# Very important, unexpected and life-altering things you learned at college **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 6, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912 "2012-10-06T16:40:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/1 "2012-10-06T16:40:40Z")
I learned this week that there is a much better way to make melted cheese on bread. At one of the places in the Student Union food court, they make a broiled cheese: Fresh ciabatta Slice of american cheese on each half top (liberally) with shredded cheddar cheese Broil 'til gold and bubbly Put halves together nom I got one because it was only $3 and I had a slightly upset stomach so I didn’t want anything too exciting. I just made it at home for my fiancee, along with some Campbell’s sirloin burger soup. He just called out to me to ask if we had more fixin’s to make another sandwich. Normally he asks for more of the soup. 😃 I knew my tuition was well spent. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/2 "2012-10-07T03:09:38Z")
Well, I learned you can cook a meatloaf (ball?) in the dented, wobbly top half of an old-style (done on top of the stove) popcorn popper. Everybody liked it. I didn’t tell them it was the first time I’d ever made a meatloaf (ball.) ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/3 "2012-10-07T11:21:18Z")
Memorizing my Social Security number. Yes I know I’m dating myself because they haven’t used your SS number as your ID for umpteen years. But it probably IS the most helpful thing I learned (Sorry Dad! Thanks for paying for my education anyway! :p) Oh, and **Congo**? That sound beyond delish! ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/4 "2012-10-07T12:24:33Z")
> [@saje](#): > > Memorizing my Social Security number. Yes I know I’m dating myself because they haven’t used your SS number as your ID for umpteen years. But it probably IS the most helpful thing I learned (Sorry Dad! Thanks for paying for my education anyway! :p) Memorizing such numbers is very handy. A sampling of numbers in my brain: Mr. S’s and my SSNs Mr. S’s and my driver’s license numbers (in WI, these are 14 alphanumerics long) Five bank account numbers (his and mine) Haven’t gotten around to memorizing CC numbers yet. Of course I always knew the license plate numbers on our cars, but now they’re all vanity plates, so that’s not as impressive. 🙂 A long time ago at work we were discussing this topic, and one guy said he didn’t even know the license PLATE number on his car (not a vanity plate). Really, dude? _I_ know your plate number because I park behind you every day. It’s six characters. Hell, I _still_ remember the guy’s plate, and I quit that job 18 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/5 "2012-10-07T12:49:52Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > A long time ago at work we were discussing this topic, and one guy said he didn’t even know the license PLATE number on his car (not a vanity plate). Really, dude? _I_ know your plate number because I park behind you every day. It’s six characters. Hell, I _still_ remember the guy’s plate, and I quit that job 18 years ago. I don’t know my plate # off the top of my head. It has a Y and a Z. Something. Your license number? That’s hardcore. Me, I learned that half of life is showing up. (I didn’t show up.) ---
**Author:** ![Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sticks_and_scones/32/16951_2.png) [@Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sticks_and_Scones)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/6 "2012-10-07T13:16:00Z")
It’s more about who you meet than what you learn. Maybe this is expected but it happened to me in an unexpected way. It’s been 18 years since I transferred to the university where my Associate’s, Bachelor’s, and now (eventually) my Master’s degrees have all come from but the friends that I met there have been lifelong, wonderful friends since that time. The unexpected part is that two of them were originally my professors and those two and another friend that I met at the time are all older than my own parents. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/7 "2012-10-07T13:31:20Z")
The only person I am still close to from college (I graduated in '84) is my husband\*\*. Other than that I have no contact with people I met in school, college or HS. \*\*He was my RA freshman year 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/8 "2012-10-08T02:45:54Z")
I learned to juggle. I learned to rollerblade. I learned to juggle while rollerblading. Oh, and I learned some stuff about recombinant DNA technology too. ---
**Author:** ![applebetty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4af34b/32.png) [@applebetty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/applebetty)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/9 "2012-10-08T03:06:11Z")
I learned you don’t have to do everything anyone tells you to. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/10 "2012-10-08T03:08:42Z")
I don’t mean this to be flippant, but I learned that college is just a holding tank where you wait to mature because the rest of the world doesn’t want to deal with your bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/11 "2012-10-08T03:17:54Z")
We would use the free unlubricated condoms they handed out everywhere to cover the smoke detectors so people could smoke weed in the non-smoking dorm rooms. Never underestimate the ingenuity of a pothead. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/12 "2012-10-08T03:43:36Z")
college was where I learned a few of the most important things: 1. no, I actually didn’t know everything 2. knowing what you _don’t_ know is very important 3. know when to shut up and listen. Some people apparently never learn these things. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/13 "2012-10-08T08:36:20Z")
> [@saje](#): > > Oh, and **Congo**? That sound beyond delish! We altered it last night - meunster topped with fresh mozzarella! It was heavenly! > [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](#): > > I don’t mean this to be flippant, but I learned that college is just a holding tank where you wait to mature because the rest of the world doesn’t want to deal with your bullshit. oh hell yeah! says the almost 33-year-old college student ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/14 "2012-10-08T14:00:20Z")
**congo** , put some minced garlic on the bread before the cheese. Heaven becomes Nirvana. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/15 "2012-10-08T15:38:29Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > 1. knowing what you _don’t_ know is very important The corollary is – that people don’t actually expect you to know it all! That was wonderful to learn. I felt like I could deal with things then. Almost 40 years later I have virtually no hesitation in pleading ignorance to something because knowledgable people are usually happy to help. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/16 "2012-10-08T16:32:08Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > college was where I learned a few of the most important things: > > 1. no, I actually didn’t know everything > 2. knowing what you _don’t_ know is very important > 3. know when to shut up and listen. > > Some people apparently never learn these things. > [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > The corollary is – that people don’t actually expect you to know it all! That was wonderful to learn. I felt like I could deal with things then. Almost 40 years later I have virtually no hesitation in pleading ignorance to something because knowledgable people are usually happy to help. Several of my courses would split the tests in two parts (theory and practice); the theory you had to do without aids, the practice with aids (whether that meant the book or your own notes would depend on the class); in Biochemistry, 10% of the final grade was from the “map of biochemical reactions” that we drew, used as an aid and then handed in with the test. Other courses were all-practice, with aids. The first teacher who told us we’d be using aids said “one of the most important skills you’ll be expected to learn here is how to find information. Remembering exact values of atomic weights, or reaction heats? That’s what the library is for.” ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/17 "2012-10-08T20:12:50Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Me, I learned that half of life is showing up. (I didn’t show up.) I could have said the exact same thing! Most of what I learned from college is things I wish I’d done RIGHT in college. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/18 "2012-10-08T20:20:32Z")
I learned college/university doesn’t _make_ you smart. It took me a while to digest that some of these people would end up with degrees, even though they couldn’t fill out the forms correctly! Totally destroyed that illusion for me! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/19 "2012-10-08T21:52:39Z")
> [@](#): > > The first teacher who told us we’d be using aids said “one of the most important skills you’ll be expected to learn here is how to find information. Remembering exact values of atomic weights, or reaction heats? That’s what the library is for.” One of my high school science teachers said approximately the same thing. He said that if we got jobs in the science field, that most of the time we’d probably look stuff up, rather than have it memorized. He was also the first teacher who said that keeping a class notebook was completely optional. He recommended it, and he’d certainly look over any notebook that we turned in, but he didn’t grade them. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912/20 "2012-10-08T22:46:43Z")
If you are a single lady, a straight single man will not invite you alone to his apartment to cook dinner for you and not expect nookie afterward. Professor’s pets are sleeping with the professor. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-important-unexpected-and-life-altering-things-you-learned-at-college/636912.md?page=2)