Just Look Around

During the bustle and hassle of the first week of classes it is easy to be overwhelmed by the flood of details necessary to get the term started.

Am I in the right room?

Do I really need this class?

Can I add that section that just opened and drop the one which interferes with my work schedule?

Do I need a parking permit?

Do I really need my car?

Lots of stuff to think about.  Lots of decisions to be made.  In the midst of all this Planet College has a suggestion.  Well it is more like a direction. It is this. Pick a class you are attending. This is particularly effective if it is a popular class or a class which is a necessary pre-req for some major.  During the first few meetings of the class take an opportunity to look around. It is likely that every seat is full. There may be students lining the walls or sitting on the floor, usually hoping to add. Look around completely, take a full view of the entire class and students and store it as a mental picture.  File that picture away.

Then, sometime during the term, this is particularly effective around mid-term, look around the classroom. Take the same view.  How many students are still attending?  There is a good chance there will be no students leaning against the wall or sitting on the floor, unless they are too hung over to find a seat.  There will probably be some empty desks.  Take that mental picture as well.

At the end of the term, ideally during the final, take one last look around the room.  How many students are still attending?  Compare this total with your first mental picture and your memory from the mid-term.   The students who are still at the course for the final are the students who have the best chance of finishing college and obtaining a degree.

That is it.  That is really or essentially almost all there is to it.  The students who are no longer attending?  Well, where are they? Not in class and they won't be at graduation either.

You will because you have stuck with it.  The basic secret of success on Planet College. Just keep showing up.