Congratulations! You’re almost through with your first year of college. You’ve gotten used to your newfound independence—along with being homesick. You’ve created fun memories with your new friends, or you may not even remember some of those fun memories (you party animal!) There are many college stereotypes that we hear and see all the time; college students are big partiers, the stress of exams are almost too overbearing, all-nighters are pulled way too many times, the list can go on and on. There are a lot of things you’ve got to experience during your first year away at college, and some of those experiences may have lived up to your expectations…or not. While we’ve all seen those funny expectations vs. reality memes on Instagram and Twitter, Her Campus Texas A&M decided to get a little more perspective on the subject. We sat down with freshman business major, Emslie Fumic, who tells us whether or not her expectations lived up to the hype.
On her social life, Emslie reveals that the reality didn’t necessarily live up to her expectations. “I thought I was always going to be doing something socially,” she said. “I thought it was going to be go go go, but actually I appreciate my alone time and chill time. I did not expect that!”
She also mentioned what college students are known for—parties. “I thought there would be a lot of parties. That’s what people always talk about in college, but that’s not really me so I wasn’t really into that. I thought there was always going to be a party to go to but—here I am!” she laughs.
Academically, Emslie was prepared for the worst. “I thought I would be studying all the time. Now, I’m pleasantly surprised that my classes are better than expected, work wise.”
When it comes to the subject of adjusting, a topic many seem to shed positive light on, Emslie wasn’t afraid to be honest. “I knew I’d miss my family, but I didn’t know how much. I feel like I’m still adjusting even though it’s the end of the first semester.”
Emslie also recalls a crucial moment of realization. “You don’t know how much you need to change until you move out, because you hear so much from others about how you need to ‘appreciate what you have now’ and you’re like, ‘yeah okay.’ Now it’s like, ‘do it, move out and be on your own during this time.'”
As great as college may be, a lot of overstating is done when talking about what it’s actually like to attend a university away from home. Some of those exaggerations may be only that—exaggerations. However, other expectations may actually live up to what you’ve hoped.