create and maintain my own 4-year plan, click here. The one case where I’d perhaps argue more strongly for a double major is if your dream major isn’t very employable. 

As mentioned in the introduction, engineering is a bit different as it’s our only B.S. and thus has twice the number of required classes as compared to B.A. majors. The truth is that the only reason I’ve been able to take electives is that I’ve routinely taken five courses per semester. I also came in with some AP credits and there is some overlap between my majors.  To check out all of the courses I’ve taken, click here. In the near future, I hope to do a deep dive into my honest thoughts and motivations behind my credit overloads. I came to Smith with the intention of majoring in engineering and taking a bunch of computer science classes. Why? Because at the time I was interested in computer engineering which lies at the intersection of electrical engineering and computer science. Furthermore, a double major seemed impossible. I figured I’d take enough courses for a minor, but had talked myself out of actually minoring so that I could ignore the specific requirements. For more about my personal academic journey into engineering and computer science click here. There’s a lot more to unpack about my double major now that my current career plan only really requires my secondary major, but that’s a topic for another day. 

#college #Smith College #double major #graduation requirements #electives #academic planning

[american-money-news]

Over Half of American High Schools Now Require Students to Take Personal Finance After Pennsylvania Passage

A personal finance course in high school can provide students with invaluable, real-world lessons on topics like budgeting, investing, credit, and more. This type of financial education aims to equip students with knowledge and skills that they can apply throughout their adult lives. Thanks to a recent push at the state government level, over half of American high schoolers will soon have access…

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#financial literacy #graduation requirements #Pennsylvania schools #personal finance #student loans

[filosofablogger]

Filosofa's Snarky Snippets Are Baaaaaaack!

Now that the bill to raise the debt ceiling has passed and a potential crisis has once again been headed off in the 11th hour, it’s time to look around at what else has been happening that might have escaped our notice. I want to start with something that impressed me, someone who has a conscience and puts life above profit.  Back in early 2021, Jon Waldman bought a gun store, Georgia…

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#Brian Tyler Cohen #Fort Liberty #graduation requirements #Jon Waldman #Kevin McCarthy #Marlin High School in Marlin Texas #renaming military bases #Republican Party agenda

[supportingeducation]

Personal Finance Education Vital, Says Survey

Could this be the next Required Class for High Schoolers?

Personal finance education should be a high school graduation requirement, says an educational survey. In March, the National Endowment for Financial Education conducted a survey of over a thousand adults, looking into what they felt school could have done better to help support their financial futures. 88 percent of the respondents said that requiring an education in personal finance would have…

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#financial literacy #graduation requirements #national endowment for financial education #personal finance

[ace-and-ranty]

And also another thing. The Scholomance is gonna need. So much CGI. Like. So much CGI. The chances of some poor CGI team out there getting crunched and underpaid and delivering truly atrocious work... they are not small.

#Spinning Silver would require significantly less CGI. I feel. #like. the Staryk King could easily be achievable with proper makeup. #just get Doug on it! He would be a marvelous Staryk King actually!! #the Staryk Kingdom could be done with some proper sets #I think the ending scene with Chernoborg would be the only real CGI-heavy sequence #and it would not be worse then the having to animate the fucking Graduation Hall. #Irina's storyline needs a minimum of CGI #and Wanda's almost none #Naomi Novik #The Scholomance #Spinning Silver

[jakeperalta]

found a decent looking job that I am actually qualified for but it means that now I have to do one of life's most evil tasks (job application 🤢)

#if anything i am actually somewhat over qualified because it's a graduate programme so doesn't require any experience #whereas i have two years of pretty much as relevant experience as possible without having done this specific role #the starting salary is more than what i'm on now and after two years it would increase to way more so i want it #but alas that does mean reopening my cv file that i haven't touched in two years #talking

[necrowtic]

i should be able to suicide bait the syllabus it should be able to feel pain

#garlic speaks #hate this gay as hell graduation requirement i know More than you you are nothing die forever

[violetriorsons]

will forever love that literally all the other dragons are ruthless assholes and have no problem letting their cadet riders fall to their deaths as a means to weed out the weak

and meanwhile, tairn would gladly put violet in a bubble if he could

#tairn #tairn and violet #fourth wing #iron flame #i mean her blood is his blood so it makes sense #but he was true to this from DAY ONE #from his 'you're bleeding. stop it.' #'do you bleed often?' already stressed #him shutting down the running landing practices even though it was required for graduation #he was ready to have A WORD with the school's superintendent

[bentofaxmachine]

desperately want lg to have been a massive crybaby growing up

#link click #idk i just think it would be cute?? except for the sad part where he had to learn to hide it #gonna think abt how i can make this abt shiguang to ignore how med school is suddenly sounding much more like a requirement for me #hahaha ive taken no prereqs for it even tho im graduating in 1.5 years??? but imagine that now when LG cries CXS wipes his tears away

[neolesbian]

hi humanities majors can someone help little old me write an essay. i forget

#one downside to being an art student who still needs to take required lit classes to graduate. forgor

[studentbyday]

y'know how they say an academic writing sample can be something like an undergrad thesis or journal article? but if a journal article has many authors, how do they know which part you contributed to? or do they just want the part of the article you wrote for the sample? sadly i don't have the option to do an undergrad thesis, so i won't have something that was purely/mostly my own to give...

#i'm not applying yet... #i actually still have a few years left of undergrad but it never hurts to look up admission requirements early right? 😅 #gradblr #grad student #phdblr #studyblr #study tips #study advice #grad school apps #student life #academic writing #academic research #academic advice #graduate student #graduate school

[american-money-news]

Teaching Teens Money Matters: Over Half of U.S. Students Now Guaranteed Personal Finance Courses

Money management skills are not often part of the core curriculum taught in America’s high schools. Yet handling personal finances wisely is an essential life skill. This week, however, Pennsylvania passed legislation requiring all high school students in the state to complete a personal finance course before they graduate. With the Keystone State on board, over half of U.S. high schoolers now…

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#graduation requirements #high school courses #investing #money management #personal finance #teen education

[aquaquadrant]

I'm so shocked how you managed to make Frederic a much more compelling character in your darkness exists fic! Like his actions in your fic are mostly the same as his actions in the show, but we know where he's coming from and he isn't unreasonable. And he actually tries to make up for his faults.

oh shit, a wild tts post in the midst of all my gay blockman angst! first off i appreciate y’all taking the time to send these in, lots of ppl have a sort of taboo against commenting on old/hiatused fics for some reason so it’s wonderful to know there are still readers out there enjoying it, especially since i had to lock my A03 to users only due to the AI bot problem (for the unaware, all big writing AIs like chatGPT scrape from sites like A03 to fuel their ‘writing.’ it’s like the art theft that art AIs do, which is why i’m against the use of AI in any kind of creative capacity. yes, even character AIs.) at a certain point i think i’ll just have to give up and accept there’s no true way to defend against having my writing stolen by AI, just suck it up and start using A03 again, but i’m not quite there yet. that wound’s still fresh.

BUT I DIGRESS. frederic’s characterization was one of the biggest problems i had w season 1 of tts. like, to a certain extent his motivation was understandable, though still unreasonable, but the biggest thing that annoyed me was how the show tried to paint him in a sympathetic light, and how his own family constantly put up with and excused his horrible behavior bc ‘he was doing it out of love.’ when gothel showed her true colors, rapunzel stood up to her- the woman who raised her for her entire life- without hesitation, no WAY she would sit idly by and let her father treat her that way. and his wife!! the queen!!! a total doormat. very disappointing and a direct result of the showrunner’s own inflated ego and self-admitted self-insertion of the character.

the way i handled frederic in my fic was basically my opportunity to show how i think rapunzel- the real rapunzel, from the movie i love- would have reacted. she’s willing to hear out the concerns of those she loves, but is also willing to put her foot down against injustice, especially in my fic where she has such a protective role as varian’s big sister. that shit just won’t fly. so i’m glad that decision was as gratifying for u to read as it was for me to write 🙏 i’m trying to do right by the king we saw in the movie, who captured so many hearts without saying a single word.

#tangled the series #tts #little brother au #and yea ‘trying’ as in present tense bc i still wanna get back to that fic someday #but that someday will be after graduation for sure #past me like ‘i think i can still update thru vet school just really slowly!’ YEAH RIGHT LMAO #that fic requires a LOT of work per chapter even if it’s not a particularly long or dramatic chapter #bc there’s SO MUCH worldbuilding and plotting going on behind the scenes #gotta make sure i don’t shoot myself in the foot #but anyway THANKS FOR THE INTEREST i hope i can continue it someday <3 #my writing

[storm-of-feathers]

My real advice for all teenagers is that high school is just as stupid as you think it is. In fact it's even stupider. You look up a second after graduation and go "Well that was fucking stupid." and you're right. And the further away trom high school you get the stupider it seems.

#i know high school is emphasized while youre in it as being sooo important and the end all be all but it isntb #do graduate and stuff. almost every job requires a diploma or ged #BUT understand your entire life IS NOT #I REPEAT IS *NOT* #decided by whatever shit you do in high school

[pursuedbyamemoryy]

hi everyone!!!

once again going on hiatus because school is killing me and i simply cannot keep up with writing 75+ pages worth of school essays and papers, working on projects, going to my internship, etc and finding the time and motivation to write for fun in my free time!!! i’ve also been having health issues and i’m choosing to prioritize my mental and physical health for a while 🫶

hopefully i’ll be back to posting later in the spring / early summer, and i’ll finish the requests from my valentine’s day event ( i apologize that they’re going to be SOOOOO late but i really just cant rn 😭 )

thank you to everyone who sticks around, especially all my mutuals, ily <33

#pursuedbyamemory talks #dawn’s valentines event 💌 #i apologize for constantly just leaving #i promise i’ll be consistent one day… perhaps. #i’m graduating in june so once all my grad requirements are done BEST BELIEVE i will be back #i also may or may not redo my entire theme once i come back #contrary to what my theme suggests i actually hate the beach and summer and i’ve had this theme for like a year and i’m bored of it #ok done rambling ily ( especially my pookie boo boo bear mutuals )