<p>I’ll be attending a liberal arts college that requires a hefty amount of distribution requirements, and I was wondering how I should spread them out. Should I get them all out of the way during the first year or two, or should I spread them out so that I can take a break from my major courses occasionally?</p>
<p>Spread them out.</p>
<p>Get them done and over with. It’s not fun being a senior taking a course just because you have to when you’d rather be working on your major and thesis.</p>
<p>If you don’t get out of the language requirement, you will need three full semesters plus one course in the fourth semester to fulfill all distribution requirements, assuming a normal course load. If you want to take a course in your major every semester or try out several subjects in the same division, it will be tough to get all of the requirements out of the way in two years. Most Fords spread their requirements out over three years but try to get them done before senior year. The 19-credits-outside-of-the-major rule makes it impossible to focus on one subject alone in your junior and senior year, so you can use that time to get the last few requirements out of the way.</p>
<p>The divisional requirements are less of an issue if your major is inherently inter-divisional. Econ majors for example have to take some math classes (div II) in addition to their econ classes (div I). Classes that are cross-listed between several departments (e.g. math/econ, math/cs, polisci/philosophy, etc) also let you bypass the 19-credit rule.</p>
<p>Take care of things that need multiple sequential semesters, like language requirements, maybe math, etc. I would spread the rest out, though, so that you’re no overloaded with upper-level major requirements for your last few semesters.</p>
<p>My plan is to try to finish with GE requirements by the end of my third year, so I can devote the last year to research and the honors thesis for my major. I agree with others who posted to be sure and take sequential courses in subsequent semesters (esp language and math).</p>
<p>Get the math, language, and science out of the way. Spread the rest around. Depending on your school, you can often knock out a few general eds. by taking a couple of online courses during the winter and/or summer break.</p>
<p>Finish your GE requirements asap. I hated that I had to take a my science requirement during my senior year. It was no fun at all, since I can’t stand the subject.</p>
<p>If you’re doing a science field, save some of your distribution requirements for your later years. While it’s great to be taking lots of classes that you’re interested in, it’s not so great when each one comes with a problem set that takes 12+ hours.</p>
<p>Also, take any pre-req classes early so you can take the upper level courses whenever they fit nicely in your schedule. That way it won’t get to Junior year, two of your pre-reqs conflict, and you won’t be able to take some of the really interesting upper-levels since you can only take one pre-req.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for their thoughtful replies! I will take them all into consideration when I dive into college life next year 
I am so ready to get out of high school now …</p>