How to Be Well-Liked in Your Classes

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While in college, one of the most important things you will do is study. If you are smart, your biggest goal will not be to become the best liked person on campus. If the latter just comes naturally, of course, than more power to you. That being said, my title seems pointless. The goal of this post is not so much so that you will be popular among your classmates so much as it is to give you tips so that you do not make their college career more difficult.

1. Before you ask a question, decide whether it benefits anyone in the class other than you. If it is something that the teacher has gone over more than twice, or about a situation that applies only to you, wait until class is over to talk to the professor one-on-one or go see him or her during office hours. On that note, keep the "What if" scenarios to a minimum and keep them reasonable.


2. College is a great place for debate, and everyone has their own opinion. However, the middle of class is not the time or place to get aggressive. If you and another student or the professor disagree, handle it like the adults you are and discuss things calmly. If necessary, agree to disagree.


3. Before you go on any kind of tangent or attempt to steer the professor down another track, decide whether or not what you have to say is relevant, at least in part, to the class. For example, your feelings about the nation's exercise habits may be a very good thing to share during health class, but not in the middle of marketing class.

4. Respect your fellow students and the professor. There will be annoying classmates no matter what your major is but resist the urge to roll your eyes every time they open their mouths, or talk about them behind their backs. This goes for your professor as well. Don't interrupt anyone while they are talking, have patience, give everyone a chance, they might surprise you.

Readers, is there any advice that you would add to the list?

Housing Problems

For the last couple of years (fall of 2008 was the beginning of this trend) colleges and universities across the country have been experiencing record enrollment numbers, and fall of 2010 isn't supposed to be all that different. The biggest problem with having this number of students is what to do with them. Many new students are traditional students expecting to live on campus. Unfortunately, between the sudden influx of students and continuing budget cuts, expanding student living is not always an option, especially for the short term.

A major problem that this leads to is students come to campus for orientation and have no idea where they are going to live for the next few months. Some students end up in triples when the room is meant for only two students, other times up to ten students are living together in a lounge.

Traditionally, colleges accept more students than they can house because they know some students will not show up and the rooming assignments will even out. Unfortunately, with even greater numbers of students applying, there are still too many students without rooms.

Several solutions are possible, and are done. One is to allow more students to live off campus. This works in some towns, but other times there is not enough off campus housing within a short distance. If money for students is an issue, schools may choose to allow financial and scholarships to cover off-living expenses. Another thing some colleges do is to focus on recruiting more non-traditional students. They will still bring money into the school, but the college does not have to worry about housing them. Schools will also turn spaces that are not normally used for living spaces into rooms. This is probably the least advisable option. Finally, schools can simply choose to turn away more students by raising their admissions standards.

Have you ever been caught in the middle of housing overfill? How did it affect the first few days of school? How does your school deal with it? What do you think is the best short-term fix? Reply in the comments section.

http://readme.readmedia.com/On-Campus-Housing-Full-at-SUNY-Canton/1604028
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