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EARNING YOUR DEGREE

After being accepted to a university or college, students are
free to choose any course of study they want. They rarely have to
compete for a limited number of places. It is usually not necessary
for students to decide immediately what subject they will study. In
fact, it is not unknown for a student in the third year of college to
still be undecided. However, a student will usually select a major -
the major field of study - relatively early on.
To earn a degree in a subject, a student must complete a fixed
number of required and elective courses, measured in credits or
units. Before moving into the more specialized classes in their
chosen subject, students are often required to complete a number
of general education courses in subjects such as English, science,
history, and foreign languages. However, it is up to the individual
student to take any required classes; the school will provide
guidelines, but it is the student's responsibility to actually sign up
for and pass all courses.
Students may also pick a minor, or a second subject that
interests them, which may or may not be related to their major.
Again, there are certain required courses that must be completed in
order to meet the requirements for a minor. A student may also
work on a double major, meeting the major requirements for two
subjects.
Undergraduate students attend classes on a regular basis, usu-
ally two or three times a week for each subject. The instructor will
give lectures on the subject, and students are responsible for
knowing the material covered. They will be tested several times in
the course of a quarter or semester, usually in a midterm and a
final exam. There may also be written assignments or research
projects to complete for the final grade.
Students may seek tutors for extra help in subjects that they are
having trouble in. Tutors are usually more advanced students or
graduate students who do this as a way of supplementing their
income. They are not official employees of the college or
university.
Students go to classes, not to lectures. A lecture is a special
presentation by a guest speaker, and is open to all the students at a
university. Classes are open only to students who have signed up