college lacks structured socializing time This may have been true of your college, at the time you attended, but I don't think the experience generalizes at al

college lacks structured socializing time This may have been true of your college, at the time you attended, but I don't think the experience generalizes at all. Lots of colleges and universities feature heavily structured socializing time. They may have extensive orientation activities during the first week on campus, before classes begin. This functions as both an ice breaker and team building event within faculties or departments. As part of this process, first years / freshmen / frosh are typically introduced to a host of formal clubs, student organizations, and fraternities/sororities they can join. They will also often participate in orientation activities and be introduced to groups and events within their residence building (or college within a larger university) which adds another layer of structured socialization. Frankly, I would say that university has the potential to offer the most structured socialization time a person can experience throughout their entire life. Of course, as with any opportunity, the door may be open but it's up to the individual to walk through. Plenty of people go to school and put 100% focus on their studies. They never socialize with anyone and they largely remember school as a time of stress and isolation. Barring specific programs with insane workloads, that was their choice, however.