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From an insider view, is college what you expected?

From the massive stadiums at football games with fans rushing the field to Project X style frat party movies, is college what it's made out to be? As a student with aspirations of a Ph. D in Neuroscience, I'll be spending a lot of time through school. What is the social atmosphere like? Can one achieve an internship or research work as a freshman? What is dorm life like? Do you begin to enjoy your roommate more, or begin to not like them? Is living off-campus beneficial in the Sophomore through Senior year? #college #college-admissions #college-bound

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Thank you comment icon I'm a college student majoring in psychology, but I have a tremendous interest in neuroscience. To answer your questions: 1. Frat parties: go if you want to, but be careful of anything you consume and make sure you have a ride home! :) 2. The social atmosphere is much more inclusive and diverse than high school 3. You can definitely have an internship as a freshman, but you'll have to research quite a bit to find it. Most neuroscientists and psychologists would love having an intern 4. I'm sure living on campus is beneficial, but it gets expensive! If you live close by, I recommend driving from home. Vera
Thank you comment icon It's not as glamorous as it's shown in the movies haha. It's like how we saw everything in high school besides actual schoolwork in all those high school movies when we were growing up. It's all dramatized for the Hollywood effect. Social atmosphere: it's what you make of it 95% of the time. Whether you go to a school in a city or small town can have some effect on this, but it's really mostly down to you as an individual. Internships/Research: you could probably get something as a freshman if your academics really stand out and you get in contact with the right people. If there's a certain professor in a department that you know could help you, do your best to try to network with them and get your name out there so they'll notice you Shruti
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Mark’s Answer

Let me ask you a question: from what the movies show, was HIGH SCHOOL what it was made out to be? ;)


College was a time I stressed over and also truly enjoyed (even if it was 30 years ago for my bachelors). And I went to a school with an impressive football team... even if I only went to a few of the games. It is a time in life when you start making your own choices that will impact you for a long time, if not the rest of your life. I saw fellow students with incredible talent fail... simply because they were not interested, and no one was forcing them to go to class anymore. I saw people that didn't have that level of talent show up to class day after day... struggle and get the concepts.. and go on to succeed.


The typical rule of thumb is that for every 1 hour you spend in class, you will spend 2 doing outside study. This means that an 18 hour load (which isn't uncommon) causes you to have 54 hours of work in a week... IF you want to get the full benefit of the class. Which means that if you take it seriously, you are working more than a normal work week on topics that (by definition) you do not have a complete handle on. Lot of work... lot of stress.


How do you deal with it? One way is to reach out to the other people around you doing the same thing. You can find some fantastic people this way... not only because they are interested in the same class as you, but also because (if you listen) you find out about a life that is different from yours that still brought some else to the same place at the same time.


Other (not so health) ways of dealing with stress are "partying" of all the various forms. And that is not a bad thing to have fun, and "blow off" stress. But using a hangover as an excuse to skip class can soon be a downward spiral. There are a lot of paths that do NOT lead to a PhD!


Living on campus vs living off campus is another of those personal questions you have to evaluate. Living in a dorm can be noisy and distracting. I bought headphones, and also studied in libraries and other places. And while it can be noisy, distracting.. and feeling like a "mouse in a concrete box"... you also have someone else cooking, cleaning, and taking care of transportation. Having the guys down the hall getting noisy is annoying.. but so is getting a parking space on most campuses.. or having car trouble when you get up!


Overall... college is a time when you can explore, and make your own decisions. A lot (should) be demanded of you in turn to get your degree. Make sure you know what you want, and that you are doing it for YOU. The most common problem I saw was that people were on campus only because their parents expected them to be there... and they really didn't WANT to be there. Enjoy meeting new people and having new experiences while you learn and grow... and even enjoy the football games if you want. :)
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Aniya’s Answer

Short answer: it depends. To every question you asked.

I'm an out of state student, so my experience is different from an in state student. I had to learn what was normal, what wasn't, where everything was, what the common places were, I had to learn more information than an in state student. However, I really loved my time here. It was quite the adjustment being hours away from home, but it was really nice to see that there were so many people that supported me and helped me transition into a new state. Since I go to a party school, I can go party whenever I want, which also taught me the balance of social and academics. The dorm life wasn't terrible for me (minus the loudness, the smell of weed, and the fire alarm going off five times in one semester, 3 of the times at 2 am...), and I was allowed to select my roommate, who I love to death. Your experience is what you make of it, so enjoy it while you can!
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