The CC Weekly Weigh In: Academic Regrets

"WHY DIDN'T I SAVE THAT?!"

Did you know that college was all about academics?

By CC Staff

Yeah, we didn’t get that memo either. We spent more time researching easy professors, building a schedule that didn’t require waking up before noon/at all on Fridays, and playing Kings, than actually studying. And now that we’re out of school and forced to use what we “learned” in college to survive, we’re kinda regretting opting for that easy American Culture class over a much more useful economics section.

Other big regrets: getting drunk before a giant presentation on St. Patrick’s Day, skipping discussion sections to snuggle with the BF, and taking that 1-credit “blow off” that actually had two 10-page papers and a final exam. Who knew one stupid credit could wreak such havoc on your GPA?

It’s obvious that most of us have made some poor decisions in college (and I’m not talking about the time I double fisted a fifth of Captain’s and a 2-liter of Diet Coke); it’s hard to think of academics, learning and our futures when there are football games to attend and beds to sleep in. This week I asked the CollegeCandy writers to share their biggest academic regrets. Maybe you can learn from them. Maybe you can relate to them. And I know you definitely have some of your own to share.

Kari – Florida State: I regret not going to attendance-mandatory classes. For some reason I never believe that my teachers will take off those “half letter grades per absence”…and it sucks to watch an A go to a C because I hit the snooze button a few too many times.

Elizabeth – UC Berkeley: Deciding to take my TREES class for a letter grade instead of P/NP because I thought it would be an easy A.  Def ruined my GPA that semester…

Caitlin – University of Alabama: Slacking off in my last few weeks of my math class and getting an 89.4. They didn’t round up.

Charlsie – Hollins University: I wish I stuck with French and studied abroad in Paris my junior year, instead of abandoning foreign language completely.

Lauren – University of Michigan: Not majoring in History. I hated every single English class I took.

Ricki – University of Michigan: Drinking too much at my date’s semi formal and fainting in the middle of my Econ 101 presentation the next morning.

Thu – USC: I discovered online TV shows. Game over for my GPA.

Nina – Michigan State University: Going out the night before my final last year. It was absolute hell sitting through it… even though I did ace it.

Brithny – Duke: During freshman year, I had no idea how many famous researchers and nationally recognized professors there were here! Definitely signing up for those classes this time around.

Noa – CU Boulder: Sleeping with my T.A. And then ending things with him while I was still in the class. Awkward city.

Kelly – Simmons College: My biggest academic regret is that I put everything off until the last minute and then have to bed my boyfriend for Adderall to get it done.

Brittany – University of Richmond: Turning in my Calculus final exam completely blank. Apparently, professors aren’t above failing students and consequently booting them out of the Business School.

Elizabeth-University of Missouri: Going out the night before a huge Anthropology test. A pseudo frat house is not the environment most conducive to studying.

Sarabeth – University of Texas: My biggest regret is saying no to a Blink 182 (favorite band EVER) ticket last week because I had a paper due…and  then the paper got moved.

Zahra – Northwestern University:  I regret not taking a 9 am class this quarter. I’ve done it before and it makes me so much more productive than when I know I can sleep in until noon.