Is university that fun??

I went to college in the US and it was better than what I imagined. You're working, you're going to class, and you're going to find people who are serious about their education for once XD. Best time of your life? Maybe. Are people mentally mature? Most of them there are honestly. You just have to make it the best by volunteering or interning, basically putting yourself in the best position to make your time in school worth it for the $$$. Also pick good people to be around! You can tell whose not the best influence. It's fun though, you can travel and experience a lot just be responsible and you'll be goated.

Fun, definitely. More fun than highschool? Yeah, because you're much more free to do what you want.

Mature folks? There will be some in every class, but for having been slightly older than most of my fellow students (because i had to re-do a year after taking some time off to work, i ended up two years older than my class, and then when i moved to second year i was like three years older than most of my class), there won't really be striking differences. For sure, people are more mature than in highschool, but there will always be immature pricks.

As for "best time of your life".... I'm not sure but that's personal. My college years happened at the time of difficult issues in my life so i don't really miss those years. But I met a lot of great people through uni, including my second bestfriend and two of my girlfriends! I also learned a lot about relationships and how to navigate & mend them, but i'm not sure it's purely thanks to uni LOL 

At the end of the day, uni just wasn't for me. At least in France and in my degree, I was too disheartened by the fact everything we were taught we were only taught to pass our finals, and not to make us smarter. I went to uni to learn, for the pleasure to learn. Not to learn just for exams, cause that's no different than highschool.

I have friends who study abroad (US), and their experience is totally different from mine. Mostly because they actually live on campus, and I still live at home and drive to school.

I personally love uni, subjects are actually focused on my interests, and I get to talk to industry professionals/scholars daily. I am biased because I've always enjoyed academic spaces, but the amount of knowledge you acquire just by being around these people is humbling and impressive.

Relationship-wise, for me, it's been positive; I've met some of my closest friends in college!! However! I met my fiancé through a mutual friend outside of uni. What I mean to say is don't put all your eggs in one basket, expecting to build a friend group/find your life partner in university, because it's just as tough to do at school as it is elsewhere. Also, it's normal to struggle with balancing older friendships and newer ones- it gets easier, don't sweat it too much.

People are still people (friendships are messy, even in adulthood)- lots of folks are friendly, but some are a little prickly!

Most freshmen are as mature as they were in their senior year of high school. I think I only felt my prefrontal cortex start developing at the very end of my junior year lol. 

I don't know about the best time of your life. I think for most people, this idea comes from finally enjoying the freedom inherent to being an "actual" adult while still being young enough to not be burdened by too much responsibility (i.e., being in your 20s).

Hope this didn't come off too negatively, I genuinely adore uni!!

Sincerely,

- A TA, researcher, and event organiser for my school :)