Congratulations! You’ve made it this far and you’re about to enter university. More importantly, you’ll be entering university in Lebanon. I can understand some people would want to study abroad and experience a new and independent life, whilst others choose to stay close to home surrounded by their family and friends. Both paths have their pros and cons, and both paths can grant you a great education. So, here is what you should expect when opting to pursue a university education in Lebanon.
Lebanon is definitely a place where you can keep experiencing new things, and university life is a new phase, a new adventure. For instance, there is more to life than what you have seen and lived in high-school.
Unlike the closed arena of school, the university is an open space, and not only physically. The learning process is totally different. There are no supervisors advising you to get your grades up. There is no spoon-fed material. It is all based on your individual will and choice to learn and progress. It does require hard work, yes, but it also grants you that precious empowering feeling that you are your own person. Welcome to your first step into maturity!
Upon entering university, you will have a certain mindset of what type of major you want to excel in, or maybe none whatsoever other than the influence of your parents or school professors.
Don’t judge yourself if you feel midyear that the major you went for isn’t really for you. In fact, the first year of university is always a year of discovery of your own life aims and all that is there of knowledge available for you to grab. It is mainly through that first year that you will come to know what major resonates the most with you. So, don’t sweat it. It’s all part of the process.
The opportunities to mingle with others of the same interest group as you are plenty and easier than in universities abroad because of the common cultural base, including the language. You won’t feel really like a stranger.
The friends you will soon make are of your choosing, unlike the school where you are kind of forced to mingle with just your classmates, whether you like them or not. It is easy to make new friends in the “open space” that is a university. Your circle will widen and your interests will start to diversify and develop. Welcome to the real social world!
This might sound odd to some; however, I can’t even begin to count how many people had agreed with me in this: You will most definitely come to miss having a school uniform!
Most schools in Lebanon have a certain dress code or uniform, making it pretty easy for students to dress up every day. Sure, you will feel the thrill to dress up differently every day for a while then it becomes annoying to you, an added concern that will make you miss the days of school uniform. Waking up to decide what to wear new every day isn’t particularly everyone’s preferred cup of tea.
That said, here comes the sweet and sour part. Get ready to gain some weight! Almost every university in Lebanon has many supplies of restaurant options around campus. I can guarantee you this: University food will hit you strongly.
It’s something new to most students entering the university, kind of a cultural shock. Unlike the limited options of the school’s cafeteria, the university makes available to you so many choices, not only of food but of venues to enjoy socializing in with friends or meet new ones. That is too appealing to even consider dismissing such pleasurable social adventure.
These are basically the major things that most freshmen come to realize upon entering a university in Lebanon. Hard work, free will, free choices, new discoveries, and plenty of socialization and new friends.
So, enjoy the upcoming years, because they will be among the best of your life!