Graduation means leaving some great college perks behind Graduation is right around the corner 

Adult life comes with many pros and cons. The independence of leaving adolescence behind doesn’t come without a cost. College is a place that does what it can to prepare us for the challenges of adulthood, but it also sets some realistic expectations for the real world. Below, are just a few of the college life noms which, sadly, will not graduate with us into the adult world.  

Discounted drinks

Recently, at my fraternity’s formal, I ordered a drink for $7. To say I was shocked is a bit of an understatement. Even here in Champaign, the priciest drink I can think of only costs around $5. I knew drinks got pricier after you graduate, but having the reality thrust upon me was rough. It could explain while people don’t go out as much after college. Here,we can spend $5 and walk away with four drinks, so it’s safe to assume that was the one and only drink I bought at formal.

Going out week nights

Monday night at Joe’s? Tuesday means either country night at KAM's or wine night at Cly’s. Wednesday you can take a break or go to Brothers for drink specials and White Horse for karaoke. Does anyone even need a reason for Thursday? Friday rolls around and brings with it happy hour at every bar. Finally it’s the weekend right? Kiss all that goodbye after graduation. With full prices and fulltime jobs, there will be little time or energy for all these weeknight shenanigans.

Working odd hours

One of the best things about college is making your own schedule. It’s fairly easy to make one that allows for several nights out a week by not having class before noon. There are even some of us who manage to fit every class into a Tuesday/Thursday schedule, which leaves Monday, Wednesday and Friday wide open for recovery. Sadly, the real world doesn’t allow for such schedules. It’s pretty much 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or unemployment.

No more personal days

Sometimes, the allure of the bars is just too much to resist and you find yourself out and drinking until closing time. You glance at the time in a drunken haze and think, “I’ll definitely be able to get up for class in five hours; I’ll just have one more quick drink.” Fast forward to class time and your head is pounding and your bed is filled with half-eaten drunk food. There is no way you are making it to class and luckily with most classes offering up to three unexcused absences (a.k.a. hangover days) you can take a personal day to recover. Sure, in the real world you have sick and vacation days, but you might want to save those for their intended purpose.

Switching commitments at will

It’s not like college where you can switch from major to major, drop classes and have a decent amount of freedom to change a huge part of your life. Taking a job means a commitment and it’s not like jobs are offered left and right to someone with an extraordinarily long job history because they “weren’t feelin” their last ten occupations.