We asked students what they think about group projects

“That’s what life is essentially – just one big, uncomfortable group project,” says Media and Journalism Professor Lois Boynton.

Love them or hate them, group projects are a huge part of college. Professors assign them to torture us and make us interact with each other. Slackers do nothing, and type A students do it all.

We found UNC students’ honest opinions about group projects. They told us about the good, the bad and the truly unfair. We asked, “what are your opinions on group projects?” and “if you could describe them in one word, what would it be?”

Mary Gordon, sophomore, Psychology

“Group projects are good, but I hate when people are cheated and the workload is uneven. I have been used and disrespected and I did all the work.”

In one word: “Waste.”

Addison, junior, Economics and Political Science

“I was in a project with some athletes my freshman year and they did nothing. One had a thick country accent and I did all the work.”

In one word: “Tiring.”

Isha, sophomore, Business

“I haven’t had any horror stories. I don’t mind them as long as everyone takes their portion seriously.”

In one word: “Time-consuming.”

Taylor, sophomore

“I had to write a group paper last year, so we all wrote parts of it.This girl in my group didn’t submit her part of the paper until 12.30am the night it was due, and it was full of errors. I stayed up in the HoJo lounge fixing it until, like, 4.30am. I woke up to the sound of the workers changing the trash bags.”

In one word: “Stressful.”

Charlotte, junior, Business

“UNC gives too many group projects. Sometimes they work, but most of the time they don’t because logistically coordinating and equally working never actually happens.”

In one word: “Pain-in-the-ass.”

Danielle, sophomore, PWAD and Political Science

“I really do like group projects, but lots of times I feel like it’s always one person who carries the weight of it. But that’s not me. I’m usually one of the slackers. So they’re OK.”

In one word: “Effective.”

Daniel, freshman, Global Studies

“They can be really, really effective. If you have the right dynamic and people that all want to contribute, it can be a lot easier. If you have members that just want to free ride, then nothing will get done. I’ve been in situations where people hadn’t done their part, so I had to do the whole project.”

In one word: “Unreliable.”

Madison, freshman, Exercise and Sport Science

“They are not my favorite thing to do in class because I end up being the one who does a lot of the work. I’m sure I have some horror stories, but I can’t think of any.”

In one word: “Challenging.

Leiana, sophomore, Health Policy Management

“Group projects are tricky because they can promote productivity and people can gain a lot, but they’re awful. In Calculus, we had a calendar and each day had a problem and a group got to make up the problem. There were three people in my group. Me and one girl did the whole thing.

“We were coordinating dates and told the other girl when we were meeting and she was like, ‘oh, no that won’t work.’ She just wouldn’t meet with us. But we made a timeline of who did what and there were individual grades. We just put that she didn’t do anything. I got a 95, and that girl got like a 60. That was a good case, because usually everyone gets the same grade.”

In one word: “Frustrating.”

Maggie, sophomore, Psychology

“Group projects are really stressful because it’s hard to coordinate with everyone, and a lot of the time not everyone does an equal amount of work.”

In one word: “Stressful.”

Hattie, freshman, Biology

“I think they can be a good thing, but a lot of times it ends up being very uneven, like it’s hard to keep the work even in the group.”

In one word: “Unfair.”