ULTIMATE GUIDE TO SKIPPING CLASS IN COLLEGE AND HOW TO DO IT (PROPERLY)

Skipping class has serious consquence on your career and educational attainment, so before you skip class read this blog post.

Every college or university student during their typical degree will skip class once or twice.

Whether it is over wanting more 'free time' to look at some memes or deciding to sleep in.

Or choosing to take more hours during your part time job, this article is here to answer the question...Is skipping class really worth it?

Some quick things to note...

This blog post, is for college and university students only, high school (sixth form) students please go to class!

Also, if your university or college takes attendance into consideration of your grade, skipping class is a no go!

 If you are an international student, some universities can revoke your visa because of low attendance.

So be CAREFUL and check your school’s website or ask your tutor or counsellor about the rules and regulations around attendance

The truth about skipping class

So, let’s be honest, the typical college student will have skipped at least one class during their degree. A recent study found that at prestigious schools such as Harvard only 60% of students are actually attending all their classes.

That means that 40% of students (nearly half of students) are not attending classes, at one of the best educational institutions in the world!!

When I ask people why they skip classes they often say, 'they couldn't be bothered to wake up' or 'they think the class is boring'.

And hey, I've used all those excuses too, and I’m not going to try and tell you off or motivate you to go to class.

But what I want to do, is provide you with more of a strategic and business overview to skipping classes.

Let's bring it back to basics, college is a business investment, the overall aim is that:

You invest in your degree > gain a job> pay back your loan (if you took a loan) > make a profit back from your degree. 

So essentially, you can view your classes as the foundation of your investment. When you attend all your lectures you are getting 100% out of your investment. 

Thus probing the possibility of gaining the best opportunities for a job and later financial profit. Obviously, this is all theoretical …the job market is quite crazy. 

But still! Wouldn’t you want to get your moneys worth?

Like I said before, I’m not going to tell you to not skip class, but I will ask you ...

Is skipping class is really worth it ?

When we take money into consideration too, the cost of a class at university ranges from $19-$47 (£14-£36) imagine if you missed more than 50% of your classes, BIG CASH LOSS!

So, I am going, to be honest with you, throughout my first year of university, I skipped class a lot. 

I use to always justify my skipping by saying, I wanted more 'free time'. But the truth Is, I was probably gaining less time.

Most students who skip class, do not create spaces in their schedule to catch up with class content .

 And because of that, they end up cramming right before deadlines, or quickly grabbing friends class notes. Never gaining the depth and breadth of content, they could have know from simply attending class. 

Then even if they do gain the depth and breadth back, it is SUCH a hassle!

I used to be one of those people who thought attending class was not needed. But I soon realised attending classes was beyond its informational value was so VITAL because:

CONVERSATIONS: during or after class I could have conversations about topics with my friends or the lecturer! Which allowed me to expand on concepts and ideas, helping me to create more unique and thought through essays.

PRODUCTIVITY: forcing myself to leave my dorm, meant I was awake for the day and would drag myself to the library.

MY FACE BECAME FAMILIAR: my lectures saw me often and were more willing to help me.

STRUCTURE: because I attended classes, I create a weekly schedule around my lessons and began to organise my life.

Attending classes for me, became FUNDAMENTAL because I could see that, I was gaining MORE positives than negatives. Yes, I had to wake up early, yes, I had to sit through boring lectures.

 But I was learning content more thoroughly and seeing the grades my grades go up!

If you are thinking about skipping lectures, think about ways you can make classes work for you!

Do you need to go through content before class?

How about asking more questions during class? 

 Or maybe writing notes differently? 

You need to tackle these questions before totally giving up on your classes.

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Okay so you are halfway through reading this article…do you still want to skip class?

If the answer is yes, then continue reading.

My friends who skipped class were very organised human beings.

They knew that they could not work on a class schedule that their university-provided. So instead they meticulously crafted and planned a study schedule on their own, that worked for them!

If you are going to commit to skipping class, have a PLAN.

Particularly, too often people think they can skip class and catch up ‘tomorrow’ but tomorrow because next week, and next becomes never.

 And then they end up cramming during finals, searching for all the content they missed. 

You must develop time management skills and stick to your own study schedule! So, whether you want to use a planner, or a time management app use something! To ensure you are staying on top of your work.

You also need to be pragmatic, you cannot skip every class. Some classes such as workshops, revision classes, group classes and final year classes are simply non-negotiable! 

Don't become too committed to your new 'independent learner lifestyle'. Remember your degree was created to be lesson based, sometimes you simply just need to attend class. 

However, be smart about this…some classes such as History and Politics 101  are very basic, and are based on content you may already know.

Personally, for me certain classes covered topics I knew I would not be graded on, so I never attended them. 

Looking back now, I WISH I went to all my classes.

But if you think they will be of no use, then do not go. 

Skipping class once or twice isn't that big of a deal, but if you want to skip class a lot!

Just remember university is a BUSINESS INVESTMENT, don’t waste your money.