Sneaking into Classes After Withdrawing from them

Started by where am i
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where am i

where am i

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Has anyone here ever snuck into classes after withdrawing from them just so they can learn the curriculum? I was taking gen chem 2 over the summer and unfortunately bombed my first exam (Coincidentally around the same time I found these forums) leading to my first withdrawal, however I still need to take this class next semester and figured this would be a good way to learn about the class. I've already paid for the class so I'm technically not doing anything illegal and this was the only class I was taking over summer, meaning I have no other reason to be at the University right now. I just wanna learn, man.
 
Banco said:
Seems like a waste of time.
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Why? The only thing I wouldn't be doing is taking the exams. I would still be learning and studying the material with the help of the lectures, SI, and the book. I'd basically be taking a semester of chemistry without actually taking chemistry.
 
where am i said:
Why? The only thing I wouldn't be doing is taking the exams. I would still be learning and studying the material with the help of the lectures, SI, and the book. I'd basically be taking a semester of chemistry without actually taking chemistry.
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Why don't you just do all this in a dedicated manner while you are actually enrolled in the course? I'm failing to see any huge benefit, unless you think you'll remember the details of the material when you take the class again (which I doubt you will).

If you have a lot of free time then go for it I guess.
 
Banco said:
Why don't you just do all this in a dedicated manner while you are actually enrolled in the course? I'm failing to see any huge benefit, unless you think you'll remember the details of the material when you take the class again (which I doubt you will).

If you have a lot of free time then go for it I guess.
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I'm taking this class again in the fall, meaning I'm literally going to restart the class a few weeks after dropping it. The reason I took this class over the summer was because I knew I was going to be swamped my sophomore year. I don't expect to remember every single thing for each chapter, but rather to nail some of the harder concepts so I don't have trouble when I retake it. Unfortunately, with only a month left of summer, I really don't have anything else to do apart from maybe volunteer and wait for the person at Scribe America to call me back to set up a job interview.
 
Dude, what did you struggle with on that first exam? If you still have the syllabus from the class, you can review relevant topics on there.
 
I say you should do your volunteering and spend the rest of your free time doing something you enjoy. There's no point in going to the class. Are you going to study when you get home as if you are going to take the exam? Eh, all of it seems like a huge waste of time. To each their own I guess.
 
The Cheat said:
Dude, what did you struggle with on that first exam? If you still have the syllabus from the class, you can review relevant topics on there.
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It was a matter of me not studying correctly. Usually studying the book from the class prepares me for the exam, however this professor relies mostly on stuff taught in lecture and practice problems online.
 
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DrDarce said:
I say you should do your volunteering and spend the rest of your free time doing something you enjoy. There's no point in going to the class. Are you going to study when you get home as if you are going to take the exam? Eh, all of it seems like a huge waste of time. To each their own I guess.
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My plan is to study and follow along with the curriculum as if I was still in the class. The only difference being that I'm not actually in the class.
 
The Cheat said:
So if you dropped the class can you get access to the practice problems?
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Once I drop the class I think I lose access to anything online, however I do know someone, also taking the class, that could possibly supply me with said illegal practice problems...
 
I should probably add that this summer class is 5 weeks long and the last day to drop it is 3 weeks in. I'd basically be spending another two weeks to learn the material, I wouldn't be wasting the entire summer.
 
Well if it floats your boat go for it! Just remember that I'm just some random smuck who used AP Chem to get out of my Chem requirements(read: I am next to useless providing advice on college chem).

EDIT: A random smuck who is only communicating with you through a forum.
 
Your grades are more important than volunteering or research. A D in gen chem isn't compensated by any hours of "amazing" clinical volunteering. If you know you'll learn more chemistry by going to class and doing the problem sets, do go and then get an A when you retake in the fall semester.
 
If you aren't going to act as if you are taking the class and study significantly by auditing it(and in your case since you bombed the first test you're probably going to have to study alot more than you think) then it is a complete waste of time. Just hearing the professor say the word Ksp 8000 times won't mean you understand anything about it unless you put in the time outside of class.
 
It is called auditing, I have seen many people do it, some because they want an insight into a future class they will be taking, and others because they genuinely are interested in the material but don't have the opportunity to take the class. I have never heard of someone being "caught" doing this. How they hell would they even know? (unless you are going to small discussions or something weird, don't be weird).
 
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Your mind is made up and it seems like you're just looking for validation for what you plan to do.

I think it's a waste of time, but do it if you want. It looks like no one can change your mind anyway.
 
G.NA said:
yeah, and don’t forget about nearby colleges as well! lots of options for plenty of sneaking into classes
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There are not rules against it. I'm not sure why you think there are. At my school, for example, we have days where we explicitly invite the general public into classes to encourage it.
 
philosonista said:
There are not rules against it. I'm not sure why you think there are. At my school, for example, we have days where we explicitly invite the general public into classes to encourage it.
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the heavy implication in my post was that it is a waste of time even though it is easily accessible.

why would anyone in their right mind actually drive to another campus to sit in on a class if they’re already enrolled in school? lolol
 
G.NA said:
the heavy implication in my post was that it is a waste of time even though it is easily accessible.

why would anyone in their right mind actually drive to another campus to sit in on a class if they’re already enrolled in school? lolol
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I actually sit in on classes at another local college that start a week before my classes start. I enjoy visiting other campuses and getting back into the semester feel early.
 
It is customary to ask the professor if it is okay if you can audit the class. I would not assume that this is okay without asking. By withdrawing from the course, you likely received some sort of refund for the remainder of the semester, meaning you no longer have any right to the course going forward.

Showing up and auditing the course without permission could be no big deal, but say the professor sees you in the class, knows you have dropped and decides to make a big to do about it? It could be construed as stealing at the very worst since you have already received your refund. I would just be careful with assuming!
 
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GonnaBeADocOneDay said:
It is customary to ask the professor if it is okay if you can audit the class.
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This. You would be wise to get it in (email) writing too. And from the prof, not the TA.

There could be weird institutional rules that disallow auditing. For example, at the community college I attend, the same situation happened to this guy who needed Gen Chem 2 for his AA degree, and a specific grade or better to transfer to the program he wanted. After the first few quizzes and exam, it was clear he was not going to make a B. He dropped the class and wanted to audit but was not allowed because the class was actually held in a room that serves as both lab and lecture hall (it was a small class). Instructor wanted to allow him, but could not, due to "lab safety" rules and waivers and whatnot. You had to be enrolled to just sit through the lecture part, simply because it was held in the same space as the lab.
 
Dullhead said:
This. You would be wise to get it in (email) writing too. And from the prof, not the TA.

There could be weird institutional rules that disallow auditing. For example, at the community college I attend, the same situation happened to this guy who needed Gen Chem 2 for his AA degree, and a specific grade or better to transfer to the program he wanted. After the first few quizzes and exam, it was clear he was not going to make a B. He dropped the class and wanted to audit but was not allowed because the class was actually held in a room that serves as both lab and lecture hall (it was a small class). Instructor wanted to allow him, but could not, due to "lab safety" rules and waivers and whatnot. You had to be enrolled to just sit through the lecture part, simply because it was held in the same space as the lab.
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Giant lecture courses are very safe and hard to spot auditors in though, unless they stick out as looking unlike the hundreds of other students
 
No one would care at my school. In fact it's so common, professors often ask students who are not registered to leave because otherwise there are not enough seats for everyone to be seated.
 
At my undergrad, if you want to drop a class you need to get the professor to sign a piece of paper. If that is the case at this undergrad, they will obviously know the person who just dropped the class.
 
At some schools you need the Professor's permission to audit a class. You might want to check your school's policy.

where am i said:
Has anyone here ever snuck into classes after withdrawing from them just so they can learn the curriculum? I was taking gen chem 2 over the summer and unfortunately bombed my first exam (Coincidentally around the same time I found these forums) leading to my first withdrawal, however I still need to take this class next semester and figured this would be a good way to learn about the class. I've already paid for the class so I'm technically not doing anything illegal and this was the only class I was taking over summer, meaning I have no other reason to be at the University right now. I just wanna learn, man.
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If I were a normal SDN'er I'd say you're technically stealing LOLOLOLOL, but I'm not. Lol I don't see why you're asking this question since you'll end up sitting in anyway. However, don't be that guy in the front who gets to know the professor because of how close you sit to him/her. That'd be awkward.
 
ChrisMack390 said:
At my undergrad, if you want to drop a class you need to get the professor to sign a piece of paper. If that is the case at this undergrad, they will obviously know the person who just dropped the class.
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At large public universities, you can drop easily online. Same with the community college systems around my area.

@where am i Just watch some Khan Academy, do the practice problems you said you have access to, don't bother going to the class. In fact, let's say the class is 3 hours long -- instead of sitting in the class, and listening to the professor, you could use that time you'd be sitting in class to study. 3 hours of chem studying a day should do some good I think.
 
allantois said:
No one would care at my school. In fact it's so common, professors often ask students who are not registered to leave because otherwise there are not enough seats for everyone to be seated.
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Way off topic, but it reminded me of one of the more appalling experiences from my education. I was in a class taught by a professor who taught two sections of this same class: one at 8:00 am and one at 10:00 am. I was in the 10:00 am. People would show up for the 10:00 class who were registered for the 8:00. The professor had to ask the 8:00 students to leave because there was not room for everybody, but when the professor asked, nobody stood up and left.
 
Gen chem was so annoying. Don't let anyone tell you "if you can't do gen chem, how are you gonna do med school?" because that's garbage. Maybe it was just a pain at my university because I thought it was fine for the MCAT, but that semester was hell on earth for all of us sad freshmen. Do what you need to do to get an A next semester. Be shameless if you have to be.
 
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Not too much to it. Kinetics are like 😕, equilibrium is like :hungover:, thermodynamics :scared:, and nuclear reactions more :boom:. All there is to it.
 
If you already have the book I would just study out of that if it were me. Obviously it varies from person to person, I rarely attended lectures if they were not required and was able to succeed. In your position I would probably just study what you didn't understand from the first exam and I'm sure you will do well when you retake
 
Don't listen to everyone else, OP. You are a brave, modern day warrior whose love of learning is so strong you'd break the LAW just to bask in knowledge. I would even consider writing a secondary essay on this.
 
where am i said:
Has anyone here ever snuck into classes after withdrawing from them just so they can learn the curriculum? I was taking gen chem 2 over the summer and unfortunately bombed my first exam (Coincidentally around the same time I found these forums) leading to my first withdrawal, however I still need to take this class next semester and figured this would be a good way to learn about the class. I've already paid for the class so I'm technically not doing anything illegal and this was the only class I was taking over summer, meaning I have no other reason to be at the University right now. I just wanna learn, man.
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There are better things to do with your time OP, like sleeping in.

efle said:
Giant lecture courses are very safe and hard to spot auditors in though, unless they stick out as looking unlike the hundreds of other students
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+1. And make sure that you sit somewhere in the middle to hide in the rest of the crowd. The front is too obvious (esp when you don't show up for tests) and people in the back have an eye kept on them.

Affiche said:
Gen chem was so annoying. Don't let anyone tell you "if you can't do gen chem, how are you gonna do med school?" because that's garbage. Maybe it was just a pain at my university because I thought it was fine for the MCAT, but that semester was hell on earth for all of us sad freshmen. Do what you need to do to get an A next semester. Be shameless if you have to be.
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GiveMeThatMD said:
Not too much to it. Kinetics are like 😕, equilibrium is like :hungover:, thermodynamics :scared:, and nuclear reactions more :boom:. All there is to it.
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Oh you guys. Things get a lot funner and awesome-er in PChem! (For da realz) 😛

Akech said:
Don't listen to everyone else, OP. You are a brave, modern day warrior whose love of learning is so strong you'd break the LAW just to bask in knowledge. I would even consider writing a secondary essay on this.
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Nah. This is primary gold.
 
Auditing is not a new thing -- many people have done it over the years and it does, on average, help some people's GPA because you are basically taking a course for the second time. That, of course assumes you are an auditory learner and actually learn in lectures -- some don't. So its not per se "waste" of time. Is it the highest yield thing you could be doing with that time? Totally depends on the person. As mentioned, if you want to do auditing "legally" you are supposed to get permission. But in a big lecture hall where the professor doesn't know you I suspect people probably sit in and "steal" knowledge all the time.
 
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