Do you have to be single to qualify for a true college experience? It’s a debatable question and you can bet finding the answer (if there is one) is anything but simple. But it’s the biggest Q us college kids ask ourselves before jumping into a relationship. Because as appealing as having a significant other may seem, there is always the fear of missing out with someone better.

First, let’s define what exactly the “college experience” is.  Movies like Animal House, Accepted, and National Lampoon’s Van Wilder portray it as the designated four-year period of your life where anything goes.  Specifically, anything alcoholic, low cut, and debauchery ridden.  These are the expectations the media has set 18 to 22-year-olds to live up to, but we all know not everything the media tells us is true… right?

The debate about staying single being the better option in having the “real” college experience just makes college seem all about sex.  I know plenty of girls with boyfriends that like to get down with their bad selves three nights a week. The only difference between them and the single chicks is that they’re going home with one boy, the same boy, every night. Hooking up with a bunch of people is only one aspect of college, though it’s often glorified as the top priority.

Pros of staying a single gal:

  • Can practice your, um, dating skills
  • Don’t have to text anyone every little thing you’re doing that night
  • Ability to focus on other things, like classes and your future
  • FREEDOM!

Pros of coupling up:

  • Someone to end the nights/spend the weekends with
  • Butterflies… mmm…
  • Potential of him being “the one”
  • Always have a date for date functions!

College definitely makes it easy for you to be with multiple people at the same time.  (I mean really, when will you ever be in walking distance to hundreds of boys your age again after this?)  If you’re looking to explore and “do you,” college will come as a big convenience. If you’re looking for or are already in a committed relationship, you shouldn’t feel like breaking up is the only way you’ll get to experience college.  A lot of it depends on your personality and maturity level. If being in a relationship makes you a happier person, then be in one!  And if not, go get ‘em tiger.

What are you thoughts on staying single in college?

Alexa is a twenty-something student at James Madison University. She is majoring in Media Arts & Design and minoring in both Creative Writing and Anthropology. She aspires a career at a magazine.
Alexa Johnson has 10 post(s) on Love Twenty