ON COLLEGE CAMPUS

8 COLLEGE MYTHS

What we think to be true isn’t always so. Sometimes it takes people who have been there and done it to tell us the real truth–especially when it comes to life at college. Here are some college myths worth debunking this fall:

College is 100 percent AMAZING 100 percent of the time

College is 90 percent amazing and 10 percent difficult. The brochures don’t tell students that it’s normal to feel lonely, depressed and homesick some of the time. According to the Higher Education Research Institute, more than 62.7 percent of freshman students reported feeling lonely or homesick. Plan how to get comfortable with the uncomfortable and the 10 percent that’s rough won’t take up 100 percent of your time.

Living with a great friend = a GREAT idea

Wrong! Living with a best friend means you risk losing a good friend. It might seem fun spending 24/7 with a great friend, but too much of a good thing can make you ill (think chocolate or cafeteria food). If your best friend becomes your worst enemy, you lose a friend. If a stranger becomes your worst enemy, you’ve lost nothing. There’s always the chance you’ll become great friends with your stranger roommate.

You can pass without going to class

Unless you go to class, the only thing you’ll pass in college is gas. If you want to get a C, you need to get to class. Just going is usually enough to pass. If you want to get a higher grade than a C, stay awake in class when you go.

Professors think students who get help are stupid

There’s nothing that shows a stronger lack of knowledge than avoiding your professor when you don’t know the answers. Waiting until you fail and then asking for help isn’t a sign of a smart student–asking for help is smart.

Dump your LDR before leaving for college

If you’re in love with your high school honey there’s NO reason to dump him or her before leaving for school. LDRs (long distance relationships) don’t always work, but they can work–it just takes a lot of work and a couple that’s 100 percent committed to doing the work.

EVERYONE gets wasted in college

Most students do NOT binge drink. Some students don’t drink at all. The ones who are drinking aren’t overdoing it. According to the BACCHUS Network, in 2006 68 percent of females and 54 percent of males had 0 to 4 drinks in a sitting over a two-week period. It’s just that most people don’t talk about the ones who don’t drink because that’s just not a lot of fun. There are clubs, activities, organizations and ways to stay sober and get involved in college life.

Everyone hooks up in college

If you include hooking up with yourself, then yes, everyone hooks up in college. If you’re talking about connecting with other people, then this is not true. According to the BACCHUS Network survey, 28 percent of students reported having no sex in the last school year. That means a quarter of campus isn’t hooking up.

Getting a sexual souvenir in college is hard

According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 1 in 5 American teenagers and adults are infected with genital herpes. Millions more have genital warts, chlamydia and some of your other favorite sexual souvenirs. In fact, it’s easy to go home with one or more sexual souvenirs. So, if you’re going to get intimate, get to the health center and make sure your partner is STD free.

Harlan Cohen is the bestselling author of The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College, a nationally syndicated advice columnist, speaker and a singer/songwriter. You can contact Harlan via Facebook and his websites: TheNakedRoommate.com and HelpMeHarlan.com.

*Story from Fall 07 issue