Kiss That Class Goodbye

It has happened to virtually every undergraduate looking for an easy core, interesting elective, or fun foreign language course. You placed your trust in Foreign Cultures (insert number) only to find yourself betrayed, jaded, bested by the Q Guide. Or maybe you simply ignored the numerical rating—a three is better than average, right?

Never fear! With the add/drop deadline fast approaching—forms are due tomorrow, October 5th, to the FDO, your Resident Dean, or the Registrar’s Office—Flyby brings you “Courses Underachievers (Should) Escape,” or the CUE 2.0.

Read on for our list of courses you never should have taken in the first place, and bear in mind, Flyby has your best interests at heart.

1. Math 21a: Multivariable Calculus—Q Rating: 3.3

Flyby’s reason to drop: The 3.2 hour/week estimated workload is a gross underestimate for the average student.

2. African American Studies 121: Please, Wake Up! - Race, Gender, Class and Ethnicity in the Early Films of Spike Lee—Q Rating: 3.2

Flyby’s reason to drop: This wasn’t your fault, poor Reader. The syllabus originally only listed two 4-6 page papers under coursework. But now (gasp!) Professor Jeyifo takes attendance, requires weekly web postings, and gives biweekly quizzes. It’s time to "Do the Right Thing" and drop this course. More ideas after the jump.

3. Science of Living Systems 11: Molecules of Life—Q Rating: 4.7

Flyby’s reason to drop: The first midterm is Tuesday. It is not humanly possible to watch 13.5 hours of lecture videos consecutively. Maybe you should have taken this class more seriously.

4. History 1330: Social Thought in Modern America—Q Rating: 4.8

Flyby’s reason to drop: Sure it got rave Q reviews, it might even be “the closest to an ‘intellectual journey’ that one may find” at Harvard (Q-response), but if given the choice between sleep and another Kloppenberg reading, you choose sleep, then give this course the boot.

If you dread personal confrontation, take a deep breath and relax—the Registrar’s office has your back. To drop a course you need not actually tell your professor his or her lectures just aren’t worth your time—simply plead/bargain/bribe a signature out of your freshman/sophomore/concentration advisor and drop your form off to your Resident Dean/FDO/Registrar’s Office.

“Na na na na, na na na na, hey heyyy goodbye…”