So, you decided to cut class.

Admit it: you did; otherwise, you wouldn't have clicked on this article. You did it, and now you can't go back. Don't worry: this is not to make you feel guilty (too much).

Maybe it's for a good (enough) reason to, or maybe you just didn't feel like it. Maybe it's your first time, or it's been a recurring thing for you.

As much as I don't want to admit it, I have cut college classes (a hefty handful of times), and every time I do, I try to at least make my time away from the class I should be in a productive time, to somehow make the time I spend by myself instead worth the cut.

Nevertheless, there is always the underlying guilt (as well as the grade deductions) that limits these decisions I'd made from becoming a trend. Not to mention there are always the little things you would be missing if you decided to miss class for the day, such as these…

The assignment due for the day

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I guess you could turn it in another day or by email to your professor (if your professor would allow that), but wouldn't you want to rest easy at night knowing that that's just one less thing to worry about later? And on a related note…

The assignment due for next time (or much later)

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Of course, since this is Stony Brook and we have the wonders of Blackboard to lean on in this case, or if you have a friend in the class that pays really good attention, or if you check your emails on a daily basis, then I suppose you can scavenge around for those bits and pieces of the information on what you're expected to do for homework moving forward, but it would never be the same as actually being in the class to hear the information firsthand from your professor.

The participation for the day

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Whether in the form of a quiz, which you know can't be made up another day, or just interacting with the professor or with others on whatever the topic, that little bit of your grade for the day? That automatic A, at least for that part of your grade, for that day? POOF. Gone.

The camaraderie amongst your professor and classmates

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That interesting tangent that your professor went on, or that joke your classmate made that built off from it and that sent the whole class laughing for a full minute straight, or the certain analogies that the professor used to have you better understand the things being discussed in class? Once you're not there for those, you'll never get those back… (They may refer to them or talk about them afterwards, but will you really understand unless you've actually been there?)

Everything the class has to offer you for the day

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Security in knowing that you understand all the topics being taught, security in having been fully present for the course throughout the semester, and lack of worry at all about anything that would otherwise send you back… (Remember: more than three unexcused absences will severely affect your grade, at least according to your professors.) So, if you decide to miss the class – not have to for more valid reasons, but decide to – then think about everything, not just these main five, that you would miss out on and would put you in a panic in trying to make up.