Like taxes, gynecological exams and salad, drop/add week is a necessary evil — a time of the semester where classes are treated like sample stations at Costco, only instead of hairnet-wearing old ladies, professors and TAs are doling out the tastes of what the semester will bring.
Sometimes the tastes are promising, like a chicken wing or fancy cheese: The professor may be witty, the class may have a convenient location, or the readings may look fascinating. However, sometimes, the tastes may leave a bad taste in your mouth: The grad-student instructor may be stiff or timid, your classmates may have unbearable BO, or your course location could be located on the outskirts of campus, far from a Starbucks or bus stop.
But no matter what, it seems that Murphy’s law has its own specific application to drop/add week, and anything that can go wrong is guaranteed to go wrong. The cutie you were eyeing on the first day will probably vanish by the time drop/add is up, the class you desperately need for your major inevitably fills instantly, and the 7:20 a.m. Monday class instructor allows only one absence.
The “taste” you experience during the first few days of class may be misleading as well. Write off a course too quickly and you may lose out on a great opportunity in disguise. Tentatively stick around and you may be forced to eventually withdraw — and fork over hundreds of bucks back to Bright Futures.
So to you, reader, we offer our best drop/add week advice to remember while you’re waiting in advising-office lines and trying not to roll your eyes at an overenthusiastic instructor’s cheesy jokes: Keep an open mind, but don’t be too proud to switch out of a class that clearly won’t serve you in the long term. You, your family, the state and other scholarship organizations are investing hard-earned dollars into your education and future success, so don’t waste those dollars by staying in a class that could damage your GPA or your sanity.
The beginnings of semesters usher varying levels of anxiety for different students, from freshmen trying to find their way to seniors worrying about what life after graduation will have to offer. Remember, during this trying time, the student rec centers, the UF Counseling & Wellness Center, the infirmary and the many advising offices are here for your use. Exercising, a session with a counselor, a flu shot and some much-needed guidance will help you plow through these uncertain times with ease.
In the meantime, try not to do anything too reckless. Is it really worth it to take a course with your new boyfriend or girlfriend? Will you gain anything from a night of marathon flip cup the night before a morning class? Do you really want to explain a compulsive tattoo/piercing/drastic haircut to your parents — or boss?
Probably not.
A version of this editorial ran on page 6 on 1/8/2014 under the headline "Drop it like it’s hot — or not: Drop/add week woes"
