You can't do well if homework comes at the very last minute

In college it's a given that you're going to procrastinate. Since my freshman year, I have procrastinated assignments until the last minute on reasoning that "I study/write better under pressure." With just a semester and a half left before I graduate, senioritis has hit me at full speed.

As of now, I have four big projects scheduled between mid November and finals week in December and I have not started a single one. I would love to just say it's me being my lazy self and waiting until the last minute so I can torture myself one all nighter at a time, but it's not just me slacking; it's also the professors.

Midway through the semester, I would expect to know all about the final projects so I can start working on them or at least, have the option of starting them. This past week most of my professors have given out guidelines and approved paper topics, but despite this, it seems a little late in the semester to begin talking about final assignments. There are still papers I don't know about, because a professor has yet to discuss it. Now, between trying to keep up with the scheduled curriculum and studying for tests, I'm going to have to do research, interviews, and write 10 to 20 page assignments in a short amount of time. With barely enough to time get my homework done for the week, it's harder to get projects started, especially when assignments and tests start piling up at the end of the semester.

This is not the first semester it has happened to me. In the past, I have finished my homework and checked my SHU email, just one more time before going to bed, only to find an update in Blackboard for a reading or a last minute assignment due for class the next day. Obviously, in this situation, I know the one slacking on homework is not me.

I'm not the only one this is happening to. Several of my friends have complained that professors are not talking about projects that are due in the next month or are just beginning to discuss the requirements.

I understand that professors have a lot of classes to keep track of and just being human, they will forget to send out an email or not mention an assignment in class. But in cases, such as mine, where the papers are long and require extended research, I would like a little more notice on assignments. Even though I know I can get projects done under pressure, it does not necessarily mean I'm doing my best work.

Although there are students that never hand in assignments or "forget" about their homework, I am sure that there are good students that suffer because of the forgetfulness or the procrastination of a professor.

I believe that when there are projects due, especially during the week of midterms and finals, the assignments should be discussed in full at the beginning of the semester, so students can start working on it or at least, think about working on it right away.