Even though I enjoy it, I know plenty of people who resent their time in the College of General Studies here at BU. Like many of the majors on campus, there are certain stereotypes and assumptions that follow after introducing yourself as a CGS student. None of them faze any of us too much, but they’re definitely there.Â
CGS requires you to stick with required classes until the end of your sophomore year, at which point you graduate from CGS and transfer to the college of your choice. CGS is known for giving heaps of written assignments and requiring students to take classes outside of their major. The typical CGS blurb tells incoming students that they will get a fully rounded education spanning across disciplines and subjects.Â
Personally, I enjoyed my time in CGS and having the chance to learn about multiple subjects. I feel like I have a much more inclusive way of thinking due to my time in CGS. Through CGS, I’ve taken classes in biology, ecology, humanities, social science and rhetoric. The major downside, at least to me, would undoubtedly be the inability to study abroad while in CGS. Even though the college offers a London option built into the CGS program, not everybody goes.
A lot of students, myself included, chose to enroll in the regular September program, meaning that we just started school in Boston our freshman year like everybody else. Honestly, this wasn’t an issue for me. The problem arose my second semester of sophomore year. That’s when a big chunk of my non-CGS friends decided to go abroad and I was stuck here. Maybe I wouldn’t have gone abroad at that specific time anyway, but the point is that I didn’t really get a choice because of the structure of the CGS program. And that’s when the social media wave hit.Â
The only way to get over this was to throw myself into life at BU. I’ve been hanging out with friends that I don’t see that often and investing more time into my school work. I’ve actually gone to office hours for nearly all of my classes, which is a rarity for me. I got a new job to earn money for when I go abroad next fall and I’ve been applying to internships over the summer.
Honestly, the key to surviving college life on your own while your friends are gone is to live in the moment. If you anticipate studying abroad too much, you risk ruining what you have now. Besides, junior year comes fast enough, and after that the real world too! Take your time and embrace where are you are, right here, right now.Â
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