In 2016, I found myself in a class for Microbiology which was surprisingly the loudest and most clique-y classroom experience I have ever been a part of. Perhaps it was due to its course’s difficulty in nature. To play along with that, it was an 8-week summer course. With the setting for everything, it made sense that students found themselves ready to work with the peers they found easy to assimilate with as survival was a serious subject matter. I easily found my group of bio friends. However, I believe I am an independent learner. Though I enjoy group work, I am very capable and confident in my abilities to overcome classroom obstacles on my own. You can say that I was not as desperately attached to my little group as demonstrated by some people in the class. Though I like my me time when it comes to studying, I am not completely dedicated to my isolation and would tag along whenever invited to group study sessions. Some way somehow I stumbled upon a probably the least productive group I have ever worked with. Luckily, they didn’t invite me until week 6 in preparation for the final. Here is how our “study session” looked like:
Each student had their own “successful” method of cheating the system to get away from actual studying. How? Every OG member of the group chipped in to pay for a Course Hero account and almost everybody had copies of the questions corresponding to the topic that we needed to study for in micro. The session basically consisted of this pointless game of attempting to memorize all the questions and their answers.
I did not know what to say. The whole thing was such a joke. I don’t think I have ever regretted being a part of a study group until this one magically found its way to me. I have heard about people who decide to meet at old faithful Starbucks to work on things together, but this. THIS. It’s ridiculous! I had an A in the class. And so did they. But I actually knew the material. What. Is. Going. On???
I still think about those people. It is amazing how they have persevered through the toughest of classes with that kind of strategy and mindset. The question is, how long can they keep that up? Going to class and not learning is comparable to eating a rich meal without tasting its delicacy or receiving even an ounce of its nutrients. Education is the same way. Why live through a course and not learn a single thing? Even if the class is nowhere close to your major does not depreciate its relevance. True, it may not be as applicable as much as your other major classes, but it is nonetheless a segment of your learning experience. As a Pre-PT major, I enjoyed both my sociology classes and environmental ethics as much as I did for my list of Kinesiology courses. I am a pre-PT with a wealth in knowledge and enthusiasm in sustainability and social stratification and there is nothing wrong with that. If you need to survive a “boring” course and keep that up for 6 or 8 or 16 weeks or so, you might as well enjoy. Keep in mind, the same rule applies to the people around you. Surround yourself with people who also wish to indulge in the college experience and motivate you to be a stronger student. Make friends beyond the boundaries of your classrooms. Join a club that would help improve you academically. These suggested solutions does not seem related to original problem, but they could be. Involvement stimulates learning. Be responsible, but also enjoy the experience. There is more to college than just having the highest GPA.
Justine's Blog 
Hi Justine,
I absolutely loved reading your blog! I love that you are an independent learner because it really allows you to rely on yourself when it comes to studying and making sure that you understand the material yourself. It’s better this way because then you don’t have to rely on anyone else to help you do good in school.
Shantille Yu
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Hi Justine, I know exactly what you are talking about when you mention students memorizing answers to tests instead of learning the concepts. I know many people who do this and they tell me that they just want to graduate with a degree and don’t really care about learning information that they think they will never use in the real world. They might be right in some cases like an anthropology class when you are a business major. You would never need that class, but some people do this for every class and it’s really weird to me. Like you just wasted 4 years of your life. Oh well, its hard to change peoples mindset! I’m glad your not faking your college experience. It’s really worth it.
-Robin Shamon
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Justine, as usual, I loved reading your blog. I am all too familiar with the phenomenon you are talking about, and it’s seemingly strong prevalence at this school appalls me. I know SO many people who do this in every single class they take. It stuns me. It’s like, what’s the point of paying tens of thousands of dollars for your college tuition if you aren’t going to get anything meaningful out of it. Not to throw any shade in particular, but I swear it is business majors who do this the most. I feel like because its the most popular major, people are able to take so many of their important major classes online. So many of my friends are always doing lots of research to figure out the easiest classes they can take. As a science major, this really bewilders me because NONE of my major classes are available online. It’s as if some people really believe they are going to become successful by trying to finesse their way through everything.
Angus Fletcher
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