How's your college life?

[lazuli]

As of my case (and the others here in my country) I think I'm quite young to be a college student. I mean, I'm 17 and I'm in second year, my course takes for four years and after that I work... But if it's not really too young for you, well I guess I feel very young for this.

I live in the province and my school's in the city so I kind of moved into a dormitory (not a school dorm, unfortunately) with working people and students from other schools. I could say that freedom is so cool, and independence, but I rather miss my home. I MISS MY MOTHER'S COOKING! Aww. You have to eat fast food because there are no decent meals on the vicinity but these classy restos and I just have to budget a monthly allowance...

School's very near so I just have to walk. Fortunately, it's not too tiring to roam in the whole campus. However, we are jointed to a hospital (for medicine-related courses), a general hospital to add, and it's really hard to look at those people lining up for their businesses (not that I hate them, but because you see reality), sad faces, worn out expressions...

My university is a bit activist, or should I say they promote activism... meh. Anyway, I never join rallies but I sympathize with their ideals. I have orgs as well, I managed to join a Japanese-oriented group this year and it's going cool, I also got to join our "course org", which were mainly for Computer Science majors. And to add that I have my Internet life, forums to attend, and now I'm making a visual novel.

I think this would be the wisest thing I'm saying here, but it is damn hard to be known as a 'university icon' or to rephrase, popular in your school. Well besides protesting and those activism activities, there is really no other way to become popular (oh, include being handsome/beautiful/model-like, being member of your <<sports name here>> varsity team, make a scandal, win a quiz bee which are rare in colleges -- which were really commonplace) and that if ever you think you are, take some second thoughts: not everyone knows that. Even our school, which boasts of its fame as an education institution is not really known widely, not even to the city cab drivers you happen to ask to take you to school. From here, I learned that society is indeed big. Maybe I know how to code programs and make games and stuff, but who would appreciate them? Only market supervisors/corporate clients and rich gamers, it does not even reach 40% of the whole market target. (uh, talk about future, I guess.) Anyway, it just means that in college people may pay attention to all the latest, but in the end they sort these facts and make use of what's related to them. In college, you need to center your focus on your studies... and if it becomes worse... just focus and focus only on it.

Professors, whoever they are, are professors. I really can't accept the fact that some lazy professors or those that seemed to never mind showing up ever existed, but they are still professors. I met a couple of them who would never come to class, and it goes like forever, but when he distributes the exams it's more like taking an advanced placement exam rather than an evaluation. I overly hate demanding professors, like how I do now. I'm supposed to pass a lot of papers that have nothing to do with my majors. Anyway, they're all part of the struggle.

About the dorms again... well, it's hard to look for affordable places, whereas this theory
price = comfort
And I got quite a good place, no scratch that. I got a place. Haha. We are four girls in a room, two double-deck beds and I sleep at the top, we have our own bathroom like the rest of the other rooms... It's quite embarrassing because I sleep wildly, I mean squirming, too much toss and turns, I think my roommate gets pissed off in the middle of the night.
And speaking of nighttime, I'm quite the nocturnal type, so I can say I could chat with someone living in Europe or America in their lunch breaks. Most of us in the room do sleep past midnight, especially on exam days, but I prefer staying up until the next waking hour. I was introduced to a new friend here - COFFEE and we're kind of best friends already. And my old friend, the SWEETS, never put me down. Ha-ha.

I never speak to my roommates. I don't know why, but we are all silent when we're all in. I used to have a roommate in the same course as mine, but she moved out last month so it's kinda sad. No one helps me in the projects now. X_X
//I'm starting to think that these things I'm saying might not help, because i just remembered I am not that sociable.

However, it's pretty good since I can focus myself to studying rather than chatting with my roommate. Oh, forget that. There's still the Internet. It's kind of tempting to surf rather than study.
And as I said, I'm not sociable, thus I do not attend parties. But I attend several occasions like concerts, dance concerts, required films and musicals... I'm more of the house mouse and I enjoy sitting all day in front of my laptop. It's better than walking alongside the polluted driveway and worrying that a pervert/thief would sneak and tail you when you come back to the dorms at night. Yeah. Theft is very common outside the university, sometimes it occurs inside, though I don't care at all. (They won't get anything from me)

Boring lectures bore your head to sleep. Haha. I do that a lot when the professor I hate does the lectures. I do not attend review sessions though, as I believe that it would be the same boring lecture and no other lecturer would mind expounding on it. And BOOKS! I'm not a bookworm, but I like owning books. I see them as collectibles. Nah, but I got these really cool university books that you could swear were telephone directories compiled by decades... they're so amazing! I'm a writer, so I kind of envious to these authors. Such respect and worship must be paid for them, even to the textbook writers. And take note, a midterms exam is indeed half of the assigned book for that subject! (on the professor's discretion, at least)

Gah. You do that for everyday in five months! I really salute the ones who already survived this. I hope I can make it through!


//Hope the idea helped...

[Twisted-Eva]

While I can say "ditto" to the other members who already covered most of what college is like, there are some details like these:
- Most clubs tend to start as early as 4 p.m at my university
-Being a commuter almost means a person only drives to school, study, and then go home if there aren't any events or his/her friends are busy.
-One of the most frustrating things about being a commuter in my opinion is that in my school's quarter system, I have to practically reset my group of acquaintances to talk to because I see and talk to them for 10 weeks and then -bam- have to start all over. It's a different story if the commuter decides to make an effort to maintain connection for general ed classes, but it gets a little bit difficult when the commuter student goes into upper-division courses specified for his/her major. Of course, this isn't something to worry about if the person makes an effort to stay in communication.
-One of the most annoying things in my university is how I have to put up with dealing with people in general who either advertise their organizations or solicit something else. Maybe it's just me and I don't like to deal with people who will pick me off the path and ask to support an environmental cause, join a co-ed fraternity/female sorority, or donate to an orphan-related cause that some organization I've never heard of.
-One benefit my university has is how the university has a campus safety escort system where you can ask in person or call for an escort to walk you to wherever seems too far and dangerous to walk by yourself at night.

[azureXtwilight]

COLLEGE!

It depends on your college....

I go to med school, and basically we are divided into group consists of ten people who actually spends time together for one year and then gets assembled to different groups again. *rambles*

Okay, aside of that....

1. No one really cares, even if you fail, there is no competition. EVERYONE THINKS OF THEMSELVES.
2. No bullying, haha, see first reason.
3. I am totally busy! There is a lecture, and the practical works, and skills lab... which ends at 5 p.m, well, not always since all the schedules changes every freaking day, so when we come and when we return from college is never the same each day XD
4. In med school, you have tests every practical works, that means every freaking day, which makes us look like nerds 'cause we need to learn every day XD
5. NO PUNISHMENT WHEN YOU SKIP! Except that you're not allowed to go through tests and must undergo next year.
6. Also, international students live on uni dorms for their first year.
LIVING IN DORMS MEANS... junk food and late-night sleeps, also... also... Going to yer friend's at night if you need something

[otomegirl24]

Well, like Azure said before, it depends on whether you're going to be living on campus at a university or attending a community college like myself. My first year of college after I graduated from high schoo, I attended a four year university and experienced the dorm life which can get a little pricy if you're paying out of pocket obviously along with food, books, tuition, etc. I didn't do a lot my first year, mostly just focused on taking my general education courses such as Math and English and hung out with friends off campus once in a while. I wasn't really into the clubbing scene, but I did actually go once or twice which was an interesting experience.

Class wise, it's important to realize that if you're living away from home, you don't have your parents to constantly nag you to do your homework or wake you up for school. Sometimes you'll have teachers that won't remind you constantly of what homework or project is due, they'll tell you once and expect you to keep track of what's going on by keeping a planner or calender for important dates. This helps you become more independent. You have the choice to wake up early and go to class, or skip and go hang out with friends and blow off studying.

I'm currently attending a community college and it actually kind of feels like high school, but it kind of doesn't at the same time. For one, I use lockers to keep my stuff in like I was doing in high school, but I'm not taking regular courses you're expected to take at a high school such as History or Science. It really all depends on your major and what year of college you're in as well.

Since I've finished my first year, I can focus on classes that aren't general education classes. A Community College also has activities to do on campus along with clubs, but sometimes they don't offer as much as a four year university. So basically, it depends on what type of college you plan on going to in the future.