Starting university is no doubt a milestone for many. Most movies (Legally Blonde and Pitch Perfect) and drama series (Love O2O 微微一笑很倾城 and My ID Is Gangnam Beauty 내 아이디는 강남미인) paint the ideal university experience: having a close knit group of friends, finding romance, and having everything planned out. Going into university with set goals and expectations are completely normal, some expectations may be met, while others may come unexpectedly. University ultimately encapsulates 2 functions of social scientific concepts: manifest and latent. A manifest function of university is ideally gaining educational knowledge which provides students the academic and intellectual ability to progress into the career paths they choose. An example of a latent function is noticing an attractive student and forming relationships. In short, latent functions are not deliberate and conscious decisions while manifest functions are planned and intentional.
Pre-university hopefuls often form several expectations going into university and current university students struggle to accept their individual journey in comparison to the student body. Here are 4 university myths that are erroneously ingrained into the minds of students:
MYTH 1: University is only reserved for the smart
Everyone knows what they’re doing, gets good grades, actively participates in class discussions.
I can’t tell you how inaccurate this is. Sure, academically inclined people in lectures and tutorials are intimidating, they make you feel like you’re falling behind, spiralling you into an endless pit of self doubt. You should never compare yourself to others. Measuring intellectual ability in university is extremely subjective. Everyone hails from different majors, meaning, we all have aspects of our educational journey which are lacking. Some are good at calculus, others are good at the sciences. University is for people to learn and gain knowledge.
Students also enter university at different points in their lives: after Junior College, Polytechnic, National Service, gap years etc. If anything, universities contain the widest range of individuals with different academic abilities.
MYTH 2: You need to know what you want to major in before you go in to university
This means going into university, set on a major and thinking that you’ll do well in your major because you did well in JC or Poly or Pre-U (doing well there doesn’t mean doing well in university). Oftentimes, students get stressed out and doubt their knowledge base. University syllabus can be challenging and the inclination towards the chosen major may not be as strong as before.
Your major is not permanent, university is for experimenting with what you’re interested in. Transferring majors in university is more common than you think. Universities always open up applications for transfers during the winter and summer holidays. Check out NTU’s StudentLINK for more information on the transfer process.
MYTH 3: University is the peak of your social life
This is perhaps dependent on your personality types and comfort with social activities. Every university student in the media always conveniently finds a group of friends and they become inseparable, enjoying the best university life. You’ll be going to numerous school events, saying hi to everyone on campus, partaking in several club activities, and living your best life. Reality check: you don’t have to feel inclined to make friends in university.
Joining clubs is a good way to meet people, but you shouldn’t force yourself to make new friends, sometimes, your personality and theirs don’t match. Find friends who make you comfortable with yourself. Of course, this is different for each individual.
MYTH 4: You have to finish in four years
Many experiences in university are entrenched by the wider student body. The maximum candidature years for NTU is 6.0 years, its minimum being 3.5 years. The 4 year time limit that students put on their shoulders puts the pressure that modules and internships have to be juggled and cramped into 4 years.
All this breathless hype “makes it feel like you have to follow a specific plan and everything has to go a certain way and it has to be done on a specific timeline, and if you can’t get it done in that timeline, something’s wrong with you.”
– Jessi Gold, Assistant Professor in the psychiatry department at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Read more here.
Take it at your own pace. The start and finish lines may be the same, but everyone has different marathons to run. Ease up and be honest with yourself, if you need a break, take a break. More often than not, professors are willing to hear student feedback on tight assignment deadlines and are open in speaking with you about your university journey.