What is college student life in the United States like?

I'm in college in the US right now, and have been in two different ones so far. What specific questions do you have?

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What do all the colleges you've been to, including the one you're in now, have in common?

The campuses are open. Anyone, regardless of if they're currently a student there or not, can come and go on and off campus as they please. They can also do or say almost anything there, provided it's legal.

Homework. Lots of it.

A lot of young people. Almost everyone, with only a small handful of exceptions, must be around 17-25-ish or so.

The layout of the campuses makes sense, but also doesn't at the same time.

Even if a class says you need a textbook, you may or may not need it in reality.

People tend to be more themselves and care less what others think of them, at least in terms of their appearance and behavior. Similarly, other people will tend to not judge you super easily for what you're like and will mostly leave you alone for that.

Bullying and fighting doesn't feel as widespread as in middle and high school. It's also way less of a popularity contest too.

Bus stops near or on campus that students can use.

There's probably a lot more too, but I hope this is a good start, at least for now.

In america, you are buying more the brand of the degree than the education

Outside of classtime and homework time, you have to make sure you study to cover over what you missed, didn't understand or things that the professor straight up skipped.

If you are in a public school (run by a governmental body), resources are limited. First come first serve and you have to put effort into it. No one's going to notice that you missed a mandatory counseling (degree counseling) but you'll feel the effects of not checking in. (feeling lost in the major etc.)

Collegiate sports are sometimes easy to get into, but since it is semi-professional, expect to sink money into it if you want to actually compete well. (buying equipment, gym membership, coaching)

Make sure you have friends. like a good amount of them. Make sure that you have a network that will tell you if something administrative is coming along, or if there are nice parties to attend. This is your information network. You'll learn about people, internships, parties, gossip, impending admin changes, new regulations, anything. Be a spymaster.

In your dorm, be nice to your dorm mate. You are stuck with them whether you like it or not. But don't roll over. If the cold air from their open window is causing you joint pain, tell them on face value, "Could you close the window before going to sleep? My knee hurts like hell when I wake up because its too cold overnight."

You have to pick your battles. Especially when taking classes. You have to shoot for the better professor, and if a course is extra hard make sure to not stack other hard classes for that quarter/semester. Your gpa counts more than your graduation date. (<< that's only true if you have enough money, taking extra years sinks thousands of dollars each year.)

There are people who have strong ideological concepts they stick to. In my experience, unless you believe those same things, try to tip toe around it. If you don't know the person or don't have to work with them, don't. Put distance.

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Why gossip? Is gossiping considered a good or bad thing in middle and high school?

Depends on the type of gossip. In most cases it's seen as bad though. People are hypocritical about it though, in a way. They love hearing about it and spreading it themselves, but hate it when other people do it, especially when its about them.

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Why gossip? Is gossiping considered a good or bad thing in middle and high school?

Gossip tells you what others think of a person. The most useful gossip is about yourself; what others think about you.

I frown upon spreading gossip but it is a very useful way to see other's outward images. Knowing others outward images is useful to know who to be careful with not because of the person itself, rather the image that interacting with them may put on you. If someone's reputation is bad, like branded a misogynist or a communist preacher, its generally better to just steer clear unless you need or want to get closer to them.

Gossiping is generally bad imo but its useful is the Tl;DR.

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expensive and stressful af to submit applications for. i still have 6 more schools i need to apply to

Ugh I forgot all about that somehow I still managed to submit applications for like 32 colleges. I don't know how I managed that feat.

Couldn't tell you a typical one. I don't like greek life. I commuted from parent's house instead of living in a dorm. Didn't really do any clubs or anything. Had some friends to study with and did well in classes.

It's pretty much what you make of it and everyone's situation is different

I went to under grad and graduate school in the US and it was great. I met friends that I still keep in touch with and yep, still paying off the student loan lol. I agree with others -- that it's what you make of it.

I worked the entire time I was at the university and graduate school since I was putting myself through both and even with some scholarships. It was too expensive not to - so the work and student life kept me soooo busy. So I didn't join too many extra activities in under-grad - just focused on graduating within 4 years. I took 2 years break before going to graduate school and while I also worked there, I joined one club since it was a very laxed one hahahah.

My under grad campus was huge and planning classes - you had to be careful to give yourself time to run from this building to the other building etc. I had some cool professors that really helped me out re mentoring and life advices.

My grad school campus was tiny (I chose it for this reason too!! no more running in between classes!!) but my work place was in a town 30 mins away. In hindsight, I am more satisfied with my graduate school and what they taught me, I still use in my professional career to this day - even though the school was soooo expensive.

At a predominantly Agricultural University. Met Students from Rancher and Farmer families. University property had Stables and Pastures. I must of fell in with the Rancher crowd as there was a lot of Horse Riding.

I did not like the multi-level Lecture Hall style classrooms. Teachers could not walk around among the Students. Some Weekdays Class schedules caused gaps and was an opportunity to do homework or relaxing between classes. Did schedule Swimming sessions after classes before heading back to the off campus Dorm. Also before going to sleep did go to athletic field on campus to run laps and exercise.

Off campus Dorm was a Room and Board setup. It was so nice to have meals ready in the Cafeteria. Roomates were cool and other Dorm mates were fun. Everyone got along. Interesting even though we lived together we mostly all did things on own.

I never drank alcohol until the huge Beer Parties thrown every Weekend by Fraternities. Not quite Animal House but maybe I missed that part. XD In Town Fridays was big Beer Garden gatherings. It must of carried outside of Campus Towns. Cause I see the same Outside Decks filled to standing room only. People with Beer in hand getting wasted. XD Not my regular routine I mostly explored around on a Bicycle.

The romantic comedy of College life made even more interesting by rich Rancher's and Framer's Daughters. XD

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I hope I get the Federal Pell Grant so I wouldn't have to pay anything!

I hope you get it too because student loans is a heavy burden and I don’t wish it on anyone-

The work can be stressful and a test of self-discipline, motivation, time management, and personal will.