<p>I’m in that situation this semester again. I skipped one class to sleep in eventhough I need to show since I don’t understand the material.</p>
<p>It takes me 30 mins by train or 90mins by bus. I started taking the bus to school since its cheaper but I usually fall asleep and when I get to class I’m still in a drowsy state.</p>
<p>I’d say my motivation is the class- if its a subject I like & the classroom makes me feel comfortable. Having frieds in a boring or difficult class helps but I know I can’t fail so hoping to pass is another motivation I guess</p>
<p>Yes, hang in there. I do have to agree on one thing from your parents. If you’re so exhausted and struggling academically, I would limit your social life. You need to get more rest and to study. This isn’t the rest of your life. It’s just for these months until you finish your degree and/or start to feel better. Focus on doing everything you can to get your post-college life off to a good start–grades, job hunting, saving on food bills with inexpensive groceries. </p>
<p>I don’t agree with this advice. Professors feel less, not more, obligation to help students who don’t show up for lectures. I certainly don’t believe I’m obligated to give private tutoring outside of class to students who can’t be bothered to show up for class. It’s a package deal. It can’t be the job of the professor to compensate for an individual student’s commutation or living arrangements.</p>
<p>If you absolutely cannot make it to the class on a regular basis, drop it and take it later. Delay graduation. Otherwise, I agree with Lookingforward that you’ve come this far, so you might as well finish. It’s a temporary pain for a large gain.</p>
<p>A lot of people are having a difficult winter. Tough it out. Dress in layers. You are paying for the privilege of sitting under the live instruction of a professor. Show respect for the professor and get to class. It’s not optional. It’s only a few more months of your life, and spring will actually come.Think of how you want to feel in May. You’ll probably feel better about yourself if you tough it out and get to the classes. If you signed up for the courses, be there. And absolutely, I can see professors being willing to help students, but those students better be doing their part which is showing up to class with their studies prepared. You have the privilege of being educated; don’t waste it. That’s what I say.</p>
<p>Can you possibly scrape together a few thousand bucks to buy an old beater of a car? As long as it will run in the freezing temperatures, it will get you to campus faster than your public transit commute. And even if the heater is broken you’ll be warmer than you would be out in the wind.</p>
<p>As for your parents, assuming your story is for real, they are crazy and as soon as you are done with school you should put them in the rearview mirror.</p>
<p>I have about an 1.5 hour commute to school, but I only have classes Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I stacked my schedule so that I wouldn’t have to go every day. I’d recommend trying to make your schedule more like mine next semester so you don’t have to always be going in. When I’m commuting I usually try to read a book, listen to a podcast, or watch Netflix to keep myself entertained. I almost look forward to commuting now since I treat it as a time to relax and do whatever I want. </p>
<p>Will reading books or writing on the two longer chunks help? How about listening to podcasts or audiobooks throughout the trip?</p>
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<p>Professors are under no obligation to help students who won’t help themselves. You teach an hour-long lecture to 100 students, and have 50 who basically want to reschedule? No. The students signed up for the course at a certain time. The professor should teach the course, and should provide additional aid, but should not cater to students who won’t make the time to do the most basic component of the class. That would be a waste to the 50 students who want to use office hours to go beyond the lecture material.</p>
<p>I live about 2 hours away from my campus. I’ve been making this same trek for 4 yrs and it has been challenging to keep my motivational level up at times. One thing that helped me was to figure out what the cost per class was. In my case, I am financing most of my education with student loans. It doesn’t make sense to not attend class if I have to pay for it. </p>
<p>Also, depending on the class, PowerPoint presentations do not replace the actual lecture. You are not able to to hear the verbal clues or see the body language of your instructor. I use those clues to determine what we will eventually see on a test. If I wasn’t there…I wouldn’t see them.</p>
<p>Lastly, you’re almost done. Just like high school, you will never be able to replace the undergrad college experience. At this point (2/28) it’s almost Spring Break time. Take that time to recharge and make that final push to the end of the semester!</p>
I can only speak for my uni (American colleges, or OP’s college, might be different), but our lectures take place in huge halls. Most of the time, he professors record attendance by having everyone sign in, or they don’t record attendance at all. But they don’t bother to remember exactly who did and didn’t show up.
People rarely attend their office hours (unless it’s close to exam time), and they completely free up that time to dedicate to any students who want help. They’re also very nice about emailing them for further appointments, or emailing them to make sure you have a slot in their office hours, should other students show up.</p>
<p>I do feel a sense of entitlement when it comes to this. I used to feel embarrassed about asking questions, but I’m paying quite a lot (especially because I’m an international student, and we subsidize the fees for home students- a situation that probably won’t apply to the OP granted). I expect to get my money’s worth.</p>
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Again, I’m starting to see that my situation and how my university works is different from the OP’s.
We have comprehensive notes posted online. I’m not saying that students should expect a whole repeat of the lecture. I’m saying to go over the notes and material, and then approach the professor with any further questions. And bad notes normally correlate with a bad lecturer. If the notes are bad, I find that the teaching in class is also unproductive and confusing, in which case going isn’t going to help to begin with.
We don’t sign up for courses at certain times, our courses are given to us. We do sign up for a few modules, but we don’t always know what time they’ll be. Even when we do know the timings, our choices are limited.</p>
<p>I apologize if I made any incorrect assumptions about OP’s college. Still, I think that he/she should consider the fact that they’re paying for this education, even if his/her final decision is that going to class is fairer to the professor.</p>