The College Life

Saikiran Popuri

Macy McDonald 

English 105

Revision Paper

The College Life

 

            It is estimated that over 65 percent of high school graduates enroll and attend college at the end of summer vacation according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most of these young adults enter college with a specific mindset. That is all course schedules are flexible and can be used to their own benefit. No one wants, to attend an 8 am lecture class but sometimes there is just no other choice left. Freshman and other underclassmen do not get priority registration. So, when the time comes for them to select classes almost all afternoon slots are taken by other students. There you are waking up at 6:30 in the morning with less than 6 hours of sleep to attend an 8 am class. College students would believe that these kinds of situations are normal and for next semester their schedules will be better. They don’t realize how early classes can negatively impact their academic performance and their overall health and safety. 

           The human mind cannot efficiently absorb new kinds information at such early times in the day and it’s not the student's fault. After reaching puberty which almost all college students have it is nearly impossible for them to fall asleep before 10:45 pm. So, in actuality, it is very difficult for students to wake up that early and attend class. They would rather skip class and sleep in which would provide some short-term relief but in the long-term could devastate their semester grades and could potentially affect their future semesters. The few who do attend early classes are sleep deprived and their minds could have mental lapses in attention, which would make it extremely difficult to perform simple tasks no matter how intelligent the student may be. Attending early classes can be seen as pointless. Learning and understanding new kinds of information is the reason why people attend college. These early classes can affect a student’s long-term memory retrieval and so when the next day comes that student may not even remember what he or she learned that day. With all of these difficulties, why would any student want to attend an early class most of which that doesn’t even record attendance There are no incentives for attending and no immediate repercussions for not attending. Only until the last few weeks of the semester do students finally realize that it was a mistake to skip all those classes. The chance for this situation to occur every semester is minimal. The more credits you take the more likely you get an earlier registration date than the previous semester. However, it only takes one bad semester to permanently affect your academic record. When students go through a semester like this they lose their motivation to do well next semester and that’s how their cycle of self-destruction begins. Now I’m not saying that all of this could have been prevented by moving early classes later in the day but it could have defiantly helped students regain their concentration and motivation (Wahlstrom)(Richmond)(Lewis). 

    A student’s safety can be comprised because of an early class. Approximately 86 percent of college students commute to school every day. A sleep-deprived young adult behind the wheel can lead to a dangerous situation. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has stated that “Teens and young adults are involved in more than half of all drowsy driving crashes annually". Most colleges tend to start the semester during the fall. When winter arrives the driving conditions are very poor, icy roads and bad visibility can all lead to a higher probability of a car accident. Cars are not the only mode of transportation. Students also walk and ride bicycles to college every day. In the early morning, temperatures can drop below 20 degrees on the eastern coast. These temperatures can severely impact the health of any student. Lake Superior State University encountered the same situation when students were struggling to get to their 8 am class in temperatures less than 10 degrees Fahrenheit. The university decided to get rid of all early classes. Students and professors were happy with the university’s decision. But a majority of universities and colleges still have early classes. Colleges and Universities do this to conserve energy and save money but at the cost of their student's safety (Wahlstrom)(Foster).             

    Sleep deprivation has been known to lead to poor mental health. There is also a strong correlation between lack of sleep and depression. A study was conducted at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Over 197 students participated and the results showed that the students that went to school before 8:00 am exhibited depressive symptoms. These symptoms grow gradually and slowly throughout the semester. Students often do not seek help from professors or advisors thinking that early classes have nothing to do with their current situation. Many students don’t realize the consequences of sleep deprivation. Students are told even before entering college how tired they would be every day because of their over pact schedule. They don’t think that is a problem. They believe that is something every student just goes through. These freshman and sophomore students still have the same sleep patterns as they did in high school and adding college-level work which takes more time in the day can lead to many emotional changes. In a study conducted by Mariah Evans, a sociology professor at the University of Nevada it was concluded that there are more people attending college who like to stay up at night than people who liked waking up early. A majority of college students share the same dilemma that waking up early is just not feasible (Lorman)(Sarwar)(Logue).

               Now you would think the solution to this is to push back classes but that’s nearly the beginning of it. A majority of these college students don’t even know the risks of sleep deprivation or don’t take it seriously enough. Some even intentionally pick early classes so their day would end early. These students need to be educated on their own sleep cycles in order for them to live a healthy lifestyle. Only then can these students be able to work to their highest potential. Universities and colleges had an excuse for all of this. They just didn’t have enough research to explain why students had more trouble with earlier classes. That excuse cannot be used today. There are an abundant amount information and research to educate both the students and the universities and colleges. 

Works Cited 

“Academics | Music and Music Education | Arts and Humanities.” Teachers College - Columbia University, www.tc.columbia.edu/arts-and-humanities/music-and-music-education/academics/.

Foster, Russell. “The Impact of School Start Times on Adolescent Health and Academic Performance.” The Impact of School Start Times on Adolescent Health and Academic Performance, schoolstarttime.org/.

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Lewis, Lisa L. “Why School Should Start Later in the Day.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sept. 2016, www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-lewis-school-too-early-20160918-snap-story.html.

Logue, Josh. “No More 8 A.M. Classes.” A University Decides to Eliminate 8 A.m. Classes, 17 Feb. 2016, www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/02/17/university-decides-eliminate-8-am-classes.

Lorman, Shelby. “Experts Say This Is When College Classes Should Actually Start.” Medium, Thrive Global, 20 Apr. 2017, medium.com/thrive-global/experts-say-this-is-when-college-classes-should-actually-start-584c99c2f6c6.

Richmond, Emily. “Why School Should Start Later in the Morning.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 17 Aug. 2015, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/08/why-school-should-start-later/401489/.

Sarwar, Sara. “Down With 8 A.M. Classes: Undergrads Learn Better Later In The Day, Study Finds.” NPR, NPR, 19 Apr. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/04/19/524348257/down-with-8-a-m-classes-undergrads-learn-better-later-in-the-day-study-finds.

TheVillageCelebration. “A Near-Death Experience Helps Mental Health Expert Reach Others.” TheVillageCelebration, 18 Oct. 2017, www.thevillagecelebration.com/near-death-experience-helps-mental-health-expert-reach-others/.

Wahlstrom, Kyla L. “Later Start Time for Teens Improves Grades, Mood, and Safety.” Kappanonline.org, 4 Dec. 2017, www.kappanonline.org/later-start-time-for-teens/.

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