Finding classes can be stressful — consider this your official guide to Rutgers courses

If you need to fulfill certain course requirements for your major or simply want to take a class for fun to increase your courseload, Rutgers has so many classes to offer. Being in my last semester of college, I have taken a ton of different classes, including some that I would never have thought I'd enjoy so much.

While you sometimes have to suck it up and take a physics class or the dreaded Expository Writing, it can be just as important and more fulfilling to take classes that actually interest you. Since we're in the last few days of the spring add/drop period, here are a few classes that you should add to your schedule if you're still shopping around.

Musical Cultures and Industries

This class is an elective in the School of Communication & Information that requires no prerequisites, which makes it a perfect option for first-year students just starting out. Whether music is your life's passion or just something you jam out to in the car, this class is for you.

Professor Franklin Bridges, a part-time lecturer in the School of Communication and Information, was extremely engaging and structured the class to be discussion based when teaching it. He'd often play music videos, interviews and great documentaries that made it easy to pay attention. 

In this class, you'll take a deep dive into the power music has, its role in business and trends and how it reflects culture as a whole. I found this class to be absolutely fascinating and was excited to come each and every time.

Food as Medicine

While this was a course that I took to fulfill a core requirement for the School of Arts and Sciences, I ended up loving it. If you have even the slightest interest in food, nutrition or just learning more about what we put into our bodies, this class will definitely suit you. The information you learn in class can be helpful for everyday life since you learn about the many different superfoods that are extremely beneficial for your health.

If you're intimidated by science courses, I found this one to be manageable. Course instructor Dr. Chitra Ponnusamy, an assistant teaching professor and undergraduate program director of food science, introduced the class to new foods in a really fun way.

The class was held in the Food Science Building on the Cook Campus when I took it, which I loved because it gave me a chance to explore a different Rutgers campus. Not to mention the delicious and healthy meal I could get at Harvest afterward, inspired by what I learned in class.

Introduction to Creative Writing

While not everyone considers themselves a writer, this is a class that I think everybody should take. Whether you are an avid reader and writer or prefer STEM courses, creative writing classes not only improve your writing skills but also improve the connection you have with yourself.

Something I love about creative writing is that you don’t have to always play by the rules, and you can interpret the prompt differently than your peers. Each assignment provokes dozens of unique responses. I felt inspired when writing about my own life in nonfiction stories and also when creating original stories with fictional prompts.

The assignments became something I looked forward to completing and even had a lot of fun doing them. By the end of the course, I felt my writing skills had improved tremendously, and I was even motivated to switch my major to Journalism and Media Studies. 

Social Psychology

For anyone interested in how the human mind works, especially in social situations, I highly recommend this class. Social Psychology fulfills the requirements for a psychology major or minor but is a course that can be enjoyed by anyone.

We covered a lot of fascinating material in this class that helped me to understand important topics such as prejudice, biases, discrimination, stress, perception and so much more. I wouldn’t say this class is an easy A because it did require a decent amount of studying, but I felt it was manageable and completely worth it.

While the add/drop window is coming to a close, as a college student, you never really stop looking for classes until graduation. So if you've still got at least one semester left at Rutgers, consider adding a few of these to your to-do list. Because whether you're looking for some extra credits or an interesting class to fulfill your major requirements, these classes will all be worth your time.