The 6 Most Gratifying Moments Of College

Original Source: https://www.thepropaper.com/blog/college-life/gratifying-moments-in-college/

Cramming For An Exam The Night Before And Pwning It

Nothing feels quite as gratifying as cramming for an exam and tearing it a new one. You walk out of the building as you kick the doors out, and everyone around you knows whats up. They know you just pulled a Patriots come-back like no other. Congratulations on being an expert slacker!

Getting A Huge Financial Aid Refund

'Financial Aid Day' is a special day indeed. You finally have enough money to book that spring break trip or buy those concert tickets. If you're lucky you'll have many financial aid days throughout your college career, and be sure to enjoy them!

Finishing A Paper Five Minutes Before It's Due

Ahh, the sun is rising, the birds are chirping, and it's five minutes before your paper is due. You stretch and sip your coffee as you submit your final click....the paper is turned in. After a long and terrible night spent battling many distractions, you come out victorious. You should be proud.

When You're Teacher Asks You A Question During Class And You Guess Correctly

Professors are the best, and they're the worst. For every one good professor, there are five bad ones (that's a fact). One thing many professors like to do is call people out so that they'll pay attention. At some point during college you start becoming a gifted guesser, and it prepares you for this moment. The day you successfully guess your way out of embarrassment is truly a gratifying one.

Finishing Your Last Exam Of The Semester Like A Boss

There's nothing quite like that feeling of walking out of the last exam of the semester knowing you crushed it. You could fail every other exam that semester and it wouldn't diminish the gratification from this. Hell, you probably did fail every other exam because you spent all your time studying for this one. Good job!

Graduating At Some Point Or Another

At some point or another, you actually have to graduate. Then comes the realization that you never have to go to classes, write essays, or starve yourself again. Don't take it too hard, there's always grad school to look forward to.

What No One Tells You About College

Your Professors Don't Care About You

One of the most shocking things for most new students is this discovery. You learn this the hard way unfortunately, and nothing can prepare you for it. After a lifetime of teachers chasing you down about homework, calling your parents, and mentoring you, this can be tough. The sad truth is that most college professors focus on other things such as research. They can’t be distracted by their students…that would make too much sense, right? Not every professor you have in college will be this way, some may actually care. But it is safe to say that the majority of your professors will never know your name.

99% Of Your Classes Have Nothing To Do With Your Future Career

 

When you first start your major it is easy to get over excited and fall in ‘lust’ with your program. 99% of the classes you take have nothing to do with your desired career. In fact, it’s almost safe to say that 100% of your classes won’t be relevant. Keep this in mind when you choose your major too, because this can be off-putting. You can use this information to your advantage however, since most students aren’t aware of this. Spend you free time in college preparing for what you actually want to do.

You Will Lose Faith In Humanity

After seeing what you will undoubtedly see in college, it is safe to say you will lose faith in humanity. It only takes one bad apple to ruin the bunch. During my entire four years at university, I never had a bad experience with any ‘frat guys’. In fact I thought of them as genuinely good people. But while I was Uber driving I had one guy from Pike get in my car that was the epitome of a spoiled brat. I had never been dealt with anyone that was this disrespectful before. All I could do was remember that his parent’s clearly didn’t love him and try not to take it personally. But after this I just didn’t think of ‘frat guys’ the same. I lost faith in them, and the rest of my fellow classmates.

Most Of The Professors Are Actually Students

 

Once you realize that most of your professors don’t have Ph.D’s, you begin to see how the education system really works. When college students move on to grad school, many of them will become teachers and T.A’s. They get scholarships for doing so, so you can imagine why the majority of your professors are only a few years older than you. This is frustrating because they don’t always know what they’re teaching and they can’t answer questions easily. The best part about this is when you see one of them at a party and you get to bond over a game of beer pong.

Many People Will Pay For A’s

 

Yup, I said it. Don’t be surprised when you find out that people who come from money will likely pay for A’s. Many fraternities have test banks where they have all the answers for every exam. Or that many people use paper writing services so they can go out and have fun. Don’t take this one too personally, these services have become common nowadays. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself using one of these before you graduate.

How to do Good in College

So you want to do good in college? 

I’m sharing this information with you because it’s the information I wish I had gotten when I first started college. If you’re a freshman or sophomore, you haven’t really had to deal the hard parts of college. The upper-level classes are the make-or-break it factors for your GPA. So do yourself a favor and follow this advice.

Don’t take multiple hard classes in one semester

I learned this one the hard way. During my sophomore year I got bold and took Intermediate Microeconomic Theory, Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory, Financial Markets, and Game Theory all in one semester. This absolutely destroyed my GPA because there just wasn’t enough time in the day. Plus I burnt myself out and spent the next two years absolutely hating college. The worst part was that by taking all the interesting courses at once, I only had boring classes which snowballed in to skipping class. The solution. Don’t take your hard classes too soon, and don’t take them all at once.

Eat well

This one is easily overlooked because you think that as long as you eat, you’re doing well. But this is not the case, the truth is that you are what you eat. If you eat pizza for every meal, you will feel it. On top of that, your grades, energy level, and motivation will feel it as well. Don’t let yourself fall in to bad habits like eating unhealthy food all the time. Try to stay balanced and follow the golden rule. One for them, one for you. So for every unhealthy meal you eat, eat a healthy meal at your next feeding time.

Don’t rely on alcohol to have fun

Going to parties is a necessity for a true college experience. And these parties usually have alcohol….and lots of it. If you always rely on alcohol to have fun at these parties then you will feel uncomfortable when you’re sober at these parties. Always try to pace yourself and focus on having fun instead of getting drunk. Feel free to get wasted at your friends’ party, as long as you have a couch to sleep on and friends to take care of you.

Keep your friends close

When you go through the many transformations you will go through during your college career, it is easy to lose yourself. Sometimes this is good but sometimes it isn’t. Your friends are our ground, they will always be your safe place when things get bad. Keep them close because there will come a time when you need them. Always try to be there for them in their time of need as well. This is one of the most important rules in this list.

Try not to stress about the future

No one warns you about this one, but it can be a serious problem for many people. I know that I definitely forgot to do this. Being surrounded by people that ‘had it all figured out’ was frustrating. I started beating myself up for not having a clue what I wanted out of life. This becomes a vicious cycle quickly. Throw in the pressure of a growing amount of debt, relationship problems, and school work and you have a recipe for disaster. Always remember to take it easy on yourself and don’t stress. If something is causing stress, remember that it will work itself out.

College Tip #23

Never underestimate the benefit of a good study guide.

College Tip #85

Want to get all A’s? Many professor’s or T.A’s will give you extra points on exams if you speak with them when you get your grade back. You have to be bold though. When they tell you why you missed a question, you must be able to prove that you at least somewhat knew the answer. If you can do this, then ask for additional points and you will be surprised. A ‘D’ can quickly become a ‘B’ with a few extra points.