<p>If your entire life is just “going through the motions” and collecting degrees like its the Life game board, I feel sorry for you.</p>
<p>College is awesome. Its only “overhyped” if you do nothing but study there, like the OP stated.</p>
<p>Its awesome because you basically have unlimited free time, no responsibilities, and are surrounded by young people your age who also have unlimited free time. You’d be hard pressed to find any of those again in your life. College was the first time I got drunk, a time where I dated a lot more than high school (read: not at all in high school), and was involved in tons of random extracurricular awesome things, met a ton of cool, intelligent, quirky people, and it was simply awesome. Free food and free booze and girls everywhere. And you don’t understand why people like college?!</p>
<p>Look, you’ll make new friends. Don’t be sad that you are leaving your “awesome social life” you had in high school. Everyone says high school sucks because it DOES suck. Everyone is petty, you are treated like a child, and no one has a fully formed or functional brain. Be glad you’re headed to college.</p>
<p>Peterparker, but does that not raise the question of the purpose of going to college? You say the best part of college is the independence and living in a contained bubble with few responsibilities. In essence it is a pretend version of the real world. What if the OP doesn’t want that?</p>
<p>Being active in your class can make the learning much easier. If you study with classmates instead of on your own, you get some support. Studying on your own is good, but group work is important also. You have group projects.<br>
And it helps to know people when looking for a job.
College life and living in the dorms isn’t for everyone. Some people love the atmosphere, some hate it.</p>
<p>I hate it. If I had been accepted to a college in LA (where I live) I would have been more than happy to go to class and come back. Going off to a place like UCSB is not what I want, UCSB is the epitome of a bubble university.</p>
<p>Geez it does sound like you are bitter. Why don’t you party? Do you even know what partying is? Trust me, partying can be more than some kids just getting wasted on the beach, you don’t have to drink to party (aka be social and hang out with friends in a group atmosphere). </p>
<p>“I’m in liberal arts so no research.” WRONG. Liberal arts research positions are definitely there, you just have to look for them! They aren’t as obvious/easy to find as scientific research positions, but if you want a liberal arts research job, you can get one. And UCSB is a great school academically as well. My cousin went there and she absolutely loved it (and she isn’t a partier either). </p>
<p>College is certainly not overhyped - it is only overhyped to the most critical people who don’t know how enjoy themselves outside of academics. The whole “high school sucked and now I’m in college and it is great” thing is not a myth, it is a reality for many students. It isn’t just because of the parties, the sports/school spirit, tailgate, wild spring breaks etc. but more for the club/student organizations, the internship and volunteer opportunities, the career connections you can make, the academic atmosphere (being with peers of your own age), the freedom (living on your own - whether you have been financially independent before or not is still a big deal), the awesome professors who know A TON and have awesome life histories, the class options etc. I love college, and it has the best 2 years of my life thus far. No, college is not the real world but it doesn’t have to be. Of course, life will go on after college (and there is a lot of greatness expected ahead, college is not going to be the “best time of my life” because I know that life will get even more exciting when I am in the working world). But if you reach out the opportunities in college, you can make it be the ‘best years of your life’ thus far.</p>
<p>I’ve been to parties and kickbacks, both are stupid. </p>
<p>I don’t plan to research in political science or philosophy (my majors).</p>
<p>I don’t want parties, sports, wild spring breaks, none of that. I have a social life in LA which may be boring to other people, but I like it. I’m sure there are more opportunities in a world class city than UCSB and its surrounding areas.</p>
<p>This whole package is something I can not understand as “fun” or “cool.”</p>
<p>Well, stay at home with your parents - no one here is forcing you to go to college. If you want a “world class city” (whatever that means), move to one. </p>
<p>Your attitude sucks, life is what you make of it. If you think it’s “fun” or “cool” to live with your parents, do that - nobody will care.</p>
<p>I think it’s time somebody drinks his Man-up juice.</p>
<p>College is probably the only time in your life where you will be surrounded by thousands of people all in the exact same boat. Each person is separated from their family, an island without a contact on campus. On this boat are trained professors to teach you what you want to learn, and you get a taste of the positive side of independence. Yes, it is sugarcoated, its not real independence, but who gives a rats ass? That’s part of the reason it’s ‘the college experience’, because it’s four years of a GOOD TIME where everyone is in the same boat and hence forced to go out and meet eachother.</p>
<p>If everyone was as antisocial and buzzkillish as you, ‘the college experience’ would be four years of hell.</p>
<p>You are antisocial. “Anti” meaning against; you are against the notion of socializing at your college. Okay, you have a ‘great’ social life at home, what is stopping you from having that at college? Does it involve things that most people don’t do? Some sort of exclusive style or something?</p>
And what makes you obligated to judge something you admit you know nothing about? There’s no “standard” college experience, and there’s nothing that says it has to involve parties/tailgates, or whatever your rejecting. Don’t you think it’s a little naive to write the whole thing off at this point?</p>
<p>My advice: Stop complaining. Simple as that.</p>
<p>If you go in thinking it’s going to suck, it’s going to suck. Since you think it’s going to be so horrible, you’re going to isolate yourself from things that could be fun, which would just seem to confirm your beliefs. Confirmation bias and all that. </p>
<p>High school is over. You’re not going to be in the same city or with the same people, so let it go. Surround yourself with people you like and have similar interests. You’re going to have to create the life that you want, and that won’t happen by shutting yourself away and avoiding anything social.</p>
<p>I wasn’t really excited for where I’m heading either at first. I wished I’d applied to more places and had a few fleeting, arrogant thoughts that I was “too good” to go to a state university. But then I checked out all the things the school had to offer and I’ve been excited ever since. You should try it. Maybe you’ll get over your bitterness.</p>