The characters from the tv show The Office can provide us with a lot of laughs when we really need them. We connect with them as if we have known them our whole lives. Find 10 funny quotes below from The Office sum up pretty much everything you’ll go through.
These 10 memorable quotes from The Office are relatable AF to college students.
1. When You Don’t Know What You’re Doing
Michael Scott: “Sometimes I’ll start a sentence and I don’t even know where it’s going. I just hope I find it along the way.”
Same, Michael. This feels so real for anyone trying to get those last few sentences to reach the word count on their paper. We hope those sentences actually turn out to be meaningful, but we really just want to hit that word count. When you’re staring at the walls of the library just a few sentences shy of being done, you might end up writing just to have more words. We’re not proud of it, but we still hope the professor won’t notice and gives you a good grade anyway. Fingers crossed.
2. When You Have A Group Project In Every Class
Kevin Malone: “I have very little patience for stupidity.”
That feeling when you get assigned a group project and end up doing most of the work yourself. The worst, right? You might start off with a little bit of hope that your group members will be reliable. Normally, this hope is shattered pretty quickly. Right off the bat, setting up a meeting time that works for everyone can be a challenge. Inevitably, someone shows up late, someone cancels and someone just won’t show up without any notice. Once everyone is there (or mostly everyone) you will try to split up the work, but end up stressing that your partners won’t finish their jobs at all, let alone on time. Face it, if you wanted it done right, you should just do it yourself.
3. When You Will Do Anything To Pass
Michael Scott: “I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.”
When you’re worried about an exam, you’ll do just about anything for a little extra luck. Wear your lucky item of clothing, use the same pen that got you your last “A” or sit in the same seat you always sit in. Whatever makes you feel better. We can all find ourselves looking for luck when it comes to our grades, especially when on the brink of failing that one class that’s required for your major. The professor graded harshly, the class was boring and the last thing you want to do is sit through it again next semester. Get your lucky socks on and go pass that final.
4. When You’re Trying to Meet The Minimum Source Count For The Research Paper
Michael Scott: “Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information.”
Explaining to your professor why you should be able to cite Wikipedia in your research paper. Plodding through pages of primary source material to find the little piece of information you need to strengthen your argument takes too much time. You might feel very frustrated when that little piece of information is the first thing you read when you open the Wikipedia page on your topic, but you can’t cite it. So you spend the next hour looking for a reliable source to say exactly what Wikipedia said.
5. When You’re Reasoning With Yourself
Dwight Schrute: “Whenever I’m about to do something, I think ‘would an idiot do that?’ And if they would, I do not do that thing.”
What every college student should think to themselves before making a decision. Whether avoiding a late-night party when you have an 8 a.m. class the next day, or watching The Office instead of doing homework—we all fall victim to some bad decisions and should strive to be more like Dwight. We see that Dwight can be extremely precise when it comes to his job at Dunder Mifflin, and is rarely seen making decisions that weren’t precisely calculated. Perhaps we could all start thinking this way before we make our choices.
6. When You’re Worrying About Postgrad Life
Kelly Kapoor: “It’s like my life is buffering.”
All of the choices you make during college shape your post-grad life. Waiting to graduate is like waiting for your life to finish loading. Rewarding once you get there, but for now you’re stuck watching your life load. Sitting at your internship desk dreaming of all the great things you could do if you weren’t just the intern.
7. When You’re Dreading Monday
Erin Hannon: “I really wanna have fun today. Because tomorrow is going to be a nightmare.”
We have all felt this at some point when trying to distract our self from the fact that we have three block classes all on the same day. When you pack a lot of classes into only a few days, all your work has roughly the same due date. You’ll think back to freshman year when you didn’t have those block classes and weren’t so overwhelmed all the time. But, try not to think about that now, and just have fun on your one day off.
8. When You Ignore All Of Your Work
Michael Scott: “When I discovered YouTube, I didn’t work for five days.”
When the next season of your favorite show comes out on Netflix, or when your favorite team has a playoff game that night…your schoolwork can sort of fall by the wayside. In 2015, when the Mets were in the playoffs for the first time since 2006, you can bet that schoolwork was the last thing on a lot of New York students’ minds. For die-hard fans, when a playoff game is on almost every night of the week, you probably will forget that you’re even in college. When there’s a day off in between games, or when you get through that season of your favorite show, make sure you remember where you are and get back to the work you’ve been neglecting.
9. When Your Love Life Is Heartbreaking
Andy Bernard: “I know a few things about love. Horrible, terrible, awful, awful things.”
For those of us who have not had much luck in this department. We feel you, Andy. Having a social life in general is hard in college, let alone a love life. It isn’t out of the ordinary for college relationships to fail simply because of busy schedules. Finding the time to make it work can be hard sometimes. But, keep the faith and hopefully soon your luck will change. Jim had to be extremely patient in his efforts to win over Pam, but eventually things worked out. Try not to give up and never settle, and one day you might end up like “Jam.”
10. When You’re Hungry In Class
Pam Beesly: “I don’t care what they say about me. I just want to eat.”
You’re so hungry, you don’t care what the kid behind you has to say about your mac n’ cheese in a bread bowl from Panera. Don’t pay any mind to anyone judging you for eating during lecture- odds are they do it on a different day of the week when their schedule is swamped. Just try not to distract the guy sitting next to you, and hope the professor doesn’t call you out. Until then, enjoy your Panera.
10 More Office Quotes for Every College Situation
Written by Morgan Robertson
Welcome to college, where The Office completely relates to almost every aspect of your life. Your RAs annoy you like Michael by trying to be your best friends. The cute girl across the hallway makes you blush like Pam did to Jim. You prank the dorm hall Dwight and you have a blast. The kid in your business class is the scheming temp, Ryan. The girl who won’t shut up ever is your very own Kelly Kapoor. Yep, welcome to The Office…I mean college.
11. When someone doubts your ability to finish a paper the night before it’s due
Michael Scott: “I feel very sorry for that banker because he has to decide what we are worth, what we are capable of.”
Your boss, your professor or your parents don’t believe you when you say that you can pull an all-nighter to finish that paper. Even if you during your all-nighter has you drooling all over your textbooks and drowning in papers and problem sets, you can still wake up and kill it the next day. You can. You, like Michael Scott, are invincible. If this genius Michael Scott quote taught us anything is that no one know what we are capable of except us and we set our own limits and define ourselves.
12. When you think about your future (like all of us do, all the time)
Michael Scott: “I think our future is very, very bright. We have only just begun.”
Congratulations! In this moment, you’ve either received your acceptance to your dream school or you passed a class that no one thought you would or you are the first in your family to graduate from college. Know this: You are on the edge of greatness. Put on your coolest shades because your bright future might just blind you.
13. When you catch feelings for a person that you don’t need to be involved with
Dwight Shrute: “Computron feeling emotion.”
We all like to pretend that hookups and roomie wars and professors and grades don’t get us down. But we feel moments, sparks and bursts of emotion that we can’t deny. Some of us come to college hoping to meet a special someone. Sometimes that someone happens to be someone who is “off-limits” like a GSI, TA, professor, lab partner, coach or teammate. You know it’s wrong, but you still find yourself dressing up for an 8 a.m. class and staying late after class just to talk to that hot professor. In those moments, you wish you could left swipe those feelings away like your emotions worked on an app. But in some cases, you just have to feel those feelings.
14. When you’re working on a group project
Michael Scott: “This group of people when they put their minds together, they can do something great.”
You thought you left group projects behind in high school? You thought wrong. When a college professor assigns a group project, you roll your eyes in dread. You imagine in your head you and your partner fighting over who will do what. You may get distracted and find it hard to focus until you truly have no more time to waste. You may butt heads like Jim and Dwight, but in the end, you will get the sale or in your case an A. Everyone wants to graduate right? Use that and this quote as incentive to make them work for it.
15. When your professor gives you a bad grade
Dwight Shrute: “I might start a diabolical plot against him after this one.”
You studied hard. You made note cards. You texted all your friends your last-minute questions. You chugged a whole cup of coffee on the way to your test. You take it and you think that you did great. But when you get the test back and you see a bad grade, you immediately plan out your revenge. Do you plan a prank to steal the professor’s notes? Or do you kiss up to your professor and be his second-hand man like Dwight is for Michael? Just kidding, the better plan would be to talk to your professor in office hours to find some common ground.
16. When you’re cramming for a final the night before the test
Erin Hannon: “A spinning brain is a working brain.”
Leaving Red Bull and coffee fumes in their wake, college students spend hours a day running in circles around campus. The late hours of the night creep up on you, but you know you can do it. Frazzled and a little stressed? Remember if it feels like your head is spinning, Erin knows you’re on the right track.
17. When you ace that final
Dwight Shrute: “Care to celebrate with a drink?”
Ryan Howard: “I’d love to”
*Minutes later they are fighting about where to get drinks*
You walked out of that final exam and you feel great. You text your friends on the way home. You decide to get a drink to celebrate. Out of your friend group, one of your friends want to go to dancing. One of them wants to get wasted. One of them wants to have a quiet night at home with some wine. The task of getting everyone on the same page challenges the surest of squads. But try your best not to let a fight break out. Make sure to agree with your friends on where you go to get drinks. Find a place that can hopefully satisfy everyone’s needs.
18. When the professor assigns 100 pages of reading per week
Pam Beasley-Halpert: “I cannot wait for that joke to be over.”
We all have professors who give us a hard time. You get into a class that you love and when you get the class syllabus you see that they have assigned a course reader, about 10 novels and a textbook and each week you have to complete about 100 pages per week. Students sometimes tackle this task and sometimes students fold under the pressure (get it? Fold like paper? Ha ha, oh, Dunder Mifflin). Push through or fold, those are your only choices. We all know your professors are #sorrynotsorry.
19. When they won’t let you in their club
Dwight Shrute: “Why is everyone clumped around accounting. Break it up, you clique.”
Dwight, I feel you. We’ve all had our feelings hurt by some super competitive, super clique-y club that only lets in inner circle people. No matter how hard you try to be social and nice, they just don’t seem to like you. This has happened to all of us at some point. When that rejection comes, we inevitably feel sad. But then another club comes along and accepts you for you. Don’t you feel better now?
20. When you and your friend got a little too #turnt the night before
Michael Scott: “Dwight, you ignorant slut!”
You just turned 21 and you’re ready to party. No actual slut-shaming here, but you might just deserve some tough love, Michael Scott style, the next day. You probably woke up with stickers on your face and candy in your hair. You have a vague memory of the cute boy you met last night and spent too much time with. You bought you one too many drinks. You also may have lost your phone. Put your thinking cap on and medicate with lots of water, sleep and coffee in the morning.
21. When you try to make friends in class
Michael Scott: “I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.”
Making friends in college can get tough. One the first day of class, you get to the building and the lecture hall feels humongous. With at least 150 people in class on the first day, you scan the rows of the lecture hall for an empty seat, a group of nice looking people catch your eye. You timidly approach and ask to sit down. Hopefully they say yes. You strike up a conversation and, in your head, you think, hope, and pray that they will love you enough to get scared every time you sleep in a little too late to make it to that class on time.
22. When you can’t stop binge eating and watching Netflix
Kevin Malone: “You know how I feel sitting next to those M&M’s all day.”
At some point in our college career, we feel like Kevin: stressed out and tempted to eat everything in our path. This happens on bad days, late nights and study jams. You sneak food into the library and eat under the table, hoping that no one will notice. You eat on the way to class and you store snacks in, around, and under your bed. The Freshman 15 is a myth only because it can happen to you at any point in your college career. The Senior 15 can also slap you hard. Everyone needs some stress relief.
23. When you get an internship that you want
Andy Bernard: “I can’t have this go badly. I’m a terrible salesman… If this goes badly, I might lose my job which would suck because this is the only job that I’ve ever been good at.”
Knowing Andy got through this situation should help you get through yours—he really did suck. But he still succeeded. Honestly, we fight real hard to get those jobs and internships that we want. As poor college students, we desperately want these jobs to go well. We show up on time and give it our best. But sometimes, we feel like we got in over our heads. Like Andy, we try and try. College jobs, for most of us, are our first jobs working closely with professional staff. Sometimes, we get it right and other times we don’t. But be sure to use those times as learning experiences.
24. When you can’t take the stress
Michael Scott: “I am running away from my responsibilities and it feels good.”
Michael, we feel you. We all want to run away from our responsibilities when the stress, the pressure, the readings and tests weigh us down. Want to escape your classes or your boss? Catch a plane or rent a car and a day trip. Get outside and get off campus for the weekend. Taking a break from studying and work replenishes the strength you need to finish the semester.
25. When you sign up for a gym membership that you regret
Michael Scott: “I am not paying for that membership.”
The broke college kid definitely feels the struggle of choosing paying for a gym membership. Do you really know what to do with that membership anyway? You see the other people in the gym who devote every minute of their time to sculpting their arms and abs. You see them working hard, dripping in sweat. Admit it, you look around and try to copy some of the other people who seem to know what they are doing. You bypass the treadmill because you have no idea how to work it and in the end you settle to cycle on the bike and scroll through your Instagram feed. After you feel like you have spent an acceptable amount of time in the gym, you do five minutes on the treadmill and 20 crunches and then quit. No? Just us?
10 More Quotes From The Office To Get You Through College
Written by Elizabeth Rioux
Let’s all admit that we jam out to The Office theme song from time to time. Or, basically whenever we hear the sweet ‘dun-dun-duns.’ You can’t help the show flashbacks in your mind or the butterflies fluttering around in anticipation. The plotlines, cliffhangers, and cold opens always seem to bring a smile to our faces, no matter how many times we’ve seen them. What you may not realize? How relevant the show can be to your daily lives, especially on a college campus. Perhaps the quotes you’ve listened to on repeat haven’t totally sunk into the realities of your dorm room.
26. When All-Freshman Act Alike
Dwight Schrute: “Identity theft is not a joke, Jim!”
The start of the year has fallen upon us. And what else? The sea of freshman. If you find yourself in that group, never fret. We all know the feeling of seeing people wearing the same matching shirt and lanyard as you, practically screaming ‘I’m new here!’ Just try to find your way around campus and not be hit by any cars. Someday, hopefully soon, you’ll find your footing. You’ll buy yourself that nice looking red car, coffee mug and be the best you, you’ve ever wanted. Self-boss. Boom. Roasted.
27. When You’ve Reached the Weekend
Michael Scott: “I am Beyoncé, always.”
You’ve had essays on top of exams on top of assignments. It seems like all your professors are testing your true strength as a student. They want to see if you’re truly capable of college life. But guess what? The weekend is upon us. Things like professors, classmates and lecture halls are no longer our main priority. Bust out your weekend wardrobe and get yourself out on the town. Let the world see your weekend personality. Get Queen B on blast and bust out your best ‘All the Single Ladies,’ dance moves.
28. When You Have A Packed Lecture
Dwight Schrute: “There’s too many people on this world. We need a new plague.”
We all know that feeling of pulling up to a large lecture room. No seats in sight, the stairs or the wall in the back being your only options for survival. You can barely read the PowerPoint or hear the professor clearly. There’s no use. How many people can possibly exist for this to be your reality? Though Dwight Schrute may have a different answer for this, all you can do is sit back and wish for bigger rooms and more chairs.
29. When Your Bank Account Goes Wrong
Michael Scott: “I declare bankruptcy!”
Money issues are a stressful thing for us all, one way or another. You could have two or three jobs but still struggle to make ends meet. Somehow rent, bills and groceries creep up into your savings account and steal what you’ve worked so hard for. Before you commit to the Ramen diet, let the world know you’ve reached your breaking point. Yell, scream and let it out. The people deserve to know. You may even get lucky and someone will buy you a pity coffee.
30. When One Person Really Pushes Your Buttons
Michael Scott: “If I had a gun with two bullets and I was in a room with Hitler, Bin Laden and Toby, I would shoot Toby twice.”
Sometimes there are people in your classes you really can’t handle. There’s something about the way they talk, act or dress that seem to give off a ‘hit me,’ vibe, you know? You could be blunt like Michael is to Toby and really dig into everything you can’t handle about them. Or keep it contained. Maybe the whole campus doesn’t need to know your hatred for another student. Try maybe a couple of people. You can let out all the witty comments out to that group of people and not need to worry about harming the actual person.
31. When That Crazy Friend Shares Stories
Michael Scott”The worst thing about prison was the dementors.”
Do you know those people that just seem to have a crazy past? Every time you get together, you seem to learn a whole new layer about them. Much like the many different versions of Michael Scott, each new thing adds something to their personality. Perhaps it’s not as extreme as Michael Klump, but hopefully somewhere around Prison Mike. Or maybe a happy medium of the two. Let’s just hope one’s got a good story about dementors.
32. When You and Your Friend Get Each Other
Jim Halpert: “Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.”
When you get close to your friends, you seem to develop a small language. Through pastimes, movie nights and studying, you have an infinite amount of inside jokes. These small jokes tie you to each other, knowing mention of one is like instant telepathy. Perhaps Michael, Dwight and Jim weren’t the coolest girl gang around, they truly knew each other like the back of their hand. They were there for breakups, hardships and good news. Think about it, has Dwight ever been happier for Jim then when he got relocated? What about when Jim came dressed like Dwight? Best of friends.
33. When You Just Have a Bad Day
Michael Scott: “Occasionally I’ll hit somebody with my car.”
Got a case of the Mondays? We’ve all been there. Nothing seems to be going according to plan and all you want to do is crawl back in bed. If these days also bring a bit of anger into your life, proceed with caution. The last thing we need is for another person to go hitting people with cars. As Michael showed, it may be funny at the time but difficult in the long run. After all, he had to plan a whole fun run. What would you do? It may seem like a good stress reliever at the time but maybe talk to someone instead. Maybe?
34. When Your Grade Gets a Nice Curve
Michael Scott: “Well, well, well, how the turntables…”
Okay, so you didn’t do well on an exam. You studied all week intensely with no-fault. Luckily, everyone else did horribly as well. So what does the professor decide to do? Curve the grades. With this at play, you go from a sad C to a hopeful B+. How the turntables, right?
35. When You’re About to Graduate
Andy Bernard: “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the ‘good old days,’ before you’ve actually left them.”
The day has come, graduation day. You’ve got your cap and gown ready to declare your departure. As you sit amid your class, blocking out the inspiring words of some guest speaker, you begin to reminisce on your first days here. Times of moving into dorms, meeting friends and finals seem as if they were just yesterday. You heard these days were gonna fly by but you never really believed them. Maybe the problem was we were looking forward to the future too much that we forgot to care for the present. Before you contemplate ways to build a time machine, take a minute to appreciate the day you’re in.
What Students Think About The Office
“The first time I watched The Office it was kind of hard because I was not into the awkward scenes with Michael. But when I watched it recently, and after working in an office, I really enjoyed it. The characters are so genuine compared to other shows. It’s nice to see that no plot lines or story arcs feel forced, making the show even funnier,” said St. John’s University senior Bryan Cuartas.
“I love the Office because it presents a real-life situation, working at a paper company, but it brings out the best parts of life. It’s funny, heartwarming, and pretty ridiculous all in a setting people can relate to. I love it because it reminds you that you can find laughter and happiness in even the most mundane parts of life and I think that’s so important,” said George Washington University junior Anna O’Brien.
“Dwight is an amusingly paranoid character whose dangerous and irrational world-views make him the greatest television persona of all time. Dwight is a character that will never be replicated, and no one could have done him the same justice as Rainn Wilson did. Without Rainn Wilson’s performance as Dwight, The Office would never be as good as it is,” said University of Vermont junior Lauren Ecock.
“I think it does a good job of satirizing certain social/cultural topics too. Like some of the characters are so ignorant (mainly Michael of course lol) and they make him look so offputting that it’s funny, but also makes you pay attention to why it’s “bad-funny,” said American University senior Channing Gatewood.
“The Office reflects real life. You have an ignorant boss who is the boss but not because he can do his job or because he is the most qualified. He is there mainly because he went through the steps, and you always have the suck up to the boss,” said American University senior Ace Scotland.
“The Office makes me happy. When I first watched The Office I was recovering from a major surgery and ended up binge watching the whole show over the summer. It really helped me take my mind off the situation and lifted my spirits,” said University of California, Santa Cruz freshman Claire Miculian.
“If The Office was literally the only show on Netflix, I’d still pay. It’s the only show I’ll never get tired of and it never fails to make me laugh,” said Fashion Institute of Technology sophomore Kathleen O’Brien.
I think it’s the perfect show to watch with friends. You can watch the same episode over and over and it never gets old. It’s only a slightly dramatic version of real life drama,” said New York Institute of Technology senior Michael Rodrigues.
“I’ve had Netflix for almost a year and The Office is the only show I watch,” said Suffolk Community College junior Justin Poppe.
“The best part is the friendships that they have in the office. It just makes you want to have those kinds of friendships at your office job,” said University of Maryland College Park sophomore Yasmeen Brooks.
“I’ve seen it like five times all the way through and I just watch random episodes all the time. Michael Scott is my favorite character. The ‘That’s what she said’ is a classic. I love it because once you watch it through you can just turn on any episode and just enjoy it and it makes me happy,” said Michigan State Senior Alessia Risi.
“I like how it grows on you. I started watching it and thought the first episodes were so slow and Michael kept getting on my nerves but after it was better…To pick my favorite character is too hard because at some point everyone was my favorite so I’m not sure. But I’m in a long-distance relationship so it was really relevant when Jim would leave work some days to go work in Philadelphia and how his relationship with Pam was falling apart at some point because of the hectic schedules and distance. I have only watched it once. It was my first time and I barely finished it. I love it!” said Cal Poly Pomona senior Joselyn Gutiérrez.
“I think the subject matter is very lighthearted and the sounds of the show are soothing. It started as just a show that helped me fall asleep and turn off my brain when I was anxious and couldn’t sleep, but the comedy is so witty and relevant to real life,” said San Diego State University senior Grace Boyd.
*Updated on May 24, 2018 by Morgan Robertson to include list items 11–25 and more student reviews
**Updated on August 5, 2019 by Elizabeth Rioux to include items 26-35
