TutoringZone is God, right?
It saves your grades and gets you through those grueling courses in a five-hour brain rape involving some coffee and the infamous packet. Spare yourself the hours of lecture-watching and instead spend the night before the exam in Club West with some Smokin’Notes and you’re good to go.
This is how I spent my first finals week at UF, but I dare pose the question: Are we being extorted in order to succeed?
Before the pitchfork-armed mob comes chasing me down, yes, Smokin’Notes and TutoringZone are genius study materials and grade savers, but how close are we to supplementing whole courses with an 80-page packet of brightly colored paper?
I go to class, watch my lectures and do my assignments.
Simply put, I’m a loser.
Why then, even at my dorkiest, am I spending $30 more to pass ECO2013?
Yes, the packets, Smokin’Notes, note cards and practice tests are comforting, but doesn’t spending extra money border on ridiculous? We don’t think about it because we are enamored with the idea of easy studying.
We pay thousands of dollars for classes, yet many of us ride through them reciting our mantra, “I’ll just live at TZ the week before the exam.” I’ll confess, this was my philosophy for fall finals. In retrospect, I’m a little pissed. I spent five months attending class, studying and keeping up with assignments, but I still found myself shelling out $50 to feel prepared.
We are most often exploited with online lecture classes. As a business major, I am familiar with online lectures, and TutoringZone and Smokin’Notes cater to these courses. I enrolled in one of these courses last semester, and despite watching lectures and completing every online quiz, I circumvented a panic attack only by buying the Smokin’Notes. The carefully phrased definitions and formatted formulas were too tempting to pass up, especially when the online lectures left me clueless.
The materials let students feel comfortable with slacking in class because they can fall back on them if they miss a lecture or pass on a quiz or assignment.
There is no cheat sheet for life.
Should we rely on these materials when we have a semester of classes and course material under our belts? Does the option to purchase these packets encourage students to blow off classes and rely on a cram session?
For many students, the allure of more free time is a worth a session at TutoringZone.
I remember when it was embarrassing if you needed extra help for school. With the glamorization of services such as TutoringZone, it is encouraged when it shouldn’t be necessary.
I’m all for working smarter, not harder, but have the days of old-fashioned dorkiness come to an end?
Should we stop attending classes, then put in Red Bull-fueled eight-hour sessions at TutoringZone a few days before exams? Students do this successfully, so what’s the incentive to not conform?
Where’s the reward for those who attend class and keep up with assignments?
For the time being, crammers keep cramming. At least you’ll learn to pass tests.
Laura Ellermeyer is a first-year finance major. Her column appears on Tuesdays.
