Ask HN: How was your college experience beneficial to you as a person? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How was your college experience beneficial to you as a person?

1 pointStochasticSam1 comment

Hey HN,

So this is my first post. Been lurking for about a year now. I apologize in advance if this sounds trite, terribly written, and overdone as a topic, but I really need some guidance.

I'm a first year CS student commuting to college and would like to transfer out. The university I'm at offers a fantastic program, I love my professors and I'm generally around some of the smartest people I've ever met. Except I feel as though I'm disconnected from the community because I'm only there when class is in session. I have some friends who were CS majors here, but opted out because the classes became too difficult. The clubs and social life at this university are also abysmal. I'm terrified to transfer because it's the only thing I know as of now.

I want to build something with someone. Whether it be programming related or life long friendships that other colleges always boast about, I just feel like I'm not getting those same opportunities that my facebook friends are getting at other colleges. I know to take those pictures and statuses with a grain of salt, but when I look at myself, I haven't been apart of anything. I just don’t want to look back on my college years and say,” That was the longest summer camp of my life.”

Is this solidarity beneficial to me? Did you feel as though your college experience made you a stronger programmer because you were surrounded with the right people? What is the college experience? How was your college experience beneficial to you as a person?

I'll go ahead and throw my 2 cents your way since I just graduated last month (and will be back for grad school in the Fall). I think our perceptions on the whole "college experience" is different now but I was a lot like you when I got to school too.

In short, I mainly kept to myself within the CS department. While I had friends there, my relationship with them was majorly school-based. My girlfriend and guys I hung out with on a regular basis were all in different fields but that never bothered me because we still all had a blast. I worked on personal projects and homeworks mostly by myself, but I personally preferred it that way because it was so much more rewarding to me to do it that way than to have someone else walk me through it. So, was this solidarity beneficial to me? I think it was for me but could see how others may want more. One thing I did do was find a few professors I really respected and talked to on a regular basis which I think was more beneficial to me than most peer interactions.

On another note here is something to think about Facebook: You only see what everyone wants you to see about them. Kids in college largely have the same mindset as you...they want to be having the best time of their life, so you can be sure that is how they perceive themselves on social media and crop their content to fit that. I can remember countless parties where a large group of people walk in, pose against the crowd and take pictures, then leave. Maybe they go hang out somewhere else or maybe they go home, but you can be sure the next morning they all have those pictures all over Facebook showing 'what a great time' they had. Personally, after my sophomore year I stopped using Facebook all together and only get on when I have an email notification I need to attend to.

What kind of clubs and social life are you looking for? If you have a strong CS dept, it is likely your professors head their own research groups for their field and would at least let you come to the meetings if not participate in the research yourself if you showed some initiative. If you are really unhappy I'd consider transferring but only after you're sure that what you are looking for isn't available where you are. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder and put yourself out there.

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