What surprised you about college?

[Wolfe]

I haven't actually reached "real" college yet (currently attending Madison Area Technical College, which has a transfer program into the UW), but my observations so far have been similar to some of the ones here.

- Many of my classmates are still just as incomprehensibly dense as in high school.

- Most of the classes are still just as sleep-inducing and worthless as in high school.

- If you're sharp enough to get an A in a class, you're probably capable of getting it effortlessly (little to no studying, completely ignoring homework in classes that don't require it to be turned in, etc.).

- Scheduling all of your classes for the afternoon/evening matches very well with a male-in-early-20s sleep schedule (~4am - ~12pm).

The UW could very well be much, much more difficult, but I'm not as anxious about it as I was in high school.

 

[Blake]

- Many of my classmates are still just as incomprehensibly dense as in high school.

- Most of the classes are still just as sleep-inducing and worthless as in high school.

- If you're sharp enough to get an A in a class, you're probably capable of getting it effortlessly (little to no studying, completely ignoring homework in classes that don't require it to be turned in, etc.).

Exact same experiences I have had with TAFE.

 

[ceiling_fan]

Okay, it's been a few months since I made this thread, let's see what was surprisingly true for me.

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.

A huuuge nod here. I seriously could not believe my 12 hour class today was actually only 3 hours. It's incredible. It's also what reminded me about this thread.

Some courses that should be hard are actually quite easy.

Some courses that should be easy are actually quite difficult.

Indeed. I think college teachers have more freedom with the curriculum.

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.

I thought I understood this when I first read it, but seeing a few classmates get flunked (and being surprised because of it) was definitely unexpected. Of course looking back it makes sense..

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.

👍 Especially at a college where Game Art & Design is major.

It's harder than you thought to grow a beard, and it doesn't look as good as you think when you do.

Probably true though...

- Most of the classes are still just as sleep-inducing and worthless as in high school.

Replace most with many and I would agree.

- Scheduling all of your classes for the afternoon/evening matches very well with a male-in-early-20s sleep schedule (~4am - ~12pm).

Amen! My schedule is from 4PM to midnight. 👍

I think this thread can be very useful to future college attendees. And a site note, everything about cleanliness and hygiene mentioned in this thread is true, but I went to a boarding high school so I already knew that.

 

[Giancarlo]

It's not as hard as high school teachers had made it out to be, and you have a lot more free time when compared to high school.

In high school, people usually do ~33 hours of class a week? In college, with full-time at 16 credits, i'm only doing ~13 hours a week. It's insane.

 

[ceiling_fan]

It's not as hard as high school teachers had made it out to be, and you have a lot more free time when compared to high school.

In high school, people usually do ~33 hours of class a week? In college, with full-time at 16 credits, i'm only doing ~13 hours a week. It's insane.

Less class time = more homework time (for me anyway)

 

[Kylehnat]

Less class time = more homework time (for me anyway)

Bingo. The amount of outside work you're expected to do in college is insane. You're not forced to do any of it, though. Proceed at your own peril .

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

In high school, people usually do ~33 hours of class a week? In college, with full-time at 16 credits, i'm only doing ~13 hours a week. It's insane.

High school had all that unnecessary junk like resource and a 40 minute lunch period. Who eats takes 40 minutes to eat lunch. I kept on thinking about how I could've had that time to get more sleep or to get out earlier. But now it still balances out for me since I spent about as much time commuting as in class.

I have found that for lecture/discussion classes, usually either the lecture or discussion is mostly useless.

 

[High-Test]

High school had all that unnecessary junk like resource and a 40 minute lunch period. Who eats takes 40 minutes to eat lunch. I kept on thinking about how I could've had that time to get more sleep or to get out earlier. But now it still balances out for me since I spent about as much time commuting as in class.

I have found that for lecture/discussion classes, usually either the lecture or discussion is mostly useless.

40... Minutes!? What kind of school did you go to? I had 25 minutes.. ten of which was spent in the lunch line.

I'm surprised that several people in my wing of the dorm floor I'm on can pull off above 3.0, but the wing average is 2.3.

 

[McLaren]

Teachers are laid back.
Freshmen like to party because they feel they're free of everything.
Do your work, you'll do fine. Don't, and you'll fall behind in just 1 class period.

 

[Gen.]

I don't know about American Universities but I sure like South Harmon Institute of Technology.

 

[HKS T51R]

How much the people suck...that's my school for you

 

[Omnis]

The biggest surprise I've had is how difficult maintaining 4 or more classes can be, and how easy 3 or fewer classes can be.

 

[tait]

Girls left their morals somewhere, because they're not at school.