As I sit here trying to finish my biology homework, I realized that I am undoubtedly regretting skipping all those biology lectures. The end of the semester is quickly approaching and like every other student, I am very stressed. Between the material I have to know for the exam and how much was covered this semester, I feel like my brain is literally shutting down. As much as I hate admitting it, I made a mistake skipping so many lectures. It started off innocently. I only missed a lecture when I wasn’t feeling good. However, once you miss one it’s just so easy to miss the next. Missing lecture is not a good habit, trust me. Here’s a few reasons why you shouldn’t skip a lecture.
You get behind
We’ve all had that talk with ourselves. “Oh i’ll just do it later or tomorrow,” but let’s be honest. Do we actually end up doing it later? Not if later means end of the semester (currently me right now). College is definitely not the same as high school and you can’t just “catch up” by finishing one or two assignments. Usually it’s long chapters to read that really add up in the end. So, this is definitely something you want to avoid. Once you get behind it’s a long uphill battle to get back on track.
The professor’s input
One thing you will definitely miss when you skip a lecture, is your professor’s actual teaching. Even if you don’t agree with their methods, what they teach will be on the test. I learned this the hard way. There is no other way to pick up on that stuff unless you go to lecture. Trust me, I don’t want to sound like a mom here, but what your professors teach may not be in the book. How else would you be able to answer those lecture-specific questions on exams if you are not in class?
Clicker points/Attendance
For some people this doesn’t seem like a big problem but for me iclicker points actually really helped boost my grades this semester. They’re literally the easiest points to rack up, and I don’t understand why anyone would want to pass up points that are essential. These points do nothing but benefit your grade!
Missing lecture is sometimes a necessity, which I understand, but there’s a very thin line between doing it a couple times and then getting in the habit of missing lectures all the time. It may have seemed like a hassle to attend that 7:30am lecture a few weeks ago, but once finals come around, you regret it. I’m starting to study for my finals, and I’m realizing that there’s a few concepts I don’t really understand. If I would’ve attended lecture more, then I probably would have had a better grip on them. Even if you’re a total brainiac (go you!) it doesn’t hurt to keep going to lectures so that you understand the material.