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Taking Classes with Friends or Roommates

Taking Classes with Friends or Roommates
8/5/2011
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Jacquelene Bennett

One of the greatest things about college is making new friends; however, the main goal of going to a university is to do well in your classes and obtain that degree. So what happens when those two college aspects collide? Well, the outcome can definitely vary, as taking a class with a friend or roommate can either be fun or stressful. Let me explain.

Freshman year, one of my roommates and I took an introductory anthropology class together. It was fun to walk to class and gossip about the teacher and the other students later on in our dorm room...but that was where the fun ended. My roommate would often miss class and expect me to get her assignments and take notes for her. We would plan to study for tests together but she would bail at the last minute – and then complain when she was unprepared! In the end, the class became more work and stress than was necessary because I had taken it with my roommate. While it was nice to have a familiar face in the class, her habits interfered with mine and created a bad experience.

Now, I know this is an isolated event and that it is possible to take classes with friends or roommates and have it be a good experience – students do it all the time – but I would advise you all to think carefully before enrolling together. If you do want to give it a try, set guidelines right away, much like a roommate contract but for class. Make it clear that each person is responsible for their own notes and assignments, and define your study habits are and whether or not you want to study together or separately. If you set these standards from the beginning, you should have a fun and productive class experience with your friend.

Jacquelene Bennett is a rising senior at the University of Redlands where her areas of study are creative writing, government and religious studies. When she is not studying or working, you can usually find her eating frozen yogurt or blogging about her day. She has a cactus named Kat and believes that Stephen Colbert is a genius. Jacquelene works hard, laughs hard and knows that one day you’ll see her name in lights.

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