College Bored

“College Bored” was the third episode of the first season of Daria.

College Bored
Production Number	103
Original Airdate	March 17, 1997
Special Guest Voices
Written By	Sam Johnson Chris Marcil
Directed By	Margaret E. Rutherford

Summary

The Morgendorffers visit friends with a daughter and witnessed the worry they have in already provinding the toddler with a SAT preparation test, to make sure she'll attend the right college. Faced with that, Helen and Jake decide to enroll Daria and Quinn in a college prep course, over the annoyance of both girls.

The prep course is held at Lawndale High and includes several freshmeen and sophmore students. The teacher coaches them on how to take PSAT exams and invites them to consider what they want out of college. Students daydream about their college future life: Kevin imagines himself as a sucessfully QB; Brittany imagines recieving her diploma while walking in a model runway; Jane imagines herself a sucessfull artist, having ditched college; Quinn imagines being the object of desire for three good-looking male students; Daria imagines being invited to go to grad school while still a freshmen.

Also, as part of the course, all students have to visit a college, so Jake and Helen entusiatically decide to take their daughters to their Alma Mater, Middleton College. When they visit the campus a few days later, they are greeted by Heather, their tour gide. The four quickly separate, however, as Helen and Jake want to check his old room and Quinn wants to check the fraternities.

Helen and Jake reminescence in his old room, whose student occupants seem only to hang out, listen to loud music, surf the web and pay no attention whatsoever to the visitors. Remebering suddenly the sexual moars of college students, Helen rushes out in a panic, searching for Quinn, asking students of her daughter's whereabouts and posting notices. Her searches are fruitless, succeding only in being arassed by male students who are pledging fraterneties. While this happen, Jake visits the loans office, where he is informed of the huge value of college fees.

Meanwhile, Daria and Heather had ended up in the later's room, where Daria can see first hand college students life: watching Sick, Sad World and, according to Heather, working a stupid job and asking the parents for money. A term paper sent to Heather by mail, full of mistakes, quickly provides Daria into an opportunity to cash some money, as she starts re-writting or correcting papers for ignorant or lazy college students.

As this happens, Quinn, having separated earlier from Daria and Heather after having been mistaken for a fraternity pledge, ends up in a party. She is able to change the rules of a drinking game and ends up later being hailed as Keg Queen, a situation in which the other Morgendorffers and the police eventually find her. The relief of fiding her is brief, as they are all thrown out of the campus by the police for allowing a minor in fraternity parties.

Later, back at Lawndale and the prep course, all students relate their experiences: Kevin tels of a hazing he was subjected to (to his delight); Brittany tells of a poetry meeting she attended; Mack tells of rules allowing top athletes never having to take exams (to his disgust); Daria and Quinn only tell they had been thrown out, to the surprise of the teacher.

Later that day, at home, the Morgendorffers celebrate the invitation Quinn has recieved for Manatee College, in Florida... until Daria points out the college providess no classes, only accomodation for an extremely high price. The conversation is interrupted by a college Midleton student, who has come to provide payment for some Daria's papers: this quickly leads Helen in confiscating the money and ending this activity, as Daria laments later over pizza with Jane.

Trivia

The famous Middleton College would be revealed in subsequent episodes to be a second-tier school at best, despite its fame.

The letter Quinn receives from Manatee College is reproduced in The Daria Diaries.

“College Bored” and Fanfic

Daria writing papers for the undergrads in this episode has been used in some fanfiction as a possible side occupation for Daria, exploring her mercenary side. Examples include: Daria's Season of Good Will and Out of the Slushpile, both by Nemo Blank.

Middleton College would later be used or referenced in some fanfiction works.

External Links

• “‘It Kind of Sucked’: A Review of ‘College Bored’” by CINCGREEN at the Daria Fandom Blog, March 17, 2007

Preceded by The Invitation (102)	Daria Episodes "College Bored," Season 1, Episode 3 (103)	Succeeded by Cafe Disaffecto