10 Things About College You Won't See in a Hollywood Movie

10 Things About College That You Won't See in The Movies

Old People

One thing you never see in a college movie is an old person popping a wheelie in a wheelchair around campus. The crazy thing is that over half of your classmates are likely to be in your parents' age range (sometimes even your grandparents.) I learned this on my first day of class. I was waiting for the professor to arrive to class, every time I student walked in I thought they were the professor because they were so old. About 3 of the students turned out to be older than the ancient professor.

To put this in better perspective, picture sitting next to your grandma's bingo partner in English 1301 for 90 minutes a day. Does that sound glamorous?

Major Smokers

Are you one of those people who hate smoke? Well maybe you should take classes over the internet. College is filled with smokers! It seems like it is the smokers who are trying to be the best they can be (academically.) how many kids smoked in high school behind the building? Well imagine a hundred times more than that and you're still not even close to the amount of smokers. Sad for YOUR lungs isn't it?

During orientation you probably saw all the signs "No Smoking Within 50 feet of Campus." Did that ease your worrying? If it did then I pity your gullibility. Those signs are just for show. The people who MADE those signs probably smoked within 50 feet of campus. Where is the most smoke: next to the cafeteria where people just got done eating, and outside of the dorm rooms. Dorm rooms are more likely be non-smoking, and they contain sensitive smoke alarms that can be set off from the smoke. Lots of people go only as far as needed to smoke, thus there will be a crowd of smokers by your dorm door.

Disabled People

Now this one isn't bad, but when I got to college I was surprised by the numbers. Why wasn't I aware? Well don't depend on Hollywood to brief you on college. As implied before, they mostly show the "glamorous" and "cool" stuff. Disabled people make up a large percentage of the campus population. By disabled I am meaning people in wheelchairs maybe with a leg or two missing or even someone with fake legs walking.

They have their own classes sometimes. They have their own entrances and exits. If you for some reason dislike or make fun of disabled people then college isn't right for you. There will be about eighty times more people in wheelchairs than at high school. Maybe they have their life in better perspective then people who can walk and run.

Weirdo Land

Remember those emo and goth kids from high school? Yeah, they commit suicide like you thought, instead they went to college. Everywhere these people roam. If you couldn't stand them in high school then it's not likely you'll be lovey dovey with them in college.

Oh did I forget to add that even the geeky kids were at college? Now that isn't unexpected is it? Yet, when you think about college you think of all the cool, hot guys you are going to meet. It is more likely for the cool, hot guy to NOT go to college than it is for Eugene from the science club to NOT go to college.

So if you think you're going to get to college and it is going to be hot or preppy guy central then think again.

Cliques

Cliques are so high school right? NOT! In movies you see people from crazy, different backgrounds hanging out. Well is this untrue? Yes and no. In real college, you will see these people talking and being friendly. If they are hanging out it is most likely because they are/were roommates.

Cliques are prevalent on campus. If you take a jock out of his environment, and put him in a new environment does that no longer make him a jock? Will he not long to hang with other jocks?

Another reason for cliques on campus is number 7.

Language Barrier

Being the foreign kid sucks right? No one really understands you, not a lot of people speak your language. You miss home. How about YOU being a foreign kid HERE in your own country? Doesn't sound right? Let me explain.

Colleges are swarmed with foreign kids who speak different language, and from minorities who speak different languages. Just because "Amy" was born in America what makes you think she isn't going to speak Korean or the Chinese language with her family?

People who speak different languages tend to group up and have conversations without LITTLE OL' ENGLISH SPEAKIN YOU.

Imagine being on an American campus where everyone is speaking every language but English. In my first week here at college I heard people speaking, Korean, East Asian, Chinese, Spanish, and even some African languages.

It leaves you feeling left out and wishing that you had the ability to speak ALL of those languages, and it also gets in your way of making friends ultimately making you feel lonely.

Penalties & Fines

Campuses are worse than credit card companies when it comes to fines and penalties. Most of their fines are ridiculous and don't make sense. If you break a window SCREEN it can cost you around $50. Locked yourself in your room? Well you can borrow their key, but if you're not back in "X" amount of minutes then you can have a fine around $60. is your room really dirty? Well you'll be owing "$75. oh, so you have a candle? That will be %50 a candle. The list goes on and on. They actually give you a large list of things you can or cannot do.

Parties? Yeah Right

College movies always include parties? Well on a real campus, you can't throw a party unless you are apart of a campus organization. Even those parties can be lame because they follow certain guidelines. Sometimes those guidelines include no booze because of the presence of people under the age of 21. If you're looking for a real party, you will have to search off-campus.

Broke!

Just like your tuition, everything on campus is overpriced. Just yesterday I bought a cookie for $2.29. Not only that, but your financial aid will not pay for your books until all of your debts to the college are paid, like tuition/housing/meal plan. Until all of those are paid you will be scraping and saving to buy $150 books (that is the cost of one.)

If you are really looking at college to be a place to grow up then you aren't going to call your mommy or daddy every time you need $20.

Get used to being broke. Even with a work study job you don't make that much money because they limit the hours you work. Want a second job? Well be prepared to be sleepy and flunking college.

Fatty

Everyone knows about the Freshman 15, yet lots of kids think they will not be victim to it. Unfortunately...you will! If you're on a meal plan then you're likely to gain 15 even with exercise because of the grease soaked food they're serving. Cafeterias tend to serve things that can be cooked in large quantities, cooked quick, and is cheap. That spells out "B-A-D" for your health. For the first week you will think "yum, eggs, sausage, bacon and pancakes for breakfast every morning." I suggest you back away from the buffet.

All of this weight that you gained will leave you feeling self-conscious about yourself, your body, and it isn't good to hold those kinds of feelings in a college environment.

I hope you learned ten things you WON'T learn by watching some college movie. Maybe when you go to college you'll be a little bit smarter and more prepared than I was.