1. Exams
Coming from someone who went to a high school that did not believe in testing, I can tell you first hand that exams are super hard. You can study as much as you want, but then it can become an issue about second guessing yourself or filling in an answer with one decimal place off, etc. There is so much room for error in an exam and getting the precise answer that your professor wants can be a huge ordeal. Not to mention studying is one of the biggest burdens I can think of...
2. Competition
College is definitely the place for competition, which makes everything ten times harder. Yes, a bit of healthy competition builds character here and there, but the constant struggle of trying to get the best grades or feeling like you need to try too hard can be daunting. College is a place where everyone comes together to learn, create, and grow, but a lot of people are trying to get into special programs or acquire unique certificates that it is hard to remain on top.
3. Pop Quizzes
I have had more pop quizzes in the first half of my first semester than I have in my entire educational career. It shows how much you have been keeping up with the material and how far you have come along, but if you just have a day where you don't understand the material, it can seriously mess up your grade. Pop quizzes are tough because they are just unexpected—you can study as much as you want, but sometimes they just hit you too hard and you don't do well. For me, that's the scariest part.
4. Balancing Life
One of the hardest things about being in college is your required ability to juggle all of your social, work, school, and personal commitments. If you're playing sports, waking up early to go to work, trying to spend time with friends, and still have time left over to complete schoolwork, you are doing a spectacular job. In school, you really have a chance to find where your priorities lie and understand what really matters to you. Once you find a balance between your different commitments, it will be much easier for you to keep your head screwed on.
5. Staying Healthy
Much like balancing commitments, it's hard to stay healthy in college. Time is precious, and if you have a paper due soon, it is much easier to forget to take care of yourself. There are nights when you're so tired that you just pass out in bed, forget to take your vitamins, or don't eat. It's difficult to find time for yourself when you barely have time for other things, but taking care of yourself is the single most important thing to worry about. If you can't take care of yourself first, then you won't be able to take care of anything or anyone else.
6. Thinking About the Future
It's honestly so tough when you have to think so much into the future when so much is going on in the present. Final exam week is coming up and you want to focus on studying and getting prepared, but at the same time, all of your friends and relatives are asking you what you want to do with your life. Answering questions and thinking about your future is a great idea, but it's almost impossible to think about the future when there are so many commitments nagging you. This is when you think, "Can everything just slow down for a second so I can catch a breath?!"
7. You Miss Everyone and Everything
Being homesick is awful and there's not much you can do to combat it. Sure, care packages and video calls are nice, but it's nothing like hugging your family and kissing your dog on the nose. On top of all the college stress, it sucks to miss everything about home.
8. Privacy
In a residence hall, you never seem to get an ounce of privacy. Although I love talking to people, laughing with others, and engaging in my community, quiet alone time is definitely missed. It's the time when you could just lay in your bed and not hear any noise, just focus on your breathing and take a break from the world for a second.
9. Papers
It's the moment that it seems all of high school and middle school warned you about—writing multiple page papers, lab reports, and length research papers. It gives you a lot of experience, I'm sure, it's just the tedious task of banging out a paper.
10. Judged
Although no one should judge you, it seems almost impossible to avoid it in college. Everyone is always examining your every move, grading you on everything that you produce, and trying to understand everything that you raise your hand to say in class. Sometimes, I'm not on the ball. No one can be perfect, but in college, it's almost expected.
