The films which gave us unrealistic expectations of university

The parties won’t be that good, I promise…

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Almost every young 11-year-old dreams of attending high school, where everything will be far better than primary school ever was. A similar phenomenon occurs before one begins university. We are encouraged by the many, many films and television series which give us poor students completely unrealistic expectations of what uni life will really be like. Here is a list of the largest lies in the business:

Pitch Perfect

Let’s be honest, we all watched this film (and its considerably worse sequel) and assumed that university would be a constant stream of flawlessly executed, spontaneous acapella songs. Turns out not every Fresher is as beautiful or charmingly grumpy as Anna Kendrick, and in the real world, groups of eager, barely trained underdogs are very unlikely to win national competitions. Damn reality.

Fresh Meat

Despite the adorable Jack Whitehall and his variety of comrades, this show is a little depressing. So depressing, in fact, that even the biggest sesh-head going will begin to feel a little sick at the disgusting antics of Vod and almost everyone will inevitably become frustrated at Oregon’s (or is it Melissa’s?) constant lies. This series is unfaithful to the real student experience in that it portrays it TOO badly; not even Newcastle is as grimy as the house these poor students live in.

Bad Neighbours

Yes, Zac Efron is shirtless for almost the entire film. Yes, Seth Rogen is wonderfully funny and everyone loves a bit of Dave Franco. However, this portrayal of life at an American university and the world of fraternities and sororities is just wildly inaccurate. The parties won’t be that good, I promise.

Legally Blonde

As much as every girl dreams of one day becoming a a successful lawyer, defeating the male gaze and wearing pink ALL THE TIME, this film is another flawed interpretation which simply succeeds in making me disappointed with grey English life (and the fact that I am not Reese Witherspoon) whenever I watch it.

21 (and 22) Jump Street

Is it just me, or are attractive leading male characters becoming a pattern in this list? Channing Tatum gives a dazzling performance with Jonah Hill as a pair of slightly useless yet well-meaning undercover policemen, and Dave Franco (yet again) features in this unrealistic version of American high school/college. Again, and I cannot stress this enough; the parties are not really like this.

Monsters University

Don’t even bother pretending that you didn’t want to be a student at this uni. Don’t try to deny that the Scare School looked insane, or that you didn’t immediately choose a fraternity/sorority (Python Nu Kappa all the way). However, unfortunately, one cannot attend a university, even in America, where “Creative Roaring” is a course – yet…

High School Musical

It may not be a university, but it is painful for anyone of the High School Musical generation to hear that this glorious world of song, dance and true love at 18 is not (cue universal gasp of horror) real. Troy, Gabriella and friends will forever live in our happy memories of this ridiculous series, but to my intense disappointment, real life high school never quite lived up to the “Breaking Free” hype.