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For many people, growing up meant constantly stressing about college, getting into the right one, the right program. Once you arrive, prepared to face more daunting challenges, you realize that world-class professors sometimes show up late, write emails that look like your dad’s text messages and your biggest enemy is the unending piles of laundry.
We’ve gathered some of the best posts from this internet page dedicated to college memes. So get comfortable as you scroll through, get those instant noodles cooking, upvote the most relatable examples and be sure to share your own ideas in the comments section down below.
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#2
Multa Nocte 2 days ago
Always a head-banger for us non-athletic nerds who had nothing but our poor brains.
There's a peculiar phenomenon happening across social media where people who graduated from college years or even decades ago still find themselves laughing at freshman orientation memes, nodding knowingly at procrastination jokes, and sharing posts about ramen noodles at 2am. The grip that college content has on adults who've long since traded dorm rooms for mortgages is both amusing and surprisingly well documented by psychology research. It turns out there's much more happening here than just people who can't let go of their glory days.
The term meme was actually coined by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene to describe how cultural ideas spread, and college memes have become a particularly sticky form of cultural transmission that resonates across generations.
Reflecting on memories like college days helps reinforce our core identity, reminding us of where we've come from and providing a sense of continuity during periods of change. When someone who graduated fifteen years ago sees a meme about skipping class to binge Netflix, they're not just remembering their own experience but reconnecting with a version of themselves that still feels fundamentally relevant to who they are today.
#7
Agfox 1 day ago
Oh geeze, that brought back an unpleasant memory. Back when I was doing Matriculation (in Australia), if you were close to passing in an individual exam at the end of the year you were granted a Supplementary exam. I had a Supp for Chemistry. In the final exam, the main Inorganic question was on lead, properties, reactions with acids etc., which I didn't answer very well. So, when studying for the Supp, I revised all the Inorganic curriculum except lead, thinking it wouldn't appear twice. Well, I was wrong & that's why I did not pass Matric Chemistry back in 1963
#8
Stardust she/her 1 day ago
My teachers are all Indian guys who have Youtube channels but they still suck at teaching T-T
#9
Michael Largey 2 days ago
Sometimes they want a college degree to prove that you are capable of learning at a certain level and so can learn what they need to teach you. Law school admissions are very much like that and so are many jobs.
The science of nostalgia explains a lot about why college content maintains its appeal long after graduation. Consuming nostalgic media gives us a way of thinking about who we are and helps us make sense of our purpose in life, according to researchers who've been studying this phenomenon for decades. College represents a unique period in most people's lives when they are figuring out their identity, forming lasting friendships, and experiencing a level of freedom they might not have had before or since. Those memories aren't just filed away in some dusty corner of the brain but actively contribute to how we understand ourselves in the present.
#10
Huddo's sister 1 day ago
I was such a technophobe that I didn't want to check my final marks online, even though they were released the day before the posted/mailed ones. My mum is still not happy with me making her wait another day, but she got me back by dragging me down to the school after opening the mail, because she thought I was really upset I didn't get the mark I was expecting (I was a little disappointed, but moved on easily, she was the one who thought it would mean I would miss out on uni).
#11
LakotaWolf (she/her) 2 days ago
I remember being in absolute "culture shock" when my mom made me start college at age 14. I went from seeing all of my teachers in elementary school and middle school either wear dresses or full-length skirts and blouses (for the female teachers) or full-on suits or a button-up shirt and tie (for the male teachers) to taking an "introduction to philosophy" class in my first semester in college - and the teacher walked in wearing a Hawaiian shirt, board shorts, and flip-flops with a Gandalf-class beard and long white hair tied back in a ponytail with a strip of leather XD And yes, some of my college profs did wear more formal clothing, but the vast majority of them were super laid-back in both appearance and attitude, like OP describes above XD
#12
Stardust she/her 1 day ago
Better to leave it blank when your exam also has negative points for each question wrong
Studies have revealed that nostalgic experiences can decrease feelings of loneliness and depression, and can also increase self-esteem and sense of social connectedness in young people. For adults scrolling through their feeds after a tough day at work, a college meme offers a brief escape to a time when their biggest concern was whether the dining hall was serving good pizza or the cardboard variety. It's not that adulthood is necessarily worse than college, but college represents a time of possibility and community that many people find comforting to revisit mentally.
#13
Bewitched One 2 days ago
I hit wait. Over. And over. And over. Until I finally pass out and wake up with it and me covered in drool 🤷🏼♀️
#14
#15
Multa Nocte 2 days ago (edited)
And this, dearest children, this is how it was in days of yore when we, your forebearers, were there.
Nostalgic memories remind us of our relationships with other people, and nostalgic recollections can encourage us to seek out social and emotional support because they frequently feature important people from our past. This helps explain why college memes get shared so enthusiastically. When someone shares a post about pulling all-nighters or surviving finals week on nothing but coffee and denial, they're not just posting for themselves but reaching out to the people who were there with them, creating a moment of shared recognition and connection.
Much of nostalgia recalls periods from childhood, and a big reason for this is that in childhood, we were loved simply for who we were. College occupies a similar psychological space for many people. It was a time when you could mess up spectacularly and it was called learning, when friendships formed over shared struggles felt deeper than anything else, and when the future seemed both terrifying and full of potential. The stakes felt lower even when they seemed impossibly high at the time.
#19
Laserleader 1 day ago
I never cheated once, and got a BA MCL by copying so much stuff from books because I cited their sources. Citations is the cheat code.
#21
Nikki Sevven 2 days ago
If I didn't play music while studying, my brain would fück off and contemplate things like, "Water is a clear, colorless fluid. Why, then, is a wet towel darker than a dry one?"
Stardust she/her 1 day ago
Because of the fact that water is more optically denser compared to the numerous air pockets in between the fibres of the towel. When the towel gets wet, all the air pockets get filled and this causes the light to refract in whichever direction it pleases so you get much less light actually reaching your eyes and this makes the towel appear darker
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Don Adams 2 days ago
I found music a great study aid. The night before a test, I would put on an album I enjoyed, read the subject matter, and during the test. I could "play" the music in my head and it served as a great memory aid.
arthbach 1 day ago
People have reported this 'trick' using flavoured gum or flavoured water. Studies have shown they improve recall, but it must be the same flavour.
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Charlotte Ingle 2 days ago
For me the trick for studying or working is listening to music I know well, so my brain can ignore it as needed. Spotify randomly throwing in "similar songs you might like" is not appreciated
Disgruntled Panda 1 day ago
I don't know who's been helping you but Beethoven's been dead for some time
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Lady Eowyn 1 day ago
Sometimes I even had the tv on. My pre-concussions brain could actually concentrate on two things at once. TBH, I do have Forged in Fire playing on one half of my monitor screen and Bored Panda on the other, so I guess I haven't totally lost that skill.
Mera 1 day ago
I have to or I fall down a rabbit hole and end up studying medieval blacksmithing.
Cla Ida 1 day ago
I can't focus otherwise, but sometimes music is not enough, i need to overhear people talking but at a moderate level and pace. Anyways, i once spent two weeks studying for my finals with the anime School Days on repeat like a maniac. Is it a good anime? Frankly no, just a nice background noise to study to. I'm proud to report it worked very well!
Ece Cenker 17 hours ago
I used to do chore-like things like math exercises or simply writing/copying notes etc. along with music. If I had to think and learn I shut it off. Pretty much how I function these days, too.
Mook The Mediocre 1 day ago
Music without lyrics works for me - Liszt and Chopin are great. Trying to read/write while listening to words confuses my brain. I can only deal with one form of word input at a time.
Rick Murray 1 day ago
There are two types of people in the world. Those that can think better when there is familiar music playing, and those that freak over any disturbance. The two are fundamentally incompatible.
When we look back nostalgically, the reconstructive process of memory skews positive, and we tend to think about very general periods as opposed to particular details, naturally painting our memories with a very broad brush which glosses over the small negative details. This is why college memes work so well even for people who had genuinely difficult experiences during those years. The memes capture the universal struggles and triumphs while allowing each person to fill in their own rose-tinted specifics. You might not remember the actual stress of that organic chemistry exam, but you remember the camaraderie of suffering through it with your study group.
The relatability factor is huge too. Research shows a considerable proportion of college participants (79 percent!) and adults experience nostalgia on a weekly basis, which means there's a massive audience primed to engage with college content. Even people who are decades removed from their graduation can instantly understand the feeling behind a meme about checking your bank account after a weekend out or the existential dread of registering for classes.
#25
Rick Murray 1 day ago
I could do with a degree or two, it's only six outside and going to be colder tomorrow. 🥶
There's also something inherently funny about looking back at how seriously we took things that seem trivial now. Adults can laugh at college stress memes because they have the perspective to know that yes, that paper felt like the end of the world, but it obviously wasn't. The humor comes from the combination of genuine empathy for past struggles and the relief of being on the other side of them. It's why posts about dramatic roommate conflicts or dining hall food get thousands of shares from people in their thirties and forties.
#28
Stardust she/her 1 day ago
I remember in ninth grade we had maths homework and our teacher told us to do only 3 questions. What she neglected to mention was the fact that one of those questions was a proving type question while the other two had subparts that went from a. to h.
Finally, college culture has a timeless quality because the fundamental experiences remain similar across generations. The technology changes, the slang evolves, but the core experiences of academic pressure, social navigation, identity formation, and questionable life choices remain remarkably consistent. A meme about procrastination hits just as hard for someone who graduated in 1995 as it does for someone graduating next year. That universality keeps the content fresh and relatable no matter how long it's been since you last set foot in a lecture hall.
#31
Granny's Thoughts 1 day ago
Had this happen when I booked a Drs. appointment on-line and her picture was 30 years out of date.
#32
#33
#34
#36
Michael Largey 2 days ago
Sometimes what they put down is so off the wall that you have no idea what they did wrong.
#37
#38
Mel in Georgia 1 day ago
The thing is, physically writing something helps the brain remember it. Even using a keyboard isn't the same. Note taking is a lost skill.
#39
Bob Brooce 1 day ago
Way back when I was taking Earth science in 8th grade one of the less gifted students actually answer the question "What is bedrock" with The town where the Flintstones live."
#46
LakotaWolf (she/her) 2 days ago
Now that I'm long past college, that's me with going to sleep XD
#48
Mel in Georgia 1 day ago
As long as you can get some decent sleep in between, it's not a bad plan! Cramming works!
#50
Lady Eowyn 1 day ago
Back in the day, speeding to get to the professor's office to hand in the paper.
#51
#54
UnclePanda 1 day ago
Spotted on a t-shirt: Things are so bad, that if a clown beckoned to me from the woods, I'd just go.
#55
Stardust she/her 1 day ago
I’m atheist but I was once so cooked on an exam that I prayed to all the gods I remembered and was able to pass the exam
#61
#62
Lady Eowyn 1 day ago
Upper level astronomy class in college, I wrote a paper about the planet Venus which I never did understand. I got an A. The professor was great, very helpful in recommending source material. I was in college in the 70s and he's one of the few professors I remember. I was a general studies major, or as my family doctor put it, I majored in everything.
#66
Huddo's sister 1 day ago
My old high school (partially) burned down when my brother was in year 12. All of the tech wing, which housed the art, woodworking, metalwork and v c&d rooms were lost. The year 12 art students who lost their art portfolios got special considerations, but still had to complete something to hand in so they didn't fail (and still had to do the exam).
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Alex Fountain 1 day ago
I know this is gonna get buried down here, but I just graduated with highest honors with a BS in computer science this morning and I’m extremely excited and this seems like an appropriate post to put it on :)
Alex Fountain 1 day ago
I know this is gonna get buried down here, but I just graduated with highest honors with a BS in computer science this morning and I’m extremely excited and this seems like an appropriate post to put it on :)
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