21st century college students spend four or five years going to class, staying up all night to study for exams, and letting loose on the weekend. Heavy drinking, bad decisions, and huge parties are common place on college campuses across the United States. In an environment that breeds debauchery and sin, it's seemingly impossible to compare the life of a college student to something pure and virtuous like religion. Magazines and newspapers across the nation rank colleges and universities as top party schools, but don't seem to ever feature articles ranking the best parishes to party at. So how can one make the audacious claim that college life is like the Roman Catholic Church? Ignore the obvious similarities like religion classes and books being a central part of furthering a members understanding of a subject. Under close examination, college life and the Catholic Church share many common principles and ideologies. .
Syllabus day, midterms, finals, and project due dates are all days of great importance in the life of a college student wishing to succeed. College life and the Catholic Church both have certain days of obligation all members are expected to observe. Passing a college class is far more challenging if a student is not regularly in attendance. Being absent the day of an exam or when a project is due can have a detrimental effect on a student's grade. Although a majority of professors offer make up exams for absent students, the exams are often much more challenging and cover a wider variety of material. In order to get the most out of the college experience, a student should also attend certain events and functions outside of the classroom. Memories of football games, holidays, and parties become the timeless stories shared with family and friends after graduation. Missing important class days and significant social events makes a student miss out on all that college life has to offer.