It’s a few weeks into the new year—the freshmen are finally oriented and your back-to-school clothes have already been through the laundry cycle. Posters are hung, emails from clubs you forgot you signed up for are deleted, and your schedule is mostly committed to memory.
Weeks or months ago, when you planned out your courses, you were probably pretty excited. You might have gotten a kick out of sifting through syllabi and poring over teacher evaluations to find that oh-so-perfect class. On the first day, with new notebook and freshly sharpened pencils in hand, you could barely contain your excitement. But, at some point during the class you realized that the sinking feeling in your stomach wasn’t the dining hall food, it was disappointment.
Regardless of whether your professor is a bust, you’ve fallen a little behind, or you’re stressing out about a group project, HC is here to help!
Issue #1: You can’t understand the professor
The Situation:
If you constantly find yourself asking the person next to you, “what’d he say?” you might run the risk of falling behind.
Michele, a sophomore at University of California, Los Angeles, echoed a common problem, “my math professor last semester had a really strong accent and was really hard to understand.” On top of that, Michele’s professor didn’t have the best chalkboard penmanship, so her notes were often incomprehensible. “Everyone else felt totally lost in the class too, so we bonded over that. A group of us ended up meeting to work together. Going through the material slowly really helped me understand what was going on and also it was great to vent with my classmates!”
The Solutions:
Getting a study group together can be one of the most effective ways to figure out the material. It allows you to ask questions and go at a pace that makes you feel comfortable. Also, your classmates are often able to explain things more clearly for you than many professors. Who knows? You might even walk away with some new friends!
Make sure that your group has:
- A quiet, private meeting place – you may want to snag a study room at the library, sneak into a classroom, or use a group member’s room if it’s cool with his or her roommates.
- A flexible time slot when everyone can meet – if people are walking in and out of the study group, it can become a waste of time. Make sure that everyone is committed to being there and ready to work for the whole time.
- The right amount of members – when word gets out that you’re putting together a study group, you may become quite popular. Having too many people can make your group ineffective and just as confusing as class. Keep the group to under 10 people.
- The right balance of members – try your best to make sure that your group members can explain the material well to each other. If you have a mix of people who are all clueless, it’ll be the ‘blind leading the blind.’ Try to recruit people from different majors.
- Snacks – so this one is optional, but a little brain food never hurt anyone!
Heavy accents aren’t the only communication barrier. Sometimes professors can forget that their students aren’t hip to the academic lingo. If your professor is going on and on about the “phenomenology of the pseudo-normative categorical imperative,” don’t be afraid to ask questions during or after class. One of my friends keeps a small notebook with her at all times to write down words, phrases, or events she isn’t familiar with and looks them up later. It’s a great way to keep up with the material and remind yourself of those words you only ever heard when studying for the SAT!
Professor Flapan, a mathematics professor at Pomona College, suggests that you identify specific parts of the lecture that you had trouble with and ask the professor or TA for clarification during office hours. She also recommended forming what she calls a “note-taking collective” – basically, each student can take turns writing down notes in the class, photo copy them, and distribute them to the group (or email them around if you take notes on a laptop). “The people not taking notes can focus more on listening, since taking notes can distract you,” She said. “Of course, this shouldn’t be an excuse to cut class, since then you won’t get anything out of it.” She also suggests reading the textbook before the lecture rather than after, if possible, so you can be more familiar with the terminology.
If you aren’t getting the help you need from the professor, try talking to a TA, another member of the department, or a tutor (available through most universities). In subjects like math or science, peer tutors are usually available through your dean’s office or the department. Writing tutors may also be available to help you plan and proofread your essays.
Issue # 2: You’re stuck doing a group project
The Situation:
Doing projects solo can be stressful – add in some competitive classmates all with different visions, schedules, and styles – and it might seem downright impossible.
Katie, a senior at Yale University, said, “Two years ago I had to do an English project in a group. We all met and worked on it the night before class. When I came into class the next day I found out that one of the guys in my group changed the whole thing!” Katie ended up talking to her partner about it and he apologized. “He said he hadn’t even considered that it might upset me.”
There’s a flip side to that problem – what do you do when you’re the one who’s stuck with all of the work? Shabman, a junior at Queens College studying elementary education, said that she constantly works in groups and tends to be the “perfectionist” partner. “I always find that I’m paranoid about tweaking all the details of the projects and making sure everything is organized and neat. It wasn’t frustrating to me because it’s more of my standards that I want to stick with.”
The Solutions:
The key to successfully working in a group is finding the balance between asserting your own ideas and not stepping on anybody’s toes. Making sure that there is open communication between all members of your team will go a long way toward making sure that everyone stays on the same page.
Things to keep in mind:
- Being passive-aggressive never works and it won’t exactly endear you to your group members. If you have a concern or a suggestion that you’re sure will improve the project dramatically, just say it (nicely).
- A reminder email or two can be helpful. Flooding inboxes and maxing-out everyone’s text messaging plans don’t have the same effect. Only send out info when it needs to be sent out, everything else can usually wait until you actually get together.
- Delegating work should be done thoughtfully and with input from everyone. If you really want to work on one part, be the first to volunteer. If you think Susie Q. would be perfect for another part, say so.
- Find the right balance between democracy and tyranny. Groups that are too egalitarian can be ineffective if no one takes charge. On the other hand, one person barking orders will probably make the whole group and the project suffer.
- Kill ‘em with kindness. Rather than saying “that looks like a 5-year-old did it,” try something more constructive. As Conan O’Brien said, “if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.”
- If you’re proud of the work your team did, let them know in a fun and sincere way. Saying something like, “Even though I’m glad that’s over, I really loved working with you guys! We Rock!” is always a nice idea.
If that doesn’t work, as a last resort, you may want to ask to switch groups. This should only be done if you are truly concerned about your work or well-being. Your ex-group members might get a little POed and your new group may be hesitant to work with you. Voice your concerns to your professor and TA, since they may be able to help you fix the situation.
Issue # 3:You were graded unfairly
The Situation:
Some professors are kind graders while others are notoriously harsh (I once had a professor take off three points because I used the word “basic” instead of “simple” – true story). Though crying and wearing revealing shirts work in the movies, they have a much lower success rate in the real world.
Rebecca, a junior at Yale, felt like her grade was pulled out of thin air. “I was in one of those classes where you’re never quite sure how you’re being graded. So, when I got my final grade for an architecture class, I was pretty confused.” After thinking it over for a few days, Rebecca asked her professor to meet with her and talk about it. “I went into the meeting totally prepared to aggressively argue my point, but he ended up being really reasonable and we actually had a great discussion about my work. In the end, he agreed that my grade was unfair and he bumped it up.”
The Solutions:
Not all professors will be so understanding, but presenting them with rational, well-thought-out arguments can give you a fighting chance.
Dr. Marvin Chun, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Neurobiology at Yale University, recommends students only argue their grade if there was a clear grading error. He asks his students to back up any other problems with quotes from the textbook or another professional source. “The least constructive, and all too common strategy, is for a student to appeal for a higher grade simply because he or she wants or needs a higher grade – honestly, it’s hard for a faculty member to view such pleas positively.”
According to Professor Flapan, the best thing to do is to thoroughly go over your paper or exam and then ask your professor or TA for clarification (i.e., “I want to understand what I did wrong so I can do better next time”). Don’t focus specifically on the grade, focus on personal improvement. “Usually, professors will notice if you were graded unfairly as you go through it with them and they’ll change your grade.” Overall, she says, it’s best to be humble, “If you go in with an angry and defensive attitude, your professor will react with an angry and defensive attitude.”
And when all else fails, coyly slip your prof a twenty – just kidding, don’t EVER do that.
Issue # 4: You’ve fallen behind
The Situation:
Though the first weeks back to class might seem like a good time to relax – and absorb the last few rays of sunshine if you go to school somewhere cold – falling behind in the beginning can lead to big problems down the road.
“I was still in summer mode when I got back to campus last year,” Katie said. “It was tough to get myself back to the library. So within about three weeks I realized that I had a problem set, a test, and a lot of reading to do all at the same time.” As a consequence, Katie ended up pulling a couple of all-nighters and she knows her work suffered. “If I leave myself enough time, I know that I can produce good work, but in this case, it all kind of stunk. I had to drop one of the classes and take it the next semester on top of an even heavier course load.”
The Solutions:
If you feel like you’ve fallen behind, don’t freak out. There is still plenty of time to get you the help you need to get back on track! Consulting a friend who’s taken the class before or who is in it now can be invaluable. Plus, they’ll have the benefit of learning the material even better as they teach it to you. You can also consider a tutoring service. But without a doubt the best thing you can do is become a regular at office hours.
Dr. Chun recommends going through a sort of checklist with an advisor:
- Analyze what’s going on in your life that may be causing you to be overwhelmed. It may be a simple case of overload, but problems with a friend, significant other, or family member, an illness, or other distraction may also contribute to your stress.
- Taking care of those factors may help you catch up and prevent problems in the future. Dr. Chun typically finds that students commit themselves to too many extra curricular activities or take on too many courses.
- Do whatever you need to catch up: go to a tutor, ask a friend for help, meet with the professor or TA, comb through the textbook, get a study group together, or all of the above!
- If you really can’t catch up with all you need, you may need to drop the class. Just make sure you’ve exhausted all of your other options first.
- If you absolutely cannot drop the class, do some triage. “If dropping a course is not feasible, prioritize which courses are most important to you, and try to do well in those and minimize damage in the less essential courses.”
Issue #5: You have to take the requirement you’ve been dreading
The Situation:
Every major has one: that class that everyone talks about with a mixture of dread, disgust, and maybe even a little fear. Some might call it a “Rite of Passage,” others may call it “The Reason I Decided to Switch Majors.” Regardless of the name, there will always be that one requirement that is so painfully boring, so horribly taught, or so soul-crushingly difficult, that you shed a tear the moment you added it to your course schedule.
Shabnam feared one class above the rest: “I was always terrified of physics after taking it in high school and hating it.” So when she found out it was a requirement, she did her best to put on a brave face. “I was so close to transferring out of my program just to avoid it. Instead I made sure I chose the best professor that taught the course, which would make up for the horrible excuse of a teacher I had in high school.” Even though she still doesn’t consider physics to be her favorite subject ever, she said the professor made it tolerable.
Other classes might be so lackluster, lifeless, and tedious that the hardest thing you’ll be tested on is your patience. Jill, a junior at Yale, had to take a science credit and took the simplest one she could find, “the class started out with about 90 people showing up every day. By the last month, there were maybe ten people showing up regularly. Out of those ten, I would say about half were asleep – on a good day.”
The Solutions:
If you’re sitting in class wishing you had some toothpicks to prop open your eyes, try your best to take down the notes so you can sift through them later. Also, Jill recommends bringing quiet snacks, “they were the only thing that kept me awake sometimes.” Drinking a gallon of coffee before class may work, or it make you hyperactive and in need of the little girls’ room every twenty minutes, so pace your caffeine intake.
Professor Flapan suggests breaking down your work into small, manageable chunks to get around psychological blocks, like boredom or difficulty. “Make a schedule for yourself right when the assignments are given, that has small steps that feel doable. Each time you do something, you can feel a sense of accomplishment.” If you’re having difficulty with a problem set or something that you just can’t figure out, she suggests going to your professor, TA or tutor. “Definitely don’t postpone it because it’s the most unpleasant thing on your list.”
The beauty of the beginning of the semester is that it’s not too late to fix whatever problems you may be having. Get advice from your friends, advisors, classmates, and of course, your favorite collegiette™ blog.
Being proactive about getting the help you need will always feel better than doing nothing at all!
Happy Midterms!
Sources:
Michele*, a student at University of California, Los Angeles
Katie*, a student at Yale University
Rebecca*, a student at Yale University
Jill*, a student at Yale University
Shabnam, a student at Queens College
Dr. Marvin Chun, a professor and Master of Berkeley College at Yale University
Professor Flapan, a mathematics professor at Pomona College