This mytake is intended for 16-20 year olds on GAG. I wanted to write about a few things I noticed in real life about college and life. I wish someone would have told me these things, so that way I could have managed my expectations. Let’s just get started because i have a lot on my mind:
COLLEGE IS NOT THE PLACE TO FIND LOVE.
When I was about to go to college, my parents were drilling into me that I should look for a potential husband. Maybe it’s a cultural thing, but my parents believed that it was feasible to find a partner to settle down with. In fact, it was preferable. In their eyes, I would be single for the first 2 years, and then find an eligible bachelor with a STEM interest to marry by senior year. I guess this is reflective of times they lived in. In real life, everyone is still learning about themselves to take dating anyone seriously. If you live in the south, random bitches will get married your senior year. But they’re usually white conservative Christians so don’t even compare yourselves to them if you don’t fit ALL those categories.
At any rate, people date and sleep around in college. Quite a bit. But the vast majority spend more time single than anything else. Occasionally people will have a friend in a long term 3 year relationship but few relationships survive college.
So yeah. You might get a sporadic sex partner. But a lasting relationship? Nah. Manage your expectations about that one.
GRADES ARE NOT THE BE-ALL-END-ALL
Granted, GPAs are used to filter applications for the *real* jobs after college. But it’s literally just the job recruiters saying “delete all applications under a 3.5.” And whatever applications are above the minimum GPA requirement, they *might* look at. I say this because students don’t realize how ruthless the job market is. No one is pouring over your resume - they glance at it at best.
I would also like to note that high GPAs benefit you only when you get your first entry level job somewhere. After that, it’s meh. No one with 10 years experience in finance gets asked what their grade was in ______ Accounting course.
There are a few exceptions to this rule though - if you want hella scholarships, then aim for the highest GPA possible. Or perhaps if you want to go to graduate school - then definitely aim for the highest GPA possible. But even these situations can be worked around if you know what to do. And I’ll tell you.
MAKE AS MANY CONNECTIONS AS YOU CAN AND TRY NOT TO BURN BRIDGES
There are some Grade AAA assholes in college. However try to avoid these people and if you can’t, be nice to them. College is truly about making connections that will get you the job after graduation. In a literal sense, it’s what gets you jobs.
How do you make friends? Focus on quality, not quantity. You want to have a solid friend group of 2 trustworthy friends. But your acquaintances from classes should be many.
A great way of making acquaintences is by creating a LinkedIn. Do this now. Like go download it now. Then, ask your peers in each class to add you on there. If you’re especially ambitious, make a GroupMe for that specific class and ask everyone in the class to join. 9/10 students want to join and you almost never get turned down. This gives you a way to meet a ton of your classmates while minimizing work required. I might make a separate mytake on this because I learned the art of Finesse Networking by doing this.
A basic way of making friends that never fails is clubs and organizations on campus. Nothing else to say here.
YOUR COLLEGE AND HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS ARE LITERALLY YOUR BEST RESOURCE.
High school teachers write decent recommendations (hopefully) to get you into the college of your choice. But your college teachers literally get you the career you want.
Note: when in college, always do your research. Look up your teacher, see if they are tenured, what research they are working on or have published. And talk about that....with the teacher. This isn’t high school where talking to your teachers during lunch is weird. In college, grabbing coffee with your hip Poli-Sci professor gets you a slamming internship. And most of them happen to be bored as hell in their offices.
What else can you do? Well no teacher wants to help a lazy student, so be proactive. You may not have a 4.0 GPA, but if the teacher sees you try to enjoy the material, it’s an easy finesse. Send them emails asking about content, participate in class and study your ass off. Even if you get a B, your teacher will love you for trying.
**Tenured professors are a GOLD mine. Get a recommendation from them or work for them and you WILL get into graduate school somewhere. They’re experts in their field for a reason.
NO ONE HAS IT FIGURED OUT YET
There’s some super star kids in high school and college who look like they’ve been doing this for years. By this, I mean college/high school. But don’t pay attention to that. It should inspire you, but keep in mind everyone has a different path.
Used to envy the “smart” kids because I thought I was dumb. When actually, I just didn’t try hard enough in my classes to get the grade. Now, I know that smart =\= success. You can be smart but unmotivated. I’m of average intelligence but I succeed at everything I do because I understand a) people and b) life belongs to those who grab it by the balls.
So even if you don’t have a career in mind, or a job you love....who gives a shit. Try a ton of stuff, and weed out what you don’t like. Do all the internships and part-time jobs, because it makes you interesting. It makes you experienced. And experience is what teaches you what direction you need to go. Just get off your ass and make it happen.
NOTHING GOOD LASTS FOREVER
No but seriously. Nothing ever does. Not the relationship with the girl you adore, not your “dream job” not even good health. You have to savor it while it’s there because tomorrow, it could be gone.
College and high school are two different bubbles you live in for whole segments of your life. But you won’t be there forever - eventually you get too old and you have to leave. So enjoy the time you have now because you won’t get it back.
COLLEGE IS A SCAM. YOU GOTTA LEARN HOW TO SCAM THE PROFESSIONAL SCAMMERS
This has different meanings for different people. If you are in high school reading this, don’t go to college. Well....go to community college and then transfer out/graduate with an associates degree. I highly recommend getting a STEM associate degree and then working full time or go to a 4 year institution. At that point, you have a degree under your belt AND you’ve finished most of the general credits required at 4 year institutions so you won’t be there as long. Maybe 2 years?
Example: My brother is in high school and graduates May 2018. He is going to a technical school to get a engineering degree while working at an internship at a nuclear power plant. Lol and he works at Wendy’s on the side. He hasn’t decided if he even wants to even go to a 4 year college at this point. Because there’s no reason - he will be making more than most college grads soon.
Also, if you are a junior in high school, DO DUAL ENROLLMENT CLASSES. DO THEM. ASK YOUR GUIDANCE COUNSELOR AND HOP ON THAT SHIT. AP classes are soooo basic, and you work way harder than you would if you just took a college class. Dead serious. It makes much more sense than taking a ridiculously difficult class to *possibly* get a test score on the AP exam that saves you money. Consider that.
For those actually in college: Don’t drop out? Lol. Make the best use of your time by kicking your own ass at 1) internships 2) college job fairs 3) counseling.
**Dont buy college textbooks unless you have to and even then do it through Amazon or Chegg. Get it cheap and not at the college bookstore.
COUNSELING IS YOUR BEST FRIEND
You’ll see your friends drinking themselves under a table more than once. That’s not normal.
I will say 80% of college students go through some pretty crazy shit in college. It takes a toll on your mental health, believe me. If you go to a 4 year institution, go to the counselors on campus. You pay for it with your “institutional fees” that are tacked onto your bill. Might as well use it to your advantage.
Even if you love college, still go. Just go talk to someone so you can be successful because there’s a ton of people in college that medicate, and drink themselves into oblivion because they’re depressed. It’s very common and very sad.
TAKE ALL ADVICE WITH A GRAIN OF SALT, EVEN MINE
Whether you decide to go to college or not, being an adult is truly about making good choices. You need to be a rational thinker, and you must be able to research properly.
Using tools to find information and then analyzing that information is what college *should* teach you. All of what I said here is not only anecdotal but based on stats I have seen over the years. Knowledge is power but it can also be used as misinformation.
So criticize everything and be skeptical of everyone. Think rationally and use the best info you have available to get yourself ahead in life. You guys are very young and impressionable, so don’t let anyone screw you over. It’s your life and it’s all up to you what you do with it.
The end, for now 😊
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