An academic advisor thinks that the freshmen of today are “entitled and clueless.” The individual shared their thoughts with readers on Reddit. The post was shared on the subreddit r/Teachers by user u/lizz781.
The user said they worked as an academic advisor at a large state university but did not disclose the name. At a recent orientation, the user had a few thoughts when observing the freshmen as they entered college, ready for the experience.
The user said, “Lately, I have noticed how clueless and entitled freshmen have become.” The user described several interactions with students who had recently graduated from high school.
Apparently, some students would approach the academic advisor and share reasons to drop a core class since they were in a particular club.
Some students said they did not need to take college math since they had already done it in high school — and when their AP or dual credits were not posted to their accounts, they went to the advisor.
When asked, the students did not know the submissions had already been handled on their behalf — the advisor noted that when they attended college, students were expected to manage such processes independently.
The user also commented on having a conversation with the Freshmen of today. The user said, “Talking to them is like talking to the wall.”
The person also brought up the use of AI for “everything,” including research, assignments, and even academic advice. One student had even changed a major because ChatGPT told them to.
Finally, the Redditor said that college students were behaving like elementary students and wondered how some would stay “sane.”
Reddit Had Advice for the Academic Advisor — and Some Thoughts of Its Own
Since sharing their story on the SubReddit, the post has amassed over 4,000 upvotes and nearly 1,000 comments from Redditors. Some users were fellow educators who shared their own experiences in the comment section of the post.
A user agreed with the OP’s comments about Freshmen being “entitled and clueless.” The user said, “They are. I’m a high school teacher. I will tell you the truth, most kids are nowhere near ready for college.”
Another agreed, saying, “Speaking as someone who’s been teaching college students for closer to a decade, you’re absolutely right.”
A third commenter who said they worked in college admissions and registration described an exchange with a student who asked why they could not apply for classes.
The user said, “When we ask them if they have applied to the school, they said they didn’t know they had to apply. Dude.”
A fourth one said, “Our current school system is completely failing them for life outside of high school and many of them are going to be shocked.”
A final one said, “They’re going all the way through college and into the workforce like that from what I’m hearing.”
The thread remained active as of publication — with commenters from across education sectors describing similar patterns and several suggesting the issue reflected systemic failures in K-12 preparation rather than individual student shortcomings.
