When I made the big decision to go to college and not travel around Europe for a year,  it was because I enjoy being taught in a classroom. I’ve enjoyed being taught psychology and the different techniques of advertising. World history…erm… not so much, but I try in every class I take because I’m paying to get this education. And you better believe I want one heck of an education when I cross that stage in May.

So you must imagine how surprised I was to learn that, according to a recent study, “45% of Students Don’t Learn Much in College.”

Hold the phone, people. And by that I mean this is all 100% crap. And I’m getting angry enough to throw some. (Seriously, read that article and join me….)

First of all, who on earth were polled and interviewed for this 4-year study? Who is the student who claimed he could get by using Wikipedia and “pass anything”? Maybe that’s what it’s like in the ho-hum classes he chose to take (most likely based on “Easy A” reviews by older students on RateMyProfessor.com), but at my school you would be laughed out of the classroom if you used Wikipedia as a direct source for anything. And it’s not like BSU is some top notch, Ivy League institution.

But that’s not even what’s making my blood boil. No, that’s reserved for the barometer by which they’re measuring “academic progress.” And what is that? Whether or not students have done 20 pages worth of writing in their college classes. Yes, apparently all academic success comes down to how many pages someone can write, and being able to fill 20 pages (with a bit of research and a lot of filler) is definitely necessary for all future career success. And apparently, students aren’t doing that enough.

So….we’re screwed? Well, that’s what they’ll have you believe.

But you know what’s not mentioned in this study? What’s not being considered when measuring what students are gaining from their college educations? The other stuff. The real stuff. The life stuff.

- The time management skills when we’re balancing classes, all that class work, work and other activities.
- The research skills, which are imperative for entry-level positions and beyond.
- The problem solving, from our experiences with friends and roommates to actual problem sets in classes.
- The critical thinking skills we employ when we’re sifting through large writing assignments or building presentations.
- The survival skills.

There is more to college than what we learn in the classroom and there is definitely more than writing 20-page papers for class. Just because someone’s not doing that doesn’t mean they’re not learning. I think sometimes people (namely those that aren’t in college and haven’t been for many years) forget that while in college you are not only learning the quantative equation for rubber but you’re also gaining even more important skills that are invaluable when graduation (sadly) comes.

I’m not an expert on measuring learning, no doubt, but I have a feeling either is the person behind this study. I mean, I’m sure this guy wrote some stellar 20-page papers and look at the bullsh*t he’s spewing now?

For what seems like forever, I have told everyone from friends, random people at parties, teachers, and family members that upon graduating undergrad, I would head off to graduate school to a M.A. or Ph.D. program in English literature. In fact, during my first year of college while my classmates were mostly concerned with figuring out their major requirements, I obsessed over taking the right classes designed for graduate school track students, finding the right internships, and doing everything the right way towards getting to graduate school – ruling everything out that did not fit in the perfect English grad school box I put myself in.

As you can imagine, it’s a rather rude awakening when everything doesn’t fall into place like you planned for it to.  Looking back, the moment I realized that my plans were not something I really 100% wanted to do anymore was during a conference meeting with my thesis advisor. She asked me why I wanted to attend graduate school. I was silent. I had no answer. I sputtered off some generic – the “I’d like to advance my studies in literature” excuse. But it felt so fake, so fabricated, and hearing myself say it bothered me. I didn’t like the way it rolled off the tip of my tongue. I didn’t like the way it made me feel about where I wanted to go in my future.

There is a huge problem when you don’t really have an answer as to why you are doing something major like applying to graduate programs, and this started the downward spiral of my graduate school plans. Another red flag was my honors thesis project. Like many seniors, I was completing a sixty-page thesis project (I was working in the area of girls’ fiction in children’s literature). I picked the topic myself, but not even a month or two into the project, I hated it. I wanted nothing to do with what I was writing and saying and researching. There I was working on something very similar to what I would be doing in graduate school, completely unhappy. Not good, right?

Although that little voice in the back of my head (you know the one that tells you to go to class even though you don’t want to, the one that tells you to order just one more drink at the bar, and the one that tells you to run away from that creepy guy in the frat basement corner as fast as you can) was telling me over and over again that graduate school wasn’t for me. I didn’t listen. There were so many times that voice was shouting at me, but I just ignored it because it was out of bounds from my “future plans.”

Looking back, I just want to yell at myself and say “How could I not have listened?” I mean – Hello Charlsie, wake up! None of the schools I was looking at actually interested me. None of the subjects I wrote about as projected graduate study topics even remotely fascinated me in a level that I’d want to dedicate years of studying towards. Nothing I heard about graduate school from professors and friends in graduate school amused me (in fact, most people that went off to graduate school in English have told me how unhappy they are or have quit in the middle of their degrees). Even the GRE exam, which I had to take for grad school admissions, meant nothing to me – it was just a pain in my side. Again, how could I not have listened?

It took me almost a full academic school year to listen, and I didn’t start to grasp that until after all my applications were paid for and sent out (talk about an expensive disaster!). Although I can solidly say that my love for all things English is undying, I can also say that my heart, body, and brain are just not into it like someone should be if they want to go off to graduate school. I felt like I would be selling myself out.  Luckily for me though, coming to terms with life not going as planned was a blessing, because it saved me from something I didn’t want to really do.

They say hindsight is 20/20 but luckily, I’m not making the same mistakes as before. For the first time, it feels like I’m actually genuinely focused on something that I want to do – rather than what I thought I should be doing. I’m one of those very structured people that has to plan everything from A to Z, so to learn this lesson that I can’t control my own future when it’s not something that is meant to be – especially when it’s something I don’t want to invest myself in – has been definitely worth learning.

If I continued with my plan to continue on in English, I feel like I would have ended up hating it. Now, I have not only left myself room to grow and explore all things in the world of writing and literature on my own terms instead of academia, I can stand on my own towards bigger and better choices such as law school – something in which I feel like I will have tons of room to grow!

Even though getting into law school is going to be a bitch, and the LSAT process is going to be one of the toughest things to tackle in my life, it feels so good to actually say “I want to do this and that’s why I am.” And it’s for the right reasons. Instead of what felt like signing my life away to something I was wishy-washy about, I feel invigorated that I can work through this next part of my life to get to what I genuinely want.

Although this kind of all feels like some overwhelming John Mayer song lesson to me, it’s been one of the best lessons I could learn in my life, and I feel lucky to carry it with me through my post-grad journey. Who knew that plans not working out could be one of the best things to happen to me?

Certainly not me, but then again – I wouldn’t be writing this if I did.

For every hour a student is in class, he or she should be studying for two.  That’s what they say, but is that what you do?  The Huffington Post reports that students today are studying drastically less than their predecessors.  While you or I might roll our eyes and say, “Duh Mr. Scientist man, haven’t you heard of Facebook?” the brains behind this study insist that social media outlets are not to blame for our desire to slack off.  Well…then what gives?  After briefly scratching my head and doing a minimal amount of research, I’ve come to the following conclusions:

Uhhh, It’s Called the Internet
While this report insists that the Internet is not to blame for our poor study skills, I have to disagree.  It’s not so much that I think we’re all on Facebook (she says as she closes that tab), I just think that the process of cracking a book open has changed so dramatically since the good ol’ days.  No longer are we wasting time flipping through card catalogues and rummaging in the library stacks.  It’s a simple point and click world- from Wikipedia to the New York Times archives, we have everything at our fingertips.  I refuse to believe that that doesn’t expedite our cram time.

Housewives Marathon.  All. Weekend. Long.
Guys, admit it: reality TV is like crack cocaine even to an actual crack addict.  Give me a comfy sofa (hell, give me the floor) and six solid hours of Project Runway, Housewives, The Hills…even a really good infomercial has the capacity to grab my attention.  When given the choice between a ten-pound Chemistry book and P.Diddy hawking Proactiv, there simply is no choice.

Maybe We’re Just Smarter
Think about it.  How many times had you been on a plane before you were 22?  How many channels do you get on your television?  How many towns have you lived in?  Compare your numbers to those of your mother and grandmother, and I can almost guarantee you’ll have them beat.  It’s a simple fact that, for the most part, our generation is exposed to a greater variety of lifestyles, cultures, and people than our older relatives.  I’m a big believer that we all learn by osmosis.  I’m not talking about falling asleep with your American Lit notes under your head; I mean submersing yourself in the unfamiliar and achieving a greater understanding of the world through it.  Perhaps global concepts come easier to us because of all the diversity we’re exposed to on a regular basis.

The bottom line: time spent studying is not a measure of the amount accomplished.  I think that we’re a generation of hard workers who has been lucky enough to come around at a time when speedy laptops have replaced typewriters.  I mean, seriously, I’d hate to miss Dollar Beer Night because I was stuck in some musty library all night.  Am I right?

I’m a total college girl. I love wearing college sweatshirts, cheering at basketball (so much so that I cheer for the school I transferred from and the one I currently attend) or hockey games, partying at all times, supporting student government, loving the gym and dining halls, repping NU right here on CollegeCandy, playing on intramurals and familiarizing myself with all the fun trivia about my school. Example: Did you know that Northeastern University is really the first place that the Red Sox played? Yep, the Red Sox didn’t always play at Fenway. Back when they were the Pilgrims/Americans, they played at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, which is now part of our campus. The area is immortalized with a bronze statue of Cy Young.

Yes, I love college. Probably more than Asher Roth. The experience of being at a University is incredible, my social life is banging, my sister goes to school right around the corner at BU, and I live in the “big city” version of a college town. The Boston area is home to over twelve major universities and I’m familiar with all of them. Or at least their frat houses.

Here’s the thing though, I hate SCHOOL. Ever since I was a little girl I was constantly reprimanded for not focusing and not living up to my full potential. I’ve always tested well, but I hate sitting in a classroom. I love to read, but if someone gives me a reading assignment it’s like pulling teeth to complete it. I’m a bright girl, but I find that I do the bare minimum to skate by with a B- average.

To make it even worse, my father is in academics, my mother is a librarian, both have Master’s degrees and my honor-roll little sister racked up more college credits by taking APs her senior year than I did in my freshman year. In actual college. Basically, she cries if she gets an A- and I cheer for a B+. And most of my friends adore classes and wouldn’t dream of missing a day.

I just don’t get it.
I heart my campus, but I hate the classroom.

However, I have always been super into working. Even when I wasn’t old enough to work, I was always trying to scam people into buying my old toys or writing newsletters to my mother with “WANTED” ads asking her to hire me to clean the house, for a price. I started babysitting at a very young age and then moved into administrative work, photo technician, being a teller at a bank and then steadily working retail from age 16 until my sophomore year of college.

So, my life has taken a crazy turn. I fell in love with my 6 month-internship (Northeastern calls them co-ops) and I have an opportunity to extend my work even further, for another 12 months, to be exact. I’ve been working in the marketing department for a beauty company and I adore it. I thrive in a work environment. I’ll half-ass any project for Sociology but at work I’m on my grind, putting in the long hours and tackling projects. The company I work for inspires me and going to work makes me happy, unlike going to class.

I know I need my bachelor’s degree, but converting to a non-traditional education might be the right road for me. My school offers an online program where I can finish my bachelor’s degree away from campus. However, in doing so, I’d have to give up my senior year experience, the flexibility and the general awesomeness of school for a full-time job and online business classes, all at once.

And I’m not sure what I should do. I love my job and I’m honored to be considered, but is it enough to give up my last year of college? Do I suffer through the classes to get one more year of the good life, or take this job (we all know how hard they are to come by these days) and kick-start my real life now?

I have a week to make my decision so any and all advice is welcome. Help!

All I have to say is, “I’m not sure I’m going out tonight because it’s hailing fully formed snowmen,” and within in seconds I have 14 texts, 9 IMs, and 1 roommate chirping out: “We only have 12 more Mondays to go out!” And of course the countdown always makes me give in.

It’s not that I doubt I will have plenty of Mondays in my future to get drunk (recession, unemployment, YES) but it’s more like I only have 12 more Mondays to get drunk in a socially acceptable way. After that it’s drinking alone on Mondays from old Manischewitz bottles that I find in the back of the fridge. And nothing good ever follows Manischewitz (although my brother will be the only one to argue that gelfite fish follows Manischewitz and gelfite fish is good).

And as the days start winding down I find myself nostalgic for the past three years. But not only for the normal things like the nights I’ll never remember with the friends I’ll never forget (stole that quote from my 12yr old sister’s MySpace), but also for things I promised myself that I would never miss. I pass freshmen with their Styrofoam dining hall boxes and instead of trying to make them envious by bragging about my full fridge, I approach them and ask for just a peak inside…will it be greasy chicken fingers or just a box full of cocoa puffs? Either way, all I can think about is how good they have it. Endless amounts of food prepared for them! Trays to transport the food! Someone to wash the dishes after they eat the food!

It’s hard to believe that at this point sophomore year I was sitting in the dining hall eating wilted lettuce leaves complaining about how I couldn’t believe we had three more months of this garbage. Now I’m asking freshman to pass back their ID and let me see that salad bar one last time, let me see those smiling cooks under their hair nets, let me see the unrefrigerated egg salad!

But more than I miss the limitless frozen yogurt machine at the dining halls, I’m nostalgic for how dumb I was. Everyday was an adventure and I believed everyone was there to help guide me; from the saleslady who claimed I would need $300 snowpants to survive Syracuse to the the frat “brother” who forgot which room was his and insisted the hallway was suitable. I believed spring began after spring break. I believed R.A’s actually had power. I believed that liquor before beer meant I was in the clear and, most of all, I believed that the mummy I kissed during Freshman Halloween would at least wait until I walked away before grabbing my friend and kissing her.

And even though all these beliefs were eventually proved wrong (turns out brothers don’t forget which room they live in) it was still fun not knowing what was around every corner. Literally every corner had something new. An underage basement bar! A middle-eastern restaurant! The friend that I made first week and never spoke to again! Just because I’m better fed, legally able to drink, and no longer a moron, I still can’t help but miss it.

My college is pretty secluded, so when I am here, I am in a little college bubble. Sure, I take care of myself and am independent, but I am surrounded by people I know, or people who would be happy to help me at any moment. Life is pretty simple here, if you ignore the fact that we’re constantly stressed from homework and no free time. But still, if I spent four years within the college limits, I would never learn how to really take care of myself.

Getting away from this bubble at first made me nervous, but now brings me relief. Since I am so close to Boston, I can take the bus into the city and just roam around. I can eat real, non-dining-hall food, and walk past faces that I don’t recognize. And I can be on my own.

College is teaching me all about how to learn. I will leave it with a degree and lots of facts in my head. But hopefully this small-town girl will also learn how to take public transportation, walk through a crowded sidewalk, and be comfortable alone in a city. Getting off-campus can be just as educational as staying on it. And by the end of my four years, I want to say that my time her taught me not just how to learn, but how to live.

Looking back, I don’t know how I did it all without serious drugs; I was crazy. But, at the time, I knew exactly what I had to do to set myself apart from everyone else in my class in order to get into my first choice college.

I know I wasn’t alone alone. I’m sure there are many people reading this right now and thinking, “Yup. Same story for me…except I was also on the tennis and softball teams!” We all did what we had to do. With more kids applying to college than ever before, the competition was fierce; what other choice did we have?

Then there were the unfortunate ladies (and I know there are lots of you) that are reading this and thinking to themselves, “That is all you did? I was also class president and helped the starving children in Somalia and still didn’t get into my #1!”

I feel for you guys, I really do. And if you happen to be one of those bitter students who did all that work and was forced to go to your second choice school, stop reading now because you are going to get pissed.

Statisticians are now saying that, because the number of high school graduates is set to peak in the next year or two, there will be less kids applying to colleges in the coming years. Fewer applicants means less demand. Less demand means less selectivity, which means that the major competition to get into colleges is about to end.

Too bad we are already here, eh?

At first glance, this seems totally unfair – especially for those top notch students who didn’t get in where they would have liked – but it is quite the opposite. Knowing these statistics, many Ivy League schools and other popular schools are turning their attention (and financial aid money) to the students they have historically ignored: low income students, minority students, and those who normally wouldn’t aim for such esteemed institutions. This shift will present opportunities to those who never had them before, in addition to the many students who will benefit from the added diversity on campus and in the classroom.

This is also good for those of you currently enrolled in two year Community College programs; many schools are teaming up with community colleges to offer spaces to graduates to finish their last two years at a top tier institution. This is an opportunity that was non-existent until now and one that will mean a high quality education for many more promising students.

Sure, it sorta sucks for those of us who had to give up sleep, eating, and excessive TV watching in high school in order to be a part of every last activity, but all that stuff built your character and made you the person you are today! (So says my mother.) Not to mention the fact that no matter what school you ended up at, you are most likely having the best time ever. If all of that doesn’t make you feel any better, consider the possibility of this trend spreading to grad schools;

Harvard, here I come!