The fall semester has begun yet again, which means homework, exams and the always-dreaded group projects.

According to Mariah Romano, senior in horticulture, there are three types of group project members: those who take charge from the start and do everything, those who do not show up, and those who are there, but do not actually contribute anything.

“I’m the member that always takes the lead,” Romano said. “Most of the time, I end up doing the majority of the project because I want to earn a good grade.”

Dealing with group project members can be frustrating, especially for students who take the lead role.

Chelsea Zmolek, senior in marketing, shareed her advice to students who are dealing with uncooperative group members.

“To avoid confusion from the get-go, I try to make it clear what everyone’s doing and and assign jobs to each member,” Zmolek said. “I usually take on the most important part, because then I’m in control of my own grade.”

Maddie Young, senior in elementary education, explained how she takes a similar approach to dealing with group projects as Zmolek.

“I usually start off by saying what chunk of the project I’ll be in charge of,” Young said. “This tends to create a domino effect and everyone else eventually speaks up and says what portion of the project they’ll be taking.”

It seems a lot of students say they are the ones who take initiative and end up doing the whole project. The students who take the lead tend to assign others things to do.

“From what I have learned, if you don’t really say anything, the person who takes the lead will assign you something that’s not very important to the project,” said Jon Wellman, junior in business. “That ultimately means less work for me, which I am completely fine with.”

According to Wellman, it’s rare to come across a group that doesn’t have a member who immediately takes charge, though there are occasions when there isn’t. When this happens, he holds up his end of the project to receive a passing grade.

“If you do get a student who never shows up to meetings or doesn’t contribute anything, I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Romano said. “In those cases, the professor will usually assign grades accordingly and your other group members will back you up.”