Starting college can be one of the most exciting times of your life. For some it may be the first time moving out of your family home and moving to a new city, and for others it means having to commute hours to get from the countryside into the city for a 9am lecture. College is a time for you to explore new opportunities, meet new people and learn things about yourself you never knew. However, there are a number of misconceptions that students starting college will have in their head about the experience.
Money:
For most first years college is the first time living away from your parents. One thing that could be a bit of a shock is the cost of having to pay for your own food, drink and everyday things you need as well as rent and travel expenses. This isn't even considering the cost of going out, which we all know can end up costing enough to make someone cry. It's a bit of a shock how expensive everything is when you're in college, so young people going into college need to prepare to learn how to properly budget and control their spending. Make sure you have money saved for the first few weeks of college, because the start of college is usually the most expensive.
Friends:
A lot of the time when first years move into their accommodation they think their house mates will be their new best friends. Moving in with other first years and being forced to share a living space, you get forced into getting to know each other quickly. Don't be surprised if you don't get along with one or two housemates especially if your living with six or seven other students. Living with other people will either make you best friends for life or make you despise them, in either case it's better to try to stay civil with all of your housemates (at least until the year is over ).
Another thing to remember is that it's easy to drift from your old friends in college. A lot of first years go into college expecting to make new friends but still stay as close with their old friend group. When you find a new friend group and aren't seeing your old friend group as often as you used to, often times you might lose contact with each other. While it can be upsetting, remember that it's never too late to try to reconnect with old friends and catch up.
One huge misconception is that the friends you make at the start of your college experience will be your friends at the end of it. A lot of the time the friendships you make at the start of your college experience can last, but often times they can turn into an awkward half glance as your old friend walks by and pretending you didn't see that person while queuing up to get your 10am coffee. Just remember that it happens to most people and try not to worry if it happens to you.
Your course not being what you thought it would be:
A lot of the time going into your course for the first time you go in expecting to love it. It's been this thing you worked so hard to get, and now that you finally have it of course you'll love it, right? Often students can be left feeling underwhelmed by their course or feeling like they made a mistake which leads to the question of dropping out or sticking it out. It's always important to remember that college is not the defining moment of your life, and that if even after giving your course a chance and still being unhappy there's other options. You could try and see if moving courses is possible, or maybe consider taking the rest of the year as a gap year and taking time to find out what it is you want to study.
You can also look at other options that don't involve college like doing an apprenticeship or pursuing a career full time instead of going to third level education. Many people think that college is the only option if you want a successful career, but this couldn't be further from the truth. A college degree, while a good thing to have isn't always the key to getting the career you want. If you feel like college isn't for you look into alternative options that can get you into the career you want and see if there's other options that might suit you better.
