My apologies for the (extremely) late post. I can't really comment about parties here at Case, just because my school is actually known for hardly having any parties at all. Those that we do have are hosted by the frats, which means they're either recruitment events or ridiculous wastes of time, mainly because a couple hundred people are all trying to maneuver in a small living room. So I don't think we have Teej's problem of apathetic students. Our problem is exactly opposite in nature--a lot of people don't socialize at all. I'd go as far to say that they worry too much about school. Even though our workload is insane, there's no reason/need to spend so much time staring at textbooks (unless you're a BME...you'll probably find a new major soon anyway). There's a reason why 90%, and most of the time 80 or 85% for the more advanced classes, is the minimum for an A. People who study all the time and get 100+% get the same grade in the end as someone who balances their life and gets a 92%. Moral of the story--get out of the fucking library once in a while.
A lot of people at Case are continuing to grad school to be a lawyer, doctor, or some other professional. They feel that spending all day/night studying is the only way they'll ever get into grad school, and they also think that hitting the books as much as possible in undergrad will somehow make things easier when grad school rolls around. I'd actually argue the opposite. Who wants a doctor so socially inept that they can't properly communicate with you before a crucial operation? What about a lawyer who has a hard time collaborating with clients and collegues? They might know every court case by memory, but would that make them the best lawyer in the world? Definitely not. I'd also argue that undergrad only has a few benefits for grad school. The subject matter isn't really one of them. Sure, you get the basics that you need for success, but it's just idiotic to study so much that you memorized the Krebs cycle, the names of all the compounds involved, the enzymes, and the three dimensional structures of the compounds. In med school that's called "an introduction to aerobic respiration." In undergrad, that's called overkill. We should be learning how to manage our time, learn basic material, and in my opinion learn about a large range of topics, not just a select few--especially if you're going on to higher education. Med students who spent every waking hour studying in undergrad have to not only relearn most of their textbook knowledge (I guarantee most of the stuff they've spent so much time trying to learn will evaporate before they see it again in med school), but they also have to figure out how to socialize with other docs and students. In many parts of the world, like India, they skip "undergrad" completely, going on to med school or whatever right out of high school. I'd also argue that Indian doctors are just as competent, if not more so (due to more time in clinical practice) than their American counterparts. Maybe I'm just anti-American.
In agreement with Teej, I guess I'd also like people to take a step back to consider what they're currently focusing on is really beneficial for them, and more importantly (in my view), going to help others in the future. Studying incessantly and knowing everything might turn you into a Ken Jennings, or it might also end up turning you into a horrible doctor, lawyer, teacher, etc.
