Professor Wendy Wood leads her ENGL 3306 course, Shakespeare Major Works, on Jan. 22. Attending class regularly is important to ensuring students get the most from their education. | Corbin Ayres/ The Cougar
It’s happened to the best of us. Two weeks into the new semester, the laziness comes creeping back around. For some — OK, most — two weeks is overly generous.
There are the resilient ones who have managed to kick the warm sheets off themselves and fight the temptation to lurk just a few minutes longer. But for those who are actively skipping class for an extra hour of sleep for Netflix or sleep, the consequences of skipping class can add up quickly. GPA, money, missed opportunities and even tainted relations with professors are a few things to consider.
Let’s begin with one of the obvious factors that comes to mind when considering skipping a class: GPA. Good grades are needed to pass the semester, get into graduate school, make those overly critical parents proud and, let’s face it, a good GPA can make a person feel good whether they admit it or not.
By skipping class, you run a risk of tainting, or worsening, your GPA. Sure, the professor has the syllabus, powerpoint and entire exam posted on Blackboard, but unfortunately it goes a bit further than that. Some professors count for attendance.
The second biggest thing that comes to mind when skipping class is the prospect of money. For most, college isn’t cheap.
It goes without saying that between tuition, books, living necessities and a bunch of other junk higher education demands from us does not help with patching the financial hole left in our pockets. To add, the average semester tuition for public universities is $9,139.
Some students argue that they fall asleep in class anyway and feel as though they are not getting their money’s worth from the professors.
While those reasons are understandable, it’s important to also consider how absences impact other students in the class. Some majors, such as English and communications, require students to actively engage with one another. When some members of the class repeatedly don’t show up, they can unknowingly hamper the experience of their classmates.
Another reason to consider against skipping class is as simple as missed opportunities, such as bonus points, friendships and new interests. Aside from getting good grades, going to killer parties and discovering yourself all throughout the way, college excels at one more thing that cannot be traded for the world: networking.
Being able to connect with another peers in an enclosed, common community with thousands of individuals pursuing the same interests as you are. In a time of social media, reconnecting as fellow colleagues one on one in person has never been more important.
By skipping class you miss out on a lot of social opportunities, which at first relates to trivial things like meeting up for a study group. But do not be fooled. Your time would most certainly not be wasted by spending 45 minutes with some classmates instead of hanging out with friends.
Not only would you solidify your knowledge, but also you run a higher chance of coming across an individual who might know a guy or two to get you a step further into your dream job. Nowadays, connections are everything and because of how impersonal social media is, simply following someone on Linkedin and Twitter is not just going to cut it.
Finally, you do not want to become ‘that kid,’ who all the professors notice missing from their rosters.
Okay, maybe not to that extreme but your habit of skipping class, even if it’s just one, will follow you and, like the point above, will miss you opportunities that Netflix just cannot offer.
Professors at universities have good — excellent, even — connections that can most certainly get your name around, something highly valuable in landing a full-time job after graduation. After all, being able to graduate with a job is one of the reasons why people pursue higher education, right?
Opinion columnist Kristin Chbeir is a sociology senior and can be reached at [email protected]
