The ringing bell indicated the end of the last class on Friday afternoon. Students swarmed out of the classrooms and headed back to their dormitories. Only Xiao Di headed to another classroom. “Go ahead and have dinner. Don’t wait for me,” the 20-year-old told her friends. “I have to get a good seat for my minor subject.”

Like Xiao, many students are signing up for minor subjects in their spare time. The reasons vary, but they all believe that taking a minor subject is a rewarding experience.

Cherish a second chance

Xiao is a junior student majoring in labor and social security at Tianjin University of Finance & Economics. Her underperformance in the college entrance exam left her no choice but to enroll in this less popular program.

Her first-choice program was accounting, so she signed up for the minor subject in accounting immediately after she heard about it. “It was a second chance for me,” she says. “My major is not a subject with good career prospects. Learning accounting will give me a better chance at finding a good job.”

Taking a minor subject is not easy. Xiao has classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings, and returns to her dormitory after 9 pm. But she never feels regret. “Compared with playing on my computer, I would rather acquire more knowledge. After all, I’ll never have another chance to learn anything so comprehensively after graduation,” she says.

Never give up

Wen Shuochun enrolled in a minor subject due to practical reasons. The 22-year-old English major at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies chose law over other hot minor subjects like finance or international trade after she heard about an upperclassman’s experience.

“He told me that English is just a tool. Studying law as a minor subject can improve my chances in job hunting,” she says.

It turned out to be true. Wen applied for a position at China Southern Power Grid several months ago and was offered an interview, even though the position is only open to students majoring in law. “It seems that my minor subject experience helped me this time,” she says.

Though her effort has paid off now, Wen often thought of giving up on the way. “There was one semester that I had to take more than ten exams including five exams for my minor subject,” she says. “Many of my classmates gave up during that period.”

Wen is glad that she stuck to it. “I gained more knowledge, logical thinking skills and a wider range of career paths,” she says.

Choice of priorities

But not all students stick to their minor subject. Peng Yudi is one of those who gave up midway. The 22-year-old English major at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies chose Japanese as her minor subject because she wanted to kill some time. Besides, as a travel-lover, she believed that learning an extra foreign language would be useful in the future.

“As I signed up for my minor subject only because I’m interested in it, I planned to drop out if I had more important things to do,” she says. So she didn’t struggle or feel regret when she participated in a play and decided to abandon her minor subject. “If I hadn’t given up, I would have messed up everything I was doing. So I think giving up was the right choice,” she says.

Investment that pays off

Li Keren, 22, is a senior studying finance at Tianjin University of Finance & Economics. He enrolled in international finance as his minor subject and managed to stay on top in both his major and minor subjects.

“Different from most students, I pay equal attention to my major and minor subject,” he says. He thinks that students sign up for minor subjects because they have the energy and time to do so. The disadvantage of paying less attention to a minor subject, according to Li, is that “students may not get a comprehensive understanding of the subject”.

Therefore, what students should do is dedicate the same energy and time to their major subject as before, while sacrificing their spare time to work on their minor subject. “Considering your future, it’s a worthwhile effort,” he says.