Pop Culture Myths: College Isn't 'Animal House'

College is a familiar setting for many classic and cult films and TV shows, but over the years, popular culture has skewed realities about the real college experience.

From the original Beverly Hills, 90210 and Saved by the Bell: The College Years back in the ’90s to Gossip Girl (2007-2012), a common theme depicts high school cliques following each other to local colleges. However, ACT research from 2012 indicates that the distance traveled to attend college directly correlates with ACT composite scores; students who scored below 24 moved some 50 miles from home, while students with a score of 33 or higher traveled to schools about 170 miles away – over three times further. So in reality, onscreen BFFs would most likely be separated based on academic achievement.

Another constant (but totally inaccurate) pop culture cliché shows that the standard of living in college may parallel that of one’s (fantasy) suburban home life. Gossip Girl, Girls and Pitch Perfect all give the illusion of spacious, luxurious dorms – when in actuality, dorms are an average of 12x19 feet – or 228 square feet often shared with a roommate. For cramped quarters, the average cost of room and board is still $11,188.

Perhaps the biggest and most intractable college trope is wild parties – all day, all night, at no charge and almost no consequences. John Blutarsky of Animal House may croon, “Grab a brew. Don’t cost nothing,’” but the average college student spends $900 on alcohol per year. Ascher Roth may casually sing “Sip banker’s club and drink Miller Lite / On Thirsty Thursday and Tuesday Night Ice,” but a National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism report indicates that of the 80% of college students who consume alcohol, about half of them binge drink.

The party scene is often tied to Greek life, too. In 2007’s Greek, “everyone is a brother or a sister” – when really, only about 11% of current college students are in a fraternity or sorority. Films like Sydney White and Neighbors depict gruesome pledge processes, which unfortunately are not far from reality. Nearly 70% of females in Greek life have reported being hazed, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners lists frats as the sixth worst insurance risk in the U.S.

In another element of truth, pop culture suggests that administrative decisions favor athletic organizations. From the 1984 film Revenge of the Nerds to the 2010 Spike TV show Blue Mountain State, athletes have special privileges with housing and academic help, and they are also given leeway with misconduct laws. According to The Knight Commission in 2010, Division I colleges with football spent seven times more on athletes than on students – $91,936 per athlete compared to $13,628 per student. Additionally, over 20% of institutions allow athletic departments to oversee cases involving student-athletes, including those of sexual assault.

More than just the college experience though, college also costs money. From films like October Sky to 21, merit-based scholarships seem easily obtained and readily available. In reality, the most selective universities and liberal arts colleges (Ivy Leagues, MIT, Amherst College, for example) may be generous with need-based aid; schools like Princeton University and Williams College claim to meet full financial need. However overall, the average scholarship for private schools is just over $17,000 and a little less than $6,300 for public schools.

Some films also offer compelling debates over the relative importance of attending college, as both Bartleby Gaines and his parents make valid points in the 2006 film Accepted. Part of Bartleby’s defense holds truth, as Harvard dropout Bill Gates has a combined net worth of $79 billion, over twice as much as Harvard’s $32 billion endowment. However, according to Pew Research Center, college graduates between ages 25-32 earn an average of $17,500 more per year than those with only a high school diploma.