Say whaaaaat? Triple cranks are fine, especially on your first road bike if you haven't developed your leg muscles or endurance. Or if you're tired and there's a hill. Or you're say, I don't know... carrying heavy books in a bag on your way to class.
My first bike was a Fuji Newest 3.0 with a triple from PB. Loved that bike for about 3 months and realized that the triple was a huge PITA. Always grinding. Sold it for more than what I paid for it and bought a Felt Z85 with a compact double and I think a 12-27 10-speed cassette. Took about the same effort to get up the big hills as the triple...plus it shifts like butter.