<p>Someone who graduated one year ago came back to play frisbee with us. When I asked him about college he said the they drink a lot, never go to class and have sex. His friend then made it sound not like a joke. They were both good students at my high school too. So were they joking or not?</p>
<p>They were probably exaggerating (that's not ALL you do), but not joking. Every student is different -- you can do whatever you want in college. You don't have to be like that if you don't want to</p>
<p>yea i think college changes a lot of people -- my sisters came back much different than from when they left, although i'm hoping its not from the above reasons :/</p>
<p>As someone who has completed two years of college right after graduating from HS, I'll share some insight:</p>
<p>Every student is, indeed, different. However, to be honest, most of the people with loose morals, low self-esteem, and the inability to resist peer pressure were probably that way before coming to college. The difference is that, once in college, they are given more opportunities to act out without parents and administrators looking over their shoulder.</p>
<p>Most of the kids from my HS went to community college. Some of them have fallen off the map; others are now moving on to great 4-year institutions or have found respectable jobs. Of the people who went straight to a 4-year school, some are doing amazingly well, and others have floundered. I've seen friends get hooked on drugs, alcohol, and sexual encounters and get booted out after spending time on academic probation.</p>
<p>On the other hand, and this makes up the majority of my close friends, many kids do not change drastically and continue to achieve great things. My closest friends have not changed that much at all, and one of my best friends has actually changed for the better and matured quite a bit.</p>
<p>My general message is this: a college itself rarely changes people; instead, it presents more opportunities for change. This change can be either good or bad and is sometimes both, depending on one's perspective.</p>
<p>So please, ignore the morons. College is what you make of it.</p>
<p>Most of the kids from my high school went to community college, and they now spend every waking moment drunk, or so it seems. On the other hand, the kids I knew who went to better schools are still basically the same. I haven't seen any major transformations - no drug-addicted valedictorians or anything like that. ;)</p>
<p>everyone here is lieing, college is a ****show 24/7, havent you ever seen a movie about college, everyone knows they're 100% accurate.</p>
<p>i mean..when i went to school i definitely started drinking a lottttt more, hooking up more, and learning which classes were strategically okay to skip (and yeah, i was pretty straight-laced and motivated in high school, like everyone else on this site). those things kind of naturally come with newfound independence, i think. but you have to remember that these kinds of choices don't have to totally ruin your academic life and it's not a CHOOSE-THE-DARK-PATH-OR-THE-LIGHT type of situation; you just need to give yourself a little time to learn to strike a balance. it took me a few months first semester to achieve that kind of balance, and now i think i can more successfully have a lot of fun AND be responsible.</p>
<p>Biggest differences for me:</p>
<p>-Drinking is much more prevalent
-Complete freedom
-First encounters seeing illicit substances
-Much more spontaneous activities (i.e. random pickup game of ultimate frisbee)
-Less time spent in class
-More time spent studying (if you want similar grades as in HS)
-Syllabi are incredibly important
-Less grades/tests
-More time spent on social activities
-Less time spent on varsity sport
-More clubs/activities to choose from
-More nights spent "going out"</p>
<p>For me, college life was extremely different. I spent ALL DAY at school, EC's, and practice during high school. At college, there was much more free time, and my swim practices were much less intense than those of the ones at my HS club team. And though I was very social and hung out with a "cool" crowd in HS, this time was much different. You basically live with your friends or really close to them, and are constantly surrounded by them. And there was much more "partying" but that's because my public HS was very conservative.</p>
<p>In college you have a lot more opportunities to basically toss aside studying/academics and do whatever you want. Like leah377 said, it's all about balance. I too was a very straight-laced kid in high school and after a year in college am more into the "party" scene (whatever that means). But, I'm still proud of my GPA! So drinking, skipping class, and having sex isn't a death sentence. Just don't make it all you do, obviously. In my opinion, once you get to college, time management because all the more important.</p>
<p>i drank a decent amount in HS, drink a decent amount in college. cut some key days jr/sr year, sleep through classes now when im tired. if i had a boyfriend or someone i was somehow linked to, my sex life wouldnt have changed either.</p>
<p>so yeah, not much really changed for me. though a lot of kids who didnt drink in HS because of choice, availabliity, or just because their friends didnt, wind up drinking at least a few times during their first year at college.</p>
<p>most kids wont undergo that radical transformation. if you dont wanna do that stuff, dont. your friends were probably exaggerating a bit but it wouldnt be out there at all if they werent</p>
<p>In high school you are inconvenienced by the wills of authority figures. In college you are completely burdened by your own devices.</p>
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he said the they drink a lot, never go to class and have sex.
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<p>Haha, that's the exact opposite of my college experience. Most of my professors actually started to know how punctual I was and that I never missed class. One of them even e-mailed me info about the day's class when I missed because he knew I must have been sick!</p>
<p>My older brother became a lot more responsible after going away to college for a year. I remember him coming back for Christmas, and he voluntarily took out the kitchen garbage! Apparently he realized how much of an ass he had been to us while in HS, so he started behaving when he was at home on break. Of course, he'd lapse back into his old ways within a week, but the first few days were always nice while they lasted.</p>
<p>Its more about the newfound independece and how you handle it.</p>
<p>College is a great experience. Like others have said, lots of freedom, no one to tell you what to do, alcohol, etc.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Someone who graduated one year ago came back to play frisbee with us. When I asked him about college he said the they drink a lot, never go to class and have sex. His friend then made it sound not like a joke. They were both good students at my high school too. So were they joking or not
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<p>In my opinion, it sounds like a kid who was a geek in high school, went to a few parties and now thinks he's cool so he talks about all that stuff.</p>
<p>College experience can be summed up into two words " personal choice ". There is nothing more to it, there's sex if you want it, drugs, alcohol if you want it, intellectuals if you want to find them, every type of person. Think of it like your high school with a higher abundance of everything. You find what you are looking for, and can change whenever you want without anybody giving a crap.</p>