--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Colleges do not merely offer preparation…" description: "\"Colleges do not merely offer preparation for the future; they occupy four years of a student's life, and an institution should do what it can to make t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e79/derek-bok-13117_absorb_colleges-do-not-merely-offer-preparation_2955962.png" --- # Colleges do not merely offer preparation for the future… ![“Colleges do not merely offer preparation for the future; they occupy four years of a student's life, and an institution should do what it can to make these years absorbing and enjoyable.” quote by Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e79/derek-bok-13117_absorb_colleges-do-not-merely-offer-preparation_2955962.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e79/derek-bok-13117_absorb_colleges-do-not-merely-offer-preparation_2955962.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e79/derek-bok-13117_absorb_colleges-do-not-merely-offer-preparation_2955962.png) > “Colleges do not merely offer preparation for the future; they occupy four years of a student's life, and an institution should do what it can to make these years absorbing and enjoyable.” [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. College years should be engaging and enjoyable, not just preparatory, emphasizing holistic education. **In simple terms:** College should be absorbing and enjoyable. Key Takeaway Make education holistic and fun. Themes education student life holistic learning Mood optimistic inspirational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - curriculum design - student services - extracurricular planning Key Concepts pedagogy student development Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions enrich student experience? - What activities foster engagement? A Different Perspective Balancing rigor with enjoyment is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absorb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absorb/) [Colleges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleges/) [Colleges Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleges-merely-4478382/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Enjoyable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoyable/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Institution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institution/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely/) [Occupy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occupy/) [Offer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offer/) [Preparation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preparation/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Student](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/student/) [Student life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/student-life/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Absorbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-absorbing-409985/) [Years Student](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-student-4478383/) ## Related quotes > [I probably need another couple of years of absorbing that and really looking at it to be able to do it because you actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-hanks/i-probably-need-another-couple-of-years-of-absorbing-that-and-really/) [Colin Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-hanks/) > [I don't think, in my entire 18 years as a student, I ever used an exclamation point in an academic paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-salie/i-don-t-think-in-my-entire-18-years-as-a-student-i-ever-used-an/) [Faith Salie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-salie/) > [To graduate in four years as a student-athlete with no summer school is quite a feat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-mccollum/to-graduate-in-four-years-as-a-student-athlete-with-no-summer-school/) [C. J. McCollum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-mccollum/) > [“A college student who wants to file a complaint of sexual assault within the campus disciplinary system informs a university employee such as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-bernstein/a-college-student-who-wants-to-file-a-complaint-of-sexual-assault/) [David E. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-bernstein/) > [I want to be a student for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-watt/i-want-to-be-a-student-for-life/) [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) > [“Cannabis, the sensation that had reignited in America and helped bring hemp’s recreational usage back to prominence in a quiet, steady British counter-culture, had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-s-fletcher/cannabis-the-sensation-that-had-reignited-in-america-and-helped-bring/) [Daniel S. Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-s-fletcher/) > [James Remar is a student of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-remar/james-remar-is-a-student-of-life/) [James Remar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-remar/) > [“Some of us Teachers who consider ourselves to be smarter than our students will realise how worthless we are if we ever enter a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachitha-cabral/some-of-us-teachers-who-consider-ourselves-to-be-smarter-than-our/) [Rachitha Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachitha-cabral/) > [Learn from yesterday, live for today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/learn-from-yesterday-live-for-today/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“I’m a student of life. My own. So I’m also my own teacher.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-m-a-student-of-life-my-own-so-i-m-also-my-own-teacher/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [A college degree can change the trajectory of a student's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cardona/a-college-degree-can-change-the-trajectory-of-a-student-s-life/) [Miguel Cardona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-cardona/) > [“And how easy it was to leave this life, after all - this life that could feel so present and permanent that departing from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/and-how-easy-it-was-to-leave-this-life-after-all-this-life-that-could/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) > [In a way, novel writing is such a permanently student lifestyle. When it comes to movies, and you have to go to these meetings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/in-a-way-novel-writing-is-such-a-permanently-student-lifestyle-when/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I consider myself a student of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-vargas/i-consider-myself-a-student-of-life/) [Jacob Vargas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-vargas/) > [Creating on-campus communities for student veterans will help ease the transition from military to student life by providing networking opportunities, assistance with federal benefits,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-frankel/creating-on-campus-communities-for-student-veterans-will-help-ease/) [Lois Frankel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-frankel/) ## More by Derek Bok > [Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning to do research, even though most Ph.Ds who enter academic life spend far more time teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-entirely-to-learning-to-do/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [I think it's sort of an outrage that companies should have to hire firms to teach the college graduates they employ how to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/i-think-it-s-sort-of-an-outrage-that-companies-should-have-to-hire/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [As countries embrace mass higher education, the cost of maintaining universities increases dramatically relative to an elite system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/as-countries-embrace-mass-higher-education-the-cost-of-maintaining/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [“surveys show that over 90 percent of professors believe that their teaching is above average,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/surveys-show-that-over-90-percent-of-professors-believe-that-their/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [For some students, especially in the sciences, the knowledge gained in college may be directly relevant to graduate study. For almost all students, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/for-some-students-especially-in-the-sciences-the-knowledge-gained-in/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [There is far too much law for those who can afford it and far too little for those who cannot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/there-is-far-too-much-law-for-those-who-can-afford-it-and-far-too/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [An educated man must have a "curiosity in exploring the unfamiliar and unexpected, an open-mindedness in entertaining opposing points of view, tolerance for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/an-educated-man-must-have-a-curiosity-in-exploring-the-unfamiliar-and/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [Once you start worrying about a national football championship, then you begin to worry about getting the quality of athlete, and the numbers needed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/once-you-start-worrying-about-a-national-football-championship-then/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [I think any self-respecting educational institution ought to judge its policies by its best estimate of what their long-term consequences for their students and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/i-think-any-self-respecting-educational-institution-ought-to-judge/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [I think the minority students that we admit to Harvard are every bit as meritorious as the white students that we admit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/i-think-the-minority-students-that-we-admit-to-harvard-are-every-bit/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [There's a great deal of difference between thinking reflectively about moral issues and achieving higher standards of ethical behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/there-s-a-great-deal-of-difference-between-thinking-reflectively/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [Critics of American colleges typically attribute the failings of undergraduate education to a tendency on the part of professors to neglect their teaching to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/critics-of-american-colleges-typically-attribute-the-failings-of/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [Early admission programs tend to advantage the advantaged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/early-admission-programs-tend-to-advantage-the-advantaged/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [Universities are institutions run by amateurs to train professionals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/universities-are-institutions-run-by-amateurs-to-train-professionals/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [The oldest of the arts and the youngest of the professions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/the-oldest-of-the-arts-and-the-youngest-of-the-professions/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) [Explore all 51 Derek Bok quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) ## More Absorb quotes > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [We were interested in this notion of compression- a lot of the songs were really short so that you'd absorb them in memory rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arto-lindsay/we-were-interested-in-this-notion-of-compression-a-lot-of-the-songs/) [Arto Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arto-lindsay/) > [“Always read…always learn…always absorb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pia-leba-talmud/always-read-always-learn-always-absorb/) [Pia Leba Talmud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pia-leba-talmud/) > [If you're very open to watching the world go by, with people's different tics, you absorb it all without realizing it and find ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-blunt/if-you-re-very-open-to-watching-the-world-go-by-with-people-s/) [Emily Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-blunt/) > [“…he was doing a breath hydrogen test. If you know the amount of hydrogen someone is exhaling orally, it's a simple matter to extrapolate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/he-was-doing-a-breath-hydrogen-test-if-you-know-the-amount-of/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [I would spend hours absorbing every intonation, every inflection - how the singer would convey a sentiment and how it would sound coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-edmonson/i-would-spend-hours-absorbing-every-intonation-every-inflection-how/) [Kat Edmonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-edmonson/) > [Be a mirror, absorb everything around you and still remain the same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/be-a-mirror-absorb-everything-around-you-and-still-remain-the-same/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [To Kiss : An attempt to absorb the essence of the other person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-casanova/to-kiss-an-attempt-to-absorb-the-essence-of-the-other-person/) [Giacomo Casanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-casanova/) > [Most of the things you absorb you will ultimately secrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-the-things-you-absorb-you-will-ultimately-secrete/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [You absorb 2,000 years of history just by being near the Thames.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/you-absorb-2-000-years-of-history-just-by-being-near-the-thames/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [We live with incessant music, all the time. It's like some weird musical purgatory, there is absolutely no rest for the ears, no space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-blake/we-live-with-incessant-music-all-the-time-it-s-like-some-weird/) [James Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-blake/) > [Technology teaches passivity. Absorbed in our devices - at any age - we are absorbed in someone else's perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/technology-teaches-passivity-absorbed-in-our-devices-at-any-age-we/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [A man, to read, must read alone. He may make extracts, he may work at books in company; but to read, to absorb, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jefferies/a-man-to-read-must-read-alone-he-may-make-extracts-he-may-work-at/) [Richard Jefferies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jefferies/) > [Console yourself, you're better alone destroy yourself, see who gives a fuck. Absorb yourself, you're better alone destroy yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamb-of-god/console-yourself-you-re-better-alone-destroy-yourself-see-who-gives-a/) [Lamb Of God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamb-of-god/) > [In '77 there was no Internet, there was no Twitter or Facebook, and I think that, without being some old git who hates anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jones/in-77-there-was-no-internet-there-was-no-twitter-or-facebook-and-i/) [Steve Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jones/) [Browse all 194 Absorb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absorb/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Colleges do not merely offer preparation for the future; they occupy four years of a student's life, and an institution should do what it can to make these years absorbing and enjoyable.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Derek Bok" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/colleges-do-not-merely-offer-preparation-for-the-future-they-occupy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absorb" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/colleges-do-not-merely-offer-preparation-for-the-future-they-occupy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e79/derek-bok-13117_absorb_colleges-do-not-merely-offer-preparation_2955962.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e79/derek-bok-13117_absorb_colleges-do-not-merely-offer-preparation_2955962.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e79/derek-bok-13117_absorb_colleges-do-not-merely-offer-preparation_2955962.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Colleges do not merely offer preparation for the future; they occupy four years of a student's life, and an…” — Derek Bok", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Derek Bok", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Colleges do not merely offer preparation...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/colleges-do-not-merely-offer-preparation-for-the-future-they-occupy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/colleges-do-not-merely-offer-preparation-for-the-future-they-occupy/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```