Oh The People You’ll Meet: The Overachiever

January 12, 2009 4:00 pm     Posted in HaHa  Candy -- NYU g+ page

nerd.jpgEverybody makes friends in college. Sometimes it’s through a group, sometimes it’s by a chance encounter, sometimes it’s just because you were too hungover for class last Monday and you need the notes to catch up. When you’re scanning the lecture hall for help, there is one person you need to be aware of.


By Candy

That would be the completely anal, extremely irritating, absolutely crazy Overachiever.

This one is easy to recognize. Watch for it on the first day of class. They’re right there, in the front row (no matter what kind of class it is). They might wear glasses. Though they’ll be dressed neatly (no pjs for them!), it probably won’t be stylish; look for business attire, like suit jackets and pencil skirts. Unlike the rest of the class fighting to stay awake, they will sit up straight.

Their desk will have an open, blank notebook on it, ready to go. There may also be a tape recorder, a neat row of pencils, pens, and highlighters, and a planner opened to the current date. They’re totally prepared….for a shortage of school supplies. If their desk doesn’t have these implements, there’s a laptop already open to some note taking program with a title and date at the top. The textbook will be on their desk, even if the rest of the class doesn’t even know what it looks like yet.

Once class begins they will highlight important dates on the class syllabus. They will write everything down. They will ask questions about everything pertaining to the class. Five page research paper? They will ask if it’s okay to go over. Need four sources? They want to know if eight is too many. This is the kid who did the extra credit in high school for “the learning thrill,” not because he needed it.

If you ever have to ask this kid for class help, he will look at you disapprovingly and make a remark about how class attendance is so important. He won’t miss a class, period. He aces every test and ruins the curve for the rest of you. He has his assignments in early, and they’re way better than yours. He was probably stuffed into lockers in middle school.

If there’s no one else to get notes from, it’s almost worth being out of the loop to avoid having to deal with this guy. Even if his notes are neatly written. And probably in sheet protectors. Just be good and try not to be too hung over for class time. Or, if the call of the Amberbock is too strong for you, make friends with the other kids. You know, the regular good students.

Do you know this kid?

27 Comments on "Oh The People You’ll Meet: The Overachiever"

  1. Jess says:
    Mon, 12th Jan 200911:31 am 

    hahaha. I'm sorry. This is me. Especially the paragraph with the notebook and textbook.. and the first two lines after that. I would even be holding a chemistry textbook as if it's my baby like in that picture lmao.

    I like to think that I dress pretty stylishly though, and I don't really go above and beyond like described. I'm pretty low key about it and do get annoyed at the people who ask too many questions. I was just excited about the first day of school!… hahaha

  2. Samantha says:
    Mon, 12th Jan 20093:02 pm 

    Yeah, um, me too.

  3. Callie says:
    Mon, 12th Jan 20093:55 pm 

    I'll jump on that boat, too. I'm all set for class sit in the second (not first) row and actually like being there. I've never been hung-over in class and can count on one hand the number of classes I've skipped in the past few semesters (only one all of Fall '08). I like to learn, ha ha.

    BUTTTT, I don't carry the books around unless I really need to (carrying books around ruined my last VS tote bag) and I'm def stylish. :)

  4. Sam says:
    Mon, 12th Jan 20094:47 pm 

    I still can't understand why people tease people who are smart and/or interested in the subject matter. Take a step back and think about what you're saying, Elisabeth from UA Huntsville, "[Interested Student], you're so lame because you're smart . . . you're such a loser because you want to have success in your studies."

    I get it, you're in college, why would you want to take something away other than (at least in some students circumstances) a pile of debt and damage to your liver.

  5. Jessica says:
    Mon, 12th Jan 20095:53 pm 

    Heck yeah!!! Staking out a front row desk, being prepared, and turning things in early got me a job contract for next year- six months before I graduate.

    The entire reason colleges were created was for education. Yeah, I understand the whole social thing, but an education/future job should be the sole focus of college.

    . . . and yes, I have friends.

  6. Lauren, University o says:
    Mon, 12th Jan 20096:01 pm 

    You people take everything way too seriously. My god.

  7. Cathy says:
    Mon, 12th Jan 20096:32 pm 

    This is me too, it has to be college is so competitive and if you arent over achieving then you arent keeping up. I dont think it really matter's what you wear, i'm not the neatest person but i am in the front row taking notes, highlighter post-its and moleskin planner. I'm lucky enough to have a full scholarship and i'm not going to lose it b/c it's "not cool" to be smart.

    get with it, not everyone cares what Whitney does on The City. As for fashion students could barely afford lunch, and the closest mall to the campus is 10 miles…everyone where's what ever they could get on sale at the school's Co-Op Book Store

  8. Cathy says:
    Mon, 12th Jan 20096:35 pm 

    How stereotypical using an Asian Male as you Article photo…pshhhh

  9. kelly says:
    Mon, 12th Jan 20097:28 pm 

    haha lol this is me for the first 3 or 4 weeks into the semester then after that it fades.

  10. Laura says:
    Mon, 12th Jan 20098:15 pm 

    This article really pushes my buttons. Yes, I'm one of the "overachievers." I've missed two classes my entire college career. My GPA is significantly higher than the average at my college. However, I don't think people should complain about me chasing my dreams (i.e. graduate school and owning my own business). This is freaking America. If you don't bust your a** you're not going to get anywhere. So I'm sorry if I ruined your grading curve but here's a thought: grow up, try harder, and stop drowning your problems in alcohol and sex with complete strangers.

  11. Kelly says:
    Mon, 12th Jan 20099:08 pm 

    Stop over analyzing this post! Of course everyone wants to do well in school, duh.

    And supporting your complaint about stereotyping in an article with another stereotype is just silly. Just because I'm annoyed by the person who asks ten questions about what size font should be used in a paper doesn't mean I drown my problems in alcohol and going home with randoms :)

  12. Justin says:
    Tue, 13th Jan 20091:14 am 

    ^^^^

    you girls are adorable

  13. Alice says:
    Tue, 13th Jan 20092:06 am 

    This was me, at university (what we call colleges here across the pond). I spent three years working my ass off, researching, writing down, highlighting, photocopying, turning down parties and nights out, missing all the movies I really wanted to see. I graduated with a first class diploma, and was ecstatic – I thought, well all my hard work paid off!

    Until I started looking for a job and realised that a diploma (first class or not) means about as much as a snotty kleenex when it comes to making money.

    Now I kinda wish I'd just had more fun.

  14. belle says:
    Tue, 13th Jan 20097:42 pm 

    first of all this article is not meant to be taken so seriously. secondly, i don't think the writer is hating on smart people, or even people who like school, but more so people who need to shove it in other people's faces that they work hard. it's about being overzealous and showy more than anything…

  15. jotyl says:
    Tue, 13th Jan 200911:34 pm 

    the picture you got seems like it was a secondary student from malaysia. its the standard wschool uniform??

  16. Angela says:
    Wed, 14th Jan 200910:05 pm 

    um, i am that kid

    at least until the parties set in and booze and boys take me to la la land.

    but i still manage to be known as "the kid who knows what the teacher's talking about"

  17. Micah says:
    Thu, 15th Jan 20095:55 am 

    It's not about being smart or dumb… or studying hard or not. It's about when people put it in your face what grades they make compared to yours, or how they "need to study" (with the implications that you should be too) and basically look down on everyone else in the class.

    I have my little post-its and such… but you'll see me on the back row. Last one in the door. Probably in my PJs.

  18. bunny says:
    Thu, 15th Jan 20095:58 pm 

    i was a dickhead in high school, constantly berating the teacher in everything they said, belittling the other students, stealing stuff (lab gear and art stuff were my favourites) arguing with teachers and walking right back in when i was sent out, swinging on the desks, running riot, talking about narcotics, sparking up a j in class and taking drugs on school property as a pisstake, (my friends mum found pictures of me doing so and banned her from seeing me – she was my "bff" too) carrying weapons (to be fair i wasnt very popular and this was probably the best course of action save aquiring some plutonium and planting it in the school water system) and generally making a very loud, very obnoxious arse of myself. i was nearly expelled countless times but i can be a manipulative bitch if i need to be

    Fortunately for me i am also clever. I baffled them by never taking textbooks, never doing assignments, not having the right tools for any class bar art, and rarely showing up, yet still acing tests and knowing more about the subject then the whole class and teacher put together – "those who can't do, teach." simply because they get taught the basics and how to teach someone the basics and nothing else!

    i realise reading this post had i not also been ballsy, too, i would have become this "overacheiver" kid in college, then again, that may not have been so bad. These are the guys who are going to literally own you and everything you see around you when they're old enough.

  19. Annie says:
    Thu, 15th Jan 20099:11 pm 

    Nice. Choose a picture of an asian kid.

  20. Courtney says:
    Fri, 16th Jan 20095:57 am 

    I was the over-achiever in the second row with all the office supplies, but I also was the one in PJ's and I could skip class without falling behind. But I also got a great job 2 months before I graduated college, so it paid off I suppose!

  21. seffa says:
    Tue, 20th Jan 200911:31 am 

    jealousy: that's what sentiments like this are rooted in. i get the joke that the "regular" good students are trying to tell, to get the "overachiever" to lighten the eff up, right?

    but really? having been an "overachiever" and rocking my nerdpride front and center and dressed in my favorite proenza schouler pencil skirt, its tiring to hear people belittle people who are smart and who give their best effort.

    there are all sorts of people and all sorts of students. just because you and i learn differently and approach the college experience, doesn't make either of us any more right or wrong.

    i'm a type-A kind of girl, don't hate. you might want something from me someday when i'm kicking ass on capitol hill.

  22. Laura says:
    Wed, 21st Jan 20096:14 am 

    No one is hating on people who are smart and know how to put in the work. This is about the kids who feel the need to ask, "What should we do if we finished the paper already?" just to let everyone know how awesome they are. There's a difference between being a great student and being an asshole. Come on, now.

  23. Michelle says:
    Thu, 2nd Apr 20094:39 am 

    Kind of late to reply to this, but…

    Damm, jotyl beat me to it.

    Yes, that's definitely a Malaysian student.

    What's worse:

    1. Most kids here are like that, sans tie. (Most kids I know, at least)

    2. That's not a text book. It's an extra reference book. Yup, *extra*.

    But I think everyone's getting too worked up about this and generally getting the wrong impression.

    I think Laura explained it pretty well. This is about those 'A' students who bait you by asking if you've started on the assignment, just to let you know that they did it eons ago.

    They know that they're smart. They know they're good. They wanna make sure everyone knows it too.

  24. Jessica says:
    Fri, 10th Jul 200911:02 am 

    At least it is good to know that their are other people like me, too! haha

  25. Trina says:
    Fri, 8th Jan 20107:57 pm 

    How completely racist and stereotypical of you to choose an asian for the picture of an "overachiever"!

  26. Gavin says:
    Thu, 7th Oct 20101:55 pm 

    "I still can’t understand why people tease people who are smart and/or interested in the subject matter. Take a step back and think about what you’re saying, Elisabeth from UA Huntsville, “[Interested Student], you’re so lame because you’re smart . . . you’re such a loser because you want to have success in your studies.”"

    ^Overachiever with no friends. Was stuffed into lockers as a child. Gets stuffed into dumpsters as an adult.

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