What surprised you about college?

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ceiling_fan

ceiling_fan

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ceiling_fan
What kind of things did you realize when you started college? For example, I realized that the maturity level isn't as high as I expected. Another thing I noticed is a lot of people don't get good grades. I thought this is when you get your crap together.

This can also be a reference for people who haven't gone to college yet
 
• Mid-week pound-a-pint nights are student-loan friendly.
• Floors don't vacuum themselves and clothes are not self cleaning.
• Time suffers from unintentional acceleration (although this is more a side effect of getting older)
• ****-a-fresher week isn't a guarantee.
 
-That I'm paying 20k a year to be there and they still charge you $4.50 an hour to park on site.

-The number of drop outs is staggering. I just finished my first year and I'd guess 40% of the people have dropped out of the course from the beginning. Why bother doing all that work at high-school then?
 
That so many incompetent people could get a Ph.D in order to be a professor, that no matter how stupid you are a fat check from your parents will get you into the college of your choice, and that even though I'm paying stupid amounts of money to go there they find other ways to nickel and dime you.
 
I agree with the maturity part - after going full time they act almost as if they are at school. But, they have mostly grown out of the picking the odd person out type of thing. People just tend to accept each other as the way they are.

Also, I also agree with the grades. This course I'm doing is the highest level my College does, yet students have very poor GCSE results, thus they are constantly getting their coursework returned to correct. They need you to at least get a minimum pass so you're pretty much spoon fed. I thought it was going to be a little better than this since you need good GCSE results to enter the course... but at least they are being forced to go through at least Maths and English GCSE again otherwise they are thrown off the course. But that's about a year to go yet since the GCSE classes last a year!

Part-time is different though, you get a lot of older people. Those classes were a little too quiet, if you know what I mean. It was MUCH different to what I expected in that aspect. Full-time not so much so.
 
The thing that amazed me the most was that I could party all night, drink all day and still do okay in school.

Also, pizza boxes do NOT make good rugs.

All jokes aside, it's pretty normal for people to not do so well during the first semester. Keep that in mind when living alone, and making your own decisions about going out any time and generally being in charge of your own times without any "responsible adults" around.
 
I the biggest surprise I got after my first year of Uni (just finished my lat exam not long ago) was the extremely laid back attitude the staff had. If you didn't want to go there to learn they didn't care, they would juts let you fail the course on your own. Which is why I think the drop out rate was high. Where I am, we had 2 classes studying the same course at the start of the year. By the start of the second semester the two classes were merged due to the lack of numbers, and even then its still a rather small class.

Also, having a bar on campus was a big surprise for me (thanks to hospitality course on my campus for that one 👍)
 
The biggest surprise I got after attengding college for 1 day in Pasadena CA, interior designer, was how easy the lessons are. Most of the things thaught is high school material over here in Belgium. But Belgium is know to have one of the best school in the entire world. Many foreign students come to Belgium.
 
I can't say I was surprised by it, since everyone that came back to visit after a semester said so, but it really is amazing how easy the classes are. And this is as a student of the Honors College, where more than half of my classes not contributing to my major are honors sections. Of course, most of the classes I'm taking right now are graduation requirements, so the university probably wants these classes not to be too overbearing.
 
If you try really hard to solve a math problem, you will get the correct answer rather soon. If you don't try very hard, you'll eventually get the correct answer, albeit a lot slower.

If you try really hard at handing in a good art or design project, you will produce excellent work. If you don't try very hard, unlike the math problem when you would eventually get the solution, this time you simply won't come up with anything and fail.
 
My biggest surprise was actually getting on a course in the first place!
I'd been late in my decisions and so arrived on an open day to see what I could do about getting on a course, leaving my details with the IT department.

I recieved a phonecall one Wednesday in September asking if I would be able to attend which was easy for me, having nothing else to occupy myself with. The only catch was the phonecall was at 2.30pm and the course started at 6pm, the same day.

Finished the course in June and got my final surprise, by getting a Distinction in all 4 sections.
 
The short time I was in school I found it rather kewl that the dorms were boy and girl. Seeing girls walking back to their rooms from the showers was neat. The whole overall experience of college was kickass. I can't wait to be released so I can start back.
 
The maturity level is definitely at a several year deficit. I had never before seen someone put cheese on someone else's ice cream.

It's so fantastically diverse. I'm from Kansas City, and I'm at school in Fargo, ND. I've met a guy from Togo, a guy from Côte d'Ivoire, a girl from Armenia, a girl from Japan, a bunch of people from India, and it's all groovy. I asked the girl from Japan about the mysterious utility wizard, but she didn't know what I was talking about.

I've met more people this past week than I have in the past month.
 
exigeracer
If you try really hard to solve a math problem, you will get the correct answer rather soon.
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You’ve never taken a post-calculus math course, have you? ;)

The thing that surprised me most is how long lectures feel. I could sit in class for 6 hours in high school with no problem, but half an hour of lecture here feels like forever.
 
Speaking as someone who was asked on a Monday afternoon at 5.30 pm to give a lecture on photosynthesis at 9 am the following morning - having not lectured before at that point - I realised that (shock, horror) lecturers often have to teach stuff that they are by no means an expert of.
 
Well, lets see... I'm sure my experience at a private "Catholic" school is a bit different:

  • People don't get around to "growing up" until their Soph/Junior years
  • You are going to disagree with people, a lot
  • Just because you were smart in High School doesn't mean you will be in College
  • Some courses that should be hard are actually quite easy
  • Some courses that should be easy are actually quite difficult
  • Private schoolings biggest advantage is small class sizes
  • Small schools mean you actually get to know your professors really well

Just a few things I've noticed over the past 2.5 years. Its been a good time, and I'm very glad that I decided against Western Michigan University, Grand Valley State and Michigan State.
 
YSSMAN
  • People don't get around to "growing up" until their Soph/Junior years
  • You are going to disagree with people, a lot
  • Just because you were smart in High School doesn't mean you will be in College
  • Some courses that should be hard are actually quite easy
  • Some courses that should be easy are actually quite difficult
  • Private schoolings biggest advantage is small class sizes
  • Small schools mean you actually get to know your professors really well
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Sounds about right. Especially the "I do no work in high school and still get "A"s in all my classes" kid could very well be the "I do all my work and then some and still have less than a 2.5" kid in college. I still feel like I have learned nothing in any class. Bad thing.

The integrals are much harder.

There are a lot of white kids here. Everybody from other parts of the world are all thrown into the dorm next to mine. I guess you could say that my high school's demographics are similar to that hall.

I was surprised by the maturity level. At meals I look around and see half the kids smearing food all over everything. Oh well. It's fun.

Everything is very laid back. It's quite nice.

Girls always talk about how they and there roommates are best friends or they hate each other. Nothing in between.
 
Things I learned 25 years ago in college:
  • Nobody gives a crap if you get out of bed and go to class. They just fail you if you don't, and usually with no warning.
  • You can take a shower every day, but if you don't wash your clothes and sheets at least once a week, you'll still stink.
  • It's harder than you thought to grow a beard, and it doesn't look as good as you think when you do.
  • Some ROTCs are officious twerps, and some are cool.
  • Some hipsters are officious twerps, and some are cool.
  • All the heartbreaking trials and tribulations of your high school social life actually meant doodly-squat.
  • No matter what type of hyper-geekiness you are into, you can find at least 20 people who share your interest in it, and 20 more who share your interest but think you're a complete moron for your opinions on it.
  • Without any racism intended: 63% of all college students, anywhere in the US (except possibly California), are Jewish people from New Jersey who drive a nicer car than you do. 21% are Asians who never talk to anybody except each other. The other 16% are everybody else. In California, the Jewish/Asian populations are probably reversed.
 
philly cheese
There are a lot of white kids here. Everybody from other parts of the world are all thrown into the dorm next to mine. I guess you could say that my high school's demographics are similar to that hall.
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Thats because you're at Hope College. Over at your main rival Calvin, its exactly the same thing.

...If you would have chose Aquinas or Grand Valley, the minority levels would be much higher. At at least with Grand Valley, the hot-chick levels I imagine are ten times that of Hope. That, IMO, is one of the only reasons why I'd still consider going there...
 
YSSMAN
Thats because you're at Hope College. Over at your main rival Calvin, its exactly the same thing.
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I know. I was kind of expecting that. It is Western Michigan, after all.:sly:

At at least with Grand Valley, the hot-chick levels I imagine are ten times that of Hope. That, IMO, is one of the only reasons why I'd still consider going there...
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The hot-chick levels here are about 20 times higher than my high school. I'm not complaining. And nothing is stopping me from hopping in a car with a few friends and going girl-spotting.
 
exigeracer
If you try really hard at handing in a good art or design project, you will produce excellent work.
Click to expand...

Huh!? Whatever... I guess you didn't have a Subjective teacher not to mention a major that was too interested in reputation than actually HELPING every student though their program. :rolleyes:

You could try your ass off all you wanted but if they didn't like you or you're work you wouldn't get any where period... not to mention they'd eventually force you out of the program by not passing you at review.
 
V1P3R
Huh!? Whatever... I guess you didn't have a Subjective teacher not to mention a major that was too interested in reputation than actually HELPING every student though their program. :rolleyes:

You could try your ass off all you wanted but if they didn't like you or you're work you wouldn't get any where period... not to mention they'd eventually force you out of the program by not passing you at review.
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Someone is bitter.

My school is hellbent on reputation, it is the top art school in the country. They just got totally **** on by a national newspaper review in every category except academics, so they're picking up their slack. They still have these glory stories about kids who barely scrape by until thesis, and get picked up right after they step down from the podium with their degree by Disney and are now colour consultants working for a half-mil a year.

It is subjective, but putting in minimal effort simply won't produce any reasonable work. That is my point which you missed.
 
What surprised me about college was how difficult it really was. Math, science, and engineering courses will eat you alive if you're not paying attention. While still in high school, I had heard mixed reviews. Most students said college was easy, while most of my teachers said college was hard. The teachers were right. There are definitely easy courses to take, but even those require a fair bit of work to get an outstanding grade. I worked my ass off in college, but my GPA went from 3.9 in high school to 3.4 at UW. College was worth every second, though 👍.
 
Touring Mars
Speaking as someone who was asked on a Monday afternoon at 5.30 pm to give a lecture on photosynthesis at 9 am the following morning - having not lectured before at that point - I realised that (shock, horror) lecturers often have to teach stuff that they are by no means an expert of.
Click to expand...

Ditto! Although I had a month to learn all about Information Management for MBA Students. Thankfully they gave me the graveyard shift - Friday afternoons - so noone really paid any attention to what I was saying.
 
exigeracer
It is subjective, but putting in minimal effort simply won't produce any reasonable work. That is my point which you missed.
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That's quite obvious and if some doesn't get that from the start they shouldn't be in that field. My point is regardless of if one trying or not they don't have a chance to begin with if the teachers arn't in it for teaching and for the reputation of what that school is producing. WTF are you going to school for?! WTF does one fork over a **** load money, for their health!? To get a Fing career, not to be like American Inventor... :rolleyes:
 
V1P3R
That's quite obvious and if some doesn't get that from the start they shouldn't be in that field. My point is regardless of if one trying or not they don't have a chance to begin with if the teachers arn't in it for teaching and for the reputation of what that school is producing. WTF are you going to school for?! WTF does one fork over a **** load money, for their health!? To get a Fing career, not to be like American Inventor... :rolleyes:
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The dropout rate after first year is so high (half) because they don't realise this when they apply. So many kids in my classes think sailing through will get them somewhere. It won't. It will if you want to solve equations, but no chance in design. It is something that I knew before going in, but only really appreciated when I saw it first-hand. Complacency has no place in any art institution. For that half of the school's first-year students, what I said is the most important thing that their brief months in college taught them.

You have no right blaming the instructors for wasting your money when you've openly admitted that ID wasn't for you in the first place. That is your fault, not your teachers.
 
I didn't say I wasn't... They did. For the record we started with about 50+ people and by the time they "weeded" me out there was only 9 people left. I doubt half of them made it...
 

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