4 Harsh Truths You Should Accept About College

Accepting and working around them will enable you to have a more fulfilling experience.

Attending college is often a rewarding, life-changing experience — but it comes with its own unique set of struggles. Many of these difficulties are unavoidable, and you should know how to navigate them in order to make the best of your four years.

Let’s get right into it.

Your professors don’t always care about you

During my senior year of college, there was a ridiculous “cheating” case which many of the Head TAs around campus heard about. It involved a student who was falsely accused of cheating by his professor but rightfully denied it. The case was subsequently passed on to the Office of Student Conduct, who determined after a thorough investigation that the student was being truthful and did not in fact cheat. The Office directed the professor to revert the student’s failed course grade, but the professor still refused, and the administration had to go in manually and make changes.

It never made sense to me how someone can become so obsessed with catching cheaters that they prioritize it over the actual learning of their students. The above story could well be about a stubborn 5-year old; it’s ludicrous that actual professors can act like this.

Sadly, you will run into many professors who tout themselves for infamously impossible exams, indigestible lectures, struggling students, and insufferable arrogance — all of which indicate a lack of interest in genuinely connecting with and mentoring students.

What you can do about it: Find the compassionate souls hidden in the fray. For every pompous professor on campus, there is a gentle one to match. The one who will go out of their way to help you, make you feel welcome, and mentor you toward success. It’s really important not to get discouraged, as it’s possible you’ll meet the not-so-great professor first (they’re more obvious about it). When that happens, just walk away and go find someone who actually cares about you.

Sometimes, you’ll have nothing and someone else will have everything

Your lab partner’s got it all: a 4.0 GPA, a girlfriend, a social life, a reasonable sleep schedule, a fun side job for extra money, and peace of mind. Meanwhile, you’re barely passing your introductory major courses, you never get enough sleep, you’re always anxious, and you don’t have the energy for friends or relationships. The worst part? It feels like you work so hard for so little, while others work so little and receive so much.

C’est la vie, my friend. It’s happened to the best of people, and it will happen to you too. Life isn’t fair, and there will be moments in college when everything just feels horrible for no good reason, and you want to give up.

What you can do: Just hang on. I promise it will get better. Life is a roller coaster for everyone. If you’re experiencing a low right now, that just means a high is waiting down the line — but you’ll only get there if you keep moving.

Many teachers have no idea how to teach

“I’m having a lot of trouble visualizing these weird functions. Do you have any advice?”

“You just gotta visualize, dude.”

This an actual conversation I had with a TA for my multivariable calculus class freshman year. I had been struggling immensely with the material and went to his office hours for help. When I expressed that his brilliant tip above was insufficient assistance, he proceeded to say something like, “You can’t just come in here and ask for my help.” Uhhh, isn’t that what office hours are for?

Unfortunately, many of the professors you’ll have during college are research professors who simply teach to fulfill a necessary part of their job description. They are primarily focused on their research and have little to no passion when it comes to teaching. This is even more likely to be true with graduate student TAs, who need to be ultra-focused on research to earn their PhDs.

This leads to insufferably boring lectures, oddly illogical lesson plans, and completely mind-boggling interactions like the one above. It sucks, but it’s true.

What you can do about it: Seek out resources on campus that can help you. These include tutoring centers, other students, and professors who are truly amazing teachers. Even though some professors can’t explain a concept to save their lives, others possess a gift for simplifying complex ideas and making them accessible to students. The key to identifying a good teacher? Look for someone a light in their eyes that shines through when they teach, and you’ve hit the jackpot. These people exist on all college campuses, perhaps in unexpected places.

You’ll never beat everybody

In one of my introductory computer science courses, I did poorly on a midterm after studying extremely hard. On that same midterm, students who hardly studied got perfect scores. This occurred repeatedly throughout my college experience.

Whether due to past experience, private tutoring, unethical actions, or good genetics — someone will always surpass you. Even if you were valedictorian of your high school and have never gotten below a 100% on a test, I promise people will be more skilled than you in college. There are a plethora of students who are laser-focused and highly intelligent, and therefore you’ll have a ton of competition even if you’re among that group.

What you can do about it: Stop trying to be the best, and embrace being surrounded by brilliant minds. This is one of the greatest opportunities you’ll ever have to learn from talented people whose minds work on a completely different wavelength. Swallow your pride and don’t waste the chance. Life isn’t about being objectively the best. It’s about being the best version of yourself — a truth that these bright people you’re so desperately competing with have already figured out.

Final Thoughts

A lot of the above is depressing, I know — but if I could emphasize one thing, it would be the silver linings. For each of the harsh truths listed above, there is a correlated, constructive reality as well.

Want to know the secret to a fruitful college experience? Accept and push through the difficulties while remaining focused on the positive benefits to you.

Do that, and you’ll be well on your way to success.