Higher education is supposed to be, and sometimes is, more difficult, more complex, and even more elevated than education of the more basic kind. University is not high school, no matter how hard some universities pretend otherwise. The shiny new class of 2028 has just started their adventure in higher learning, which means they must deal with new ideas, new teachers, new rules, new freedoms, and many new challenges.
I’m retired from that world now, but I can look back on some 30 years of inflicting education on innocent college students. At this time of year, I always feel that, after all those years in the classroom, I should have learned some things myself that I can pass on to incoming freshmen, to make their experience over the next four years less confusing and more rewarding.
So, in the time-honored tradition of that old bore Polonius, I offer these helpful hints for students who are just launching out on their first college year. My advice may be unwanted, but it is certainly not outdated. Not much has changed in higher education since the foundation of Peterhouse College in Cambridge in 1294. Seven hundred years later, teachers are still paid to give instruction, and students (unlike schoolchildren) voluntarily choose to be instructed. Everything else is just image building and public relations.
So, if this is your first year, here’s what I would suggest.
If you are heading into college straight from high school, it’s not too late to change your mind. Take a gap year, or take several. The wide world is more interesting than the inside of any classroom. Travel to foreign countries, do some real work, live in places and ways that your family would not approve of, and come back to education with at least a veneer of maturity. Mature students are a pleasure to teach. They know pretty much what they want to learn and have a shrewd idea of what people like me can and cannot teach. This makes the learning experience more agreeable and less frustrating for all concerned.
Treat your professors as human beings, because they were once. They don't know much about real life, how could they? They don't know about the brutal competition of business or the deadly routines of nine to five. They may not even know or care who Taylor Swift is. But, as a savvy student from the suburban jungle, you are in a good position to take advantage of their unworldliness. There's still an element of naiveté in higher education. Make the most of it.
Be aware that some of your most senior professors were educated before the Internet and have an irrational attachment to books. They don't necessarily believe that all the world’s knowledge is hidden behind the tiny screen of your phone, or that life is like a TikTok video made in China. Be patient. In a few years, the last of those pesky books will be shredded, and education will be more fun. But right now, try to see things from your professors’ point of view and remember that they are living history!
Most big higher education institutions are 90% bureaucracy and 10% education. Don’t just fight the bureaucracy, learn about it. Understanding bureaucracy may be the best educational investment you'll ever make. In the 21st century, if you don't understand bureaucracy, you won't understand anything.
Finally, enjoy the party. You will never be invited to another party like this again.
