Dear Hapie35,

But here are my Top Five.

That's a pretty deep question and I think that everyone probably has different opinions about this.

1. You Don't Know Their Past

I think the #1 problem by far is the fact that most relationships you have in college are with people you don't really know much about. You know what you have in common and their interests, but the one problem is that you don't know their past.

But that's good, because it gives people a clean start. Many people change during high school, but aren't given a chance because everyone remembers how they used to be.

You don't know how their reputation, how their past relationships have been, who they've been with, and their behavior in part. It's sometimes hard to get to know someone intimately when you don't know their past. In addition, you can't ask around about them like you could in grade school. It's harder to find out things about them without experiencing them for yourself.

2. Too Much Opportunity

Another difficult problem to contend with is the ability to meet many new people so spontaneously. There is the chance to meet different people of the opposite sex every day and everywhere.

Then maybe you're taking things too seriously. Believe me, you won't have this many opportunities after college.

When there are so many opportunities, it is sometimes hard to ignore them and pay attention to only one person.

3. Distance and Transportation

Another problem might be distance and transportation. Lots of younger college students live in the dorms and might not have a car or other transportation, making it very difficult to get together with their boyfriends/girlfriends. Sometimes it takes me 45 minutes to get from one side of campus to the other. It gets annoying and sometimes just doesn't seem worth the wasted time.

4. Alcohol

A problem at probably every campus in the country is alcohol. I would be surprised if less than 95% of students at this school drink. Alcohol is everywhere, it's easy to get a hold of if you're young, and it seems that everyone drinks. Of course with drinking comes, different behavior.

It's especially a problem if you start a relationship drunk.

College students tend to get pretty wild under the influence and sometimes end up hooking up with new people they don't know and sometimes end up telling their boyfriend/ girlfriend something that they normally wouldn't say. I know a lot of guys that have broken up with their girlfriends because they were drunk and didn't think about what they were saying to them.

5. Age Differences

A 5th reason that probably isn't a big problem is the age difference. In high school, it would be considered unacceptable by most people for a senior to go out with a freshman. At least that's how it was at my high school. In college, it really isn't a big deal for a senior to go out with a freshman.

But just as there was a major difference in high school, major differences exist in college as well. Older students have experienced college and are usually more mature. Younger students are totally new to the college experience and are more immature. There is really a difference between a freshman's experience and a senior's and sometimes it is enough to make a relationship fail.

Much Different from High School

These are 5 problems that I can think of that are really different than problems faced in high school. I think the first one is the biggest problem, but they are all problems for different people. Sometimes the biggest problem is just a lack of communication that may exist in any relationship.

But the above are really problems that are strongly common to college students.

– Carl