Would we all have to join a sorority to experience the social scene in our school? Chug on beers every Thursday night because it’s Thirsty Thursday? Study hard at the library until 5 in the morning?
Growing up, we all had common misconceptions about college life. With all the movie and Internet portrayals we exposed ourselves to regularly, we might realize that it created such a false conceptions about college. As an incoming freshman this fall, the idea of going to college can be a horror story. Imagining yourself being awkward and not following the ‘norms’ can be quite scary. These are the six common misconceptions that first-year college students had when entering freshman year:
1. Making friends is hard
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, nationwide, 73% of students attend their state schools. So, you’ll be able to see similar faces around your college, and maybe they even went to your high school! As an out-of-state student, it is the time to get out of your comfort zone and take initiation to socialize. It is not hard as long as you put yourself out there such as by joining clubs and events that you are most interested in. From there, you’ll be able to expand your connections and have fun.
2. You will get along with all of your roommates
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“Any red flags? Uh she snoozes her alarm seven times this morning” said Amanda D, UW ’20. Have you heard the phrase, “you can’t please everyone, you are not Nutella”? It is true you can win a roommate lottery but frequently you will not and that is okay. You can’t please everybody in the room, we all live in different realities, and everyone wants to be the main character. It might also be a bad fit because their sleeping or studying habits is different from you, or a completely opposite personality. Not all your roommates will be your best friends.
3. You’ll have to participate in hookup culture
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Thinking about college and sex, we might fall into thinking that college students must be hyperactive on their sexual activity. Not so much true, according to Cosmopolitan and New York Magazine. They partnered up with SurveyMonkey to conduct research with 700 college students, revealing 39 percent of students were virgins.“It is different than my culture because, in my culture, we do not encourage that behavior,” said Afia T, UW ’20. Some people are not scared of this anymore because you don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to. Consent is necessary, ladies!
4. You will spend your time mostly at the library
If you want to, you can, but you don’t need to! “Most of the time I would make a study group with my closest friends and go to the café to do some studying” Muhammad Rezuna, UWB’20. You can do your studying much faster and more exciting! Study buddies are good for you and help keep you accountable.
5. You have to join college parties to fit in
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“I don’t like to go to the college parties. The music is too loud. I prefer meeting people from outside the party. I found it that you can bond a little more when you meet them in class or club” Justin N, Harvard’18. College have a different kind of people, even when you found some of the group is into partying, you can also see some of them are not into it because of different reasons. Some put their self out there, but their expectations are not met, “College parties are not as fun as the ones in the movies. There’s nothing much to do, sometimes it is just about guys creeping you out while you are dancing and having fun with your girlfriends,” says Amanda S, UW ’20. Going to parties is up to you; you might love or hate them depending on your personality. “I enjoy attending them,” says David K, Cornell ’20. Feel less pressured now? In college, we now know we can hang with any group, and that is entirely okay. We start noticing our preferences, but stay open-minded.
6. You have to know what major you want to do
“I am the most blank person in the room if we are talking choosing a major,” said Ashanti T, Penn State’20. Some of the guidance counselors will encourage you to take a pre-major program which allows you to take general classes, giving you more time to decide your major. So, you do not have to worry which major to choose because you still got the time to explore. It is sometimes better to not decide which major you want to take because if you don’t like what you are doing, you will end up taking completely different route and repeating the whole cycle all over again. It also fine to switch your major, in the end, you would love to do what you want to do.
College is not always all about hard classes, sex, drugs and rock and roll after all.