It's human nature to try to group people into neat little categories. In high school, it's the athletes, the popular kids, the nerds and so on. Grouping people together in high school is easy and obvious. College, however, is full of many more people coming from all sorts of new geographic locations, and everyone is different in their own great way. Here is a short list of some of the types of people you may encounter at college, but do not be fooled. Everyone has at least a little bit of each of these types of people within them, so there is no use in trying to categorize yourself because you are likely a little bit of everything! Without further adieu, here are the types of students you will meet in college:
1.The socialites.
She (or he) is the life of the party and her life revolve around the party. Socialites know where to go and when there is a social gathering of any type, and everyone seems to know their name.
2. The drive-by conversationalists.
These people are classmates that you have worked with in a group project or perhaps were lab partners with. You know each other a little bit, but you don’t hang out after class or on weekends because you just aren’t that close. They are great, however, because they are your walking buddy to class and you can catch up on life, how the semester is going and check to see if you ever want to hang out sometime. The drive-by conversationalists are smart, fun to talk to and can really brighten your mood on the way to that four-hour chemistry lab you’ve been dreading all day.
3. The sophomore year roommates.
These people are in a category all on their own because they are unique. These are the people you specifically pick to live with out of the hundreds or thousands of people in your class, depending on the size of your school. If you are choosing someone to live with for a whole year in a single small room, you better be sure you love them and can work together. In saying that, the sophomore year roommate is probably one of your best and closest friends at college. They have seen you go through freshman year’s up and downs and still want to share a room with you.
4. The time turners.
For those not familiar with the Harry Potter series, Hermione uses a necklace called a time turner during a year of school so that she can manipulate time to be in two places at once. Translate this to college, and a time turner is a person that is seemingly doing everything possible and being in a billion places at once. These people are not content with a full plate of academics. They also play a sport ranging from varsity to intramural, volunteer, join clubs and generally go the extra mile in everything. Some may call them overachievers. While they are externally in control, they internally are asking themselves why they signed up for 17 clubs on top of their academic workload while putting ice on a bruise they got at practice after volunteering for three hours at the local soup kitchen.
5. The mentors/upperclassmen friends.
These are your old friends or teammates from your high school, resident assistants, new teammates in college or simply upperclassmen you become acquainted with. You see them once or twice a week on the way to class or in the dining hall, but they are always there to talk or give advice. Sometimes they even help you with homework or assist you in studying for exams. These people have already been in your shoes and offer sage wisdom to guide you through your first few weeks of college and beyond.
6. The school mascots.
These people are school spirit in a nutshell. They are at most athletic events with their faces painted and cowbells in hand, and they always know team standings. They are first to volunteer for welcome days at your school or tour guide positions, all because they like to show off your beautiful campus to anyone they can. They own more school-emblazoned apparel than you even knew was sold in the bookstore, and they bleed your school colors. All in all, these people are the heart and soul of your athletic fan base and are some of the best examples your school has to offer. Just check the brochures given to prospective students, these people are on every page!
7. The common good students.
These people are sitting in the front row of every class — asking all of the questions you thought about asking but were too shy — and have reserved seats in the library. They are driven, focused, determined and obviously take their academics very seriously. They can still kick back and have fun on weekends, but class days are all work and no play.
8. The high school wash-ups.
These are most often the high school athletes that left their sports careers on their high school fields and courts, but they can certainly be non-athletes as well. These people can’t let go of their high schools just yet, and most often will be seen wearing their team warm-up shirts to class or their senior tye dye shirts everywhere. They wear all of this high school-emblazoned clothing and always want to tell you about that playoff game from junior year or a teacher they had that is just like your new professor. Everything seems to relate back to those previous four years, but eventually they’ll let go. Maybe.
