4 Absurd Statistics About College ... and 1 Thing You Probably Already Knew

To further add to the anxiety facing many parents and high school seniors around the United States as they decide which college or post-graduate option to pursue, I compiled a short list. Using information from a recent CBS poll, I put together some surprising things that many Americans did not know about college. 

1. Forty-eight percent of parents of current or soon-to-be college students view the SAT as a necessary evil while 40% of the general public sees these standardized tests as such. Only 19% view SATs as “successful equalizers”

Personally, I fall with the 14% who deem it a failed ideal and the 19% who view it as a total, and utter, waste of time.

2. Seventy-five percent of Americans cannot name their alma mater’s current president or dean

Though this is an embarrassment on the part of the Alumni Relations and Communication departments in colleges across the nation, I find it more important for alumni to know about the university’s decision-making, policies, and current politics. Ideally, alumni should know both, since presidents and deans help shape the direction of the university, if only for a short period of time.

3. Though this hardly comes as a surprise, pizza and pasta are the foods that are eaten most by college students

Since those are the only dishes my university’s dining hall can only mess up so much, from personal anecdotal evidence, I can definitely agree with the results of this poll. Fast food (of course) followed with 18% and junk food coming in at a respectable 13%. To not forget the true college life style of excessively late nights and too many parties, beer came in at 11% and Red Bull finished the list off at a 3%.If you ask my roommate, Red Bull is certainly its own food group. have work to do.

4. When asked which college movie people wished their college experience resembled, 25% chose Good Will Hunting, 21% chose The Social Network, and 11% chose Legally Blonde and Animal House

My vote’s on Legally Blonde. By the end, she has it all.

5. Twenty-three percent of parents would tell their children to drop out and pursue their dream careers

It is necessary to note that this data only paints one side of the picture. While high school seniors and their parents are frantically trying to work out the cost of college, weigh the value of a liberal arts education, and adjust to the idea of dorm living and unbridled independence, us, college students, are stuck. College is more than unlimited cheap booze and afternoon classes, it’s about trying to figure out where to go from here.

So, in April, while those high schoolers are sweating away over where to go to college, the ones who are already here are up against so many deadlines, from securing internships, submitting term papers and proposal, filing our taxes, paying off debt or taking loans, while dealing with the buckets of stress that accompanies collegiate life. College is not only filled with a tremendous amount of excitement, opportunity, freedom, but also with enormous responsibility.

In April, I wonder who has it worse.