# Life after High School



## sernx (Aug 15, 2005)

I've been reading around the students forum and I have some questions for people who are going to college or went to college. Do you like it, or regret it? 
For those of you who say that college is better than high school, do you go to college exclusively? What kind of school is it, a UC? Do you live with your parents, or commute to college?

The reason I am asking is because I am a high school senior and college applications are going to due in like a month.. I don't know what I am going to do. I don't have any friends in high school so I am pretty much by myself. Some background info- I live in the Bay Area and it's heavily populated. My high school has over 2000 students and I am pretty much left alone because I am too quiet. After all, when there are over hundreds of other people you can befriend, why would you choose the weird shy one? :stu

Because of my SA tendencies, I am most likely going to commute to the closest college. Is this a good idea or bad? I know I probably won't get the college experience or make any friends through this path.. but I am too scared to be in a dorm or with other people. Can anyone tell me their experiences? Should I take the risk? Of course I might not even get into any UCs, but I would like to know what I should strive for. My feelings about this are so contradictory. Most of the time, I just want to be left alone and not bother, but on the other hand, sometimes I really wonder if I am going to be alone and afraid of interacting with people for the rest of my life.
I guess I'm just looking for some outside views/advice on this from people who are and have gone to college. HELP!


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## greywolf_256 (Aug 16, 2004)

If you go the dorm route, chances are you will end up with a room-mate. I recall my first roomie. He was a real party animal. Smoked, drank, and left used tobacco (chum?) in containers all over the place. The dorm rooms were suites, with four people using a bathroom. I usually just stayed in the library studying late, then went back to my room and went to bed. I'd watch TV if he was with his friends. He even brought a girl back to the room late at night while I was in bed. While he wasn't mean to me, he eventually got tired of me, and told me of a vacant room down the hall and strongly urged me to take it. 

Thankfully, after that my parents moved to another state, and I switched to a bigger university, and got a private room. The drawback to that was having to use communal showers, but hey, at least I didn't have a roommate!

I did have a couple scary experiences in the freshman dorms, because I kept to myself. I was harassed, people banged on my door, I often found porn tapped to my dry erase board, they banged on my windows. One time, I forgot to lock my door and this drunk guy just walked in and offered me a beer. I told him to get out, and his buddies came over and started threatening my life. So, if I were in your place, I would commute my freshman year, then if you want to live on campus, get a room in the upper-classmen dorms. I never had any problems with the people there. Or just get an apartment if you are able. 

As far as classes go, some professors will require that you participate in class discussions, some have group projects that you have to present to the class, and some are strictly lecture (my favorite). I guess I was always lucky in not having to actually having to present anything, as long as I went up with my group. What I did was talk to the professor way before presentation day, and they were understanding. You should also let your group know when you first meet about your anxiety. 

I admit, when there was going to be a group discussion, I usually skipped. But, some professors are strict on attendence, so you may have to bite the bullet and go. One of my classes had alot of group discussion, some sociology class, and I missed almost half the quarter. I missed so many days, that I didn't know that the professor had decided to give the final exam earlier than sceduled, and I was lucky to have shown up that day. Although I made As and Bs on all the tests, my grade in the end was a C- because I missed so much.

I always sat in the back of the class. It's best to get there early to get a good seat, however there were times, when my classes were back to back and it wasn't always possible. The larger the classes the better I always thought. The instructor is less likely to call on people. 

I never made any real friends in college. I just kept to myself. But, I don't regret it. I have a BA in psychology for my efforts and it was nice to be on my own. No one around to bother you. 

The first college I attended was small and private. Since it was so small, they didn't have many private rooms. The second one was a much larger public univeristy. Life was easier there, except for my time in the freshman dorms.


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## El Conquistador (Sep 7, 2005)

Some schools have programs where you can request individual roommates for the next semester(s).

Do that if you have a friend going to the same college as you.


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