Hi aska, I’m going into my 4th year and doing 2 majors (English & Sociology), so I’ll have to take 0.5 FCE at 400-level for each POSt. Is it a bad idea to take both 400-level courses in one semester? 400-level courses are, I heard, quite intensive & the two topics I am passionate about are offered only in the fall semester. I’m so torn about this it’s genuinely stressing me out. The topics for 400-level courses in winter, annoyingly for both eng & soc, just don’t interest me as much. Thanks!
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hey there,
my friend, i understand that feeling. long gone are the days when you could hide behind the 80+ other people in your class if you forget to do a reading. in 400-level classes, you’re on your own. there’re only about a dozen of you and you WILL get called on and the professor WILL figure it out if none of you have read the material for that day. it’s happened to me. and yes, it was really embarrassing.
also, everyone gets really smart, really fast in fourth year. i’ve looked around 400-level courses and been bewildered by people with whom i took 200-level classes suddenly knowing their stuff, making insightful points, having strong opinions about this or that interpretation of a text, and otherwise making me feel like i’ve got an IQ slightly below that of the average mussel.
that being said, 400-level courses are also fantastic. best case scenario, you actually get to have an interesting conversation with your class. it’s almost like you’re learning from each other. if you can imagine such a thing.
another bonus: assignments are fewer and further between, and you typically have more creative control over them. 400-level courses actually let you come into your own as an academic, research your own interests, and develop projects all on your own.
of course, that’s all really hard. but it can be fulfilling, academically; you know, if you go in for that sort of baloney.
on a personal note: i took 3.0 400-level courses in my fourth year (i had a lot of persnickety requirements to fill) and i did just fine (the other 1.5 credits i took were 300-levels). the 400-level ones were challenging, but in a good way. hopefully doing 1.0 FCEs of them will be just the right amount of challenge for you.
i hope that helps???
aska