There is one special word that can strike fear into the hearts of all Boston University freshman. Every single one of us could talk all day about the confusing conundrum of the “BU Hub.” The Hub is the brand new general education system here, and it seems like the class of 2022 has become the guinea pig year.
The Hub has been the most daunting aspect of my freshman year, from a “planning for the future” perspective. However, I feel like I have gained a lot of insight on what it is and how to deal with it. The Hub is the new system for BU students to get our general education requirements fulfilled while becoming well-rounded students and people.
The first and most important piece of advice I have is to meet with your academic advisor, who will tell you which Hub units you will and will not get from the requirements of your major. This is a great starting point.
From there, you can ask your advisor if he or she has any specific pieces of advice for you and your unique program. For example, if you are a math major or in the College of Engineering, he or she may tell you to keep the more artistic Hub units in mind, because you probably will not get those from your program. Similarly, if you are an English major in the College of Fine Arts, you should keep the more math-oriented Hub units in mind.
With that advice in mind, I suggest you take the time to write out all of the required courses and electives that you need to take for your major. Then, map out which semesters you want to take those classes, so you can see where you have space in your schedule to fulfill your Hub units. While it sometimes does not seem like it, chances are you will have four or more open spaces within the four years of college.
After that, look at the Hub units you will still need after taking all of the classes for your major. You can go to this website to search for classes by which Hub units they fulfill, and I promise you will find courses that interest you and fulfill hub units. I know it can be really scary and annoying. Most of us are resigned to take classes that we hate for the sole purpose of fulfilling our Hub units and graduating, but that is definitely not the case. There is a variety of courses to choose from and you WILL find one that you like!
With the Hub unit course search website and the help of your advisor, the Hub system becomes much less frightening. Also, keep in mind that more classes are getting approved each semester, so over time it will only get easier to fulfill the Hub units.
Remember to take a breath when you feel stressed about this new system, because we are all figuring it out together!
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