A lot of college students love the concept of syllabus week. The first week back to class at the start of the semester can be peaceful for many. This week is add/drop week, meaning that classes have no work deadlines. You have 0 commitment to the courses until the end of that week. For many, this is fabulous news. They see it as a time to party and relax until reality strikes the following week.
If you're anything like me, you know that syllabus week can come with a ton of stress that can't be quelled easily. I find this week to be easy in a way, because yes, I have no work to turn in, but I am stressed for multiple reasons.
Reason 1: I have to decide if I want to keep it drop some courses. Each semester, I've had this experience. I choose 18 credits worth of courses, and then I drop one or two during syllabus week if I think it will be too much for the semester and I want to push it to the following semester. This decision process can be extremely stressful for me at times. Sometimes I am torn between courses and don't know which ones to take and which ones to drop.
Reason 2: The start of a new semester turns my life into a whirlwind of confusion. I get so used to my school routine from previous semesters and then have to adjust to a completely new schedule. This is difficult for me because with change comes anxiety. I have to learn to manage my time once again so that I don't miss assignments or fall behind in a course. I also have to manage my classes around clubs and activities that change with each term.
Reason 3: Syllabus quizzes. That's right. The cute little quizzes professors put on canvas during the first week, to ensure that you've thoroughly read through their syllabus. I don't like these one bit. Maybe most people have had great experiences with them and have gotten easy points, but that has rarely been the case for me. Many of my classes have had quizzes that you had to get 100 on to move on to the course, and many of them had issues on the quizzes. Some questions had the wrong answer set as the right answer on canvas. So each time I submitted it with the correct answer, as said on the syllabus, I would receive a 98%. I've had many of these frustrating experiences.
Although the rest of the year is full of stress and slight procrastination, I prefer it over the first week. I like to be settled and know where everything goes on each canvas page. I like to have my planner and calendar filled out with my homework and exam schedule. I like order and peace and that is something I simply don't feel during this week.
