College is a new, difficult world to navigate. Students are just dropped off in a new city, with people they don’t know, for the first time on their own and are just expected to figure it out. Even the best high school students have trouble transitioning to college. It is not just about the school work, it is the overall living experience as a whole. It takes a toll on you physically and mentally. Nonetheless, college courses require double the study time high school courses require, and that jumps on you quick.
Day’s at college are packed with as much as possible. Classes, clubs, sports, work, and other activities on top of homework, studying and having a social life. Some students struggle to find time to workout and eat healthy. This leads to overall less happy students. When you are not happy with yourself, no matter how smart you may be, you are not going to do well.
Freshmen year, it is filled with plenty of lows, but they are not really lows, rather they are learning curves. When you enter sophomore year you for the most part, have it figured out. Students tend to be way less happy, and overall unhappy with the university they have chosen by this time.
The schools do more to help gain more prospective students attention and get money from alumni than help out students that already attend the school. College is just like a corporation in a way. Just trying to get enough money to profit off of and then move onto the next round of kids.
Are our students happy? Why did the students who transferred leave? What can we do better? These questions are never asked. We get surveys about what housing we want the following year and what meal plan we will buy, and nothing about if we are happy.
Mental health has been made aware more and more lately. The issues are out there, what are these schools doing to help students in need?
Athletes are given awful practice times either early in the morning or late at night so the school can rent out our facilities to outside sources like travel teams and high schools. Another thing to lessen the experience of those students already here in order to make a quick buck.
All in all, people say college is what you make of it, I am steering away from that belief. Yes, you can make the best of the shitty environment you are in, but if you are not provided with things you may need you will not be happy.