Alright, let’s talk about getting through those SAS core requirements at Rutgers. Man, that was a whole journey in itself.
I remember hitting sophomore year, maybe early junior year, looking at my Degree Navigator and just seeing this wall of requirements. My major courses were already kicking my butt, and I seriously needed some classes that wouldn’t add more stress. You know, the kind where you could actually breathe a little?
Figuring Stuff Out
First thing I did was just stare at the SAS core list. It felt like a puzzle with pieces scattered everywhere. There were all these codes – AH, SCL, QR, QQ, WCd, WCr – it was a lot. I tried clicking around the course catalog online, but everything sounded so academic, so official. Hard to tell what was actually manageable.
I asked around, talked to my advisor, chatted with friends. Got a lot of different opinions. One friend would swear by a certain history class being super easy, another would say it was tons of reading. It felt like everyone had one course they lucked into, but finding a consistent path? Not so straightforward.
The “Word on the Street”
What really started helping was listening to upperclassmen. Hanging around department lounges or just chatting with people who’d been through it. That’s where you got the real scoop, not the official descriptions.
- People often mentioned looking at the really big introductory courses. Like, the 101s in departments that weren’t strictly science or math heavy, unless you were good at that.
- Sometimes courses cross-listed with other schools or departments could fit a core need and maybe had a different vibe or workload.
- Rate My Professor became a bit of a guide, not gonna lie. Less about the course content itself, and more about the professor’s teaching style and grading reputation. That felt like the biggest factor sometimes.
My Experience Trying It
So, based on some hints, I aimed for a couple of courses often mentioned in the ‘easier’ category. I remember signing up for an introductory social science class. Huge lecture hall, maybe 200 people. The professor was okay, mostly went through slides based on the textbook. Attendance wasn’t mandatory, which was a plus when things got busy.
Was it easy? Well, ‘easy’ is relative. It wasn’t hard. The exams were multiple choice, mostly based on definitions and key concepts from the lectures and readings. There was one short paper. I didn’t have to kill myself for it. I showed up most of the time, did the readings (mostly), studied the slides before exams, and pulled off a B+ or A- I think. It checked off a box on my core requirements, which was the main goal.
I took another one, I think it was fulfilling an Arts & Humanities requirement. It was online, which sounded easy, but it actually had a ton of little discussion board posts and quizzes. Not difficult stuff, just… tedious. Lots of busy work. So ‘easy’ didn’t always mean ‘less work’, sometimes it just meant the work itself wasn’t complex.
Looking Back
Honestly, strategically picking some less demanding courses for the core requirements saved my sanity. It let me focus more energy on my major classes, which were the real beasts. You don’t always have to take the most intellectually rigorous option for every single requirement. Sometimes, you just need to get it done, tick the box, and keep your GPA from cratering.
It’s kind of part of the university game, navigating the system. Finding those slightly smoother paths through the requirements was definitely a skill you picked up along the way at Rutgers.
