The expectations from college life vary among young people based on what they crave. Moving away from parents, having fun, finally studying what they need and want to, or not studying at all, meeting new friends, or getting away from the old life are just the tip of the iceberg. 

Which things are realistic, though, and what should one be prepared for? Here are the top 8 misconceptions future students might have about college life and what they actually have to deal with.

All the Subjects Are Relevant

Compared to high school, college curricula are definitely more refined and relevant to the area where you would like to build your career. Still, it does not guarantee that all the subjects are exciting and useful. Had it been true, academic writing services wouldn’t thrive. 

Numerous students order custom writing at EssayPro simply because some subjects demand quite a lot of time while giving little to no information one might take advantage of. That is why you should be prepared that in some subjects, all you need to concentrate on is how to earn as many points as you can without sweating it. It works the other way, too: some subjects you will consider the most important may not actually contribute a lot to your development.

All the Material Is Relevant

Even if it is your major subject, it does not mean all the modules will be informative and helpful. First of all, we live in an era when the tech industry redefines core principles of other areas of development. It means that some details may no longer be relevant to the real world by the time you graduate. 

Second, your class might simply have no luck when being assigned a teacher or professor. So, in the end, you will be on your own to dig up the material and sources that will benefit you. 

Third, when teachers ask students to write a paper or an essay, they often provide them with too many instructions one can barely wrap their head around. So, filtering guidelines and theory is one of the most crucial skills to master. 

Prestigious or Fancy Institution Means Good Education and Success

Your college of choice may look gorgeous, have an amazing gym, be compared to the main Google office, be popular among students, or be ranked in every list of best learning institutions.

All of that stuff does not guarantee that you will start getting hunted by recruiters as soon as you graduate. Neither does it mean the quality of your education will be high or that you will enjoy every single moment of your course.

Finally, college is not high school. It is in students’ interests to make it to the end and become a graduate who is ready to build their adult life. So, whether you enter Dartmouth or a community college, it is always up to you who you will become: a slacker on the verge of getting expelled or a pupil following their aspirations.

It Is a Life-Changing Experience

Well, yes, but also no. Indeed, college gives a lot of opportunities to experience new ways of communicating with people and gaining knowledge that may define your future. Yet, everything depends on how open you are to the changes and what kind of those you are ready to face. 

The thing is, if one is willing to accept only positive changes, there is a chance that they will become quite reserved after the very first failure, like miscommunication or a poor grade. Some students may struggle till the very graduation and remember their college years as torture, but in the end, they see some advantages of what they went through. However, nothing will change for good if one simply drops out because college feels nothing like fun and freedom, and there is a mean teacher or classmate.

After Choosing Your Study Course, There Is No Way Back

Well, yeah, no one will give you back those years when you used to think you definitely wanted to become a marketing specialist. Yes, if you change your course, you may become a freshman again after being so close to getting a diploma. But there are also other options, like passing several subjects absent from your curriculum during the first two years and getting an opportunity to proceed with your education as a third-year student. 

In addition, one might feel that it is easier to finish the degree and only after that, start another course, such as a TEFL online course. However, there is a probability of:

• getting tired of unending classes
• receiving a qualification, you do not want to deal with 
• ending up with no motivation to move further and trying to find a job relevant to your degree (which usually means “the job you hate”).

You Pay – You Rule

Whether you pay for education or not, you are totally eligible to make a complaint when, for instance, your professor breaches the ethics code of the institution, but that might not occur quite often. Instead, there will be difficult teachers and professors who will drive you mad because your assignments are not perfect. There will be sticklers sending your papers for revision because of wrong punctuation in referencing.

All of that is natural and not a reason for waking snakes telling everyone around that you have paid money for the education services and must not obey the rules.

You must clear your head from time to time and ask yourself whether those things matter anything to you. Yes, your referencing is not perfect, but is it really a reason to decline your paper? Nope, your teacher just wants you to grasp every detail of their subject, even if those details are mostly useless. Or, maybe, they are just mean, but can you change that person?

If you are not interested in the extra points for that referencing, just let it go and submit the paper as it is. If it is more important for you to get approval from your professor, do as they wish. The point is that these people will teach you numerous lessons. Some of those concern your area of expertise, and some concern your life. Learn as many of them as you can and work on how to respond to such challenges without wearing yourself out.

It’s All About Partying

Yes, not a single movie or series about students goes without a party, but it does not mean that is all students do. It is just that no one would be excited to watch a 90-minute movie that mainly depicts young people who either have sleepless nights drudging at a long philosophy essay or procrastinate all day long lying on their beds.

Typically, it’s 90% about studies, hard work, written assignments, lectures, and trying to sleep, and 10% of free time, which includes parties or actually sleeping more. And that is the case for those who do not have a job, kids, or personal issues standing in the way. So, yeah, parties might occur quite often, but no one gets to attend all of them unless they want to become a dropout.

Living In a College Dorm Equals Freedom

For some freshmen, a dorm can be an even more complex place than home. First of all, you become responsible for your life. This might not be as limiting as parental care, but still, it requires discipline and overcoming carelessness. Second, at home, you might have your own room or share one with someone you know well. At a dorm, there are high chances that you will live with a total stranger, which means limitations and absence of personal space.

Final Word

So, what are college years like? In one word – unpredictable. So is life itself. After reading this article, one might think that college is not worth it since there are no guarantees you will get what you want, but that is not true. As mentioned before, successful college years are mainly a matter of luck and determination. So, try to do your best and good luck!