Editorial: Top 10 reasons to drop a class

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Thomas Yang | Assistant Visual Editor

Finding the motivation to go to class in an ideal situation is already hard enough.

By The Pitt News Editorial Board

With the start of a new semester, a new year and a new decade, we’re all doing a bit of soul searching — getting rid of all that negative energy in our lives. This includes our new classes, which for various reasons we don’t vibe with. Here’s a list of the top 10 reasons we’re dropping classes — and we suspect you are too — before the add/drop period ends on Jan. 17:

1. It’s too early

It was hard enough getting up for an 8 a.m. class last semester, but coming off of winter break — where we got a normal amount of sleep for the first time in months — makes early classes nearly impossible to attend. Maybe we’ll try a class that starts at noon instead.

2. It’s too far away

There’s nothing worse than making that long trek from the heart of South Oakland to, say, the Information Science Building. Especially when it’s for a humanities class — a true injustice. Better just drop that one and sign up for something closer. It’s simply not worth it.

3. Matching with the TA on Tinder

We already have to deal with seeing our Tinder matches on the street, at Starbucks and in our biology classes. But there’s no way we’re sticking around in a class with a TA we matched with.

4. Overextending yourself

You’re signed up for 18 credits this semester, you have two majors and a minor, you have an unpaid internship and to make up for it you have a part-time job. Is it really important to take that one class you’re not even interested in? Who are we kidding, we know you’re not dropping anything.

5. There are three midterms, a final exam and a final paper

We’ve all had the experience of scanning a class syllabus and having our blood run cold when we see the grade breakdown. There it is, exactly what no one wants or needs in this new decade — three midterm exams, a final exam and a final paper. There’s only one middle of the term, right? Right?

6. That one kid 

As soon as you step into your new classroom, you spot that one kid. Word on the street is that there’s no such thing as a bad question, but this person is the exception to that rule. And they say it with an unjustifiable level of confidence that has you squirming in your seat every time they raise their hand.

7. It has a Saturday 8 a.m. final

Oops, we plan on being gone from campus by then. Better drop it.

8. The textbook is $300

Following last year’s tuition hikes, student budgets are probably pretty tight these days. Classes requiring textbooks that are hundreds of dollars plus the added fee of an online access code just aren’t feasible.

9. The final paper is 30 pages long

We don’t have that kind of time, and we’re guessing you don’t either.

10. You heard someone you don’t know say they have a friend who has a friend who took the class — and said it was really hard

We trust our fellow scholars.