To Read for Class… Or Not To Read for Class

October 30, 2011 2:00 pm     Posted in College  Taylor- UCLA g+ page


By Taylor

When I began my freshman year of college, I was overwhelmed to say the least. I was overwhelmed from meeting so many new people, overwhelmed by how sinfully delicious the late night food scene was, and overwhelmed by the workload. All of the sudden, I was getting numerous weeknight texts from people (whose names I didn’t even remember putting into my phone) about amazing parties. And I went, even though I still had hundreds of pages of reading to do for the next day! (Sidenote: scheduling classes for Friday is a rookie mistake.You will never go to these.) But then, as my grades began slipping, a revolutionary thought occurred to me: maybe I don’t have to do all of the readings! But how does an overwhelmed college freshman know when they do or don’t have to do the assigned readings?

When the class is under 30 people. If you go to a large university, these will be your breakout sections complementing your lecture. If you go to a small liberal arts college, sorry, you’re screwed.

When it’s for your major. Or what you’re thinking of majoring in. Think about it: you’re paying tens of thousands of dollars to come out of college with a degree in this specialized area. Make something educational your major and partying your minor.

When your T.A. is hot. Ditzy was cute in high school, but it’s not anymore when your T.A. is obviously passionate about what she’s teaching. Take a cue from Drew Barrymore in “Never Been Kissed” and impress your T.A. by quoting some Shakespeare.

When it’s a weekday (except for Thursday). Going out on the weekends is a big part of the college experience, but going out and blacking out Monday through Sunday will end you up like Lindsay Lohan. However, if you’ve gotten all your homework done and the hottie from your psych class texts you about a Wednesday night party at his apartment to start the weekend early, you’d better text back that you’re going.

10 Comments on "To Read for Class… Or Not To Read for Class"

  1. Anon says:
    Sun, 30th Oct 20112:55 pm 

    I'm going to sound like a prude here but: how about showing some respect for yourself and whoever's paying your college tuition and doing the work? Yes, a social life is important, but you can go out one night a week and still have friends. Go to all of your classes, do as much of the reading as you can, and go to parties when it won't cut in on your academics.

  2. kelly says:
    Sun, 30th Oct 20115:46 pm 

    I agree with anon. Its ridiculous to say that you will never go to friday classes or that you dont actually have to do all the work for you classes. grow up and take responsibility for your education, i'm sure you' d see it differently if you were paying rather than your parents

  3. Bee says:
    Sun, 30th Oct 20116:13 pm 

    I've been disappointed with articles on CC lately but this one really takes the cake. For someone who says you shouldn't act like a ditz, this article came off as really unintelligent and uneducated. I guess slacking off from all that reading took its toll on your writing. ;)

  4. Honey Badger says:
    Sun, 30th Oct 20116:39 pm 

    So what I learned from this is, if there's a hot guy involved, do whatever involves said hot guy. This is ridiculous. Just fucking do your homework, ladies! .

  5. Ashley L. Coates says:
    Sun, 30th Oct 20117:10 pm 

    I have a rule that I only go out on weekends. All work has to be done (including readings!). By forcing myself to stick to those, I've maintained a high A/B average in all my classes. After all, there are going to be parties next weekend- but I'm only taking Intro to Macro ONCE:)
    http://textbooksandtofu.blogspot.com/

  6. Brittany says:
    Sun, 30th Oct 20118:13 pm 

    Although this article portrays some pretty stereotypical college ideas, NOT reading every page for every class is not going to kill you. I didn't even buy the books for my last two years of college and still graduated with honors and got a scholarship to grad school. Skipping the reading for geography of the nonwestern world or a religion class that has nothing to do with anything you will ever do with your career does not make you a bad student. You have to work smart just as much as you work hard.

  7. Kay says:
    Sun, 30th Oct 201110:20 pm 

    Amen!

  8. Kay says:
    Sun, 30th Oct 201110:25 pm 

    Really, CC? Given this lackadaisical attitude toward education, why even bother going to college if you're not going to put in the effort that makes the tuition worth it? Just do your frickin' homework, otherwise, please do us serious students the courtesy of staying home.

  9. Wendydy says:
    Mon, 31st Oct 20111:26 pm 

    College Candy's articles are so shallow lately. CC used to be about smart and funny articles, now it's all about getting Drunk. I remember when I was spending hours reading this site, not so much now.

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