As freshmen in college, many tend to come in with some romantic aspirations and ideas about what college life is going to be like. At least that’s what I’ve seen from my friends and through observation of other students. I know I had my own views of what college would be like, and most of these views turned out false, or just different from what I had imagined. Whether these expectations are met, exceeded or completely failed is something you will figure out in only a matter of time. 

After three years of attending the University, I am now a seasoned senior and feel at liberty to shed some light on the expectations of freshmen versus the reality many come to accept by the time they are seniors.

Expectation: You won’t need to change your study habits.

Reality: Unless you’re one of those unique (aka weird) individuals who can still get A’s on your calculus tests without studying, for the most part, high school study tactics have to be thrown out the door to succeed in college. In high school, many of us studied the day before a test, or maybe didn’t even study at all, and still managed to score A’s. If you try these tactics in college, you’ll receive a rude awakening. Gone are the days you can wait until the absolute last minute to study and still do as well as you did in high school. 

For most students, studying two days before most exams is considered cutting it close. Many also start to realize the value of professors’ office hours, and appreciate the review sessions most professors and/or teaching assistants generously offer. For optimum performance, you better start reviewing your notes everyday from the beginning of the semester up until the day before the exam.

Expectation: You were the best of the best in high school, so you’ll be the best of the best in college.

Reality: Somebody is always going to be better than you. You were in the top ten percent of your high school class? That’s great, so were thousands of other students at this University. As you move through your curriculum courses and start taking harder classes, you realize the people you’re competing against are just as smart, if not smarter than you are. College throws a humbling blow at most of us. It forces you to realize and acknowledge that yes, you are intelligent, but there are others whose skills far surpass yours, and you really have to bust a move to even get close to their level. 

Even if you manage to always get better grades than everyone else in all your classes, you still understand that beyond college there are higher ranked schools full of students smarter than you waiting to compete with you for jobs.

Expectation: The friendships you make during your freshman year will last all four years of college.

Reality: While this may be true for some (myself included), I have seen plenty of students float from friend group to friend group over the course of their college career. One year it’s you and the three guys from your freshman dorm, and then the next it’s the guys you met through those three guys and you don’t even really hang out with the first three anymore. People grow apart, and that’s OK. It doesn’t have to mean you had a falling out or suddenly hate each other. Most of the time, the environment you put yourself in each year has an impact on the friendships you develop and maintain. 

College is a time for social adaptability and sometimes if you try to hang on to friendships that are already fading away, you’ll find yourself forcing something that isn’t there. Being able to make new friends in new situations ends up being helpful to most, and you’ll probably feel a lot less lonely if you accept this reality.

Whether or not you accept my senior position as a good source of wisdom, most of you will eventually discover the differences between your own expectations and realities of college. Even if all your expectations were wrong, there are positive and negative elements in each experience that provide valuable lessons anyway.

Sehar is a senior in LAS. She can be reached at [email protected].