Many people consider college the best years of their life.
Others may think that’s silly.
However, there may be some truth to thinking that the time you spend going to college makes up the best of your years.
Here are 10 reasons college is the best time of your life.
Is College The Best Time Of Your Life? (10 Reasons It Is)
1. New Perspectives
One of the most exciting, and important, parts of going to college is that it introduces you to new perspectives.
You won’t gain new perspectives by staying in the same town and speaking to people who are the same as you.
As a result, you never grow.
College changes that.
Even if you went to a school that shared the same demographic throughout it, that won’t be the case in college.
There are hundreds of students there.
Each one has their own background and experiences in life.
You’ll meet those students in class, live with them if you’re living in a dorm or a student apartment complex, and even find yourself in organizations with them.
It’s impossible to come away from a diverse college without new perspectives.
Those new perspectives are helpful, too.
They can open your mind to new ideas and solutions.
When you go on to join the working world, you can call on those experiences that you had with other students to bring new ideas to the company.
The new perspective that you gain may even change the trajectory of your life.
You may have started wanting to go into business, but you came out of college wanting to be a civil lawyer focused on minority groups.
College is the best time of your life because it allows you to see the world in a different light.
2. No Crushing Debt
One of the most common reasons students choose not to go to college is because they can’t afford it.
To afford it, they need to take out a huge loan.
The thought of being in debt may frighten them.
What happens if they find themselves in a hiring freeze and can’t find a job?
What happens if they default on their loans?
These fears can keep you from the best time of your life, however.
That’s because while you’re in college, you don’t have to worry about debt.
Your only focus should be on your studies.
Some students will also take on a job as a student to help reduce their debt bubble.
It can ensure that their loans only cover the cost of tuition and not other things like rent, utilities, or groceries.
While you’re in college, you’re completely free to do what you will with the extra funds you receive through your loans.
Paying back your loans seems like miles away.
It’s certainly a far better time than after college when you need to pay back those loans.
3. Away From Home
For many students, college is the first time they’ve been away from home for an extended period.
That brings with it a lot of emotions and responsibilities.
College is the best time of your life because it gives you enough freedom as an adult without all the responsibilities of an adult.
Most students tend to rent an apartment or stay in the dorm.
These students are able to enjoy life outside of their parents’ house.
Not only can it introduce them to what life is like outside of their hometown, but it also helps them understand how to survive on their own.
They’ll pick up on chores like doing laundry, cleaning up after themselves, and potentially finding their first job.
However, they can always go home for the holidays.
For students who are eager to get out of the house and start on their own adventure, college is the best opportunity to do that.
That said, it also reminds students of how easy it is not to be an adult.
It may make them more appreciative of their parents and their own struggles.
College is the best time of your life because it allows you to get out of the house and have a taste of what it means to be an adult.
4. New Friends
Not everyone remains friends with those they made in high school.
People drift apart, especially as they grow older and change their views and beliefs.
College gives you an opportunity to meet new friends that you never would have had the chance to meet before.
Foreign exchange students, for example, are only there for a brief period of time.
It’s a great opportunity to meet them and become friends with someone who lives in another part of the world.
You may learn new customs, gain a new perspective, and learn more about the human condition as a whole.
Besides other countries, colleges also attract students from other states.
Whether they’re from a neighboring state or across the country, you’ll find tons of different people at college.
Some may share the same interests as you.
Others will introduce you to new things you weren’t aware that you enjoyed.
It’s an incredible time for exchanging information, experiences, and forging lasting relationships.
Many believe college is the best time of their lives because they met the people who are the most important to them during that time.
5. Starting A Career
The purpose of college is to educate you about the type of job that you’d like to perform one day.
Many colleges also insist that you take on a few other classes to broaden your skills and mindset.
For some majors and degrees, you gain the opportunity to start an internship.
Sometimes the internship is with the school.
Other times, the college will help you find an internship outside of the school.
Either way, it’s the best time of your life because it helps you get your toe in the door for the job that you want to have one day.
This can be an eye-opening experience.
You may feel that you’re not prepared enough to start that career.
You may feel that you’re ready and want to launch into it immediately.
Others may realize that the career isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be and have the opportunity to switch their studies around to try something else.
College is the best time of your life because it gives you a chance to experience different types of careers.
You’ll have an easier time choosing one that you want to do for the next stage of your life.
Since you’re still in college, you’re not a full-time worker yet, either.
That means you don’t have to worry about joining the nine-to-five world.
It puts some money and experience in your pocket without taking too much of your time.
6. College Sports
There’s no question that watching and being able to participate in college sports is one of the reasons college is the best time of your life.
Whereas college sports fans need to pay large sums of money to watch a game, students receive discounted tickets.
The energy at a college game is unlike anything else.
Students get to have fun, blow off some steam, and hang out with the future NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB rising stars before they become professionals.
There’s also fierce competition among college teams.
Each one has its rival.
Along with games come homecoming dances, celebrations, and all the parties that go with games in general.
It’s a time full of fun and celebration.
Even if sports were never a big deal in your high school or at home, something transformative happens during a college game.
You can’t help but find yourself rooting for your college team alongside the rest of the student population.
When many people think about their college years, they think about the incredible and record-breaking games they were a part of.
7. College Sweethearts
While not everyone finds their future spouse at college, many do.
Besides academics, college is a great time for socializing.
You’re able to meet a diverse set of people who can challenge and attract you.
It’s also an ideal way to meet a potential spouse who isn’t from your hometown.
It’s easy to meet someone in college because you’re often grouped with people of similar mindsets when it comes to career paths.
You’re in the same classes, and there’s a good chance you’ll continue to be in each other’s classes if you have the same major.
Group projects and presentations are other ways you can meet people.
You can learn a lot about a person based on how they perform and interact with others during a group project.
Many people consider college the best time of their life because they met the love of their life during that period.
8. Student Organizations
If you’re not already busy with school and a part-time job, then you may have an interest in joining one of the many student organizations that the college boasts.
It’s often the reason that people consider college to be the best time of their life.
The organization they were a part of changed them in some way.
You may choose to join an organization on a whim or because you’re invested in their ideals.
It also doesn’t hurt to have them on your applications.
Student organizations can vary from activism to community service to even something pop-culture-related like Dungeons & Dragons.
You’ll meet new people, make new friends, and potentially do something great within the organization.
Some also attribute student organizations with growing some of their skills.
They wouldn’t have the leadership or speech skills they do today if they hadn’t been part of a student organization.
That’s because students are in charge of a student organization.
They make up the governmental body that runs it.
This teaches students valuable lessons like accounting, leadership, speech skills, interview skills, and a number of others.
It can also give you helpful connections that can help you with your career later.
Many consider college the best time of their life because they felt involved in their community by being part of a student organization during college.
9. Setting Your Own Diet
Since you’re away from home for the first time, you can eat whatever you want.
You may have a budget that you need to adhere to, but it’s your decision as to what you spend it on.
You can go out to eat often or just enjoy takeout.
You can splurge on candy or stick with greens and fruits.
The choice is completely your own.
For some students who came from strict households, it’s a true taste of freedom and adulthood.
While you should certainly try to follow a healthy diet, the choice is always yours.
For some people, being able to choose what they wanted to eat and when made college the best part of their life.
10. The Social Aspect
Perhaps the most common reason that people consider college to be the best time of their life is the social aspect of college.
The very structure of college encourages you to socialize with others.
When you speak with others and make new friends, you’re pulled on adventures that you never would have dreamed of before.
You may end up vacationing on a tropical island or skydiving or attempting to climb a mountain.
College pushes you to socialize further and meet new people.
The adventures that you have with those people are difficult to copy when you become involved with work, homeownership, and raising a family.
People consider college to be the best time of their life because it was a period in which they had the most freedom to do what they wanted with the people they most enjoyed being around.
How To Prepare For Your Time At College
Considering that college is often the best time of your life, you may feel a little overwhelmed about going to one.
To help you transition into this period of your life, here are a few tips you can follow to help you prepare for college.
1. Take Care Of Finances Straight Away
As soon as you’re accepted into college, you’ll want to figure out your finances.
The primary concern is how you’re going to pay for your college tuition.
If you don’t have any financial help from your family, then you always have loans.
You can choose private loans or federal loans.
Private loans can sometimes give you more, but you’ll want to watch the interest rate on them.
A high interest rate means you’ll be paying your loans off longer to account for the generated interest.
Federal loans are a bit better since there are several programs that you can use to help lower your debt or cancel it entirely.
There are even Pell Grants and other grants that can give you free tuition.
Finally, you’ll want to try and earn scholarships for yourself as much as possible.
There are tons of different scholarships available.
Some are for athletes, others for scientists, but you’re sure to find one that fits you, too.
The best thing about scholarships is that you don’t have to pay that money back either.
It may not be a lot, but it can help reduce your overall debt by a small amount.
That can make a difference when you’re trying to limit as much interest-generating debt as possible.
2. Come with An Open Mind
To succeed in college, you need to come with an open mind.
The lessons and values you learned as a child are important, but there are other lessons and values out there which are as important.
You’ll meet people with different mindsets from your own.
You’ll learn about topics that might make you uncomfortable.
It’s a great time to explore your own prejudices, biases, and privileges and grow beyond them.
If something makes you uncomfortable, then explore why that is the case.
If there’s someone you don’t agree with, then try and understand them more.
Being coming to college ready to learn about everything and everyone—and not just what’s in your curriculum—you can leave college as someone who’s grown as a human.
3. Practice Notetaking
Even if you were a champion at taking notes in high school, college is an entirely different ballgame.
Professors only know two speeds—slow and fast—when giving lectures.
It’s not about being able to write down everything they say.
Instead, you’ll need to learn to focus on the important parts, or the parts that you know you’ll need to refer to later, and then write them down.
Many professors even allow you to bring recording equipment to record the lecture for future playback.
Don’t feel silly if you choose to record the lecture.
Some students may even ask you for a copy of your recording later.
4. Ask For Help
If you’re someone who isn’t comfortable asking others for help, then you’ll want to work on that.
Even with lots of friends, you can often feel on your own at college.
However, there are plenty of resources from which to receive help.
A professor is only an email away.
The same goes for other important individuals like the dean or your adviser.
Become comfortable with asking for help for small matters and big ones.
It can save you a lot of headaches.
5. Be Open To Experiences
College is a great time to learn about yourself.
The only way you can learn is to experience.
Try not to limit yourself too much when it comes to having adventures.
You’ll likely look back later and wish you had done more.
Conclusion
College is easily the best time of your life because it’s a time in which you experience true freedom.
It’s a sample of adulthood without having to worry about things like mortgages, children, or a nine-to-five job.
Following the tips above can help ensure that you make the most of your college experience and have the best time of your life.
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