Students taking general education courses favored Chemistry 101 and Environmental Science 100 in the past two semesters, according to a recent study on attendance levels.

Students chose general education courses based on other students’ rating of their difficulty, the profession and the subject itself, they said.

According to a study on beginning-level general education courses based on enrollment numbers from the fall 2012 and spring 2013 semesters. 

The study found the highest attendance for fall 2012 in:

Chemistry 101 – 2,103 students.

Psychology 200 – 1,443 students.

Environmental Science 100 – 1,143 students.

Biology 181 – 1,129 students.

Mathematics 141 – 1,108 students.

The reported the highest attendance for spring 2013 in:

Physics 205 – 1,216 students.

Environmental Science 100 – 1,196 students.

Biology 183 – 1,067 students.

Chemistry 101 – 1,053 students.

Mathematics 241 – 954 students.

Colin Bish, sophomore in Poole College of Management, chose Environmental Science 100 for two reasons.

“I decided to take ES 100 because I heard it was easy, and Professor Bruck is hilarious,” Bish said. Rate My Professors “helped me decide to take this class, and I’m glad I did.”

RateMyProfessors.com provides a public online forum devoted to student evaluations of professors.

Students from the College of Engineering held the most seats in three of the five most popular courses for fall of 2012 as well as spring of 2013. 

William Johnson, sophomore in electrical engineering, wanted to “broaden his horizons” by choosing English and sociology as general education courses, instead of math- or science-based classes, he said. 

Johnson took Sociology 202, which, according to the study, was popular in the fall 2012 and spring 2013 semesters with an average enrollment of 620 students each semester. 

Students from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences held the most seats in Chemistry 101 and Biology 181 and 183 for the fall and spring. 

Anderson Foster, junior in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, took Chemistry 101 because his food science major required it. His friends within CALS had to do the same as well, he said.

Holland Messina, sophomore in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, has taken seven general education courses. She particularly liked Chemistry 101, Introduction to Weather and Climate (MEA 130), and Solar System Astronomy (PY 124). 

“Weather, in general, is something I enjoy, so I thought I would further my knowledge in the subject by taking Intro to Weather and Climate,” Messina said.

According to the study, CHASS has 85 students enrolled in Introduction to Weather and Climate, second only to the Poole College of Management, with 106. 

Some general education course requirements fill more than one requirement on a student’s degree audit, adding another reason for students to take a course. 

“I picked [Principles of Sociology] because it filled my visual arts and global knowledge requirements in one class and also let me get it out of the way in one class,” Johnson said. 

Despite his reasons for taking the sociology course, Johnson said the course “ended up being interesting.”

Editor’s Note: This article was changed to correct Eric Poirier’s role in providing the information.