# What's college like?



## Plasma (Aug 6, 2013)

I'll be graduating in a few days, and I'm still deciding what career I'd like to take up, but I just wanted to know what college is/was like in your experience?


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## StaceyLaine14 (Apr 11, 2015)

I'm currently a senior at a large, four-year university. For me, college has been thoroughly rewarding. I love the city I am in. I have tons of freedom (even though I don't exercise it much these days), and there is always a lot to do. There are (literally) thousands of organizations to join. Personally, I spend almost all of my time in class or studying or doing homework, but a lot of people devote more time to socializing than I do. (I'm a math major, so that contributes a bit to my workload.) There are constant opportunities to meet new people. If I were to walk outside my apartment just off campus right now, I could meet someone new, and that's cool. Especially where I am because the people who attend my university are so diverse. There are tons of opportunities in college. Study abroad, internships, on-campus jobs, even just learning tons of cool things in classes. I don't really fit in well because I am extremely reserved, but I've still enjoyed my time in college. Studying outside in the sun or in the library with classmates have both been enjoyable for me. I even joined a very active organization last semester that led me to meet many new people. It's really just what you make of it, I guess. I haven't really found it all that stressful but that might just be because I don't mind studying. But lots of people go out multiple times a week. There are lots of parties at my university, so if you're into partying, that's an option. You can live with friends and that can be fun. You can participate in research or competitive events of your choosing. There's really no reason to ever be bored in college. 10/10 experience in my opinion. (But it probably varies a lot depending on where you go.)


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## 2Milk (Oct 29, 2014)

For me:

Show up to class, listen to the lecture/discussion then head home. 
Return the next day, listen to the lecture/discussion then head home. 
^ Repeat for one semester.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

Seems like it would be like boot camp for socialists from what I gather.


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## CNikki (Aug 9, 2013)

Depends whether or not you're going to live on the campus. From what I've experienced, just show up to class, do the assignments and go the extra mile to (attempt) on getting the A's. Make sure what you major in will be something that you're passionate and/or determined for, since that tends to help in order to pass in the first place.


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## analyticalan (Jun 2, 2017)

I'm not sure if it's different in the US and Canada, but in Australia, we have lectures as well as tutorials and/or workshops at university. Lectures were easier for me to manage because the rooms were large and you spent the entire time staring at the front of the room. Smaller classes like tutorials and workshops were really difficult for me because these classes often required participation, and part of your final grade weighting applied to attendance and participation.

I think what makes or breaks this aspect of uni is whether or not you're able to make friends. I didn't have friends in undergrad, mainly because I kept changing my mind on what I wanted to major in and I didn't hang around the same groups of people. In my teaching degree, I met a lot of amazing people as I had all my classes with the same people, and this made classes a lot easier and actually enjoyable.

In high school, my teachers were very supportive and were always there to answer questions. At uni, you would most likely have at least 2 different teachers for each subject (1 lecturer, 1 tutor) who are a lot less invested in you and may not care at all about you. At uni, you assume all responsibility for making sure you attend classes and meet deadlines. Time management is really important as it's very easy to fall behind with weekly readings and homework, and assignments can seem monumental at times. Again, trying to make friends is key as it allows you to stay motivated and have people who you can discuss things with, especially when it's 3 AM on the day an assignment is due.


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## Unspokentruth (Jun 24, 2017)

Just be prepared to work harder in academics then you ever have in high school


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## StaceyLaine14 (Apr 11, 2015)

analyticalan said:


> I'm not sure if it's different in the US and Canada, but in Australia, we have lectures as well as tutorials and/or workshops at university. Lectures were easier for me to manage because the rooms were large and you spent the entire time staring at the front of the room. Smaller classes like tutorials and workshops were really difficult for me because these classes often required participation, and part of your final grade weighting applied to attendance and participation.
> 
> I think what makes or breaks this aspect of uni is whether or not you're able to make friends. I didn't have friends in undergrad, mainly because I kept changing my mind on what I wanted to major in and I didn't hang around the same groups of people. In my teaching degree, I met a lot of amazing people as I had all my classes with the same people, and this made classes a lot easier and actually enjoyable.
> 
> In high school, my teachers were very supportive and were always there to answer questions. At uni, you would most likely have at least 2 different teachers for each subject (1 lecturer, 1 tutor) who are a lot less invested in you and may not care at all about you. At uni, you assume all responsibility for making sure you attend classes and meet deadlines. Time management is really important as it's very easy to fall behind with weekly readings and homework, and assignments can seem monumental at times. Again, trying to make friends is key as it allows you to stay motivated and have people who you can discuss things with, especially when it's 3 AM on the day an assignment is due.


It's slightly different in the US. We have lectures and some universities offer tutorials (called "discussions" at my university. They were only offered for a few courses however, such as calculus 1 and 2). Discussion sections were smaller and participation was encouraged, but not mandatory in my experience. Attending discussion was completely optional. I've found that verbal participation is much more likely to be required in humanities courses than maths and sciences.

Every course I've taken has only had one professor. Large intro classes may have several teaching or learning assistants (TA's or LA's), but generally, you will be assigned one TA even in these instances. Smaller, upper division classes tend not to have TA's.

As you enter upper division coursework, you will have classes with the same people repeatedly, and it does make it easier to make friends. Studying in groups is a great way to meet people and also really beneficial for your grade in many cases.

Also, attend office hours if you can! Your professor will care about you and become invested in you if they get to know you on a personal level. I often find attending TAs' office hours to be much less intimidating than professors' office hours.


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## acidicwithpanic (May 14, 2014)

Overrated. I don't hate it, but the inconsistencies in TV and film about college gave me and others false expectations. Basically, it's too hyped in the eyes of the average social anxiety sufferer. I'm a commuter so my current situation will differ from my experiences with living on-campus. But tbh, I actually enjoy life as a commuter more than I did living on-campus. ****ty roommates had something to do with the sour experience. Word of advice to those looking forward to college: try to room with upperclassmen and grad students if you can because they're usually more quiet and chill than the 1st and 2nd-year students.


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## Kevin001 (Jan 2, 2015)

Slightly better than high school .


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## BAH (Feb 12, 2012)

Boring


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## BrokeTech (Jun 1, 2017)

Truthfully, it is highly dependent on what kind of school you attend. I don't know about Canada, but in the US there are so many different universities and colleges, and so many differences among them. 

Between college and grad school, I attended four different schools and had totally different experiences at all of them because they all differed from each other fairly significantly. Yeah, I went to three colleges, lol. But technically two, because two were colleges under the same university but basically two different degree programs on different campuses. I also took some classes a long time after graduating at a community college to help change careers.

Things that affect the college experience:

Location, size, student body (overall personality vibe, socioeconomic class and diversity), living situation, influence of the Greek system, influence of sports, your personality, academic reputation of the school, private vs public. 

With more info about what type of school you're attending or considering, I can elaborate and give an answer tailored to my experience with that type of school.


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## wmu'14 (Sep 17, 2010)

Better than high school. Not as good as post-school.

Students fall into 2 main categories: 1.) Those who only care about getting drunk and 2.) The overachievers.


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## pandaspoopalot (Jun 16, 2017)

I love learning and want to try going into academia, and I'm a rising senior studying engineering so there's my context. You'll probably make friends if you join organizations, teams, and clubs that you genuinely want to be a part of. My main regret is not joining more organizations as a freshman. I really like the school part, though. I found my passion and I have a lot of time to learn more about it and explore my interests and that's been really good for me. Social aspects stress me out as I don't have many friends and I get lonely really easily, but I'm too scared to put myself in the necessary situations to make more friends. But overall college has been fulfilling and positive for me.


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## andy0128 (Dec 19, 2003)

My first time at college as an undergrad started 19 years ago. Initially i was a bit nervous about moving away from hime. The people i lived with were pretty cool and their friends pretty much the same. I also made a couple if other friends in the first few weeks around my dorms (to use the american term). I used to go out and get drunk a lot with these people so i had fewer inhibitions about socializing. All in all it was a very relaxed and positive vibe something that i haven't experienced since. At the same time though i made zero friends on the same course as me, although i was skipping a lot of classes in the beginning. That pattern continued more unless until i graduated although i did make a few aquaintances along the way. I also had no success at all with women. I'd go out a heck of a lot to bars with the other guys but it was mainly just to get drunk. All of my friends managed to have at least a few relationships during their timeat college. I still had braces back then so that didn't work in my favour.

In the second year i shared a house with some friends from the first year. It was mostly a fun experience. We'd spend most nights at home in contrast to the first year.

In the third year i went to study abroad. It was a very fun time on the whole and i even managed one relationship.

In my last year i returned back to the uk and it was very dull in comparison. Many of my friends had already graduated. I had no one to share with so i rented a studio on my own. I had one hood friend left and I'd go round to his place some nights to smoke. None of his friends liked me though so i rarrly went on nights out with them. I had another friend and we'd go out from time to time but it was just the two of us and he'd get frustrated because i wasn't very social.


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## Guilt (Jul 22, 2017)

College/university is very different from high school in the sense that you're treated as an adult now and have all the freedom you desire. As far as studying is concerned, it depends on what you're going into. First year classes are usually the hardest and then once you start to specialize into certain fields, the courses get easier and less dense. You also meet A LOT of new people, so that's nice. College/uni experience is how you want it to be, you shape your experience. You can socialize with people if you want, it's up to you. There's no institutionalization like in highschool, junior high, etc. You can skip lectures, you can do whatever you want. I don't recommend skipping lectures lol, but yeah, lot's of freedom.


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## Gorecki (Aug 20, 2017)

For me it's lonely...
But better than high school, since people at college are more mature (at least in my college).


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

Never been myself (surprise :lol ) but from everything I've read and heard it sounds a lot like college is a lot like pooping a brand new pineapple every day.


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

I only went to community college and it was just like high school but with more freedom and no friends.


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## thtmansam (Feb 7, 2016)

So far it's just in the middle. Not too bad not that good. I'm only going to community college though. I don't know how the uni life will differ. Only thing i like about it so far was how people became more mature, getting to choose which professors you register for, and having better choices of what you could eat.

Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk


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## cybernaut (Jul 30, 2010)

Doesn't prepare you for the real world despite graduating with 3.7 (if it matters). No long term friendships. And if I did, they only lasted for less than 6 months. I also went to a no-name uni though in a suburban town that had no opportunities for my field as well.

I'm gaining way more from grad school (Master's) right now and from self-improvement books to be honest.


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## acidicwithpanic (May 14, 2014)

ratherunique said:


> *Doesn't prepare you for the real world despite graduating with 3.7 (if it matters).* No long term friendships. And if I did, they only lasted for less than 6 months. I also went to a no-name uni though in a suburban town that had no opportunities for my field as well.
> 
> I'm gaining way more from grad school (Master's) right now and from self-improvement books to be honest.


I wish I could come up with a solid counterargument to this statement but sadly cannot. I have better luck finding a sugar daddy at this point than a job, but I need to hop onto that quick before my looks really start to deteriorate.


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## Skrub (Jun 27, 2016)

It's the same as high school except there are more people and it's easier to fail
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Mlt18 (Jun 29, 2016)

I would say it's not that great. Better than high school in some ways, worse in others.

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## BAH (Feb 12, 2012)

Borin


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## RG550 (Sep 6, 2016)

ratherunique said:


> Doesn't prepare you for the real world despite graduating with 3.7 (if it matters). No long term friendships. And if I did, they only lasted for less than 6 months. I also went to a no-name uni though in a suburban town that had no opportunities for my field as well.
> 
> I'm gaining way more from grad school (Master's) right now and from self-improvement books to be honest.





2Milk said:


> For me:
> 
> Show up to class, listen to the lecture/discussion then head home.
> Return the next day, listen to the lecture/discussion then head home.
> ^ Repeat for one semester.


in my opinion i think people exaggerate the social aspects of undergrad uni, but i went to uni in asia so it may be different. my schedule was like this too i really worked hard to get honors because i didn't want to waste my parents money. but if i have anything i would do differently is that I would "network" more and get internships. most of my peers were more mature than me and even though i may have gotten better grades than them they were a lot better at balancing their life.

in my opinion college doesn't prepare you for the real world if you only see 1 dimension of it like do nothing but hit the books all day, or do nothing but party all day. to be ruthless i see college as an investment its there to propel you to a better future, friendships are perhaps the least of my concerns there. career fairs and recruiting opportunities are the other major part of it. a 3.7 or even higher (i got a first class in the u.k. system so i can't exactly convert but i guess i would be equivalent) might be impressive on its own but needs to be bolstered by stuff like demonstrated experience, even volunteering which i sorely lack. on its own its like an entry ticket to the rat race imo, demonstrates that you are, or were capable of persistence but little more.

a few (around 3-5 or so) of my cohort immediately landed jobs and delivered at fortune 100 companies and got into top grad schools etc, of course this is just anecdotal but on one hand some people were already struggling with the course's workload so i don't think it would be wise to force all colleges to shape all students into true renaissance men. i generally agree that self-initiative is a good indicator of what a person gets out of an opportunity


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