In elementary school it was fun. In middle school it sucked a little bit more but it was tolerable. In high school I was groaning and grumbling about it, but I accepted it. In college, I dread it. Group projects. The two little words that makes your skin crawl, your insides boil, and the Whats App blow up. I don't get why but for some reason professors love releasing you into the madness that is depending on other people for your grades. Is it for fun? Or are our professors trying to teach us a valuable lesson? We may never know.
1. You get the syllabus on the first day of class and then realize the group project is worth half of your grade
Why why why why why. Why must the reason I pass or fail the class depend on who I'm paired up with?
2. You awkwardly get paired up with people you don't know
I'm all for meeting new people but it's something else when the professor basically forces you all to speak. You can never forget the awkwardness of introducing yourself to a new group of strangers, strangers that will either make or break your grade. #nopressure
3. Or you get to choose to work with your friends
This is both a blessing and a curse. Working with your friends is fun, you get to sit around in class and gossip. Then the project is due and you realize all that gossip got you nowhere. Time for last minute work!
4. You end up doing all the work
Sometimes you find yourself doing all the work... maybe the group got lazy, or maybe their work is just terrible (sorry not sorry) but you end up panicking last minute and scrambling to get things done.
5. Or you end up being the slacker
Please don't be this person. Nobody likes the slacker. Behind the slacker's back, everyone talks badly. It's a guarantee.
6. Your group members leave everything to the last minute
You want to get the finishing details of the project done before time just in case you ever have to edit or fix something. Nothing is more irritating than being the only one done with your work and then you have to wait around for your group to finish. #aintnobodygottimeforthat
7. There's Scheduling conflict
This occurs when nobody can figure out the perfect time to meet up. There are always people who are genuinely busy, and others who are "busy".
8. Nobody wants to speak during the presentation
It's time for the big presentation and you and your group members look at each other questioningly. Someone's got to speak. But all we can think is "oh god please not me!"
9. The group chat that never stops annoying you
Most of us have downloaded Whats App or Group Me for the sole reason of group projects. Except sometimes it's midnight and the phone is going crazy. You can't turn the notifications off because then you'll miss something important, yet the blowing up of your phone is killing your sleep (and your battery). What's a poor college student to do?!
10. You have that one person that goes ghost
This group member is worse than the slacker. At least the slacker shows up! The ghost disappears for the entire semester and two days before the project is due, messages the group and asks "what do I need to do?"
11. You also have the person that think they're a genius.
This pompous "brainiac" spends half of their time correcting and "fixing" group ideas when in reality, they're just dragging the group down. Nobody likes a slacker, but everyone hates the pretentious know-it-all.
12. Everyone gets the same grade
This includes the slacker, the ghost, and the smarty pants. Either you all fail or you all pass. It's always unfair, but that's the beauty of group projects...
As an advertising major, and a member of a wonderful team at the Odyssey, I know how important it is to learn to work with other individuals. I genuinely do enjoy working with others, it's just that when it comes to pre-assigned group projects with people who don't care, it becomes increasingly difficult. It's different when one works with people who are interested and stimulated by their projects! In a college classroom, not everyone is guaranteed to care, and the grades of those who do care, shouldn't be compromised by those who are uninterested and unmotivated.
