Why Do People Like College?

[Kanlic]

I've been going to a University in New York City for the past 2 months now, and I am bored off my ass. To put things in perspective, I've lived in a desert town in West Texas all my life, and I wanted to go to school in New York because I thought it would be fun. Instead, college feels like Summer camp, just that it is extended for 9 months rather than the normal 2 weeks. I've tried to put myself in situations that would be conducive to a fun environment, going to school dances, sporting events, exploring the city, going to bars illegally, but I am perpetually bored. I even joined a ton of groups around school to make up for all the dead time I have, like joining the Rowing Team, Newspaper, Radio Station and what have you, but I am just bored. All the time.

So the question that I pose to you guys is "Why do people like college?" It so far has been a dull experience for me, and I feel like I am pissing away 50k a year for an education that doesn't mean jack-shit to my chosen profession.

 

[Zef Otter]

Booze, blow, and woman?

 

[Amethyst Wind]

It gives you an experience of living on your own, taking care of yourself, being responsible, dedicating your entire scholastic time to a subject that interests you, making friends who are far more likely to be life-long than those you made as a child, etc.

That's why I loved it anyway. Dunno why you are so perpetually bored. What did you do for entertainment before you went to Uni? Why not try to find others who are also interested in it rather than bouncing from club to club haphazardly?

 

[Les Awesome]

ever heard of a COLLEGE PARTY ..........

 

[Dags90]

My first thought was: 50K a YEAR?! WHAT?! I hope you're getting breakfast in bed and wiping your arse with silk. Is that how much it costs in the US?

For a private school like NYU, yeah. There are many cheaper options available.

Personally I just love my classes and the people I'm meeting.

P.S. You only went to summer camp for 2 weeks a year?

 

[Daystar Clarion]

It was the first time I ever lived away from my parents. You discover things about yourself and you mature because of it. Also, You can fucking eat icecream for breakfast and nobody cares!

 

[Souplex]

It was the first time I ever lived away from my parents. You discover things about yourself and you mature because of it. Also You can fucking eat icecream for breakfast and nobody cares!

Yes, but that doesn't require college. Some people still live at home while going to college, so they get the exact opposite of what you described.

 

[dfcrackhead]

Sounds like you wanted the kind of experience that is only shown in movies, and for something like that, you really needed to find a "party school"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

It was the first time I ever lived away from my parents. You discover things about yourself and you mature because of it. Also You can fucking eat icecream for breakfast and nobody cares!

Yes, but that doesn't require college. Some people still live at home while going to college, so they get the exact opposite of what you described.

That's why I was adamant that I move out when I went to university. I had 2 friends who stayed at home and hated every minute of it. One of them is trying again, after 3 years away from it. This time he's moved out and he loves it more already.

 

[Kirkby]

I know a lot of people have said it, so im really just reinforcing a point here. But get some drink down you and do some crazy shit! Live for the party and you will enjoy your self! Though isnt it really really hard to get alcohol in America (i assume your not 21 yet?)

 

[Woodsey]

It was the first time I ever lived away from my parents. You discover things about yourself and you mature because of it. Also, You can fucking eat icecream for breakfast and nobody cares!

Mind = blown.

 

[Da Joz]

Whats your major? I never had that much free time.

 

[Shivarage]

Moving out for uni wouldnt make a difference to me... I can already do whatever I want and my parents dont care :/

 

[SimuLord]

I'm in college at 33. I swear I appreciate it more for a variety of reasons:

1) Being way too old for frat parties means I can focus on my studies instead of trying to get laid (which is most of what derailed my first attempt at getting a college education when I was 19-20---mom stopped subsidizing what basically amounted to me fucking around)

2) I've held jobs that don't require a degree. Low-paying, soul-crushing, Theory X manager jobs that I'd do anything---even live like a starving twenty-year-old for three years---to avoid. (why three years? Well, I did get SOME transferable credit from those early misadventures, so I got to start as a sophomore.)

3) There is no small bit of satisfaction to be found from showing those darned whippersnappers what's what. Some of those kids legitimately value my counsel because I've been a lot of the places in life that they're anxious about going---work, marriage (albeit a failed marriage in my case), that sort of thing. Stuff they don't want to ask teachers and counselors, they'll ask me.

4) Eye candy. I'm still a red-blooded guy after all! There's been a hell of a heat wave out West the last week or so, which means lots of short shorts, micro mini-skirts, and more bouncing boobs and jiggling than a Team Ninja production.

5) I can't emphasize this enough---knowing that I'll be qualified for jobs that pay more in one year than I used to earn in four is a very strong motivator.

 

[Mako SOLDIER]

I feel like I am pissing away 50k a year for an education that doesn't mean jack-shit to my chosen profession.

Why on earth did you choose a course that means so little to your chosen profession? Surely that's the most important part of university - y'know, picking a course that either a)you want to do, or b) furthers your career goals. If you only went to university because you heard it was fun then to be honest you only have yourself to blame for wasting money.

 

[superbatranger]

If anything, college has made me beyond stressed.

 

[Kryzantine]

You're not enjoying it because you blew 50k a year on undergrad at NYU. As a native NYer, I can attest that the only worthwhile reason to go to NYU is for the grad programs and law school they have there.

You should play on the school's strengths, what little they have. First of all, it's a great city to get lost in, IF you know where to go. Midtown Manhattan is a giant tourist trap. World Financial Center, on the other hand? And then you get into Brooklyn/Queens and the ethnic neighborhoods there... it's a sociologist's dream. Then there's the food. There's this one Spanish pizza place near the West 4th station that's just terrible, but like a block away is another place that's really, really good. Especially the bread. If you've tried pizza by now (and if you haven't in 2 months of being in NYC, you're doing something wrong), you know how good that stuff is.

But above everything else, you have to understand that the great irony of NYC is that it's better to be lonely than socially active. If overloading on clubs and going out to places isn't working for you, abandon those things. Go to a library (they got a great library at NYU), go to a park, go eat by yourself. Eventually and invariably, in the next 4 months, you will make at least 2 close friends on 2 separate occasions that will then introduce you to more friends to create your circle of friends that is the key to avoid boredom. Or focus on just one club. Or hang out with the law students, because they're from just about everywhere.

It's more homesickness than college. You've gone out and you don't have your old friends, you don't have your old hangout spots, and you've just gone from one of the most conservative areas of the US to one of the most liberal. You should have been expecting to be bored.

 

[Casimir_Effect]

I've been going to a University in New York City for the past 2 months now, and I am bored off my ass. To put things in perspective, I've lived in a desert town in West Texas all my life, and I wanted to go to school in New York because I thought it would be fun. Instead, college feels like Summer camp, just that it is extended for 9 months rather than the normal 2 weeks. I've tried to put myself in situations that would be conducive to a fun environment, going to school dances, sporting events, exploring the city, going to bars illegally, but I am perpetually bored. I even joined a ton of groups around school to make up for all the dead time I have, like joining the Rowing Team, Newspaper, Radio Station and what have you, but I am just bored. All the time.

So the question that I pose to you guys is "Why do people like college?" It so far has been a dull experience for me, and I feel like I am pissing away 50k a year for an education that doesn't mean jack-shit to my chosen profession.

And there's your problem. All the extra-curricular stuff is made better when you know what you're doing during the day is worthwhile. Otherwise there is a sense of just wasting your time stopping you from truly enjoying yourself.

2 months in is also pretty short. Give it a few more months so you get to the stage where some out of all of the people you've met become your new circle of friends - the people you regularly hang out with. Then you'll slowly find yourself coming to regard NY as home, and all the fun will follow. Only a couple of months into your degree means you'll still feel unsettled, and not comfortable with putting down some roots.

 

[Snake Plissken]

If you FEEL like you're wasting 50k a year, chances are good that you are wasting it. College isn't for everybody, but sometimes it's the only way to do what you want to do.

Believe me, after a couple more years, you won't have much free time anymore...

 

[Kanlic]

It gives you an experience of living on your own, taking care of yourself, being responsible, dedicating your entire scholastic time to a subject that interests you, making friends who are far more likely to be life-long than those you made as a child, etc.

That's why I loved it anyway. Dunno why you are so perpetually bored. What did you do for entertainment before you went to Uni? Why not try to find others who are also interested in it rather than bouncing from club to club haphazardly?

Well like I said in my original post, I grew up in a desert, so the majority of my free time was spent getting high in the Chiuaua Dunes, shooting small animals, making bon fires, hiking through some mountains, off-roading in trucks etc. Mainly just a bunch of outdoor shit that doesn't exist in NYC. Most people that go to my school are from the Tri-Sate area, so they have no clue about any of those things I did back home.

My first thought was: 50K a YEAR?! WHAT?! I hope you're getting breakfast in bed and wiping your arse with silk. Is that how much it costs in the US?

For a private school like NYU, yeah. There are many cheaper options available.

Personally I just love my classes and the people I'm meeting.

P.S. You only went to summer camp for 2 weeks a year?

I am going to Fordham, so being in the heart of the Bronx really does add to the scariness in the area outside my campus walls. So wait, you would actually go to camp longer than two weeks?

I know a lot of people have said it, so im really just reinforcing a point here. But get some drink down you and do some crazy shit! Live for the party and you will enjoy your self! Though isnt it really really hard to get alcohol in America (i assume your not 21 yet?)

Yea, but I've been getting crazy drunk since I was 15 years old, so I am used to it now. The difference being that in Texas where I grew up, my party experiences were in the desert or ranches, here in the city, its not hard to get alcohol being 18, but the bars where you go to drink are so packed you literally can't move. I ain't used to it all I guess.