When analyzing how busy a person is in college, we typically tend to think about the number of clubs they are involved in, the difficulty of the classes they are enrolled in, and how often they lie in bed staring at the ceiling thinking about how much they miss their dog. One thing we often forget, however, is that being in a relationship is as much, if not more, of a commitment than any club or class you could take in college. In fact, it would be fair to say that being in a relationship is about the equivalent of taking a six-unit course, and here’s how.

1. Money.

Much like a six-unit course requires you to drop excessive amounts of money on tuition, textbooks and TA bribes, a relationship often requires you to flush out your wallet as well. Valentine’s Day, Christmas, anniversaries, paying the Cupid tax, flowers and so, so many “No, hon, this time I’ve got the check”s ask of you a financial commitment that lonely people just can’t understand. But beyond the obvious expenditures in a relationship, you also need to spend money on improving yourself. Haircuts, razors, Urban Outfitters, “deodorant” and shampoo can really add up.

2. Lack of sleep.

“I can’t believe this class has so many midterms! I’ve pulled three all-nighters this quarter.” Pansy material. Nothing can quite prepare you for the sleep-eliminator that is the late-night-fight. The late-night-fight requires more of your attention than studying, certainly a lot more critical thinking, and can take much, much longer. It could be 2:30 a.m. as you’re lying in bed, about to go to sleep, and the next thing you know, you’re watching the sun rise against the backdrop of a texting argument over where you should have gone to dinner on Wednesday.

3. Difficult tests.

A six-unit class would certainly make you very familiar with the sting and panic of tests that determine a large part of your future. The same could be said about a college relationship. Her favorite food is grilled tilapia, but you, you imbecilic heap of outdated Lonely Island music videos and ESPN, thought it was chocolate cake. And the more you think about it, you only said chocolate cake because you really like chocolate cake and you assumed that’s how being soul mates worked. That’s certainly going to reflect poorly in your Feb. 14 quarterly review. Remember to study more next time.

4. Not understanding anything that’s happening, ever.

We all know that feeling when a professor explains a complicated concept too quickly and you’re left sitting in your seat feeling dumber and more helpless than a turtle being flushed down a toilet on its back. This is certainly a sentiment experienced in a college relationship, as you could wake up at 10:30 a.m. feeling completely confident about life and love, and that the dress was truly white and gold, and by 10:33 a.m. be about as sure of your actions and decisions as a cat is about jumping into a pool.

5. Your success is dependent entirely on whether an individual interprets your work favorably.

Sometimes you write an essay and damn you think it’s good. You put hours into it, and upon printing it, coddled it gently so that it knows it has an owner who will keep it warm... who will keep it safe. But the TA you have didn’t like your “passive voice,” so you got a C+ while your friend in the other section got an A-, a lollipop and a lifelong subscription to Time magazine for the same quality work. And just like class, your performance in your relationship is dependent on how well you know how to please one certain individual in question, so yes, maybe your man bun makes a croissant look like a sad excuse for twisted bread. But she doesn’t like it, so you still gotta cut it.

6. Endless, endless, apologizing.

“Sorry I was late for class again,” “sorry for emailing you on your day off,” “sorry I used the subjunctive tense instead of the imperfect,” “sorry I’m a cretinous mulch who interrupts your lecture in order to ask you pseudo-intellectual questions for the sole purpose of deceiving my peers into thinking I’m insightful.” We’ve all been there in class before, no? Well, a relationship requires a lot of apologizing as well. You called his hamster fat, and boy, did he love that hamster. It’ll take some humility to get out of this one.

7. Learning something important.

Sometimes we forget why we take classes. If they’re expensive, exhausting, difficult, confusing, sometimes unfair and often very, very humbling, why do we take them? Why would we put ourselves in a situation that puts us outside of our comfort zones and can sometimes aggravate us? The only answer is that because there is something wonderful to be gained from them that nothing else can give in the same way. In the grand picture, despite the moments that weren’t the easiest to overcome, and despite the times you wondered if you had gotten yourself into the right situation, you know that every day you’re incrementally becoming a better, wiser person. You’re learning more about the topic, and more about yourself. And whether or not you did as well as you hoped, you know because of that growth, that it was always worth it, and so much more.