2008 Woodie Awards
That's what she said: Tackling that problematic case of "Senioritis"
Courtney Carbone
Issue date: 4/1/08 Section: Opinion
This week's question is on everyone's mind, "I'm experiencing an extreme case of senioritis. What do I do?"
As the weeks fly by and the weather gets warmer, it's easy to want to take it easy when it comes to scholastic effort. Unfortunately, this is also the time of year when the workload starts to quickly pile up.
It's not just seniors, either. Underclassmen and probably even some professors share the bug.
It's completely normal that you would rather lie out on the grass with Jack Johnson than waste away hours on the third floor of Jenkins Hall studying. It's most difficult when all of your friends are trying to convince you to skip class; especially friends with whom you have only a finite amount of time left.
That's the thing about Senioritis: it's extremely contagious. Is there a cure?
Because there are serious consequences to letting classes take a backseat to your social schedule, the key is to finding moderation.
So what if you miss a few classes and are late on a deadline or two?
What do a few missed quizzes and assignments matter in the grand scheme of things?
It depends.
If these things don't make up a substantial part of your grade and you've done well in the course so far, it's probably not going to make or break your semester. Hopefully, you've held on to the course syllabus and can refer back to the percentage breakdown to make sure you have a little room to breathe.
Check out the class's attendance policy. By this point, you should already know whether or not attendance is mandatory for a specific class. Be careful not to lose points for undocumented absences that can significantly reduce your final grade. Obviously, even if your professor doesn't have direct penalty for excessive classes missed, you will most likely forfeit a good amount of your participation credit. If you slack off too much, it will come back haunt you when your GPA falls to a record low.
Don't skip class unless you have a good reason. If you do, e-mail your professors so they know what's up. If you seriously need a day off and you have a pretty stellar record to date, just explain that you needed a mental health day. It happens. It may not be excused, but at least they'll appreciate your honesty.
Make sure to be respectful. Don't lie about being sick or fake an emergency. Not only is it taking advantage of someone's trust, it's an open invitation for bad karma.
If morality arguments don't convince you, just know that later that day you will probably run into your professor at the mall.
Listen, let me continue by saying that I can definitely sympathize with you on this one.
It's hard, I know. It seems like every time I try to start something...
As the weeks fly by and the weather gets warmer, it's easy to want to take it easy when it comes to scholastic effort. Unfortunately, this is also the time of year when the workload starts to quickly pile up.
It's not just seniors, either. Underclassmen and probably even some professors share the bug.
It's completely normal that you would rather lie out on the grass with Jack Johnson than waste away hours on the third floor of Jenkins Hall studying. It's most difficult when all of your friends are trying to convince you to skip class; especially friends with whom you have only a finite amount of time left.
That's the thing about Senioritis: it's extremely contagious. Is there a cure?
Because there are serious consequences to letting classes take a backseat to your social schedule, the key is to finding moderation.
So what if you miss a few classes and are late on a deadline or two?
What do a few missed quizzes and assignments matter in the grand scheme of things?
It depends.
If these things don't make up a substantial part of your grade and you've done well in the course so far, it's probably not going to make or break your semester. Hopefully, you've held on to the course syllabus and can refer back to the percentage breakdown to make sure you have a little room to breathe.
Check out the class's attendance policy. By this point, you should already know whether or not attendance is mandatory for a specific class. Be careful not to lose points for undocumented absences that can significantly reduce your final grade. Obviously, even if your professor doesn't have direct penalty for excessive classes missed, you will most likely forfeit a good amount of your participation credit. If you slack off too much, it will come back haunt you when your GPA falls to a record low.
Don't skip class unless you have a good reason. If you do, e-mail your professors so they know what's up. If you seriously need a day off and you have a pretty stellar record to date, just explain that you needed a mental health day. It happens. It may not be excused, but at least they'll appreciate your honesty.
Make sure to be respectful. Don't lie about being sick or fake an emergency. Not only is it taking advantage of someone's trust, it's an open invitation for bad karma.
If morality arguments don't convince you, just know that later that day you will probably run into your professor at the mall.
Listen, let me continue by saying that I can definitely sympathize with you on this one.
It's hard, I know. It seems like every time I try to start something...
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