1. You don’t have to spend all day in school.

For most of your education before college, going to school meant spending anywhere from six to eight hours at a desk listening to teachers or doing school work, but college is completely different. Classes might be a little bit longer (labs can be up to three hours), but you only have class two or three times a week at the most. While this means that you spend a lot less time in class, it doesn’t mean that you have any less work to do. As a college student, it’s up to you to manage your time and get all of your work done outside of class.

2. You control your own schedule.

Often times when you were in middle school or high school, with the exception of one or two electives, you had almost no control over what classes you took or when you took them. But in college the options are endless and everyone seems to be doing something different, so you get to choose what classes you want to take and what you want to learn about. With the less rigid class schedule that college offers, it also means that it’s easier to work-in things like work or whatever other commitments you might have outside of school.

3. You are surrounded by friends.

This is especially true if you live on campus or in a college town. If you live in a dorm for the first time, you are surrounded by people that are about the same age as you and are all students. This is even more true if you live in an LLC or some sort of specialized dorm. This makes it a whole lot easier to find people that you have things in common with because you live with them. It also means that there is always someone to hang out or do work with whenever you are bored.

4. There is more diversity.

Especially if you grew up in a smaller town, the diversity that you encounter in college is mind-boggling. Colleges attract people from all different walks of life and places around the world. They are home to all different kinds of people that are seeking to better themselves, from international students to more non-traditional students and because of this, the professors are not the only people that can teach you a thing or two.

5. You get to try new things.

Everyone in college is trying to figure out what they are interested in and what they want to do for the rest of their lives. This means that everyone in college is trying new things and there isn’t any pressure to have your whole life figured out just yet. College gives you the opportunity to take different kinds of class, meet different kinds of people and find new things that you love.