The biggest thing that has surprised me so far being in college is the behavior of other students. I thought going to college was proof that someone can care about and commit to something. I’ve seen that a lot of people here don’t seem to really care about learning, which I think is odd because they’re paying for it now. I see people on their computers playing games while the teacher is teaching even more than I did in high school. People consistently ask the teacher a question that the teacher just answered. So far getting group work done equally is nearly impossible, because no one seems to want to contribute.
Another thing I was surprised at the lack of is a massive workload. All I ever heard was that being in college was very hard work and a lot of it. I remember them saying during orientation that you need to schedule yourself three hours of homework per one hour of class. The truth is, I find myself only having one or two assignments a week. I’m pleasantly surprised at the lack of busy work I’m assigned or that I do in class. Feeling like the work I was doing was pointless was my biggest hurdle in getting stuff done in high school. So far, I haven’t experienced that in college, which I hope continues.
I also agree that there is a bunch of students that don’t seem to care or listen in a class that they are paying for. Many people don’t even take notes during lectures and I often see them online shopping or playing games. Kinda confuses me why someone would pay, show up for class, then not actually do anything. Also, I too only get assigned one or two assignments a week, unlike what people told me college was gonna be like.
I had also thought that the workload we would be given would be an insane amount. I had so much anxiety coming into college until I actually started getting the homework. It’s very easy to balance personal and academic life when you plan ahead. I’ve found out that making a calendar with my schedule and assignments due each day makes everything so much easier.