Without a doubt, going to a college or university is a big step. Higher education facilities are often associated with a grand beginning of a whole new chapter of a person’s life, which is why it’s both frightening and thrilling.
Being such a major chapter in every person’s life, colleges and universities are surrounded by a large number of myths that often cause more fears and stress.
But are they worth believing in? Not always!
No More Bias: Busting Common College & University Myths
What are the biggest myths about colleges and universities? Get ready because we are about to destroy them.
1. You Have to Define Your Objectives Before Choosing School
Years before graduating from high school, most students puzzle over the same thing – what major and career they want to have in the future. They believe that this must be decided before selecting a college. However, that’s a myth.
Colleges and universities are all about exploration. While being a student, you will keep developing as a personality, identifying your zones of interest, and making plans for the future. You never know how much your college experience can change your life outlook and objectives. Thus, it doesn’t really make sense to commit yourself to something specific before you even cross the threshold of college.
2. Test Scores Guarantee Enrollment, Not Grades
This is probably one of the most common misconceptions high school students get in their final years at school. It’s widely believed that your future academic path is determined by how well you do on standardized tests such as ACT, SAT, and PSAT. Due to this reason, many graduates devote all their time and effort preparing for these tests, meanwhile giving up on their grades.
However, the truth is that your transcript grades have more weight. An excellent GPA is a much more vital indicator for colleges because it predicts how well you will do in the classroom. Besides, it also indicates a number of your personal skills and character features.
Thus, it is much wiser to focus on boosting your GPA. So, if you are currently investing lots of money in tutors to prepare for exams, a much wiser investment would be to turn to a professional writing service like domyessay.com to keep your grades up!
3. Challenging Courses Aren’t Worth Taking the Risk
We already dispelled the myth that grades aren’t quite as weighty as test scores, but here is one more misconception that flows out of this statement – challenging yourself isn’t worth the risk.
Pursuing better grades, students often tend to choose simple courses that will guarantee them a high GPA. Indeed, taking challenging courses can feel too risky. But this risk pays off!
In fact, colleges aren’t just looking for people who show excellent performance. They also seek a number of personality traits in their future students, and one of these traits is an ability to challenge yourself academically. This ability demonstrates your intellectual curiosity, motivation, hard work, and determination. All these qualities are highly valued by colleges and universities.
4. The Best Schools Are Absolutely Unaffordable
There is a strong belief that the largest percentage of students can’t afford a good, prestigious school. Among all college-related myths, this one has been around for the longest. However, it’s also not quite true.
Indeed, famous and recognized private universities do come with a hefty price tag. But, these schools are often willing to provide tangible financial support to students who really need it.
5. Prestigious Means Good
Getting back to prestigious schools, there is one more myth worth busting. People talk a lot about the importance of choosing the most prestigious university among the ones that accept you. On the one hand, it does make sense. But, one thing you should always remember is that “prestigious” doesn’t necessarily mean good.
Instead of going for the most reputable schools, you should focus on what really interests you. Pay attention to the programs, teaching style, community, etc. All these things go beyond ratings and prestige.
6. Only the Best Students Deserve Financial Aid
Finally, there is one more myth you should forget right now – even if you fall behind in terms of performance, it doesn’t mean you don’t deserve financial aid.
Many students don’t apply for scholarships and financial aid out of fear. This is a huge mistake. In fact, all these opportunities are meant to give everyone a chance to access high-quality education. Not all scholarships are merit-based, so everyone has a chance.
The Bottom Line
At the end of this article, there is just a couple of parting words to say to you. Often, we get extremely biased toward something or someone, though having only a bit of understanding of its nature. The same happens with colleges and universities.
Way before first-year students arrive at college, most of them already have a whole lot of expectations, fears, and beliefs. And many of them are unjustified. Therefore, if you are only getting ready to enroll, don’t let myths and stereotypes shape your opinion before you get the real feel of what it is to be a student. Stay open and leave the bias behind!
