How to Be a Bad College Student -- Dunder Mifflin Style

(From a scene of The Office)

Ryan: It's whomever.

Michael Scott: No, whomever is never actually right.

Jim Halpert: Nope, sometimes it's right.

Creed: Michael is right. It's a made up word used to trick students-

Andy: No. Actually whomever is the formal version of the word.

Oscar: Obviously it's a real word. But I don't know how to use it correctly.

How many articles have you read that tell you exactly how to be a perfect student? Do this, act that way, say that. That gets a little boring to hear after a while right? So here are some different types of  bad students. As Michael Scott once said, “Reverse psychology is an awesome tool, I don't know if you guys know about it, but basically you can make someone think the opposite of what you believe, and that tricks them into doing something stupid. Works like a charm.“ By teaching you what a bad student is, you will actually become a good student. (See what I did there?)

The Teacher's Pet

No one likes a suck-up, a brown noser. Study The Office's Dwight Schrute. From his actions you will see why it is annoying and why it, in fact, will not make you friends. Dwight Schrute said, “ I have been Michael's number two guy for about five years, and we make a great team. We're like one of those classic famous teams. He's like Mozart and I'm like Mozart's friend. No, I'm like Butch Cassidy and Michael is like Mozart. You try and hurt Mozart, you're gonna get a bullet in your head, courtesy of Butch Cassidy.” Dwight is constantly pestering  Michael and wants to be his best friend. Michael, his boss gets very easily annoyed at Dwight and will often insult him. It sounds funny, but Dwight is a person just like all of us with feelings. Just make sure you don't suck up to your teacher too much or they may find you an unnecessary hassle.

The Class Clown

Jim Halpert seems like a good guy, sure. However, he is the mischievous one in the office. This is how you should NOT act while in a classroom. Jim plays constant pranks on Dwight and it makes Jim's work activity counter-productive. Be aware that if you mess around too much in class, you won't be taken seriously and that is not a good thing in the long run. Jim one day said, “Dwight thinks it's Friday so that's what I'm going to be doing this afternoon.” Jim spends the whole day convincing Dwight that it' s Friday so that there is no work the next day. He succeeds but doesn't do any work that day. Remember that joking around is fun but should only be done occasionally.

The Goody-Two-Shoes

One day, the employees of The Office are outside and Jim asks everyone what books they would take on a desert island. The following conversation is a result of that: Phyllis: I'd take the Da Vinci Code. Angela: The DaVinci Code. I would bring The DaVinci Code. So I could burn The DaVinci Code.” Anglea Martin is known for her baby and cat posters and the party planning committee. Angela is uptight and judgmental. As a student, you need to make sure you don't act this way. Don't try to be too much of a perfectionist. Remember, you are just a person, not some mental case.

The Try Hard

Urban Dictionary has defined this word in the following way: Someone who tries too hard to be included in a group of people. Someone that will copy anything someone else does /something other people in a group do, listen to, act like, or look like, to become accepted in the group. Michael Scott is the epitome of this. As the Regional Manager of Dunder Miflin, all he wants is for his employees to like him. He said, “I guess the atmosphere that I've tried to create here is that I'm a friend first and a boss second, and probably an entertainer third.” Everyone in the office gets really annoyed with Michael because he tries so hard to be on everyone's good side. No one likes a student that tries too hard. Just be yourself and don't be a weirdo trying to look cool.

  About the Author
Meagan Hollman is a writer for MyCollegesandCareers.com. My Colleges and Careers helps people determine if an online education is right for them and helps them understand which online courses and online schools they can choose from to reach their goals.