The idea behind college that a lot of high school graduates do not grasp is that college is not a simple extension of any prior education. To attend college is not just a step up on the educational ladder, like grammar school to junior high to high school. What sets college apart is the very concept of it: it is a crossroads to something else, a limbo of not only education, but exploration as well. Experience college as a winding roadmap destination: to know where it all leads to is beside the point. All the fun to be had is in getting there.
You should go to college to meet people. What sets them apart from the kind of folk you would meet in, say, a bar or a shopping mall lies in their interests. College campuses come loaded with behavioral presets; certain people take certain classes, and so on. Discover a niche and follow it along. It may be a passionate interest, or merely a passing one. Very few institutions will offer such benefits, especially from such a collective of varied minds and hearts. Take risks, go out of your way, and establish new modes of how to approach a situation. Explore new surroundings with the desire to conquer.
Network. Regardless of...