Dear Frank: Senioritis and Choosing Classes

Dear Frank, senioritis is hitting hard.  This obviously means that I’ve been neglecting work, but I also find myself deciding whether or not to bother addressing various issues — ranging from personal conflicts to logistical challenges — based on whether or not I can tolerate the status quo for the next five weeks.  Any thoughts?

I’ll start with the lack of motivation to complete coursework, which is not an original problem. I definitely have a few compelling arguments for completing those few last assignments you have on your plate.

You’ve spent the last seven (or six, for Febs) semesters working hard here, which was a huge investment of time and energy that you don’t want to jeopardize.  Furthermore, to those of you who are already employed, your GPA may matter a lot more to you later when you change jobs or apply to graduate school.

Finally, your success in college, no matter how you got here, is the culmination of the efforts of so many people —parents, other family, friends, teachers, and professors — who have been looking forward to your graduation for years.

Still uncompelled?  To pass a class and remain average in the eyes of the world, all you really need is a C.  Make sure you get, at lowest, a C- in all of your classes, especially if your graduation in May is contingent on forthcoming distribution credits or overall credit counts.  Just make sure you are taking all of that extra time to discover (or rediscover) all of Middlebury and Vermont that will be out of your reach in a few short weeks.

Take your favorite professors out to coffee, ask out your crush list, reconnect with old friends, spend an afternoon alone with the mountains … you get the picture.

Five weeks isn’t a long time to finish your bucket list, but it could definitely be too long a period to neglect certain problems.  For example, fixing your brakes at the bike shop might seem tedious, but the benefit of having a functional bicycle for the next month is most likely worth the trouble.

In terms of personal conflicts, if you can avoid the guilty party until graduation and have no intention of maintaining contact thereafter, then by all means, don’t bother resolving the issue.  If however, you are the guilty party, you run into the source of the disagreement regularly, or you’ll be seeing them after graduation, it’s probably best to hone your conflict resolution skills now — it may seem daunting now, but putting it off will only make it worse.

Dear Frank, should I take a class that interests me, even if I know that it will most likely damage my GPA?

Absolutely, definitely, unquestionably, and categorically yes!  Dare I ask if you’ve been interested in any of the courses you’ve taken so far here at Midd?  What’s the point of being in college, especially in a liberal arts curriculum, if not to explore every academic avenue that piques your fancy?

You may have an on-campus job, play a sport, be a budding thespian, or participate in any of the many extracurriculars available to Middkids, but these are the only four years of your life where your primary purpose is to study — and in an environment generally free of parental involvement, no less!

Your family may expect you to be a doctor or to take over the family business, but you have so much room in your schedule to take other classes that intrigue you.

In terms of your GPA, if a class interests you, you should find yourself devouring readings with gusto or finishing problem sets before turning to other homework.  If overall you have a heavy course load, this might prove problematic, but otherwise, effort tends to yield results.

Be a regular presence in office hours and a consistent class participant.  Rather than being intimidated by a legendary professor, try to learn as much as you can from him or her — both about the course content and about life in general.  You may not get an A, but you certainly won’t fail.  More importantly, you’ll be able to speak intelligently and enthusiastically about at least one engaging topic, which will serve you well both in interviews and in life.