As many of your students head off to college next year, they will have a number of preconceived notions about what they will see when they arrive on campus. College Options wrote a nice post about Expectation vs. Reality.

Roommates

Expectation

Many students go into college either assuming that they will be best friends with their roommate or that they will be randomly matched with the weirdest of the weird.

Reality

The truth is, you will likely come into contact with all kinds of roommates throughout your entire college career. You may have a cordial roommate that you rarely see. You may have a roommate you curse every time they refuse to take out the trash. As you make new friends, you will likely live with them in the years to come. In time, it is possible you will love the people you live with. If you have a negative experience with your first roommate, take solace in the fact that you are not tied to this person forever. It is only temporary! (And it may make a great story in the future).

Friends

Expectation

Whether it be people you met during orientation or those you befriend on your floor, you may expect your new squad to be best friends for life.

Reality

It’s easy to make fast friends your freshman year because everyone is starting on the same page and eager to make connections. However, it’s easy to forget that the lasting friendships you had in high school took years upon years to develop. In a sense, you are going back to kindergarten and socially starting from scratch. After a few months, you will see people for the way they truly are, and you may decide that those people aren’t for you. Try not to take it too personally if the individuals you meet by random aren’t the best match for friendship; you will find your people.

Parties

Expectation

All day, all the time, every night!

Reality

In actuality, students socialize in a ton of different ways including club meetings, sports events, on-campus affairs, and explorations of surrounding cities, museums, and so on. For students who do party, it’s more of a weekly thing. You will find that the party scene, though fun, is not as glamorous as media makes it out to be. (Welcome to sweaty basements littered with red solo cups).

Moving Away from Home

Expectation

You’ve been looking forward to having independence for months! There will be nothing to get in the way of your newfound freedom!

Reality

People transition differently, some adapting better than others. Be prepared to tackle responsibilities that you may not have had to think about before. This includes shopping for your own toothpaste, doing your own laundry, and taking care of yourself when you’re sick. It’s super common for first year students to feel homesick, so know that you’re not alone if these changes are tougher than you initially thought.

Maturity

Expectation

Everyone will be so much more mature than they were in high school. 

Reality

Sadly, one year between high school and college won’t change the maturity level of most students. That being said, people don’t care about the same things they cared about in high school. No one is going to ask you about your SAT score or the clique that you came from. No one will have preconceived notions about who you are, so your friends will only know you for the person you are in this very moment.

Dorm Life

Expectation

It will only take a couple of hours to settle in, and your room will look just like that Target ad you saw a couple weeks ago.

Reality

Dorm life isn’t as sophisticated as the way it is depicted on Pinterest or Instagram. In this small space, you will have mismatched furniture and it will take a lot of organization to make everything fit properly. You may not feel fully settled until you are living there for a few days or even a few weeks.

Attending Classes

Expectation

You can ditch class whenever you feel like it! As long as you do the readings (eventually), you will totally earn an A on your exams.

Reality

Yes, you can ditch class whenever you want if attendance isn’t mandatory. Should you? Not if you want to pass your classes or make the most of your money spent. In high school, you are required to show up everyday and your teachers are there to keep you focused, accountable, and reminded of upcoming due dates. In college, time management is all up to you. College is truly what you make of it; what you put in, you will get out. By going to class, staying organized, and doing your best, you will be successful!

Though your college experience may turn out differently than your expectations, you are still bound to have an incredible time making new friends, trying new things, learning about yourself, and forging your path for the future.

Here is a link to their original post and check out some of their other great blog posts on their site: https://myoptions.org/college-expectations-vs-reality/

If yes, here are some tips that can help them make a smooth transition. Every state has different rules and regulations, so it is important to investigate the specific rules for residency regarding driver’s license, car tags and voters’ registration. Many students can still claim their parents’ residence as their own while in school so it may not be necessary to make any changes to these items.

Finding a Place to Live

The first thing to consider when moving away from home to live in another state is where you’re going to live while attending school. Some schools require students to live in a dorm for their first year or two. Each school has different policies. If allowed to live off campus your student might want to consider renting an apartment or renting a room in a nearby home. A rental agency can help with that and it’s best to contact them in plenty of time since the beginning of semesters are generally the time that the inventory shrinks considerably.

The Move

The cost of physically moving is another factor to take into consideration. Hiring a moving company to move across the country will be considerably more than a move to the state adjoining the one you’re moving from. If you’re in need of moving services, you can connect with local movers in your area. Before meeting with a moving company to get a quote, they can evaluate companies by reading reviews online. When hiring movers, always insist on a written estimate and never accept an over-the-phone estimate.

Get Familiar

Research as much as they can about their new city and state. They can learn about the culture of their new city by reading up on its history and visiting museums, art galleries, or tourist landmarks. Get to know where locals hang out. Ask someone who has been there for a while where they like going out to eat or drink. Join social media groups linked to their new community and try to meet people that way.

Start a Small Business While in School

A part-time business can be a great way to supplement their income while allowing them to stay on their own schedule. They can try pet sitting, child care, lawn maintenance, tutoring, or any number of small businesses that they can market to their local community. Creating a business plan can improve their chances of success. A business plan should describe their company, detail how they will sell their services, describe how their business will be structured, and include what funding they will need and financial projections. Find a business plan template online to guide them.

When they move to a new town on their own, it can sometimes be hard to get settled. But with the right frame of mind, their new locale can quickly feel like home.

Parents and students make lists of colleges they are considering, and then, based on various factors, they start crossing colleges off their list.   Too big, too small. Too close, too far.  Too cold, too warm.  Too expensive.  However, one factor that parents and students need to think of a bit more carefully before crossing a school off their list is the size and location of the college’s town.   All too often, especially from the perspective of the fun-loving 18-year-old student, if the college (usually a small college) is in a small rural town (“in the middle of nowhere” is the wording they choose), they scratch the college off the list.  They mostly worry about being bored.

I can tell you, from having attended a small college myself (1,000 students in a town of 10,500 people) —and having worked for another small college (900 students in a town of 10,000 people) as an admission representative for 27 years, I can tell you that there are many more advantages than disadvantages to choosing to attend a college in a small town.

Recently, as a research project,  I asked students who had attended college in small towns (and individuals who have worked for such colleges) to help me compile a list of advantages.   There are many!

Advantages:

1. Professors and staff tend to live closer to campus, which makes it easier to interact with them outside of class.  It is not uncommon for faculty and staff to invite students to their homes for coffee or for a cookout.  Many of the most significant and life-changing conversations between students and faculty occur in casual settings away from campus.
2. There are exceptions of course but compared to day-to-day life in a big city, there is a significant safety factor.  Students, in general, feel safe walking around town and around campus.  Especially if it is a small college, it is also easy to be able to spot an individual who does not belong there and report them to the security folks.
3. Everything is walkable—there is no need for a car.  According to one alum “I didn’t have a car in college (we couldn’t afford me having a car). I loved being able to walk to the grocery store, and once I turned 21 the cabs were significantly cheaper than in the city to go to the local bars. More than a few times when the weather was nice, we were able to walk back to campus. Since I am from Chicago it was nice being able to see a different way of living and sometimes, we just went on a walk in the town. It was also nice running into my professors outside of school in random moments and having a non-class-related conversation.”
4. It turns that boredom is not a byproduct of small-town college life!  Due to the lack of community options, there tend to be a lot more on-campus activities and more student organizations (I worked for one college that had over 80 organizations for the 800 students—and it was super easy for students to start their own clubs.  I know one girl who was in 13 such organizations during her four years at our college.  Students are far too busy to be bored.  Quotes from others about this: “I work with a small rural university. They recognize that there aren’t a lot of entertainment opportunities near campus, so they go above and beyond to offer university sponsored entertainment. There is always something going on. The community is very supportive of the university and of the students. And I have never seen alumni so deeply connected to their Alma Mater. I went to a large state university, and loved my years there and the school, but nothing like I’ve seen from the alumni of this small university.”  “When touring, we considered a very small school in a very small and isolated town. One thing that really stood out to me was how the school organized and promoted fun weekend activities on campus for the kids such as concerts, silent disco, bubble dance party, water slide, scavenger hunts, Easter egg hunt, cookouts at the President’s house, etc… It made for a real family-like inclusive on-campus environment.  My kid ended up choosing a small college in a big and exciting city instead (ATL) and there are very few organized on-campus activities.  At this school they expect the kids to venture off campus for their activities and entertainment”
5. Friendship groups tend to be a lot bigger.  With fewer places to go to in the town, students tend to do things in larger groups.  Friendship groups also tend to be more diverse and a bit less cliquey, especially if the college is also small.  If you have a car, you will become the most popular person on campus and your friendship group will be huge (and very thankful—they might even pay for your gas!)  Plus, as one alum says, “most everyone stays on campus on weekends because it’s too far to drive home. This creates a great sense of community among the students.  I also think it helps them learn to cope, and/or deal with, issues that might arise because they can’t just go home for the weekend to escape the situation.”
6. Less distractions.  Easier to focus.  Quieter.  Per one small college alum: “College in a rural town can be a cherished time to focus on academics, becoming an adult and building lifelong friends. As a [small college small town] alum, I know it can be a very rewarding experience to be in a beautiful, scenic rural college town. There is also something special about being together, ‘in the middle of nowhere,’ in the cold, and just focus on learning….it creates a very strong school spirit and very active alumni network.”  Another alum said that she just enjoyed being able to see the stars at night and breathe the fresh air.  Cross Country runners and Cyclists love it too!  For Astronomy majors it should almost be a requirement—less light pollution.
7. Most off-campus housing is less expensive in smaller towns…plus (when you turn 21) you just “gotta love” those 50 cent draw nights at the local watering hole.  Save money, go small town!
8. For many of the lesser-known smaller colleges in small towns, their enrollment fluctuates from year to year.  This means that they tend to give large amounts of merit money to entice students to attend.  Low prices make parents happy!
9. To a certain extent, especially for students who are from larger cities, one advantage is just learning what life is like “outside their urban bubble.”  Just as students can learn from study abroad, they can learn from experiencing rural America.  Cultural exchange benefits everyone.  Students from big cities can take their new friends back on breaks to show them the big city.  Students from small farming communities can take their “city friends” home to the farm and do some line-dancing and maybe even milk a cow. 
10. Finally, not only will attending a small college in a small town leave a “mark” on you…but you can leave your “mark” on the town.  I have known students to help reorganize the town library special collections.  I have seen students graduate and immediately open a coffee shop in town.  I have seen students teach Bible classes to kids at a church in town and then begin a “youth dance program” that continued years after the student graduated.  There is a bond that forms with the town that benefits both the student and the town.  Attending college in a small town enables you to leave your college with more than a diploma…you can leave your legacy!

So please—do not be too hasty to scratch these small town treasures off your list.  Visit.  Ask the students lots of questions about social life.  In the end, attend the college where you feel most at home.

V. Peter Pitts, M.A., is a member of My College Planning Team based in the Chicago area. He retired after 42 years in the college admission business, most recently spending 27 years at Monmouth College. Peter holds a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Iowa and a bachelor’s from Wartburg College.