What you would have done differently in college

[Maeisgood]

I am a college senior now and soon to be super senior for a semester, and I am freaking out about the "real" or "outside" world. I am having a quarter-life crisis, but it feels more how I imagined a midlife crisis. Everyone who is older tells me to stay here as long as I can (think Adam Sandler in Billy Madison squishing the fat kid's face).

I feel like every day is more precious and I'm wondering if years from now, I will be pleased with how I was in college.

What would you all have done differently?

 

[mothballs]

If you graduate with the degree you intended and get into a field you like... I'm sure you'll adjust just fine. My single biggest regret was settling for an associates degree and not immediately persuing a bachelors. I'm now looking at going back and finishing a degree in my early 30's. Just, whatever you do with your quarter life crisis... don't freak out and buy a '74 Camaro with a built big block V8.

 

[Unbridled_Phoenix]

Hell no don't stay there as long as you can. If I could do it differently, I probably wouldn't have went in the first place. College is great if you're on a scholarship but if you're borrowing money out the a$$ to stay there, get out. College just doesn't makes dollars and sense anymore. I see that people who preach how necessary and important degrees are do so because it's so much easier to place faith in a piece of paper than in yourself. I am building a good career and two businesses at the same time with complete disregard for what I studied in college.
Don't stay in school just to avoid making loan payments like so many do. Get out there and start producing like a man, end this retarded juvenile distraction of college.

 

[mothballs]

Hell no don't stay there as long as you can. If I could do it differently, I probably wouldn't have went in the first place. College is great if you're on a scholarship but if you're borrowing money out the a$$ to stay there, get out. College just doesn't makes dollars and sense anymore. I see that people who preach how necessary and important degrees are do so because it's so much easier to place faith in a piece of paper than in yourself. I am building a good career and two businesses at the same time with complete disregard for what I studied in college.
Don't stay in school just to avoid making loan payments like so many do. Get out there and start producing like a man, end this retarded juvenile distraction of college.

That's all fine and good if you don't want to go into any of the following fields: Engineering, Medical, Biotech, Psych, Physics, Computer Science, Politics, Law, Teaching... If you want to be a Journeyman, an entrepreneur, a secretary or do hard labor, you can probably survive without schooling.

 

[ucmedv8]

College just doesn't makes dollars and sense anymore. I see that people who preach how necessary and important degrees are do so because it's so much easier to place faith in a piece of paper than in yourself. I am building a good career and two businesses at the same time with complete disregard for what I studied in college.
Don't stay in school just to avoid making loan payments like so many do. Get out there and start producing like a man, end this retarded juvenile distraction of college.

If you dig around online you'll eventually stumble upon statistical evidence that those who have college degrees on average make more than those who don't. I'm a sociologist and I've read many of these papers. So it does make dollars and sense for most. Of course you have statistical outliers who are still driving cabs even though they have a Phd.

College shouldn't just be seen economically, however. Many experiences in college are priceless and can not be quantified. Seeing a concept or the world in a new light is well worth the cost, IMO. I used to tell a buddy of mine "guess where all the chicks are?" I'd answer my own question, "not at the mall, not at the beach, not at the club. There in school man." Think about it. Think about the quantity and quality of women that are at your university. Many more than you'll find at a beach, at a club, or at the mall.

The way things are going with the economy, I'd say stay in school. I wish I had done a 5th year; glad someone is making is making the right decision.

 

[focalpoint]

My social experience in college was awesome, except for all of the terrible, terrible things that happened to me and the people I was close to.

My girlfriend(s, of different times), myself, and my close friends all had the worst possible outcomes from pretty much every situation ever. Meet a new friend at work, bring to party? Co-worker rapes girlfriend. Allow out-of-town visitors for a weekend? Visitors were running from someone they'd pissed off and forgot to mention; home-invasion robbery at gunpoint. Trust GF well enough to not feel any reservations about her going out of town with our while group of mutual friends while I was stuck at work? Girlfriend cheats on me with best friend.

etc etc etc.

I don't think there is anything I would have done differently, though. I didn't engage in unnecessary risk (I didn't hang out with "sketchy people", exist in the underground economy, or any of that stuff) so all of these things really were just random coincidences.

Overall, I rate my college experience as "positive", despite all of this. I learned a lot about myself through the process and think I'm pretty set now for the rest of my life.

 

[Mike32ct]

I have a two part answer.

Social

I commuted to school. It saved me some money, but I didn't get to meet anyone or even see the inside of a dorm. Hooking up is quite difficult if you only go to class and then drive home, AND you major in engineering LOL. So one regret was not living on campus for at least a year, or even a semester.


Career

I focused SOO much on grades and didn't get any experience. I graduated top of my department (and second in my entire class) with a very high GPA and that Summa *** Laude b&llsh&t., but no company wanted to hire me. I couldn't figure out why. Well, I didn't do any internships or co-op. It turns out that they would rather someone with experience, even if their GPA is lower. So no internships was my single biggest mistake.

 

[Lexington]

I would have liked to have gotten involved in more clubs, organizations etc. Maybe even a fraternity. I was against the concept of frats because I thought it was "buying friends" but really, it gives you a great avenue to meet people. I also thought it would take up too much time but I had plenty of time in college.

I didn't realize how good I had it. Think about it. Everyday you go to a campus FILLED with young, beautiful women. I had the chance to do literally THOUSANDS of approaches.

 

[hondo928]

I defiantly would have rushed, I'm a Junior and will need 1 extra semester, so I've got some time left, but I'm still panicking. Greek life is great because it's an easy way to meet a lot of new people. I also probably would add an extra night of going out to every week.

And an hour ago, I was in Pizza Hut, off campus far away, two tables of guys, and I am not joking 60-70 Girls walk in within half an hour...apparently it was a sororities fund raiser. My friends and the other table of guys all sat staring. If I could do it again I would try some approached then rather than being a shell shocked P****. When one of my friend came in I talked to her a little but still worthless.

I'd also probably work harder freshman year, and make sure all my stupid requirement classes were jokes so my GPA was better, in retrospect a C in a class I enjoy is worth a lot less than an A in a class I hate and learn nothing.

 

[Unbridled_Phoenix]

I felt that my growth in college was far more in a social and intellectual vein than preparing me for the real world. When you see the amount of people today with degrees and all that debt who cannot find a job, or if they find one they make barely any more than the guy who worked honestly from high school on, it made me wonder if all the fun and the girls were worth it. And I had fun. I was an officer in my fraternity and involved in social activism in college, but once I graduated and started hanging around people with money who have hired me, they didn't give two sh!ts about what I did in college.

If you feel a degree is a laurel on which you can rest and a blanket in which you may wrap yourself, you are dead wrong. Within every organization there have been so many bullsh!t jobs created for college grads, and since the economy has tanked, they have said "Wait, what are we paying these guys for? We will make the same money without them, and save more."

It's not that you have a degree, it's what you do once you have your foot in the door. And never look down on the guy who labors for a living. Think what you will, but you couldn't carry his jockstrap, and he can kick your a$$ too.

 

[CyranoDeBergerac]

I would've stayed and finished, but you're about to do that anyway...

I've done college, real-world, and I'm currently Military. The real world is nothing to be afraid of. If anything it proffers you the greatest chance to live your own life and succeed on your own terms. Don't focus on how fun/happy/secure you are now, focus on how fun/happy/secure you're going to be.

 

[Warrior74]

I woulda stayed and finished. Also I would have avoided LTRs like the plauge, that was part of my downfall.

 

[Maeisgood]

If you graduate with the degree you intended and get into a field you like... I'm sure you'll adjust just fine. My single biggest regret was settling for an associates degree and not immediately persuing a bachelors. I'm now looking at going back and finishing a degree in my early 30's. Just, whatever you do with your quarter life crisis... don't freak out and buy a '74 Camaro with a built big block V8.

A car like that would be awesome!

In the "real world," what is more important in getting a job? The level of a degree (associate's, bachelor's, master's, doctor's), connections/networking, major (art degree versus mathematics), or luck? My parents are paying for my first 4 years or so, and I'm going to use the money I've saved up since elementary school in the bank for a Master's I think. I have enough for about half of it right now anyway. I feel like there is no harm in furthering my education, being that bachelor's degrees are the new high school diplomas.


What regrets socially do you all have? Do some of you wish you had recorded history in some sort of journal? Part of me wishes I had the discipline to do that each day. I could learn a lot about myself and not feel like the time I've already lived is completely lost. The biggest thing about the real world that scares me is the fact that my youth is officially over and I am a "real adult" now.