*Article By Camilla Vardar ’20*
While it is really easy to to get into the habit of skipping lectures (especially when you’re taking International Challenges of the 21st Century…sorry Professor Howorth), I really recommend you don’t. Here are my top 5 reasons why you should actually go to that 10:30 in SSS.
1. To learn and grow as a human being.
You’re at Yale to nerd out as much as possible over one, or possibly two, specific area(s) of study of your choice. So for your own sake, go to lecture and pay attention to what the professor has to say. This is not high school; you can stop pretending that the pursuit of knowledge is “un-hip,” as the youth say these days.
2. For your GPA.
That gut class you took to raise your GPA? Turns out, if you don’t even show up to lecture, it might just magically butcher that 4.0 you dream of (totally not speaking from experience, *ahem*, it was my friend). More often than not, showing up to lecture has a significant impact on your grade. And it’s not just because of that ~dreaded~ “participation” grade you receive at the end of the semester, but also because just sitting in and taking notes will make you hate yourself a little less when midterm season comes around.
Pro tip: Take notes of everything, even the boring concepts, because even though it might seem obvious and clear to you in the moment, future you might find it abso-frigging-lutely confusing.
3. You’re PAYING for it!
Instead of doing her problem set on time like she should, one of my good STEM major friends devoted the time to calculating the cost of a typical one credit class at The Yale University in the state of Connecticut. Turns out, for every lecture you miss, you officially lose $396.67! You could buy a lot with that kind of money!
4. You might meet your future partner
Not to get your hopes up, but there is a chance you might end up dating the section asshole if you do show up to your classes. Think about the kids.
5. To save your life
Say your careless first year roommate lights a…candle…in your suite, violating the safety code of a certain small liberal arts institution in New Haven, Connecticut, and falls asleep because they pulled two all-nighters trying to do her DS readings and finish her Physics 260 and Math 230 problem sets, and suddenly your entire suite is on fire. Scratch that, your residential college is on fire! If you were in your common room, watching Netflix or stalking your Tinder matches on Yale Facebook, you would have died. However, since you decided to attend lecture like a responsible student at the Yale University in the state of Connecticut, you survived the tragedy! Woohoo!
So think about it, maybe go to lecture more often?