[GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

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[GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

Post by University of San Andreas » Tue Feb 12, 2019 8:29 am

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Introduction to the Guide


Standards are a very serious thing on LSRP, and are usually very controversial among certain groups of roleplayers. It's a dividing line that usually leads to OOC conflict when spoken about and is often misunderstood. The guide isn't to take from your overall freedom to roleplay who you want, it's a guide on how to showcase it better and get people to take you seriously. Legal roleplay as it stands, usually is a very low-end for "proper" roleplay of a higher quality and is seen as a generally "toxic" environment due to people unrealistically roleplaying their characters. It is imperative that this faction keeps a good image so that people will continue to join and roleplay with us. This guide is meant for current and future members to read and to properly gauge the environment we expect from you as a growing legal faction. We hope you find it useful. The first section will cover a brief Summary of American college life then will go onto character portrayal.


Summary of American college life

College or university in the United States is a culture of it's own with varying degrees of it's own social classes and statuses, traditions dating back as early as the 1800s. Whether or not you're attending an Ivy League college or a regular four year, it is very likely the college you're attending has a vast history behind it with various controversies and shifts in overall political stance towards outside politics; and with that, the type of students it pushes out. College is a lot more than an excuse to party and do drugs in abundance, it's a whole new world that opens many doors to one's future. Greek societies, sports teams, and student organizations reign supreme; their benefactors usually hiding in the shadows or rallying from podiums to push different agendas. It's a mixed bag for someone who isn't born from money because all of the elitism that comes from college life can be quite overwhelming and people never really know which side of the fence to stand on.

There are several different types of people in college but are usually grouped and labeled by the organizations and agendas they push. Firstly, you have the preps. Preps are an easily visible lot, usually overshadowing the other students with their fancy clothes, well groomed hair, overall respect, people they know, and the family they belong to. These are usually the founders or top class of a Greek society (also known as a fraternity or sorority) and have a very big presence on campus. They are the guys you always wanted to be cool with, and it's not just for the legendary parties. Shaking hands and making a lasting impression with a group of preps, especially a fraternity, is something that can lock someone's future and career in place in an almost god-like fashion. You're not just another GDI (God Damn Independent / someone not in a Greek society) attending college to get an education anymore, you're an alpha male with connections tied to a society that has very likely existed since the early 1900s or earlier, with thousands of alumni, your brothers, worldwide. If you one day end up being neck deep in debt your brothers would very likely travel from across the world to help you out. You will never be alone again, for anything. You're going to be walking in the foot steps of politicians, doctors, business moguls, and lawyers all while being able to call them family. That's Greek life. It is an almost guaranteed key to success, but it does not come easy.

Hazing is a controversial topic in the American college system, and some who are involved in Greek life for the sake of pushing ahead on the social ladder would deny it's existence. But the unfortunate truth is that it is absolutely REAL. There are college students killed in hazing incidents in several different campuses worldwide, usually pledging for a fraternity. The consensus from "actives" (current frat brothers in college) and alumni is that when hazing became illegal, it only got worse. Back when hazing was more public, the standard was a public one. It was child's play and the hazing mostly consisted of humiliating and public embarrassment, but almost never led to death because of the fact that it was indeed public. It was policed due to that said fact. But once hazing was made illegal, it became "underground". A tradition so deeply rooted in America had been buried beneath the soil and it sprouted new roots, roots that would bring on the demise of many different fraternities across America. It was never going to stop, and probably never will due to how important it is to most chapters in America. Politicians poke their nose at it, campuses condone it, and the students go through the hardships of having their ribs beaten in, eyes blackened, teeth broken, being humiliated, drenched in trash and rotten fruit, called names you have probably never heard before, and otherwise made a fool out of all to hopefully one day become the brother of a prestigious Greek society and do the same to the under class. It is a battle that is actively being fought in court but is almost never punished to the full extent of the law. Not all active fraternities and sororities do the "harsh" type of hazing, but you usually never know if they do. It is kept very hush hush among the actives and the "pledges" (recruits) don't ever spill the beans unless they want the rest of their time in college to be a living hell for being a rat.

The next class of people would be your stance based "SJW" (Social Justice Warrior) types or their counterpart conservative "build the wall" types. These guys are almost always part of a society of sorts. SJWs almost never pledge for a fraternity or sorority, and when they do, it's because their interests meet eye to eye with the chapter they are trying out for, but usually don't because of the varying degree of difference in opinion on sexual preference or identity. These guys organize rallies almost every month and fight for whatever cause they deem plausible during that time, usually right on campus grounds. Depending on the campus, these guys usually are the most influential sort, being able to gain sympathy for a lot of their supposed struggles. The conservatives are on the other end of the spectrum and are usually the ones to start a student political party, such as "Young Republicans" or "NRA Youth Programs". These are your typical borderline racists most of the time and are always getting into trouble with the SJW sects around the campus. Debates are common place in classes revolving around concepts of American politics and gender studies and it is almost always because of clashing between these two groups.

The third and final class would be your normal every day students fresh off the trip from high school. These guys are empty canvases waiting to see what college has to offer. The future is in their hands and whether they are rich or poor, college can make or break them depending on their choices going forward. Will they pledge a fraternity or sorority? Will they get wrapped up in the politics around campus? Or maybe they'l start a fraternity or agenda based society of their own. How about sports? It is an exciting time for a freshman in college, and also a very tempting one with PLENTY of peer pressure. Parties are almost always on your doorstep and invites to said parties are very common, screwing with your friends after class is a common place thing as well, attending or partaking in sports is a standard; but one thing stands iron clad in a college environment and that is studies. Some students go as far as getting into drugs like cocaine or speed to stay awake to maintain their sleep schedule juggling both a social life and their studies in college, because what would be the point of breaking them or their parents' bank over college if not to improve their life and prepare for a career? It is the whole point of it, and will be the determining factor of one's time in college. Some students never involve themselves with the rabble of college politics and organizations, shooting straight for the hoop and just getting it done with without a care in the world; but more often than not a student will sample a taste of the many lifestyles available on campus at least once during his or her time in college.


Character Portrayal

This is where the guide is probably going to get a lot of hate. Up until now, everything was based on facts and some would argue that everything on this section will be pure "preference"; but the purpose of this guide is to present ourselves and the roleplay we are trying to bring to the server as neatly and clean as possible without falling into a category people will hesitate to roleplay with. Take nothing we say to "heart" but take everything seriously and as a clear cut example of the quality we are looking for in USALS. Everything you need to focus on will be bolded in the upcoming paragraphs.

Making a character that works is the most crucial part of roleplaying a college student. A lot of things work and a lot of things simply do not. Legal RP isn't for the faint of heart and it's not for everyone, but if you enter it for the first time for college roleplay it is important to know that you're entering a very specific type of roleplay that requires a bit of critical thinking. You need to imagine yourself in a position of wanting to go to college, then wrap it around LSRP innuendos and the culture of the server, seeing which ones work for a realistic character. Starting out as an illegal character is usually a very big no no for a college character and usually ends in disaster. Only on very specific cases do colleges allow people with records on their campus as students. Scholarships are usually the way-in in that fashion but aren't always a road map to absolute success. Faculty will be definitely giving you the stink eye every step of the way if you have tats all over your face and dressing like a degenerate gang banger will definitely not help your case. Your character would really have to show the college he's applying for that he wants to change and wants to pick up a pen and write as opposed to a gun and shoot. Expect to be under extremely close watch, and be weary that one infraction could land you an expulsion from campus. This also applies to characters not currently in crime who get caught doing serious crimes. It is very unlikely you'l be allowed to remain at a reputable campus with serious charges on your record, and is, regardless, unrealistic to roleplay as such while in college. Dealing drugs off campus and things of that sort are understandable because of the subculture surrounding drugs in college, but in very small amounts. An El Chapo-level dealer in college makes zero sense. It also goes without saying that roleplaying with guns around campus is a very big no no. If you are planning on getting a PF, roleplay with it under realistic bounds. The only idea we can think of from the top of our head is for hunting trips.

Aside from being a normal everyday working stiff, or someone from a moderate or middle classed family taking out a loan and using a payment plan for your tuition and working it off with a college job, you could also go the route of a prep from a wealthy family; but that comes with needing to know how to realistically roleplay wealth. The first thing you need to do is ask yourself and gauge exactly how rich your family is. Do they own a company of sorts? Are they just wealthy or are they borderline insanely rich? Are they from an old money family with strict traditions or are you from a new money family? Do YOU follow suit with the traditions of your family? These are all questions you need to ask yourself, because they affect the way you roleplay the character you are trying to portray. If you're from an older and more strict family and follow suit in their traditions, you are likely going to be very reserved and keep the partying and stuff to a minimum, yet have a very go-getter attitude to impress your parents with and pursue every power grabbing opportunity while in college by shaking hands with politicians, lawyers, sucking up to your professors, and other things of the sort. If you're from a new money family and/or you don't follow suit with your family and their traditions, you're likely going to be a wild child that flaunts his money and screws around at almost every turn. The type that ends up regretting that he spent so much time partying when he sees how horrible his grades are at the end of every semester.

Mall items / Toys are another very big thing about not only college RP, but in both legal and illegal RP, that bring the "reputation" down to a nub in most circles that use them. Let us be clear on this, using mall items / toys do not make you a bad roleplayer. But to deny the existence of a dividing line of seriousness among the roleplayers that do and don't is a very untrue thing and if you look closely enough, that line is visible through and through. Toys break skins most of the time for people taking screenshots with skin mods on and sometimes they aren't aligned right on their screen, and in general they normally just don't look right and promote a sense of an almost "trollish" and unserious environment. We realize that not everyone has the money to get a custom skin mod, but by now we are positive if you want to rp a specific "look and style" that well detailed / me's describing your character and a few well placed Google and LSRP forum searches for skin mod releases will yield decent results.

Cars being roleplayed realistically is another issue many many rpers in general have an issue with. Everyone wants the fastest script-wise car so they can evade police IF they get in a chase. But you don't need to worry about that here, this is legal roleplay and if you're applying for college it won't make much sense to want to do that anyway. Sultans, Bullets, Cheetahs, Elegies, Jesters, and Hustlers, just to name a few, are bought most of the time because they are "fast". But what people don't realize about roleplaying cars properly is that it is extremely simple to pick up a car that is less fast script-wise and more appealing and ROLEPLAY it as the car that you want. For instance, if you wanted to roleplay a Cadillac Escalade you could easily use a Huntley. Again, a quick Google or LSRP forum search for car mods doubled together with a few good / me's is probably a ticket that will be very easy to punch and it will also make you go into more detail about the car you are ICly driving and put way more thought into it than just settling for a fast script wise car and leaving it at that. If you want to roleplay someone that also has an interest in cars or even likes to race his friends somewhere discrete when your character is drunk, go for it. But make it more about roleplay and not about winning, you don't need a donator vehicle to do that.

The last major bullet point hearkens back to what we were talking about earlier, which is realistically roleplaying wealth. Not to rewind the tape here, but it is important to know when enough is enough. Bear in mind, regardless of possibly being the son or daughter of a famous politician or a oil tycoon, every parent sending their son to college has their limits. You're not going to have access to a jet directly, and if you do, you obviously won't know how to drive it. If you don't live at your parents' house, the house they might "buy you" will be a reflection of their wealth, but also one of modesty in certain situations. Parents are stingy and they're probably not going to give you an extremely large mansion unless it is their house they are letting you use. All we are saying is, as far as personal possessions go, stay moderate and don't make it too outlandish and over the top and be sure to roleplay within the bounds of your family wealth.


As an added bonus, the very end of this guide is going to go over what to do in your spare time as a college student. Sitting around and waiting for other people to spoon feed you roleplay is a very bad idea. The new university on LSRP is ALL about student involvement, so your involvement as students means a lot. We won't go and put everything in this upcoming list, but it will cover a many great things and should line the bases up for everyone on what are a few possibilities. At the end of the list, we will also be giving you further sources to look at just in case, as we are not planning to put every idea we find on the list.

College Roleplay Ideas

Join or create a club or society — or join many clubs — and eventually run for a leadership position.
See something that's making you angry? Protest it.
Go to or organize college parties.
Go out to bars with your college buddies.
Work a college job.
Apply for an internship with a politician, doctor, lawyer, or business mogul.
Partake in study hall with friends.
Workout with friends.
Partake in sports.
Have a dorm or apartment slumber party.
Have a Movie Night.
Try out drinking games.
Go on a road trip.
Invite all of the influential people you've met in town to a fancy dinner and smoke cigars over expensive champagne.
Booby-trap someone’s dorm room.
Have a BBQ with friends.
Zip-ties and Mai-Tais: you get zip tied to a girl and share mai-tais.
Tail-gate with friends.
Go out hunting with friends.

SOURCES
https://www.businessinsider.com/33-thin ... ege-2013-8
https://www.elitedaily.com/life/fall-th ... ke/2042819
https://blog.essaytigers.com/40-fun-thi ... e-friends/
https://www.collegeraptor.com/find-coll ... r-college/
http://thefraternityadvisor.com/153-fra ... xer-ideas/
Last edited by University of San Andreas on Tue Feb 12, 2019 9:31 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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Deso
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Re: [GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

Post by Deso » Tue Feb 12, 2019 8:47 am

Good guide man, well written.

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Re: [GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

Post by Lawson » Tue Feb 12, 2019 9:03 am

This outlines the difference between roleplaying a college student and running around like it's a high school musical, great job.
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Re: [GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

Post by Leo_Carabelli » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:04 am

It's a really good and well written guide.
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Re: [GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

Post by understands » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:20 am

<3

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Re: [GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

Post by Projection » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:55 am

Very good and realistic points, nice guide!

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Re: [GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

Post by WitchingHour » Tue Feb 12, 2019 12:24 pm

Lawson wrote:
Tue Feb 12, 2019 9:03 am
This outlines the difference between roleplaying a college student and running around like it's a high school musical, great job.
we're all in this together
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Re: [GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

Post by Manhunter » Tue Feb 12, 2019 2:28 pm

Image

Had to do it to em.
The zoom closes in on the bullet-hole in HOWARD’s face and continues onward into the wound. Swirls of red, pink and white engulf the frame as we travel through a material plane of blood, bone and tissue.

The diegetic audio in the KMH GEMS showroom decays in a wash of reverb, overtaken by a vast sound-scape of crystal chimes and warm electronic tones. The camera plunges deeper, revealing the black opal’s previously seen landscape.

We move past and through it into new territory of kaleidoscopic abstract shapes and flickering iridescent light. END CREDITS appear and continue over this visual and aural cosmic journey through the consummate UNCUT GEM.

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Re: [GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

Post by Lil Hammy » Tue Feb 12, 2019 3:47 pm

Good guide bruv
Creepin down yo blocc :twisted:

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Re: [GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

Post by Joseph_Consales » Tue Feb 12, 2019 5:49 pm

Mall rats, take notes.

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Re: [GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

Post by MatthewB » Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:07 pm

really nice, this was especially helpful as a non-american getting into american uni RP.

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Re: [GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

Post by BlueBerry_ » Tue Feb 12, 2019 8:53 pm

Fuck boi

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Re: [GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

Post by SnikeritisLV » Wed Feb 13, 2019 4:26 pm

Thank you.
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Re: [GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

Post by Eh Captain » Wed Feb 13, 2019 7:52 pm

beautiful

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Re: [GUIDE] Realistically Roleplaying a College Student

Post by Laaacis » Wed Mar 27, 2019 10:17 am

I mean, thanks for the guide. It'll help me a lot :)

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