College can seem like a strange land shrouded in mystery and all of the random rumors floating around about it don’t help at all. Will you be expected to do crystal meth? Will you still talk to your hometown friends every day? Probably not. Read on for a breakdown of five common misconceptions of college life.
- Your professors will be extremely harsh and hostile.
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A common myth parroted by many high school teachers is that your college professors will be intimidating, stone-cold academic powerhouses who eat small freshmen like you for breakfast and won’t tolerate any of the B.S. that you got away with in high school. In fact, this is almost never true. While the content of most of your classes will be much harder than anything you learned in high school, many professors are much more lenient with their methods than high school teachers are. My past instructors have implemented policies like test and quiz drops, assignment grace periods, and even allowed open book tests—which none of my teachers in high school did. Most of them have preferred being called by their first names, with one even insisting, “do NOT call me ‘Professor.’”
- You’ll never have to take math again.
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It’s true that you can tailor your college coursework to fit your interests and strengths and, in doing so, dodge subjects you don’t like. But unfortunately, math is usually not avoidable. Many science and engineering majors require you to take multiple math-heavy classes like calculus and linear algebra, and the “soft sciences” (i.e. psychology and sociology) almost always have some sort of statistics requirement. Even some humanities subjects like linguistics and philosophy involve taking some sort of formal reasoning course akin to mathematics like semantics or logic. However, even if your major is completely free of math, your school will usually require you to take courses in a wide range of subjects for general education credit—which nearly always includes math.
- College is one non-stop party.
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Ah, yes, frat houses, red solo cups, scantily clad girls—all marks of the ever-present party depicted in nearly every college movie out there. However, recent college students seem to party less than movies like Neighbors or 22 Jump Street would suggest. A 2014 UCLA study found that 41 percent of first-year college students do not party at all, while only 9 percent spend 6 or more hours a week partying. In my experience at UCSC, you can find parties if you seek them out, but they’re just as easily avoided. (Besides, you still need to do your homework.)
- You always have to be besties with your roommates.
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It feels like every college-related piece of advice stresses the importance of being close friends with your roommate(s). And for good reason—they’re often the first people at college you interact with, and it’s always great to have a friend who you literally live with. But despite the best efforts of the roommate sorting algorithms, your relationship with your roommate(s) may start off or even stay awkward. And that’s fine—as long as you’re able to live together without any conflicts, being super close with your roommate(s) isn’t a necessity.
- 8 a.m. classes will be a piece of cake.
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But why? you think. Everything will be OK because you started class at 8 a.m. every day in high school, right? Honestly, no. Maybe it’s something about the workload or the faster pace of classes, but unless you are the biggest morning person ever, 8 a.m. classes will always be moderately to severely painful. Speaking as a person with an 8 a.m. class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, it’s nice to have extra time in the day to get things done, but I’m always burning the candle at both ends. Granted, the class is very rewarding, but I’ll be glad when I don’t have to wake up early all the time.
And there you have it—good luck, reader!