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!

College students are notoriously strapped for cash, and everyone on campus knows this.  Maybe administrators only do it because they feel guilty for sucking thousands of dollars out of our bank accounts, but the truth is, they actually provide plenty of awesome things for students to utilize – but we never seem to take these opportunities.  Why is it that the turnout for dollar beer night is always SO much greater than the number of students who show up for on-campus lectures?

There are so many chances that college students simply fail to take advantage of.  Here’s a little bucket list, College Candy style.  Make sure you take advantage of each of these things at least once before graduation.  Trust us – these opportunities are painfully rare once you get out into the real world.

Newspapers - Recently, we heard about a school that decided to terminate its free subscription to the Wall Street Journal because students just weren’t picking up copies.  Most institutions offer free copies of top papers, only to find discarded piles week after week.  Even if you only take it for the crossword, grabbing a free copy is totally worth it.

Special Guests – We’re not just talking about the lectures that pertain to your courses (although we totally advocate going to those too!). A lot of schools invest time and funds to bring really interesting people to campus, but students just don’t seem to appreciate it.  Take the time my school had Project Runway runner-up Althea Harper come in and talk about her experiences as a designer – it doesn’t get much cooler or more current than that, but only a handful of students dragged themselves away from happy hour to attend the event.  Piece of advice: the next time you see a sign promoting a guest speaker, check it out.  It may be your chance to get some great advice, listen to amusing anecdotes, or even meet a celeb – and you can usually do all this for free (or at least cheap).

Clubs -  Even super-involved high school students seem to have difficulty joining clubs in college.  Maybe they are time-consuming, but the truth is that clubs give you a much-needed break from the monotony of classes and homework.  Everything is offered, from musical groups to the school paper to intramural sports.  The second best thing about clubs is that they give you a chance to try something new, even if you don’t have a ton of experience or talent; clubs lack the competition and pressure of more official activities. The best part?  Free food is served at most of the meetings.

Dining Hall Buffets – The ABSOLUTE best way to really get bang for your buck.  Go on a totally empty stomach and let yourself go for four helpings of pure deliciousness.  It’s a great way to try a lot of new dishes, too. My personal recommendation?  Go during finals week, eat lunch, sit around and study while grazing on snacks, and then eat a full-on dinner a few hours later.  Just make sure you have a pair of oversized sweatpants on hand for the next day

Interesting Courses – So many people take classes for one reason and reason only: to satisfy graduation requirements.  But take it from a recent grad; college has so much more to offer.  The absolute best choice I ever made in my four years was signing up for a diversity workshop.   So if you’ve always secretly wanted to try pottery, sign up for a course.  Make it your mission to take at least one random elective every year – who knows what you might learn?

So here you have it, kids.  And one last piece of advice: if you’re shelling out thousands for school, try to limit skipping class to the mornings when you’re just too hungover to get out of bed.

Maybe it was the “this semester’s going to be different” syndrome that somehow possessed you to sign up for that early morning seminar. Or maybe it’s that pesky biology course that you’ve put off for the last 3 semesters — the one you have to take to declare your major. Either way, we all succumb now and then to the evilest of academia plaguing our university campuses – 8 AM classes.

After spending about five lectures cursing the school’s scheduling system, you realize that you actually have to suck up this class for the entire term. When you finally come to that place of acceptance, rely on these survival tips to get you through the long road ahead:

1. Prepare your sh*t ahead of time – It takes about 5 minutes to sleepily throw everything you need in your school bag before you hit the hay. Make sure to grab the essentials. Notebook? Check. Pens and pencils? Got ‘em. New York Times sudoku book? Hell yeah!

2. Set your alarm to your own sleeping habits – Personally, I like to set my alarm to about 20 to 30 minutes before the time I absolutely have to wake up, also known as the Oh Sh*t Hour. That way, I can have the satisfaction of slapping my snooze button without actually being late for class. Now, if you’re like my roommate, you may want to set your alarm at the actual O.S.H., or else you may automatically turn off your alarm in your sleep.

3. Drink coffee – And lots of it.

4. Bring breakfast with you – Let’s be real, most of us run a little late when it’s 7:45 in the morning, leaving no time to prepare let alone eat a hearty meal. I trust that you’ve seen the Special K Red Berries commercial, so you know that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” I don’t like to lose any opportunity to eat, so I make an easy breakfast that I can eat in class. One of my favorites is the parfait – nonfat plain yogurt, granola, and mixed frozen or fresh fruit. Clean, easy, and effectively makes everybody around you drool in jealousy.

5. Wear your gym clothes to class – This is one of my personal faves. Wear gym clothes to class so you don’t have to get up earlier to get ready. It doesn’t even matter if you plan to go to the gym or even have a membership. As long as you’re wearing gym clothes you can be certain of two things: 1) You will be comfortable and 2) You can speed walk/run to class without breaking an ankle. This also doubles as an excuse to look like crap while still appearing as there’s a purpose to your raggedness.

Good luck and take heart: you’re not the only one struggling to keep those eyes open this morning…