Skip Class and Miss Homework Without Failing Your Classes

When you're in college, sometimes it's easy to get into the habit of sleeping in and skipping class, flaking on homework assignments and skipping class, partying instead of studying and skipping class. Some of my best memories of college involve those special afternoon hours that seem even better because they were stolen moments when I should have been in class. Of course, you can only skip class or miss assignments so many times before you end up suffering some serious consequences when it comes to your grades. So, how did I enjoy those lazy afternoons of stolen time and still have a 4.0 in my Major classes? I learned the art of slacking off responsibly.

Just because you're a slacker and like to skip class does not mean that you can't still be a great student and really learn the material you're studying too. It may seem like an oxymoron, but sometimes to keep from burning out completely, a student has to have a little extra time to do something that really relaxes and entertains them. If you can take time for yourself, and really enjoy it, you'll come back to class even better than before. And that's the first secret to slacking off responsibly. If you're going to skip class, make sure you squeeze every bit of enjoyment possible from that time. Revel in sleeping in, or in sneaking off to the movies with your roommate. If you are going to be missing class, make sure there is a positive outcome and that it really helps you to de-stress and relax. What would be the point of skipping class just to think about it and worry about it the whole time? You might as well be there if you'll be doing that!

Another crucial step to take when skipping class and slacking off is to check the syllabus! If your professor will only allow two days absent, then that is probably not the class you want to choose to skip, even if it is at eight on a Friday morning. If the class you'd like to skip is a large lecture class in which there is no attendance taken, feel free to skip as much as you'd like, with one caution: make sure you do the reading and attend more than you don't, just to make sure you won't bomb the tests as they come along.

When it comes to blowing off homework assignments, your syllabus will again be a very useful tool. If you have a paper to write that's fifty percent of your grade, you'd better write it and do the very best you can on it. But if you find yourself in a time crunch and have to choose whether or not to finish an assignment that's only worth five points out of five hundred available, it's not really that big a deal if you decide not to hand that one in.

When it comes to skipping class or assignments, take a realistic look at the consequences to your grade and your reputation. If your class is being taught by a professor that you'd like a recommendation from, it'll be better in the long run to appear as a model student than it will be to skip that class. Of course, you don't have to fake anything or suck up, but you do want to make sure that the best of your abilities are being displayed so your professor will have some frame of reference when writing a letter of recommendation for you.

Another good way to get more time for yourself without damaging your grades is to learn to work more efficiently. You don't technically have to read every assignment straight through if you're also attending class discussion on them. Learn to skim and keep your ears open during class for the points your professor is highlighting. Most probably, these will be the points she'll be testing you on. Learn to write papers quickly in a high quality way, and you'll free up hours of worrying over them, allowing you to relax and have fun instead of staring at the computer wondering what to write.

There are lots of reasons to skip class and most of need no convincing when it comes to wanting to get out of the classroom, but make sure to keep these guidelines in mind to get the most out of your classes while still slacking off a bit. It's important to keep track of your grades while slacking off because nothing can kill the fun more than knowing you're wasting thousands of dollars while flunking out of school. So, enjoy being a slacker, but put in your time in the classroom too in order to have the best of both worlds.