We’ve all been there: just when your enrollment time rolls around, the class that you planned to take next semester is now full. Even though you need that class to qualify for another upper-division course, accept that dream internship AND graduate on time, there just aren’t enough seats. And when you attempt to crash the class, the wait list is moving at a glacial pace and you’re getting seriously desperate. How much would you pay to add that course? Would you pay more than four times the current fee per unit? Is that even fair? Is that even legal?!?

A few things are for certain: it’s happening, it’s pissing people off and, therefore, it’s the Hot Button Issue of the week.

According to the Los Angeles Times, an incredibly popular community college in Southern California will soon implement a two-tiered pricing system that offers high-demand classes at a much higher price. Class fees are currently set at $36 per unit and will rise to $46 beginning this summer. As part of the new system just approved by the school board, crucial classes at Santa Monica College will costs about $200 per unit. The new program would be offered as soon as this summer and winter — the latter of which may only offer the higher-priced classes. Hey, desperate times obviously call for desperate measures.

Here’s how it would work: when popular courses like English and math fill up completely, additional sections would be offered at the higher price. Note: the first round of courses are state-funded, which is why the cost per unit is cheaper than an embellished dress from ASOS). The extra classes would still be taught by campus faculty and would only supplement the current offerings in order to meet student demand, rather than raising prices for all classes, all the time. Government grants and financial aid would still apply, and the school is currently working to secure private funding to offer course scholarships.

Inevitably, upping the buck for anything gets people pissed off, but even more so because it alleviates opportunities for low-income students. People who choose to attend community college first and transfer to a four-year university afterwards sometimes do so solely to live at home, stay out of debt and save money on those general education courses that most of us don’t even use anyway — not because they didn’t get into the universities of their choice straight out of high school.

But hypothetically, if two students with shockingly similar academic records both need the same English course in order to meet a transfer application deadline and get out of Santa Monica College, the one who agrees to pay the higher price will be the one who stays on track, while the other tries their enrollment luck next semester and pushes back their anticipated transfer date another year or so. This rationing of education and lack of access is what defeats the purpose of community colleges altogether, which are supposed to serve the under served in the first place!

However, we should probably just face it once and for all: state funding for public post-secondary education is a hot commodity these days, and the money to pay for the classes that everybody wants must come from somewhere. If enough people are willing to pay a little extra — or a lot extra, proportionally — for that class to be properly funded and actually materialize, shouldn’t they be able to enroll? Or should their academic timelines and transfer transcripts suffer because the state budget can’t get it together and because their classmates can’t afford the same opportunity that they’re definitely paying extra to seize? If an individual can solve a problem brought on by a group they happen to be part of, maybe they should be able to do so for themselves and reap their own rewards.

How can current community college students avoid this altogether? Well, it’s not like people will simply stop going to Santa Monica College as a form of protest — all CC’s are not created equal, and the 34,000-student Santa Monica campus has one of the highest transfer rates to four-year universities in the state and a reputation for innovative programs that are a model for other community colleges. Which means that this two-tier pricing program could soon be implemented at a community college near you…and at the rate that universities are losing public funding as well, I wonder which four-year college will be first to quadruple charge for enrollment in Introduction to Biology and Macroeconomics…

Are crucial classes worth the hefty price tag? Or is Santa Monica College’s new pricing program completely ridiculous, unfair and unethical?

Ashley is a UC San Diego grad who is holding on way too tightly to a potential career in magazines and goes to Vegas all too often. She’s fascinated with celebrities and strawberry beer and doubles as a pathological texter/emailer/blogger. Feed the addiction with tweets @cashleelee. Thanks in advance.

Here at the University of Alabama, I’ve been really fortunate with my class experiences. I graduated with a class of 102 students, so coming to a large SEC school was definitely culture shock. My first class had 300 students in it, and I felt like a number. As I finished my gen-eds and started on courses for my major, the class sizes shrank significantly. From my sophomore year on, I didn’t have a class with more than thirty students. It felt more like a normal experience once I got through the large lectures of Biology and Philosophy 101, but it seems that a lot of students actually like being in super-sized seminars.

I can’t help but think why. Sure lectures can be great if you don’t really need to pay attention or you’re feeling the effects of a Thursday night out. You can sit in the back and play Angry Birds without worrying that you’ll get called on to participate. But for me, I didn’t learn anything in my lecture classes. I felt awkward speaking up because there were so many people and most of the time, the professors spoke for so long you couldn’t even get a word in. We had clickers to check in for attendance and take quizzes and to me, that’s just not learning.

The small classes I’ve been taking are much more rewarding, and I actually learn stuff. There’s nothing wrong with big lecture halls, but I don’t like feeling like a number. I like for professors to know who I am and know how I work as a student because it makes for a better learning environment. If your professor doesn’t even know your name, they won’t really be able to help you if you’re having trouble in class. Most of the time they’ll just direct you to the class webpage or Power Point slides. In my small classes, I feel comfortable and like they actually care about me as a student.

Now that I’m about to graduate, I’m very close with several of my professors since I’ve taken more than one course with them. They want to know how I’m doing and what kind of jobs I’m looking for. They want to pick my brain about projects, and I can go to them for help whether it’s school related or not. I couldn’t do that with a professor from one of those lecture classes I had back in my freshman year. Those seminars seem like a waste of time with me just sitting there watching the professor click through slides. The classes that have stuck out to me are the small ones where I truly enjoyed being present.

How do you feel about lecture halls? Do you like smaller classes better?

Caitlin is a senior at the University of Alabama who has an obsession with cupcakes, coffee, and Harry Potter. She always has random fun facts on reserve and aspires to be a professional blogger,social media bug, and/or James Franco’s assistant. Follow her fabulous life @caitlincorsetti. You’re welcome!

As I write this, I am about to embark on my final semester of my college career. Weird, right? It almost seems like yesterday when I was a little freshman moving in to my dorm. Except for the growth part, a lot has changed in these three and a half years. I’ve learned the hardships of picking the right classes and managing my social life and my studies, but it was all worth the ride. It’s cliché, but some say that college is the best four years of your life, and it’s true. They go by in the blink of an eye, so take the time to cherish your college life.

1. Make a Bucket List

While it should be on nearly all seniors’ to-do lists, making a bucket list at the beginning of your college career can help you get to know your campus a lot better. Who knows? If you accidentally stumble upon one of your campus’ landmarks, you not only knocked something off “the list”, but have a great story to go along with it. If your school has a great basketball team, sit in the student section and go to a basketball game. The student section of a sports game has its own little bubble, and that’s where all the excitement is. Whatever is on your list, don’t miss out and start making it happen.

2. Take Advantage of Campus Resources

The thing about college is that it offers a variety of resources that very few students actually take advantage of. From coffee houses with free Wifi to free entry to recreation centers, free printing, and basically anything with the word FREE next to it, be sure to snatch up these opportunities now before you have to pay for the real thing once you enter the real world. Syllabus week is the best time to get freebies from bookstores, so don’t miss out!

3. Learn How to Balance Academics and Activities

This is a pretty simple rule to follow, but sometimes, a freshman’s first semester can get a little out of hand. You’re on your own for the first time without Mom and Dad deciding your every move, so it’s up to you to determine if you’re going to that 10 a.m. class or if you’re going to go out every night. Here’s a handy tip: Go to all of your classes during syllabus week. While you should be attending them all semester long, this way, you can decide whether it’s worth dragging yourself out of bed every morning. And while it’s fun to go out, know your limits and know your deadlines. Don’t go out the night before you have an exam, and instead of pulling all-nighters and cramming, study for an hour a day until you have the material down. Studies have shown that you retain more information the longer you study. Plus, you can still have free time to do whatever else you want.

4. Go to Your Professor’s Office Hours

Like the rule before it, this is another handy tip for freshmen. If you’re stuck on an issue or don’t understand the material from lecture, go to your professor’s office hours as soon as you notice a problem. Professors have taken an hour out of their day to meet with students to help them succeed in the class, so it’s harmless to take an hour out of your day, too. Plus, if you go early on, you can get to know the professor and see what a future exam might be like, and if you take the time to meet with the professor, chances are if you’re on the border for a grade, he or she will bump you up.

5. Have Fun!

Simple and easy. The opportunity to be a young undergraduate only comes once, so live it up to the fullest!

Today is Friday the 13th.

The day of bad luck and cursed lives and black cats and broken mirrors. Today is a day to fear. Today is a day to lock our doors and stay inside. Why is Friday the 13th supposed to be such an unlucky day, you ask? I think it has something to do with the superstitions surrounding the 13th and Fridays in general (guess Rebecca Black never heard about that) joining together to be the ultimate source of bad luck on Friday the 13th.  And as a result there are lots of horrors that await us.  Is it true? I doubt it. But even so, you might want to prepare yourself.

For anything.

Here are 13 unlucky situations (AKA, every college girl’s worst nightmare) you better wish you don’t find yourself in on this unlucky Friday the 13th.

1. Your hair straighter/dryer/curling breaks minutes before your big date… with only half your head done.

2. You sleep through your final exam.

3. Your hard drive crashes…before you printed out your final paper.

4. The guy you’ve been crushing on goes Facebook official with your frenemy.

5. Your train reroutes on the way to your interview.

6. You accidentally send a sext to your parents.

7. The heel of your shoe breaks as you’re walking to the bar.

8. Your favorite celebrity couple calls it quits.

9. They’re out of Red Bull at the Stop and Shop.

10. The guy who cut in front of you in line got the winning lotto ticket.

11. You pull a muscle at the gym. Between your legs.

12.You get food poisoning from the dining hall special.

13.Your professor overhears you bad mouthing him…right before it’s time to put in final grades.

Alright ladies, what would be the worse thing that could happen to you on Friday the 13th? 

College seniors.

It’s serious and it spread quickly. But the problem is the symptoms can at first appear so subtle that college students may not even notice they have them. Their regular behavior is simply heightened. So when going about their normal, every day lives they don’t even realize that they’re actually struggling with senioritis. That’s why they can’t write that paper or concentrate in class. That’s why everything seems impossible. If  you’re a college senior and this, or any of the signs below sound familiar to you, you may be suffering from senioritis. (And no, we don’t recommend looking up your symptoms on WebMD. Just check out our senioritis bucket list instead.)

1. Oversleeping. Your alarm goes off so you press the snooze button. And then you press again. And then again. And then you glance at the clock and realize your class starts in five minutes…and then you roll over and go back to sleep. 

2. The desire to never do anything productive anything again. The other night, instead of watching the movie I was supposed to watch for class I spent the night watching the entire first season of Brothers and Sisters on Netflix instant play. It seemed like an excellent idea at the time.

3. Asking the question but why does this matter? Before I start an assignment, before I do my reading, before I make the walk across campus to my next class it’s all I’m thinking these days. Why does it matter? It will all be over in a month or so. It won’t matter!

4. Hanging out with your friends even more often than usual. I’ve always been very good about scheduling my time. Work, classes, time for friends. I fit it all in there. But lately I’ve been putting off homework, pushing back plans, and rearranging schedules to allow for even more hang out time than usual. My excuse? We only have ___ days/months/weeks left. Might as well enjoy them

5. The sudden desire to be a joiner. You’ve never been one for those campus wide events like festivals on the oval or midnight breakfasts but now suddenly you find yourself ready and willing to participate in just about anything even the carnival you haven’t gone to since freshman year…

6. Not showing up to classes. Everyone takes mental health days, but when you’re skipping class more often than you’re going that’s when you know somethings up.

Alright, your turn. What are some other signs of senioritis? 

Well, their great advice has inspired me to give a little advice of my own. Less about choosing a college, and more about the things you should remember once you get there, about how to bridge that gap between college and the real world, and how to make the most of your opportunities while you still have them.

I mean it’s not all boys, beer, and parties (even though those are important too), so here are a few things I wish I knew when I was a mere freshman.

1. You’ll change your major at least once. Everyone always told me this, but I would just shake my head at them and laugh. Not me, I knew what I wanted to major in. I loved to read and to write. I was going to be an English major. But even I eventually had a moment of doubt. The entire second semester of my freshman year into the summer before my sophomore I was convinced I would be changing my major to information systems. That seemed like a far more practical choice with better options for post-grad jobs. Granted I eventually realized I was not made to be an information systems major and found my way back to English (and later, Philosophy) but I was so concerned with trying to pick a major that I didn’t even realize that…

2. What you get your degree in may not necessarily be the field you work in. It’s the truth. Your major does not necessarily have to dictate what you do with your life so much as it explains what you enjoy and what skill sets you will have post graduation.  Granted, pre-med students more often than not will probably go on to become doctors and psychology majors will probably continue their research in graduate schools, but history majors can become politicians or writers or lawyers. I mean, philosophy majors don’t necessarily become…philosophers, right? No, trust me, they don’t. 

3. The humanities are actually pretty applicable to real life. The humanities (English, Philosophy, History) tend to get a bad reputation these days. Because there’s no set post-college career path humanities majors are accused of being lazy, impractical, and unwilling to grow up. Sure, we spend our time reading and discussing and analyzing and researching about things that have already happened, things that have only happened in books, and thinks that will never happen, but all that reading and discussing, all those skills we develop actually come in handy later on in life. It took me a while, but eventually I learned how to spin the skills of an English and Philosophy major to work for just about any job. I mean, what job description these days doesn’t ask for excellent analytical skills, great communication skills, and the ability to work well with others, right?

4. Your advisor can help you. This one may seem like a no brainer, but not nearly enough people utilize their college advisors, and I certainly didn’t during my first few years. These people are there to do more than tell you what classes you need to take in order to graduate on time. They’re there to help you figure out what you want to do with your life. Have something in mind? Ask for their opinions? If they can’t help you, they’ll probably be able to tell you who can, and tell you what you need to do to make it happen. They have connections, and they want to use them to help you, so let them.

5. Get as many internships as possible. The best way to determine whether or not a certain job is right for you is to do that job, and an internship is the perfect way to try it out while you’re still in college. Internships are great because they give you some real life experience, allow you to put all those skills (directly related or not) to good use, and sometimes (if you’re lucky enough to intern for CollegeCandy) they’re actually a lot of fun. Internships allow you to further develop your skills, build up your resume, and test drive a few post-grad options. So do one, do four, do forty, and make the most of all the options available to you as a college girl.

OK, now it’s your turn: Looking back on your college experience, what are some things you wish you knew way back when?

The semester is winding down. Soon there will be papers to write and finals to study for, which means cutting out the procrastination and cracking down on the studying, which isn’t always easy. But fear not, our resident Web Spy has done her research, providing CollegeCandy readers with ten surefire ways to get organized and start studying.

1. FellowUp will get your organized.

2. With a little help from Evernote.

3. Then RescueTime can show you exactly what you’re spending your time doing.

4. So you know exactly what to tell  Keep Me Out to help you avoid.

5. And then Soshiku can help adjust your scheduling, and reorganize your life.

6. While ReQall keeps track of your notes.

7.  Of course, in the midst of all of this you’ll be registering for classes , which won’t be so bad with CourseRank.

8. And StingyCampus will help you take care of your other issues like finding campus housing and looking for jobs.

9. Afraid you won’t wake up in time to take the final after pulling an all nighter?  WakeUpDialer has got you covered.

10. And when you really just need a break there’s Dear Blank, Please Blank.

It’s finals week. You’re living on coffee and chocolate. Your days are spent in the library. Your nights are spent in the library. You’re wracking your brain trying to remember historical facts no one knows about and chemical equations you will never use. You’re stressed and crazed and far from in the mood to write. But write you will have to do.

Because in exchange for not having to take a final for that literature class you have to write a paper. And not just any paper, but a good paper. A really good paper. Because this paper is worth a large chunk of your final grade. The problem is though, you’ve never really gotten a grip on that whole paper writing thing. Sure, you know the basics, but do you know the specifics? Do you know how to avoid the mistakes that will keep that A just out of reach?

Well, I do.

After four years as an English major, one year as a literature tutor, and two semesters worth of thesis writing, I think I’ve cracked the code. And I’m going to share my secrets with you. Below are the most common grammatical and paper writing mistakes, the things you always miss, the things you need to know, the rules standing between you and that elusive A. So bookmark this page and consult it when writing those final papers. You’ll thank me later.

1. No thesis statements.

Don’t even think about starting your paper until you have one of these. Your thesis statement is the entire point behind your paper. It’s the reason you’re writing your paper. It’s the idea that you are trying to prove. You can’t write a paper without a thesis statement. If you do your paper will have no focus. At all.

2. Confusing they’re/there/their.

Let’s clear up the confusion behind this one, shall we?

They’re is a contraction, used in place of the phrase “they are.” Did you hear about Justin and Selena? They’re going out.

There is used to represent a place. Where are Kourtney and Khloe? Over there at the bar.

Their is used to show possession of something. Who are the parents of baby Suri? Tom and Katie. She is their baby.

3. Not proving your point.

Once you have a thesis statement, something you want to prove, you actually have to prove it. So don’t just throw a whole bunch of important sounding information on a page and call it a day. That information has to be both useful and relevant. Before you dedicate a paragraph to something ask yourself, will this help me prove my thesis?

4. Mixing up affect and effect.

Affect is used when actions are affecting someone. My mental stability is far too affected by the lives of celebrities. Effect is used when one is talking about the effects of a situation. I’m still feeling the effects of Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds breakup.

5. Not using transition sentences.

When you move from paragraph to paragraph don’t just jump into a new topic. Yes, the first sentence is a topic sentence, but it also the closing of your last topic. So the first sentence of your new paragraph should do both. That’s why it’s a transition sentence. Transition words (however, nonetheless, on the contrary) are really helpful here.

6. Using the wrong than/then.

Here’s the deal.

If you’re writing about time or order you use then. Then Brad dumped Jen and got with Angelina.

If you’re comparing or contrasting you use than. I think Angelina is way prettier than Jen any way.

7. Using personal pronouns.

Do not use I. Do not use me. Don’t use us or we or we’re. Personal pronouns are a big no-no in formal papers. You are a detached voice relaying information, not a particular person sharing your beliefs.

8.Using double negatives.

This one is guaranteed to make your professor cringe every single time. You cannot use more than one negative in a sentence. That means you cannot say Ronnie didn’t do nothing. Rather you would say, Ronnie didn’t do anything.

9. Not citing your sources!

Whether you’re quoting Spark Notes or the Norton Anthology cite your sources. If you don’t it’s plagiarism, even if you don’t mean for it to be. So cite your sources. But do so correctly. First you have to find out what format your professor wants you to use. If you’re taking an English class it’s probably MLA. Find out which one you need to use and then check the guidelines.

10. Its/It’s.

It’s is a contraction. It represents “it is” or “it has.” It is very nice to meet you Leo. I loved you in Inception.

Its represents the possession of something, sort of like a gender neutral his or her. Look at the cute puppy cuddling with its mother.

Need more basic college studying advice? Check out the ABC’s of getting A’s and B’s in college.

Like with most things in my life (namely, the boy I’m kinda, sorta talking to right now), I have a very complicated relationship with college. Over the past four years, we’ve had our ups and downs. There have been moments when my only thoughts were, I love college (when I was living one of these moments), and there were others (like when I was writing my thesis) when I’ve thought, I hate college with a fiery passion…

Ahem.

But that’s probably because college is a complicated institution, full of things we want to do, things we should do, and things we have to do. Some of the stuff is fun (Saturday tailgates), and some of the stuff is not so fun (Sunday all-nighters). So often, we love college just as much as we hate it. It’s a different experience for everyone, but I’ve pulled some of the more universal love/hate conundrums that go hand in hand with the college experience.

Love: Buying new school supplies. Shopping for school supplies is an art form as far as I’m concerned. You need just the right number of pens, just the right size paper, the perfect color Post-Its. You buy everything you need and you set it all up on your desk, and you take a deep sigh of happiness. You are ready to take on the semester. With these supplies you can take on anything.

Hate: Running out of highlighter ink within the first two weeks of the semester. No, not because you bought really crappy highlighters or because you left the cap open and it all dried up (I hate when that happens!), but because you’ve been highlighting nonstop since the semester started. You’ve never had this much reading in your life and everything seems important. How are you supposed to choose what to highlight? So you highlight a lot. A lot. In all of your books. For all of your classes. And then your brand new highlighters dry up.

Love: Learning something new and interesting. Call me a geek but sometimes I actually enjoy my classes. Reading a good book, discussing an interesting theory, or exploring different ways to look at the world? Not the worst thing in the world. Sometimes it’s not only interesting, but actually entertaining. It’s in these moments that I love my major and my classes, and actually don’t mind the whole “going to class” thing.

Hate: Having all of the fun sucked out of it by writing a 10-page paper on it. Okay, so you love this book? Write a ten-page paper on it. What? Excuse me? Having to focus that much time and energy on any one thing will inevitably lead to you hate it. (Just ask your ex.) When I have to write papers or take tests on the topics that I most enjoy I don’t enjoy them anymore. Because suddenly it’s not something fun and interesting, it’s something I have to do. And nothing you have to do is ever really enjoyable. (Just ask me about sexy time with my ex.)

Love: Being treated like colleagues rather than students by professors. I love that in college the professors actually treat us like adults. They don’t baby us. They don’t coddle us. Some of them actually treat us like colleagues or friends rather than students. They are not demeaning and they don’t try to control us, and they actually listen to what we have to say. They respect us enough to see us as adults rather than young adults, (at least most of them anyway), and that makes our time with them so much more enjoyable.

Hate: Getting Facebook requests from those professors. I don’t care how cool you are, professor, I don’t want to be your Facebook friend. It’s just not going to happen. I can’t skip class and spend it on Facebook if you’re my friend. I can’t complain about papers, or joke about dropping out of school to become a stripper if you’re my Facebook friend. Because you might think I’m serious. (I’m not, by the way.) You might get insulted. You might not understand why that quote from textsfromlastnight.com was placed on my Facebook wall and you might not want to. So no professor, I don’t want to be your Facebook friend.

Love: Having the ability to design my own schedule. Probably one of the things that I always looked forward to the most about college was the ability to create my own college schedule. No classes on Monday. No classes before 10 a.m. Night classes only. Whatever I wanted, I could make happen. And I could make it happen with the best professors and the most entertaining (read: easiest) classes. College was like a dream come true. Or so it seemed.

Hate: When that schedule gets tossed out the window when none of those classes are open anymore. It was during the Fall semester of my freshman year that I first discovered every school’s dirty little registration secret. It may appear like students could choose their own schedules, but that was really only for the lucky few that had early registration times. The rest of us were left with nothing to choose from but Friday afternoon Intro to Public Speaking classes. Exactly what I was not looking for. So yes, I love that in college we have the potential to have a very easy-going schedule. I hate that this very rarely happens.

What about you? Share your loves and hates with college below. You know you got ‘em.

It’s a Friday morning. Your alarm goes off for the tenth time. You look at the clock and realize you’ve hit the snooze button well into the first five minutes of your ever dreaded Friday morning class, which you’re only taking because it was the only thing open when you were finally able to register. You grab your shoes and your books, spend ten minutes in line for coffee — because, yeah, it’s necessary — and finally sneak into a seat at the back of the class just in time to hear your professor ask that you send your assignments forward.

Assignments?  What assignments? You think, you think, you flip threw your notes, and then finally, in the bottom corner of the page next to your sunflower doodle is your homework assignment. The one you totally didn’t do. Now what? Well, now you need a way to get out of handing it in today. Now you need an extension.  Now you need a really good excuse.

So be sure not to use one of these…

1. The dog ate it. The oldest excuse in the book. Teachers can see this one coming from a mile away. But it’s particularly difficult to pull off in college because more likely than not, you’re not allowed to have pets in the dorm rooms. So even if your professor does, on the slimmest of chances, believe you then you’ll be dealing with some much bigger issues.

2. My printer stopped working. Back in my high school days, I’ve actually seen this one work a few times. It’s plausible, direct, and clearly implies that the homework is done, but you just couldn’t get that paper printed in time. But that was all before the entire world went online. Now, not only would you have been able to send it to a friend to print, but you could also send it directly to the teacher. And they will ask you to — believe me, they will ask you to.

3. I know I had it in here…where could it have gone? Feigning ignorance as to where your homework has disappeared to never really works with professors. It’s like the academic version of telling your parents you’re “holding those cigarettes for someone else!” They just raise their eyebrows at you and give you that look like, “really, your assignment just up and vanished into thin air? How odd.” Look as shocked and confused as you want to, but chances are your professors will know what’s what.

4. My insert-obscure-family-member-here died. Not only is this just plain horrible (and really terrible karma), but you can actually get caught on this. And then you’d be the person who didn’t just not turn in their homework, but the one who killed off a family member in the process. How would you get caught, you ask? Well, your professor might ask to see a death certificate or something else to prove that said family member, whose name you totally made up on the spot, actually died. True story: My professor actually asked to see a death certificate when a girl skipped a few classes after losing a family member. Now, she was telling the truth, but you aren’t. And won’t that be uncomfortable….

5. I’m in love with you. I’m not going to lie, I was watching reruns of Friends, the later years, and it was the episode when Ross’s student pretends to be in love with him to get out of a failing grade on his midterm. He claimed he was so preoccupied with his love for his professor that he just couldn’t concentrate on taking his test. As first I thought that was brilliant. “Next time I need an extension on an assignment I’ll just pretend that  I’m in love with the  guy, tell him I spend all my time thinking about him, and that’s why I never get anything done on time!” But as the episode went on, I realized 1) that it’s a TV show and 2) that this one can get very bad very quickly…

6.  It’s against my religion to do homework on weekends. Granted, for some people, in some situations, sometimes, this is a completely legitimate excuse. But not for a student who doesn’t want to do their reading or turn in their latest paper. I mean, what religion is anti-homework? If such a thing actually exists please let me know. I’d be all over it.

7. I didn’t know we had homework. When was that assigned? Everyone’s favorite excuse. Simply pretend like you were never given the assignment to begin with, like you had no idea you were actually supposed to do this. (And you actually might not even remember.) Was this even mentioned in class, you’ll say? (It was.) When were we given this assignment? (Two weeks ago.) Shouldn’t you have made sure we were all aware of these due dates? Now here’s why this excuse will never work. You professor will look at you, smile, and say “It’s right there on your syllabus with all of your other assignments and due dates.” Oh…right.

Don’t you miss the days when assignments were given one at a time and teachers didn’t realize the powers of the internet? It made things so much easier.