The Sims 2: University adds a new "Young Adult" life stage for Sims 2 characters, and a new "College Town" environment tailored to all their young adult fears and desires. When characters complete their teenage years, they'll now have the choice to move away from home, and into a dorm room at the university. To aid in this exciting but sometimes challenging transition, first-year students are required to live in the dorms, but if they do well there, they can eventually move into off-campus housing. The dorms are an excellent place to learn about college life and meet other students, however, so young adult Sims will want to make the most of their time there.

Dorm rooms are small and standardized, but the dorms themselves are large and bustling with an array of NPC characters, providing the player's scholarly Sim with all sorts of potential companionship, from friends and study partners to rivals and love interests. Once they've met some other characters and learned their way around campus, students may wish to move into a place of their own, or into a group house with other students. To do so, they'll need to earn some extra rent money, by picking up a part-time job, or perhaps hustling pool at the local hangout.

Many Sims 2 players may look back upon (or forward to) their college years as a time of social growth as well as scholarly dedication, and this expansion pack is also designed to account for the extracurricular aspects of collegiate life. Sorority and fraternity houses are excellent places to throw wild parties and truly cut loose, especially when they're equipped with the proper party-oriented objects. Characters can take turns doing inverted chug-a-lugs on the "Juice Barrel," for example, or engage in relaxed contemplation around the "Bubble Blower" apparatus. Opportunities to blow off steam abound, in fact, as young adult Sims can take part in pillow fights, toga parties, musical jam sessions, foot-bag circles, and even buck naked "streaking" runs.

As in the real world, hard work (and play) at college can lead to fresh perspectives and new opportunities. While progressing through school, studious Sims can earn an additional "want" slot. They'll also have a one-time opportunity to change their overall life aspiration. If they manage to keep their sanity and study hard enough, young adult Sims will eventually graduate to full adulthood, where they can truly reap the fruits of their collegiate efforts. College graduates can access new career paths, such as "paranormal," "science," and "show biz," each with its own appropriate ultimate reward object at the top of the ladder.