While Wake Forest has a lot to offer outside the classroom, attending class is still priority number one for ensuring a successful career at Wake Forest. While nobody is expected to have perfect attendance throughout their four years here, making a habit of skipping class could have some unintended consequences.

Folly: While high school classes may have allowed you to slide by with their rigid, formulaic structure and straightforward assignments, Wake Forest classes are a whole different beast. Because many professors won’t provide you with a class-by-class syllabus, attending class will be your only shot at keeping up with the information and assignments that your professor has planned.

If your professor does provide you with a detailed and thorough syllabus, the odds of him or her sticking to the schedule throughout the semester are slim to none.

It doesn’t get much worse as a new student than skipping a class and figuring out afterwards that your professor reviewed what will be on the final exam, the criteria for an upcoming project, or worst of all, gave a pop quiz.

Sloth: Again, you may have been able to skate by in high school operating at 50 percent, 90 percent of the time. Unless you’re Superman, that probably won’t cut it at Wake Forest. Where laziness will hurt you isn’t necessarily in skipping classes, though, skipping doesn’t help; it’s in how the laziness can easily sway you not only to miss classes, but assignments as well. Going to class is the best and only foolproof way to stay on top of the homework and ensure that you won’t be scrambling during finals week.

Wrath: Professors at Wake Forest are generally your allies. They want to see you do well inside and outside of the classroom and almost always have some form of office hours in which you can talk to them about any struggles you’re facing in class. Teachers, however, follow the golden rule, and if you aren’t in class, they won’t be willing to help you when you need it, especially if skipping becomes a routine. Being on a professor’s good side can have wonderful benefits, and attending class is step one to getting there.

Annoyance: You will annoy your classmates. Remember that one classmate that always needed a pencil in your class in high school? Those kids were the worst. When you start skipping classes at Wake Forest, don’t be that kid who can’t keep up with the syllabus. The first couple of times, your friends will be more than willing to help you remember the homework or figure out that tough assignment that you missed the notes on. Ultimately, though, only you are responsible for your grades, and your friends won’t have time to back you up for every missed class. So attend class, for the sake of your friends.

Apathy: You need to care about your classes. Wake Forest can be an intimidating place, and to an untrained eye on syllabus week, it may seem like classes and schoolwork take a backseat to partying and virtually anything else but schoolwork. You’ll quickly find, though, that students care more about their grades here at Wake Forest than almost anywhere else in the country. Feeling apathetic regarding classes will leave you feeling alone at Wake Forest.

Ennui: Leaving home to come to Wake Forest means different things for everybody, but principally, it means leaving behind the comforting and familiar structure of your pre-college life. It’s crucial to establish a structure and a schedule at Wake Forest in order to make campus feel more like home. The best way to keep a schedule, of course, is to attend the classes that are already on yours. Skipping classes can lead to a slippery slope of being unsure of what to prioritize and accomplish, and falling behind can lead to the worst consequence of skipping classes.

Potential failure: Yes, potential failure is undoubtedly the worst consequence of missing classes. Participation is usually a significant portion of final grades for most professors, and you’re much less likely to receive any help from your classmates or professor if you’re not showing up to class.

Everybody will skip class throughout their Wake Forest career, but not everyone makes a habit out of it. Be sure to stay diligent in attending classes and you will have a great time at Wake Forest.