<p>My college years were the hardest of my life from many different perspectives. I think kids today go into it with unrealistic expectations and thus many are disappointed. I had more fun after I graduated and got my first job…I only worked one job, had money in my pocket and had no home work so my nights were free. I took great vacations and lived in among other young professionals.</p>
<p>I remember a lot of stress as a music performance major. There were so many demands on my time, so many ways to goof up, not perform well, fail an exam, etc. I loved making music but sometimes it was WORK, if you know what I mean.</p>
<p>OTOH, I was really only responsible for myself and not for any children or my parents. And nice vacation breaks between quarters…I didn’t know how good I had it then!</p>
<p>Once I got done with college and grad school and had a real job, I had better everything – income, car, clothes, apartment, city where I lived, vacations, freedom, independence, social life, girlfriends, etc. etc. etc. No homework to do at night or on weekends. Much more varied and interesting ways to spend my free time, and much more cash to spend on those activities. </p>
<p>Work hard in college and grad school, and the payoff is how good your life gets afterwards. Max out your fun in college and you’ll be only slightly less lame than the people who say high school was the best years of their life.</p>
<p>It is different for everyone.</p>
<p>My own favorite years were the ones right after undergrad while starting off in a career. I had money and independence. Working at a large firm where there are many new hires right out of college, I had lots of work friends and still had college friends to go out/hang out with and the money to do it and relatively little expenses and little responsibility.</p>
<p>Middle school was the worst, got better in high school, even better in college, best right after college.</p>
<p>most likely.</p>
<p>Its such a drastic change from HS, there are so many more opportunities and for the first time your living on your own. Its up there in terms of best years of life</p>
<p>I think a lot depends on finding the right “fit” for your college. All the selective school admissions folks talk about that, and it is a challenge because 17 yr olds are really not fully formed and set in their ways (thank goodness, that is a positive for college, too.)</p>
<p>My own college experience was good but not great, mostly because I didn’t form the life-long friendships that I think contributes significantly to the “best time of your life” myth. So work hard to find the school that you feel comfortable from the moment you walk on the campus. Are the kids walking by you ones you could see yourself hanging out with? Does it offer the kinds of EC activities that make you want to sign up for everything? These sorts of things, and getting into a dorm that helps you find those good friends, will make your experience far more than four more years of boring and drugergy. The classes probably will be hard, sure, and they ought to be. But it is the rest of living, the first taste of freedom etc, that really sets the tone.</p>
<p>I think the reason a lot of adults say this is the nostalgia for a time when they had more freedom but less responsibility than any time in their lives. Sporting events, music events and plays, and concerts are free or discounted. You have exercise facilities, tennis courts, natoriums and organized clubs abounding. You play hard, study hard and have more available companions your own age than you ever will again. To be honest I wouldn’t return to college because some of the best experiences I’ve had in life took place after college, my marriage, my children, job, home etc. Life is more expensive now but I am paying my own way. I may fondly reminisce but I’ve moved on. That is what I truly went to college for.</p>
<p>I finished my undergrad just over 20 years ago and I can definitely say those were the best four years of my life.</p>
<p>Now don’t get me wrong…I’m not saying that it’s all downhill and that you will never enjoy anything ever again. I’ve had some incredible moments since finishing college. I’ve travelled, I’ve raised a child, I’ve bought a house.</p>
<p>But the thing that makes the college years ‘better’ than the years that come later is the lack of responsibilities. Having responsibilities is really overrated. In college if you don’t feel like getting up for class, you don’t go…after college you learn to get up each and every day and go to work if you’re in the mood or not. In college you have homework, but if you picked a major that you’re interested in, often that homework is interesting…it is something that you actually want to learn…after college you do whatever project is assigned to you at work so you can pay your bills. In college you go to the party that all your friends are going to because you can’t wait to be there…after college you go to your company holiday party or your boss’s retirement party because people expect you to be there.</p>
<p>Sure there are highlights - when you’re raising a child you get to go see them on stage in the school play or starring in the big game, but before that you have to rearrange your schedule to drive them back and forth through weeks and weeks of practices or rehearsals.</p>
<p>In college you have the freedom to do things because you want to do them…sure there are some required classes, but even then you have some flexibility in which humanities or which social and behavioral or which natural science course you want to take. After college you do things because you have to or because you’re supposed to. Especially after you have a family. In your first years as a young professional if you don’t like your job or where you live, you quit or you move, but after you have a family and are raising children often your worries are about providing for them.</p>
<p>College is the last time when you will ever have all the freedom you have with as few responsibilities. That doesn’t mean that all of life is downhill after that, but it does mean that when you have a project due at work, kids to take care of, bills to get paid, a lawn to mow, your water heater breaks down, and you have to cancel your plans with your best friend that you haven’t seen in years because you just can’t find the time…that you’ll be a little nostolgic for when life was easier.</p>
<p>(And BTW I had a terrible first semester)</p>
<p>The best years of my life were middle school and some of high school.</p>
<p>College was the worst period of my life.</p>
<p>After that’s it been pretty boring/stressful overall, not something I would choose if I had to start over, but not as bad as college.</p>
<p>It’s fair to say that undergrad school is a unique time period in most people’s lives, particularly if they attend a residential college away from home. There’s a lot of new freedom, new friends, and new experiences. Lifetime friendships can be forged. Lots of people are college sports fans, but it’s the most intense experience for the actual students. And, along with the general grind of academics, there may be some intellectual discovery taking place. The personal freedom will be greater than any time before or for many years after.</p>
<p>But, great life experiences will continue to happen. My advice - savor the college years for what they are, and take advantage of what they offer. Even if they aren’t your best years, they will be great memories.</p>
<p>Everyone will have a different experience- if you want it to be the best you will make it that way :)</p>
<p>yes it is supposed to be a lot of people like college</p>
<p>honestly, just make your decision very wisely. i’m a communications major and i don’t like it at all and i’m not switching majors just so i won’t extend the length of my studies.</p>
<p>I preferred my grad work over undergrad…classmates were more focused and team oriented. Additionally, classes were much more interesting.</p>
<p>If you are an engineer or have a difficult major, your quality of life in college wont be great. you will be studying instead of having fun and parting like, lets say the arts and business majors.But your quality of life after college will be fantastic, while the others’ wont be as great.
so the harder work in college, the more you will get out of it in the long run.
the easier you work in college, the less you will get out of it in the long run.
(assumptions and generalizations) :)</p>
<p>Depends on the person. Some go off to college and can’t seem to handle being away from their parents for probably the first time in their lives. Others enjoy the new found freedom and opportunity to make new friends. One of the reasons I think you MUST visit any college you are seriously considering so you get a feel for the campus and those who go there. For example, if you attend a college way beyond your parents means, will you fit in socially and how will you spend your free time and weekends?</p>
<p>Also a consideration, if you choose a college at the other side of the country, you have to think about the logisitics of how often you will be able to go home and/or how expensive it will be to live there, etc. Those are some of the things you need to think about when choosing a college in order to make the experience more positive.</p>
<p>How much time you spend studying depends more on your ability to learn, organize your time and set priorities. If you the type of person who always waits until the last minute to study and work on term papers/projects, then you will most likely always be frazzled. Some people send their lives partying while others apply themselves through the semester. It is difficult to generalize that aspect of the college experience.</p>
<p>College (about 20 years ago) was great - I had a fabulous group of friends that I still keep in touch with and found my future husband. It was intellectually stimulating, but not over the top hard. </p>
<p>Grad school a few years later was also fun. My husband and I were newly married, and both went to grad school full time, living in married student housing. We took a two month camping trip across the country during that time - definitely a highlight.</p>
<p>But, the happiest I’ve ever been was as a stay at home mom when both kids were preschoolers. Nothing compares.</p>
<p>Everything is relative. Compared to living at home and going to high school, the freedom and intellectual excitement of college is amazing. Compared to working, being a parent, dealing with aging parents, the freedom and carefree quality of college is amazing. Compared to the ability to get a good night’s sleep and know what you’re doing the following year without worrying about picking out classes or roommates, college is not as great as being settled in your career and relationships. </p>
<p>I have very fond memories of being in college, but if I were to be totally honest, there were a lot of times that were not great at all. Being woken up at night by someone who was screaming over the hall phone at their boyfriend who’d just broken up with them; never getting enough sleep; being too cold or too hot most of the time; feeling lonely; weird surprise questions on tests where I’d really enjoyed the class all the way through and felt I was learning something.</p>
<p>I guess I’m just not a person who goes along with blanket statements like “college is great!” Like life, it has its ups and downs. Enjoy what you can; rise above the rest.</p>
<p>I’m about to finish my first semester of college this week and become a sophomore, so I’ll give you my 2 cents on it. So far, college has been fun and full of new experiences. However, I don’t think it quite lived up to my expectations of it. It fell short of that “magical place” I had dreamed about the past 12 years of public schooling. After the first few weeks, you’ll fall into a routine and find yourself doing the same things every week, or at least I did.</p>
<p>It’s truly what you make of it.</p>