In high school, I definitely had an idea what college would be like. I knew it would be very different living on my own and having to take care of myself and study more and all the other typical clichés you hear from your parents, but there are a few things I certainly did not realize until I became well immersed into the college life myself.
1. Spending Money on Coffee Adds Up Quick
If you like drinking coffee but also like having extra money on hand, then you are out of luck. Spending money on coffee every day quickly adds up. While before college, your parents may have purchased your coffee, or you had a machine to make your own before school every morning, in your first experience with college, chances are this is not the instance. The best solutions for this is to get a coffee maker for your room. Keurigs are increasingly popular if you just want one cup, but if you get paper filters or a reusable filter basket a standard coffee maker is just as practical for those who need more to get them through the day. If you prefer your coffee cold like me there are cold brew coffee pitchers that you can get for about twenty dollars that help make delicious cold brew coffee that you can store in your fridge.
2. Dining Halls are Just as Dangerous as they are Convenient
Everyone has heard of the dreaded "Freshman Fifteen." This refers to the amount of weight you might gain during freshman year from new eating habits. Dining halls are a great place to take a break from class and catch up with some friends over food, but the fact that you can eat as much as you want for as long as you want with the swipe of your ID card makes the "Freshman Fifteen" closer to reality for many people. Furthermore, for people who have never dealt with a similar stress toll from college before, eating the stress away is an easy alternative. Try to find better coping mechanisms and take advantage of your college gym if you have one to release stress.
3. Most of High School is Meant to Stay in High School
After high school, you are certainly going to miss your high school friends. Unfortunately, many of your friendships might dwindle away as you and your high school pals become busy with different school activities in perhaps completely different parts of the country - or even world. This may seem upsetting, but it is completely natural. Your true high school friends will keep in touch with you regularly and while you will not be able to see your best friends as often, it makes the time you spend together over breaks more meaningful sharing stories from your different experiences. As far as high school drama goes, staying out of it after high school is definitely the move to make. While you might want to know what is going on with people you went to school with, if you are not keeping up with them as a good friend, then chances are you have no reason to actually care about what is going on and you have better things to focus on. One thing you might not even think about when it comes to different things staying in high school is that some accomplishments may also have to stay behind. Honor Society and superb grades in high school are awesome achievements at the time of getting them, but they will not mean as much once you are enrolled in higher learning. There is no need to fear because you will make new achievements that will be put on your resume and last a lifetime.
4. It is Far More Difficult Than You May Think
For lots of college students, high school came easy to them. Maybe too easy. Unfortunately for the same lot of college students, their new higher level classes will not come as easy at all. Even classes similar to AP classes in high school are far more difficult than their high school advanced placement counterparts. Class is not the only thing that is more difficult than one might think. The thought of living away from your family with fewer rules sounds radical at first, but upon moving into your new lifestyle, homesickness and loss of what to do can easily take over your mind. Again, this is completely natural and with all due time you will find a routine and new friends and these thoughts will invade your head far less and less frequently.
5. Prioritizing May Lead to Some Sacrificing
Extracurriculars are a large part of most high schoolers experience. Hopefully, your high school had at least one or two things you found interesting and got involved in. Colleges also have a lot of student organizations and clubs for students to get involved in, most of which have high school counterparts, but also tons that are unique to college life. Night classes often make certain clubs unable to be attended and having more homework and studying than you have ever been used to definitely takes up a lot of time. Because of these factors, it is unlikely you will be able to keep up with all of your favorite high school activities or at the very least you might have to give up keeping up to date with a TV show or two but having a select couple college activities that you are passionate about and involved in is all it takes to make your time irreplaceable.
6. Networking is Incredibly Important
Grades are going to be important for finding your first job after college, but what many employers find even more important is prior experience. Due to this, having a hand in an internship or research throughout your time in college is a major plus. Yet, this also means that opportunities are slimmer as there are many people competing for them and schedules are hard to work around. Networking helps with this conundrum. Who you know can turn into what you do. Take the time to talk to professors and go to office hours even if you only have a small question. Talking to professors can help you get involved in research either with them or their colleagues they recommend you to. Furthermore, it is always handy to have a letter of recommendation from a professor to attach to a job application. Talk to other staff as well. Talk to everyone for crying out loud. Most people at the very least are pleasant to converse with and if you are looking for job opportunities, someone you befriend may know someone who can help you out!
7. Friends are Family
In college, your blood relatives are not by your side. You have your classmates, the people living in the same building as you, and students involved in the same clubs as you with you the most. It is guaranteed, if you try to befriend these people, they will befriend you too. Everyone is looking for more people to hang out with in college and whether you want to believe it or not, most of the other students are really nice and awesome to at least talk to. Once you find your close friends or groups of friends, these people become your go to people in life. Your new rocks when you are down. Your new hangout spot when you are lonely. Your new source of fun when you are bored. Four years is a long time to spend with someone you have just met, but although I am only halfway done, I cannot bear thought of when I graduate and I no longer have my incredible college friends by my side all of the time.
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