The most frequent myths of college you have encountered........

The BBQ Pit
41

I found the great friends and the abundant parties to be more than true. The people were, on the average, somewhat more mature than they were in high school, but that says more about my high school than it does about college.

As for boredom, I’ve found that it follows people wherever they go. Growing up in East Asscrack, KY, we always complained about there not being anything to do; I was shocked when I found that high schoolers in the relative megalopolis of Lexington felt the same way.

As for all the women wanting to have sex with me, I can’t say that was true. Inexplicably, though, one of them did. I’m marrying her later this month. :slight_smile:

I could fill volumes with myths about med school, chief among them being “the hardest part is getting in”. Sheer bullshit.

Dr. J

42

What’s with all the people saying 4 years isn’t enough? I know plenty of people who are going to be done in 3 1/2. Even I had plenty of time to be done in 4 (120 credits)–I only transferred in 6 AP credits, never had a semester with more than 17 credits (5 classes plus two 1-credit electives), and both semesters this year I’m only taking 12.

43

I need 128 to graduate. I didn’t transfer with any AP credits, and I’m not taking summer school. I’ll be done in 4 years. 36x4=144.

44

Well, then, you must have gone to UMass Amherst too. :wink:

45

Oh yeah. And if you go to a party at the aggie frat, whatever you do… don’t eat the carrots.

Or at least that’s what They say.

46

ryan, you’ll be graduating in 3 years, won’t you?

folks, uk universities aren’t like US ones.
most are 3 year degrees, or 4. and that’s it.

47

mmm they’re all true except for one:

Great classes–no pressure!

A:DGHDSUGNS:GJNTU

I STILL am have reoccuring nightmares about not finishing my last term and failing to graduate. I’ve been out for a year and a half and I’m going to be working on my PhD soon.

My boss, a fellow alum, has the same nightmares.

Sooo much pressure, sooo much stress.

That’s why we got drunk and has lots of wild sex each weekend.

48

Suuuuure ya did. Just like I do now, right?
Myths: College is where you “find yourself” and finally learn what you want to do with your life. Nope. Some come in knowing what they want, some don’t figure it out until later and some never figure it out. Besides, that’s what grad school is for, right? :wink:

49

Hmm, I responded earlier, but looks like the hamsters ate my post.

Graduating in 4 years has a lot to do with what school you’re in, IMHO.

I go to a very large VERY overcrowded State school. As I said before, freshman, students with disabilities and athletes get top priority. Then seniors. In my school, if you are a sophmore or junior you have about a 15% chance of getting the classes you need at that point. That is not an exaggeration. There are so many people trying to crash classes, if you choose to do that, you up your chances to about 25%. It’s not that the students aren’t TAKING the classes, it’s that they can’t GET the classes.

As for my personal experience, another reason I’m graduating late is because I’ve worked full time almost the entire time I’ve been in school, in order to pay my tuiton, rent, ect. Tuition isn’t as much as a private college or U.C, so I’d rather put myself through then deal with having to pay back student loans after I graduate.

Of course that is my choice, and in my opinion I’m a lot better off than those who graduate in 4 years or less and are looking at debt that will take them years to pay off, either that or Mommy and Daddy paid their way. In that case, they’re just lucky bastards.

The only thing I’m trying to stress is that there are many reasons some students may take more than the usual 4 years to graduate college beyond laziness or stupidity. In many cases, it’s actually smarter to take longer. You’ve got 40+ years to have a career after you graduate, a 2 or 3 year delay isn’t that big of a deal.

50

originally posted by Melandry

??

My high school had 2600 students; I was a smelt in Lake Erie. In college, I was a plankton in the Pacific. :slight_smile:

51

Minor state-related nitpick: It will become that big of a deal if your state’s like mine and keeps raising tuition every year. I think they’re going to start raising tuition every semester now.

52

Why in the name of Jari Litmanen’s mullet is this in the Pit?

53

I liked college, but I only took a few classes to kill time while I was unemployed. I was reminded a lot of high school, but I never met anyone who wanted to have sex with me in high school, while it didn’t take me long to find someone willing to help me rebound from my wife leaving me.

54

Or students who are receiving an insane amount of Government grants, subsidized loans, and school scholarships.
When you make less a year then the school charges for tuition, and you have a decent GPA, the cost is very, very low…in my experience.

55

For me, the biggest myth in college was how much harder the classes would be than what I had experienced in high school. If anything, the general education classes I had to take were basically repeats of high school, and I assure you I didn’t get to take as many multiple choice tests in high school either.

What I was expecting was what I saw in the movies (I know, I know) - such as the scene when the stodgy old professor walks in and announces to the students in his freshmen-level course, “For this class, you will be required to complete three papers - all worthy of publication, six essay exams, AND disprove gravity.”

I’m not complaining that the workload is too light, you understand, only that it wasn’t what I expected.

56

Hmmm…I think the biggest myth I had going into college was that people there knew what they were doing. I used to think, “Whoa, college! It’s a university- people here will be very competent and helpful and will be forward-looking and thinking. I will be among the Wise.”

But no. In all fairness, I also went to a very large, very crowded state school. But administration was unbelievably unhelpful and incompetent. I didn’t get my BS until several months into the next semester because someone lost all my records. How this could possibly have happened, I still have no idea. I had to go to at least 5 different administrators, explain my problem, explain it again, explain it to someone else, ad nauseum, until they finally figured out, that yes, I did in fact go to their school, and I did in fact have all my credits and requirements for graduation. When I asked them how a mix-up of this order could have occured, they basically shrugged their shoulders and told me mistakes happen.

I also faced quite a bit of racial discrimmination there, but that’s a competely different thread.

I learned that you willnot be guaranteed a job in your field upon graduation. That you will not be guranteed a job, period. That it’s relatively common to find people with a master’s degre working at Starbucks because there just aren’t any job openings for them.

What I learned most is that you don’t need to go to college to be a happy and successful human being. That not having a college degree does not mean you will only be able to work at fast-food restaurants for the rest of your life. I always knew education was important; I just never realized until I got to college that going to college is not the only way to get an education.

In college, I had a few close friends, and many less-close friends, but it wasn’t as though the minute I got there everyone was just dying to hang out with me. The dating scene was also pretty poor- most people were too busy either studying or drinking to form any sort of relationship. I did start dating my current SO in college, but he went to a different university.

I learned that just because you’re a college professor does not necessarily mean you know what you’re talking about.

I learned that some people are just idiots, and no matter how much they can learn at school, they will always be idiots. I met racist, sexist, homophobic people with PhDs. I was shocked, but it was an important lesson. I learned having a degree is not something you should automatically respect about a person.

57

4 years is a push to finish in the US? I completed my Bachelor of Arts in Mathematical Sciences in 3 years and that was completely standard. I reckon I averaged 14 hours a week work and managed to come away with a double first. What do you guys do for 4 years? Is it more depth or more breadth?

58

Ahhh… my school has actually been lowering tuition. Might be to counter rumors that the reason the school is so overcrowded while the administration does nothing to soften the effect on current students (i.e. hiring more professors, opening new sections of existing courses) is so students are stuck there semester after semester while they continue to collect our tuiton gasp!

59

Dock,

read my earlier post. It explains various reasons for people not graduating in 4 years or in your case, less. (I think outside of the U.S. is different as well, as I looked into Masters programs in the U.K and the average was 1 year, while here, an average Masters program is 2.)

60

Sorry, my post was unclear. I just wondered what extra you guys do in 4 full years on top of what I covered in 3 relaxed years.

I had 3 8 week terms, is that more or less than what you do in the US?