3 Things University Will Teach You (Outside of the Class)
For all the flack I've given our education system, and Universities, I do think they offer a certain unique value, it's just not the value that they advertise about.
- The Only Person You Are Accountable to is Yourself
If you've ever had a high school guidance counsellor tell you how nobody chases you up in University to hand in your assignments - they are right. Universities do have lots of resources at your disposal if you need something, but you have to go to them for help, not the other way around.
If you do poorly on a test nobody is sending you an email to talk about a plan to review the material you struggled with. Nobody will call your parents to tell them if you did really well or really poorly. The only person who cares is you.
If you want to reach out to get help people will be there for you, there is free tutoring, office hours with professors and teaching assistants, there are plenty of resources available if you need them, but nobody will make you access the resources, it's all up to you.
Likewise at University you have lots of time (maybe not in engineering programs). For many programs you only have 15-20 hours of class a week. Let's say you actually sleep 8 hours a night (56 hrs per week). That still leaves you 97-93 hours a week to do whatever you would like. That's more time than 2 full time jobs. The choice of how to spend it is up to you. You can use it to work, or study or you can fritter it away. The only person you have to answer to about your time use is yourself.
For me University has given me the chance to reinforce this fact within me. I know that if I want something to happen I need to be the one who goes and makes it happen. Likewise I know that if I don't want to do something I don't have to, the decision is mine but I have to answer to myself for the consequences.
2. Freedom is a Double Edged Sword
When I was in high school I remember thinking about all the freedoms that being 18 and living away from home would bestow upon me. The fact that I could stay up as late as I wanted, or get up as late, or eat whatever or I wanted, or get a credit card, the possibilities were almost endless.
I know for me the freedom of being able to use my time how I want, the freedom of having a credit card, of being able to do what I need to do for IEE, is quite liberating. Except I keep in mind the consequences, I have to remember that for everything I chose to do or not to do I am giving up something.
With freedom comes responsibility. When nobody is telling you when to get up or go to sleep you can very easily make poor choices. You can sleep through classes, stay up all night. You can play games all day, watch Netflix, get hungover before your midterms, buy whatever you want with a credit card - except each one of those decisions has consequences.
You can fail your courses and get bad grades if you don't go to lectures, tutorials or chose not to do your readings. You can rack up large amounts of credit card debt (on top of student loans), just like lesson 1, everything that is freeing has nasty consequences if not used properly, and one of the reasons many students struggle during their first year is because of the sheer quantity of freedom coming at them so quickly, if you can - start taking on some of that freedom in high school to adjust yourself.
3. People Are Strange
When you go to University, especially when you live in residence you will probably find that people seem quite strange.
I know people who will be microwaving at 4:30am, except then at 10pm they are just getting up (I don't nap at 10pm, I'm going to bed early at 10pm). I am still not really sure if they go to class, but they made it through Christmas, so I think they pulled it together somehow.
Some people will party Thursday, Friday, Saturday, some people all 7 days, some people never. There will be people who you don't realize live on your floor because they never leave their rooms. You'll be amazed at how messy people can be, I know because these are all things I had to come to grips with.
Then I realized that for everyone else - I was the weird one. My schedule is usually sleeping anywhere from 11:30 to 12 and getting up at 7-8. That is not normal for University students. I go to all my classes, unless I'm unwell, which again is not that normal. I fritter around more time than I'd like, but I also work a lot more than most people, which again makes me the strange one.
What I've learned though is to not see people who do things differently than me as 'strange'. Instead I have learned that each person is unique, with their own goals and ambitions, and that as much as 4:30am microwaving is annoying, as is 3:30am yelling, you do find ways to cope, and I've learned to embrace the fact that all of us are a little strange, and learned to live with that.
And from what I know about the world learning to deal with 'strange' people is a skill that will always be in demand.
What University Teaches Best - The Soft Skills
As much as Universities promote their courses, or reputations, or professors, I think the best thing they offer is structured transition to being an adult. The chance to take on certain responsibilities without having to take on all of them. It's a chance to learn how to world works, and how people work, and it's a great opportunity to dip your toe into the freedom that life can offer.
While Universities can have their courses done as well or better by online competitors what they can do better than the rest is teach you the fundamental skills to make you a successful adult - it's just up to you if their price tag is worth learning those skills.