Movies and mainstream media love to portray college as a nonstop wild party where alcohol flows freely and sex comes easily. Even as early as the 70s, stereotypes about college life were popping up in films like National Lampoon’s Animal House. Parties seemed to be the answer to every problem, and schoolwork was merely an afterthought.

However, it’s been about a month since the new school year started. About this time, reality sets in on many students: College isn’t always like a movie scene. It doesn’t quite live up to the expectations they had before the start of the school year. Suddenly, it isn’t as easy as they thought to hook up, and skipping class “occasionally” will soon take its toll on grades.

Annie Wade, Overland Park sophomore, was well aware of the University’s reputation as a party school, yet knowing this didn’t fully prepare her for what the University really turned out to be like.

“I always knew there would be a lot of partying here, but I never realized it would be so intense,” Wade says.

Despite the thriving social scene, some students still feel alone on a campus this large. John Wade, licensed psychologist at the University’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), says many students expect to make a lot of friends instantly, when in reality they end up feeling isolated. Many students come to CAPS saying they feel lost, or like they have lost the identity they built in high school, Wade says.

Wade adds that a simple way to remedy this loneliness is to join clubs. Social support is very important, and he credits joining clubs or other activities as a good way to feel like part of a group again.

“Everyone says that when you get to college, no one cares what you look like or what you do,” says Caitlin Bubna, Colony sophomore. “Yet there is still a big separation of the social groups. You’re allowed to mingle between them now more than in high school, but they’re still separated.”

And, despite popular assumption, it’s not just first-year students who are surprised by what they find once they get to KU. Even though Liz Bobbitt, Leawood junior, already had some exposure to college life while attending a community college, she still had different expectations of a larger university. Bobbitt says her classmates at the community college studied hard on top of working full-time and supporting their families.

“I thought that without those kinds of stressors, students here would be more dedicated to their classes,” Bobbitt says. “Then, on my first day of class, I overheard two guys talking about what they were doing later, and one of them said he hoped to be wasted by 3 p.m.”

Perhaps one of the reasons why students seem to not take their studies as seriously as many anticipate is because they find their workload is lighter. Bobbitt says homework is scarce, “But the tests are killer.”

Chris Phillips, founder of www.collegetips.com, saw that students across the board often sought advice about various aspects of college life. Phillips originally founded two Web sites dedicated to assisting college freshmen, but soon saw the need for a more generalized college resource. Drawing from his experiences and the advice he gave to his younger sister, Phillips set out to help prevent students from making any mistakes that could have a negative effect on their college careers. He says some of the things he wishes he had realized sooner are the importance of getting to know his professors and how difficult it is to raise a GPA.

Despite the Web sites, brochures and books, no amount of good advice can prevent everyone from making any mistakes. After all, messing up is the one thing about college that stays true from fiction to reality. What really encourages the transition from young adult to full-on adulthood is how someone responds to that mistake.

“I made some mistakes that set me back a bit, but I learned from them,” Phillips says. “Somehow I was lucky enough to make enough good choices that helped make my college career the best it could be.”