If we believed every little detail movies and TV told us, college would be a seamless mix of Gilmore Girls’ cozy intellectual charm, Legally Blonde’s perfect balance of acing law school while being the life of the party and maybe even the occasional Pitch Perfect-style a cappella battle breaking out on campus. Every step we take, every moment we live, would be cinematic — adding to the collection of stories we one day tell our future kids. Unforgettable, dramatic events would unfold under perfect lighting, with people conveniently witnessing exactly what they’re meant to see at precisely the right time. Reality check: college can be chaotic and unpredictable, but it’s mostly filled —and I mean filled— with people who definitely do not have their lives together. Sure, it’s a place for academics, social life and maybe even romance, but not in the effortlessly scripted way the movies make it seem. So let’s break down some of the biggest myths.
Hollywood loves the idea that college is one effortless whirlwind of excitement. In Gossip Girl, characters attend elite universities like Yale, Columbia and NYU — yet how often do we actually see them worrying about school? Let’s be real: they spend far more time partying on rooftops in designer outfits than stressing over prelims. Sure, that’s more interesting to watch, but it’s not exactly realistic. Meanwhile, dorm life in real college? It’s not the quirky, wholesome fun of Boy Meets World. Sure, weird things happen, but it’s more like someone blasting music at 2 a.m. when you have an 8 a.m. class, your roommate developing increasingly suspicious habits and an ever-present smell of microwaved fish lingering in the air. Then there’s making friends. In How I Met Your Mother, Ted stumbles into lifelong friendships as if it’s the easiest thing in the world. In reality, it’s more like debating whether to strike up a conversation with someone in your 200-person lecture, making awkward small talk in class, agreeing to grab coffee and then realizing weeks later that you never ended up getting that coffee.
Another thing movies and TV love to exaggerate is college academics. They’re either portrayed as impossibly difficult, with students drowning in work, or so irrelevant that characters are only ever seen casually carrying a book to their locker — never actually studying. The genius who never cracks open a textbook but somehow aces every exam? Not exactly realistic. You either put in the work or you fail. Unless, of course, you’re part of some rare, gifted species that doesn’t need to study. The show Community pokes fun at how bizarre college classes can be, and honestly, they got that part right. Then there are the drill-sergeant professors who never cut anyone a break, or the overly inspirational ones who deliver life-changing speeches on the first day. Sure, there are brilliant professors — some engaging, some not — but most aren’t exactly giving Dead Poets Society levels of “seize the day” energy.
College isn’t the perfectly curated experience we’re used to seeing on screen, but that doesn’t mean it’s all bad. The real fun, as cheesy as it sounds, comes from the chaos — late-night drives, food runs, weirdly specific inside jokes no one else will understand and friendships that form in the most unexpected ways. That weird in-between where you and your friends make plans you may or may not follow through on, yet somehow, you still see each other every day. The accidents, the long study sessions and the completely unplanned moments you’ll laugh about forever. It’s the kind of authenticity that makes college what it is. Yes, you may have professors who push you to think differently and classes that change your perspective in ways you never expected — we know that’s true here at Cornell. You’ll also come across people you can’t stand, though you probably won’t spend your days wrapped up in over-the-top campus drama like in Good Will Hunting. And while your college experience won’t be a perfectly scripted movie, you’ll still leave with crazy, unexpected and meaningful memories — even if they don’t come with a cinematic soundtrack.
Mikayla Tetteh-Martey is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at mkt62@cornell.edu
