What “Monsters University” teaches us about college.

A College-Admissions fanatic and a TA/RA walk into Monsters University… and enjoy it a lot more than any of the little kids in the theatre.

Sounds like a joke, but was actually my experience in seeing the movie.

While my boyfriend and I had some initial reactions to the movie (Him: RAs did not play a big enough role in their lives, and Me: I really feel the take-home message was that if your grades suck your Greek organization will kick you out) it does have a lot of really great life-lessons about college.

(Minor spoilers ahead)

First of all, Pre-Meds, go watch that movie knowing that “Scaring” major is an excellent metaphor for pre-meds. Watch Mike’s experience in particular.
Because even though Mike wants it the most, he’s not the best. He can work harder than everyone else; it’s just not the right fit for him. Just like pre-med.
When you start college, about ½ to 1/3 of people you meet will be premeds. A few weed-out classes later, it’s just a tiny fraction of the student population. It’s hard, and they want to separate the boys from the men. So don’t be discouraged if that’s not where you end up. You might have a different calling, one you haven’t found yet. So explore.

On that note, one of the teachers in the movie reminds the monster’s on their first day that even though they were the “Biggest, Scariest” monsters in their hometowns, that’s not the case in college.
A lot of people at your school were the smartest student in their high school. You also were probably one of the smartest students in your high school. But your whole class is made up of that, so don’t get a complex about no longer being the best. It’s not about competition, it’s about learning.

One excellent warning that hits close to home for so many is the experience of roommates in the movie. When Mike goes in to meet his freshman roommate for the first time, he says something along the lines of “Your best friend for life is behind that door.”

Yeah, do not have those expectations when you start school. If you are even tolerating your roommate by the end of the year you’re doing well. It’s great if your friends, but don’t be too upset if you’re not. Low expectations are really the way to go with roommates.

Though, the room in the frat house that Mike and Sully share is probably the best movie representation of a dorm room I’ve ever seen. Your dorm room is probably going to be a tiny, incontinently set up closet. Prepare for that.

The movie focuses a lot on the rivalry of Mike and Sully when they get to school. They’re the perfect examples of the try hard vs. the natural. Their bickering gets them both into big trouble in the movie. While they eventually find some common ground, their needless rivalry causes more harm than good.
So when you get to school actual rivals aren’t really a thing. But competition? Oh yeah.
Don’t get needlessly competitive with your classmates.  Even if a class is on a bell-curve (an absolutely draconian method that’s pretty common in college), you’re always better collaborating with your classmates, pooling your knowledge, and helping each other out. Otherwise you’re going to end up in big trouble.

Finally, and this is a big one in the movie, don’t base your opinions on people from your initial reactions of them. At the beginning of school, everyone is nervous. Everyone is trying really hard, so people are going to be caricatures of themselves. Just because you don’t like someone first semester freshman year doesn’t mean you’re not going to be good friends later on. One of my friends at school and I hated each other freshman year. Legitimately hated each other’s guts. And then one night, before classes of sophomore year started, we were at the same party and had a really long conversation and decided (in fact, we pinky promised) that we were going to be friends that year. And so we are. People change, so let them surprise you.

All in all, college students are probably going to find a lot to love about Monsters University, so make sure to check it out. It’s really an adorable, funny, heart-felt movie.