Survival Guide for College Students Missing First Week?

[shroom]

In 2010 I too was in college. I talked to my professors and didn't miss much. Had to be very careful about being out any the rest of the semester due to the strict attendance policy. I had some online classes and worked ahead. I missed 2 days of school. I live in Georgia and drove like mad to get back for Tuesday class but won't try that again. I was such a zombie I don't remember a thing.

[jcliff]

Well, after seeing this post at the top of the Q & A for months and wondering why that is, I've decided to chime in. I feel like I have some cred on this issue. I'm a high school science teacher that misses the 2nd full week of school, but I'm also an adjunct professor for a graduate level Biology Methods course at top-notch university. I miss my graduate class's 2nd meeting for the Burn. I'm also a graduate student working on my 3rd masters. I'm missing my first meeting of my thesis class for a Lamplighter Work Weekend on May 24. It's not that big of a deal to miss a class, even the first one.

My suggestions are: Don't tell your Prof's where you are going, but do send them an email letting them know of your absence. Assure them that you will be prepared for the next class. Don't ask the Prof to send you class meeting materials, just beg them off of someone who was there.

Give yourself a couple days to recover from the Burn before you have to get back in the swing of things. If that means that you have to leave early, do it. I've never seen a Temple burn. As much as I'd like to, I know that the 12 hours of sleep I get in a Reno hotel bed makes the difference for me.

[longtimecompanda]

In 2010 I too was in college. I talked to my professors and didn't miss much. Had to be very careful about being out any the rest of the semester due to the strict attendance policy. I had some online classes and worked ahead. I missed 2 days of school. I live in Georgia and drove like mad to get back for Tuesday class but won't try that again. I was such a zombie I don't remember a thing.

I'm lucky enough that I don't have classes burn week but this sounds like what will happen to me this year. I live in Georgia and class starts the Monday after the burn. I will of course be working ahead but I don't think I'll be able to show up for a class until Wednesday.

[portaplaya]

When planning your departure from BM this year, keep in mind that the temple is burning at sunset this year, about 8pm. (see this post on Burning Blog: http://blog.burningman.com/2012/07/news ... -about-it/)

This is a change from previous years where it burned at 9:30-10:30. The change is specifically to create two more hours of Exodus for the hellacious traffic expected with the increase to 60K people.

[niquitatornada]

For my University the add/drop period is the first 2 weeks of classes. So professors are very lenient about students missing those first two weeks of class. This is my plan basically. They don't really question things too much so all I have to say is "I wasn't in class last week, what did I miss" and they will assume that I was just switching my schedule around.

Not sure if it's the same for your university. I go to a very large state school, which is probably why this will work.

[BoyScoutGirl]

Just going to reiterate that each student should check with the school. Having taught at a large state university, we specifically dropped students who missed the first lab that very day, no follow-up questions asked. The waiting lists here are just too long.

To other student-participants of Burning Man reading this, I hope your schools have the flexibility (and funding!) of niquitatornada's, but better to be fully-informed than sorry.

[meincoif]

I've participated in Burning Man four times over the past ten years and missed the first week of classes each year (twice as an undergrad, twice as a graduate student). The amount of notice and detail I would give each professor depended on the class. For large general-education courses, I would write a week ahead of time saying I had a time conflict and would miss the first week, but would be sure to make up any missed notes/coursework and attend the following week. For smaller seminar courses or anything graduate-level, I would give more detail. Being in the social sciences, generally I felt comfortable sharing that I was attending Burning Man (as a valuable social experiment but also valuable to me, personally). Again, assuring the professor that I was eager and excited for their course and that I would make up any missed work always worked for me. Of course, I'm in Ohio, so this situation may be more novel for professors than, say, those at UCBerkeley.

[mytripod]

As a former college instructor, I think there is great advice here about advance notification, getting books and syllabi ahead of time, and offering to do projects. The majority of your profs and instructors will probably be fine with this, as you have shown them that you are not just blowing off school and hoping for the best (radical self reliance!). If you know in advance that there is one asshole prof who hates everybody and never budges, you can always fall back on Grandma's funeral.