I have been settled in England for about three weeks now.

My friend Nick and I landed and immediately began our school orientation with around 7,000 freshmen and international students. After six days of torturous ice breakers, speeches, standing in line and the occasional (and inevitable) Wizard of Oz joke, classes finally began.

Obviously, there are going to be some differences between the American higher education system and that of the British, but the biggest difference I have seen is that the Brits don’t have general education courses. I repeat: the Brits do not have gen-eds.

They only take classes relevant to their major. Therefore, college typically takes only three years as opposed to our four. At first glance, this may seem like a dream come true to many students who have suffered through one or more atrocious general education courses. Yet, I can’t help but feel the British system is lacking without the inclusion of a general education program.

While many students see gen-eds as a waste of time, they actually help cultivate critical thinking skills because they require the mind to think in different ways. I mean, think of the guy at the gym who obviously skips leg day.  He has a great upper body but hilarious little chicken legs. So if you wouldn’t train only one group of muscles, why would you train your mind to think in only one way?

Not only do gen-eds give us critical thinking skills, they give us a strong foundation of knowledge. I can have a better conversation with people who have studied different majors, because I have a broader knowledge of different subjects. This foundation of knowledge also better serves those who decide they want to change careers later in life, whereas a program that specializes in one area would not.

While the British system has many good points to it, its lack of gen-eds is not one of them. So before you complain about that extra science class you think you don’t need, just remember you are preparing yourself to be a more informed and well-rounded individual.