You walk into your first class and panic. If you sit in front, the professor might call on you, but if you are all the way in back you can’t see the notes. Where do you sit? The middle? The front? Well, don’t worry, by the end of this blog you will feel fully confident in your choice of where to sit.

 

Let’s break it down to the three options… the front, middle and back.

Here’s whats good about the front:

  • You get a more personalized experience with your professor
  • There will be no issue seeing the screen
  • Nobody’s head is in the way during movie time (wait did I say movie? Yea, keep dreaming)
  • You can hear absolutely everything

Drawbacks of sitting in front:

  • Some may have the fear of looking like the nerd or teachers pet, but hey, who cares, as long as you’re learning, it doesn’t matter what other people think.
  • The main reason the front is bad (and couldn’t get much worse) is the fact that the professor will be more likely to call on you. I can’t think of anything worse than that. There is that pure moment of fear when you hear your named called. You know what I’m talking about, right? When you start to sweat and look to your neighbor to ask what the professor asked in the first place. Yea, it’s bad. In the end though, it will make you more engaged.

Now let’s move on to the back. Wait, am I skipping a section? Don’t worry, I like the save my favorite for last.

Whats good about the back:

  • Your chances of being able to sleep without the professor knowing are a lot better. You’ll still probably get caught though. I’ve witnessed kids sleeping in back… they were kicked out, so I don’t recommend it.
  • If you’re in Hyland, you can look out the window without glaring past the lost faces of fellow students.

There aren’t many positive reasons to sit in back, yet so many students tend to do so. I bet my list of reasons not to sit in back is much longer. Here it goes:

  • You probably will fall asleep.
  • If you’re in a lecture hall sometimes the back can feel like another planet. You are completely disconnected with the rest of the classroom. The professor is 7 miles away from you and you can’t hear or see a thing. Move up a couple rows and join the rest of the gang.
  • The back rowers’ are the people your mother wouldn’t want you hanging out with. They show up late, go to the bathroom 5 times during class and then ditch out early. Don’t be one of them.

As I promised you, I saved the best for last… the middle. You can’t beat it. I can’t even think of a bad thing about sitting in the middle of the room. So here’s why the middle is the perfect choice:

  • It’s where the popular kids go. Lets face it… in the middle you are surrounded by SO MANY people. You’ll make more friends and just simply be cooler.
  • It’s the perfect choice between too close and too far away. You can still easily hear and see, yet you aren’t awkwardly glaring up at your professor who stands three inches in front of you.
  • You still may get called on, but I bet it will not be even close to the amount of times it would be if you sat in the front row.

 

In the end, there really is no wrong place to sit in class (I’m stealing one of my professor’s ideas here). He believes there really isn’t any wrong place to sit, just sit wherever you feel most comfortable. Sit wherever you will learn best!