Dating, class five

Author: MAIA HOLLINGER ’06.5

A friend recently confessed the effect of the girl he's been seeing, "she's like taking a fifth class." I had to laugh, but there's certainly some truth to it.

You start with the course catalog. You peruse your options and chose a few classes you might be interested in adding. Once you've selected the course you want to take you submit your choice to BannerWeb where you are either confirmed, rejected or harshly waitlisted.

After you get into the class there's a four week add/drop period. Essentially, you have a month to decide whether you are in or out. But once that deadline passes attendance and participation will be mandatory. There will be lengthy discussion sections. Screenings will be fun. Labs-labs are the best part of the day. Latex and probing have never been so exciting. There isn't a formal lab report necessary. Just set a goal, work your methods and have one really, really good conclusion.

Of course there will be regular assessments. You can expect a test every two weeks and a few pop quizzes in between. Studying for these tests will keep you up all night, force you to forego other work and sometimes compel you to acknowledge that you don't know all the material and that you are entirely unprepared.

At the end of the semester you may have a final exam. You may even have a cumulative exam. Your lowest grade may be dropped, but it may not be. Or, the course may just fade into break and leave you free to pursue other interests until next semester comes and you design your schedule again.

Taking a fifth class is a lot of effort to be sure. But sometimes discovering yourself through someone else's eyes is more valuable than anything you could ever learn from a professor or a textbook. For those of you who really are taking a fifth class, you may want to drop the "cl" and go for the "ass." Our time here is limited, and I guarantee you'll learn so much more.