Introduction
The college experience can vary widely based on factors like the type of institution, location, and personal circumstances. However, there are many common aspects that many students encounter at every college.
One common aspect is academics. Students typically take a mix of core classes and electives. Courses can range from lectures to seminars and labs. Many students find they need to develop strong time management and study skills to keep up with the workload. Building relationships with faculty can enhance the learning experience, providing mentorship and networking opportunities.
One other aspect is social life. College is a prime time for making lasting friendships, often through dorms, classes, and extracurricular activities. Students often join clubs, sports teams, or student government, which can enrich their college experience and help them meet like-minded peers. Many campuses host events such as concerts, cultural festivals, and parties, contributing to a vibrant social scene.
One final aspect of college life is personal growth and challenges. College often represents the first time many students live away from home, fostering personal responsibility and independence. Students learn essential life skills, such as budgeting, cooking, and managing their time effectively. Exposure to diverse backgrounds and perspectives can broaden students’ worldviews and enhance their cultural competency. Balancing academics, social life, and personal responsibilities can be stressful. Many students seek support services for mental health and academic counseling. Tuition, housing, and living expenses can be significant stressors, prompting many students to work part-Particularly for first-year students, as adjusting to being away from home can be emotionally challenging.
Mollie’s College Recap
To preface, I am a junior in college! I am 3/4 done with my college life. So sad! I have overall had an incredible experience and I wish I could stay in this season of life longer. Yet, the real world is waiting for me. I will give you guys a brief recap!
Freshman year flew by, but was by far my favorite time so far. At first, I was so nervous about not meeting friends and failing my goals, but it was quite the opposite. Dorm experience helped me branch out of my comfort zone. I rushed in the Fall and immediately had 500 new friends. With this, I was encouraged to get involved. I joined many clubs and organizations that overall made my college experience the best.
Capstone Agency and University Programs at the University of Alabama have by far been the best organizations/jobs. These two have increased my professional development, and soft skills, and have been great at transitioning me from my early college years to preparing me for the real world. I have learned so much from both. Furthermore, University Programs have allowed me to keep a financially stable lifestyle. I don’t have to worry about debt with a ton of money because I am making more than I spend!
Highs
Going off of my college experience in general, I will discuss a few of my best moments or my “highs”. One that immediately comes to mind is my sorority. I have so many amazing supporters and I am so grateful. I spend the majority of my time there for meals and studying, and I also currently live in the house.
One other high that comes to mind is study abroad. In the spring, I will be joining voyage 135 of Semester at Sea. I will travel the world to 11 different countries, 4 continents, and 4 months at sea. This is such an incredible opportunity and I genuinely think this experience will change my entire life, let alone my college environment.
Lows
In my first semester, I went into it very confident in academics, but that didn’t last long. I was succeeding in all of my classes, but I was almost failing math. This put such a burden and pressure on my semester. I ended up dropping the class and taking it over the summer, which was the best decision. Use me as a lesson that it all works out in the end!
One of the biggest lows of my college career is my long-distance breakup. This put a significant damper on my sophomore year but ended up truly being for the best. I rediscovered the college lifestyle and learned how to live for me and myself only! Break ups are hard, but college is better! Go live your life.
Abigail’s College Recap
I have been lucky enough to have many many highs in my life and especially here at Bama. The people I’ve met have contributed greatly to this experience and I’m so thankful for it all! Some of my favorite memories from Bama come from freshman year and truly enjoying experiencing everything for the first time. I was lucky enough to have three amazing roommates my freshman year. So many of my favorite memories come from spending time with them. Looking back I’m so thankful for freshman year and all of these memories I made with them.Â
Highs
During the spring here at school, all of the fraternities throw darty‘s. Any party in Alabama is truly one of a kind, but dartys are by far my favorite freshman year one of the last weekends of the semester all of the fraternity were throwing parties.
I went out with my roommate, Mia to explore and have fun and it was accidentally one of the best weekends. We woke up bright and early after a previous long night out, but it was well worth it. We started off getting ready together and then ventured into fraternity row the first house that we went to. We had so much fun and got to catch up with lots of our friends. The music was great, but even better was the entertainment of live chickens randomly running around the courtyard. People were chasing them and I was sure to get a picture with them!
Memories
We then migrated it to another house where there was a slip and slide we went down, countless times. The irony of these random things at the darty’s were what made them so much fun. After hogging the slip and slide we then moved onto the next house where there was a mud pit. Now, my intention, when going in was not to go in the mud pit yet I found myself leaving covered had to tell dripping in mud. But I have no regrets! We had so much fun Being kids again, but we’re definitely happy to go get clean as we left.
We went to stop by one more place where our friend Drew was playing in a band at the fraternity house. Since we were covered in mud, they would not let us in… can’t blame them. Although, we were determined to see Drew so we ended up going around and standing right at the gate next to the stage where we cheered on our friend Drew and he got a good laugh out of seeing us covered in mud. We ended the night by going to get cleaned up and hitting the dining hall, a personal favorite of mine after Darty days we sat outside enjoying the view and eachothers company.
Lows
Having Lows throughout your life is inevitable. but they’re there for you to learn from and to show you just how good the good times are freshman year, I had a truly amazing time. I was lucky enough to adjust easily and be able to make friends. I joined a sorority, which was a great way in helping with all of this and I highly recommend when I first joined. I met lots of people and made lots of friends one of my mistakes was not continuing to reach out to these people and instead I became very close with just two girls. Well, there’s nothing wrong with this. I isolated myself from others and both those girls ended up leaving school. This led to one of my biggest lows.
Sophomore Year
Starting off sophomore year was really difficult for me. I didn’t have any friends as the ones that I had left and the other people I was once friends with now had their own groups. Trying to join a friend group Lee can always be challenging. I personally struggled with this a lot , and it really brought me down.
When I first moved into my house sophomore year, I found myself sitting on the balcony really upset. I was going back-and-forth on my struggle with friends and overall just felt really alone. This just made me isolate myself more and made my situation worse I had a really rough first semester of sophomore year. Although it didn’t affect my school life and affected my happiness and my confidence in myself. It was especially hard after this to make myself go out and make new friends because of this new lack of confidence. As the fall semester came to an end and winter break approached, I knew that I had to stop having a pity party and make a change. I told myself that when I came back to school in the spring, the things would be different.
Tables Turned
Keeping to my word, I went back to school in the spring with high spirits. I was sure to say yes, to all the invites and experiences that awaited me. I was lucky enough to go to New Orleans with some of my friends where I met a new friend named Katie. Katie was there alone and I wanted to be sure that she had a good time and we ended up hanging out the whole rest of the trip. When we got back to school, I thought things would end there, but we continued hanging out and became good friends. From there, I met lots of Katie‘s friends who I am now lucky enough to call my friends too.
The lows are inevitable. But after every low is a high and that is something you need to remember. I felt so alone and so unhappy at a school that I once loved, but by putting myself out there, I was able to turn things around and I now couldn’t be happier for the things I’ve done and the people I’ve met.
Conclusion
Overall, the college experience can be a transformative time filled with growth, exploration, and learning, preparing students for their future careers and adult life. Each individual’s journey is unique, influenced by personal interests, goals, and the specific environment of their college. We hope that we can show you a hint into our college experiences!
