20 Common Misconceptions About College That Are Ridiculous

When college is something you look forward to for your whole adolescence, it can be extremely jarring to finally get there and realize that the whole experience is a lot different than you imagined.  That’s life, though.  Things are rarely exactly as you expect them to be, after all.  The sooner you learn that, the better.

Still, it’d be nice if someone could warn incoming freshmen about the misconceptions they’ll have to face when they finally arrive on campus.  These are things that everyone thinks about college before they get there, and they’re simply not true.

20. High school is all the preparation you need for college.

It’s really not.  In high school, you’re graded on how well you prove that you can meet the standards the state sets.  In college, you’re graded on how well you do exactly what you’re asked, how much work you put into your schooling, and how hard you try.  It’s a big, big difference.

19. Classes at 8am are no big deal.

If your high school started at 7:40 or earlier, you think that a college class at 8am is no big deal, right?  Wrong.  For some reason, eight o’clock comes so much earlier when you’re in college.  It’s so much harder to get up that early.  If you can avoid enrolling in an 8am, do.

18. You should only go with your heart when trying to decide on a major.

I wish I could tell you that you should always choose to major in something you’re passionate about, no matter what that might be.  Unfortunately, the state of the economy and the extremely competitive nature of the job market means that you simply have to be more pragmatic with your choice of major.  How marketable is this major to employers?  How many jobs are available?  What kind of money can you make with it?  These are important factors to take into consideration.

17. You should never ask for help when you need it.

Always ask for help when you need it.  If you’re struggling with something in class, go to the professor’s office hours and ask for help.  If you’re dealing with depression and you can’t seem to find a way out, ask for help.  If you’re struggling with anything at all, you have to reach out to someone so that you can get the assistance you need.  There’s no shame in it.  It’s called being human.

16. Dating and relationships just happen.

Once you get to college, it seems like everybody you’ve ever met has a boyfriend or girlfriend…except you.  Maybe you will find the love of your life with no effort on your part whatsoever, but usually it takes a little bit of searching and a lot of awkward first dates.  Don’t get discouraged, though.  That’s all part of adulthood!

15. You’ll need to buy every textbook listed on the syllabus.

Good god, don’t do this!  Wait until the first day of class before you buy any books.  Usually the professor will let you know what books you’ll actually need, so then you can skip the ones on the syllabus that are only listed for reasons unknown to man.  You’ll save so much money.

14. You will graduate with a dozen good job offers.

Not unless you put forth a truly heroic effort.  Sign up for internships, go to job fairs, network, network, and network some more.  Also, don’t wait until the final semester of your senior year to start doing this.  The more brown-nosing you do and the more contacts you make, the better off you’ll be when it’s time to get hired.

13. You shouldn’t worry about the student loans you’re taking out.

If you take the “I’ll worry about that later” approach, you’re going to be in for a rude awakening when you’ve graduated college without a job and suddenly you have a $700 monthly payment to make to Sallie Mae.  Student loans are an absolute necessity for a lot of people, but always be as informed about them as you can.  Know how much you’re borrowing.

12. You’re the only one experiencing any kind of personal struggle.

Everyone struggles with something at some point.  Just know that you’re not alone.

11. You can take advantage of all the food and stay the same size.

Chicken fingers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?  What could be bad about this?  Well, if you don’t watch all the junk food you’re eating or all the calories you’re taking in from alcoholic beverages, don’t expect to stay as thin as you were in high school for very long.

10. You and your best friend will make the best roommates.

If you value the friendship you had in high school, do not sign up to room with your bestie.  Maybe if you move into an apartment with two bedrooms, you can make it work, but sharing a single dorm room is hard for most people.  You don’t want it to destroy your friendship.

9. You’ll be able to get drunk every night and still get straight A’s.

I’m not saying you won’t be able to do this.  I’m just saying that you’ll find it very, very difficult.

8. Every class will have a lasting impact on you.

You think they’ll all be fascinating and teach you profound things, but they won’t.  Lots of them will be really hard and annoying.  Lots of them will just be painfully boring.  Once you get done with all your general education requirements, you’ll get to take the more interesting classes, but even some of those will suck.  It largely depends on who’s teaching it.

7. You will get along with all of your instructors.

If you’re lucky, you’ll have a few instructors during the course of your college career who will make a huge impact on you.  Keep in touch with them.  They’re rare and it’s nice to find them.  Most of your other instructors will be grumpy, apathetic, terrible at their job, or just plain mean.

6. Simply sitting in lecture will teach you everything you need to know.

You don’t simply absorb knowledge via osmosis, which means usually showing up to class and doing nothing isn’t enough.  You have to actively listen, take notes, and engage in order to get the full benefit.  Or any benefit.

5. The same effort you exerted in high school will earn you the same grades in college.

If you did absolutely nothing in high school and got all A’s and B’s, expect a major change once you get to college.  The same effort will earn you straight C’s…if you’re lucky.  Generally speaking, the effort you’ll have to put forth in order to maintain a respectable GPA will be much greater than you thought.

4. You and your high school sweetheart will beat the odds and stay together.

You might.  But you probably won’t.

3. You will discover everything you could ever want to know about yourself.

True, college is a time of great self-discovery, but for most people, all that discovery continues long after graduation.  If you still feel confused about “who you are,” try not to worry.  It’s completely normal.

2. You will automatically make lifelong best friends.

Maybe you’ll make one really good friend in college, or maybe you’ll make a bunch.  Maybe you’ll just make a lot of casual acquaintances and familiar classmates.  Again, it’s all normal.  Just like some people describe college as the best time of their life while others don’t really like it, some people make the best friends ever in college and other people don’t.

1. You will be happy all the time.

Everyone feels down sometimes, everyone gets confused and frustrated.  There will be times when you’re sad, lonely, and hopeless, so just know that everyone goes through the same kind of emotional upheaval.  Going to college is the first really big life change that you’re expected to handle largely on your own.  It’d be weird if you didn’t experience some doubt and difficulty.

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