Check out this list–I like that the two things I’ve done in my life are in the “easy GPA” category. My wife, fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), has moved from the “easy” to “hard” category.
5 Hardest and Easiest College Majors by GPA’s – CBS MoneyWatch.com
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As a dual-appointment interdisciplinary professor serving both the music area and the STEM area at a comprehensive university, I feel compelled to respond to the CNN article in your forum. Around this time of the year, I routinely receive inquiries from disillusioned freshmen from the STEM areas (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) about changing their major to music. Sadly, most of them cannot be admitted to the music program because they cannot demonstrate the minimum proficiency on their voice or instrument and/or they cannot read music. So after initial screenings (auditions or pre-interviews) where we determine that the prospective transfer from the STEM area would not be able to survive a music program, we suggest other programs for them besides music. Sometimes I wonder if it would be better PR for the music area to just go ahead and accept everybody. That way, after the music students who never had formal music training before college register poor scores in freshman theory and ear-training, the overall GPA averages go down. This would make the music degree look like a “hard” major. The current practice of only accepting students who have the preparation to succeed in a music degree program is the right thing to do, but it means that the music area won’t be getting as many bad grades to parade to CNN researchers. If the undergraduate STEM fields had the same rigorous entrance requirements as a music proficiency audition, and they kept out students that they know will fail or barely get through with mediocre performance, I’m sure the numbers in the CNN poll would be different.
I agree completely with the previous comment. I was going to leave a similar comment on the CNN page. The article and the comments also failed to mention the amount of time music students spend practicing. I only saw complaints from science majors having to do labs and write up their labs.
This is a bunch of BS. Music Majors (atleast ones with potential for success in the real world) have to work 6 hours a day on their instrument, deal with just about all the performances schools like to force them to do, hours upon hours of rehearsals, the standard classes, plus music classes. My normal day has about 3-4 hours of classes, 4-6 hours of rehearsal, and I have to find time outside of that to eat (I’ve learned this is a luxury), do homework, and study for these classes. Not to mention the unscheduled rehearsals, sectionals, and performances that get lumped on top of it.
The reason the some of the math and science majors have lower gpa’s is because they only need to study and do homework. This leaves a ton of time to slack off, party, and who knows what.