- The Leighton Show on TikTok posted the hysterical questions college freshmen ask their parents.
- Kids are asking how to boil water and how to fill out a job application.
Heading off to college can spur lots of emotions: excitement, relief, and perhaps more than a twinge of anxiety. As freshmen arrived on campus this fall, one emotion has come to rule them all, at least on TikTok: confusion.
In a viral video from The Leighton Show on TikTok, parents are revealing some of the wildest questions their college freshmen have asked as they leave home for the first time.
The questions range from hilarious and innocent, like, "How do I know when the water is boiling?" to genuinely mystifying: "What's my shoe size?"
Two college experts agree that while these questions may be embarrassing, they're important for necessary growth.
The viral TikTok is filled with the strangest and funniest questions freshmen have asked their parents
"Did I already get my rabies shot?" asked one student. "How do I take my clothes out of the washing machine? Do I just reach in there with my hand?" asked another.
The videos have become so popular that The Leighton Show, which focuses on parenting humor, created more than four reply videos. In the videos' comments, parents are cracking each other up with additional examples from their kids: "My college son was late for school one day, and he told the teacher he had morning sickness," said one mom. "My daughter keeps referring to her insurance co-payment as a cover charge," said another.
The comments don't stop there. "My college sophomore was recently filling out a job application and asked me if she was a veteran," one parent wrote in the comments section.
Another parent recounted a conversation she had with her kid: "Daughter: What places have I been to? Me: Lists locations and Disney was one of them. Daughter: So I've never been to the US?"
College admission counselors say freshmen should be asking these questions
Tamy-Feé Meneide, the director of Solomon Admissions Counselors, told Insider that asking sometimes embarrassing questions is important during your first year in college. She encourages students to push themselves outside their comfort zones so they're exposed to new things.
Meneide also encourages students to take classes that they wouldn't have had the chance to take in high school — such as sociology, linguistics, or cultural studies.
"It provides a widening of the path and shows there's a lot more than math, science, psychology, econ, and business," Meneide told Insider.
Rachel York, an admissions counselor and academic advisor at IvyWise, said students should go a step further by meeting new people who don't share the same experiences. When students meet people who aren't like them, she said, it can provoke questions about themselves and the world — even if those questions can be embarrassing.
"There aren't many times in life where everyone is new, and so chances are there are lots of people feeling the same way," York told Insider. "I think those are good opportunities to get out of your comfort zone a little bit, whether it's with your RAs or a goofy movie night in your hall."
And even though it might be embarrassing to ask these questions, Meneide says college students should do it anyway — but also warns: "Don't rush into adulting!"