<p>So compared to say an AP English class, is a college course considerably more difficult? Would you say:</p>
<p>Junior High Academics : High School Academics - High School Academics : College academics ?</p>
<p>How are the academics different? Anything aspects of it easier than high school?</p>
<p>Colleges have very different levels of difficulty, so it's impossible to say.</p>
<p>Personally, I found college classes much more difficult than high school classes, but part of that might have to do with the fact that my college is a difficult engineering school and my high school didn't do a very good job of teaching math and science.</p>
<p>College classes will be more or less difficult than high school classes depending on your level of dedication and independence. Students who had to rely on teachers to pace their assignments and push them to get work done will struggle in college. Professors don't do that. They don't want you to fail, but they don't babysit. Students who spent four or five hours a night doing homework in high school will have to learn to work more efficiently or they will completely bog down under a full college courseload.</p>
<p>Material moves faster and you're expected to do a lot more learning on your own time outside of class hours to keep up. The more independent and self-driven you are as a student, the easier you will be able to cope with college academics.</p>
<p>As for the material, well, you learn the same things in similar ways, but you do it a lot faster. What an AP class would learn in 2 or 3 semesters will be a little less than a semester at college. So be prepared to go from the trolley car to the bullet train on class pace.</p>
<p>It does depend on the relative difficulty of the high school and the college. For instance, I went to a quite rigorous high school and then to a university that was not difficult enough for me and ended up doing extraordinarily well in college, better than anyone would have predicted from my high school grades.
I found that my non-major classes in college were easier than similar classes in my high school (I didn't take exactly the same classes but I found the science class I took in university easier than the science classes I took in high school and I did much better in the college class than in some of the high school ones.) My major classes were about the same rigor I thinnk as my high school ones in the same subject. (and I got the same grades in them.) </p>
<p>The other factor is the level of the other students. The grade may be determined not only by how you did objectively but how you did relative to the other students. This can take the form of a curve or, more subjectively, in how an essay might be judged.</p>
<p>It depends on your high school and your college. My high school wasn't very rigorous at all, but I go to a state school which I haven't found to be very hard either. I've got a 3.5. Also, GPA's don't always accurately reflect intelligence. One of my friends is really smart, but he has really bad ADD and he gets lazy, so his GPA is like 2.4.</p>
<p>Depends on the classes you took in highschool, and what college you are going to.</p>
<p>I've heard mixed responses from kids going from my school to UMD, the state uni. Generally kids whose focus is on the humanities say UMD is /easier/ than the classes they took in highschool, whereas math and science buffs in the engineering school say they come accross one or two difficult classes. </p>
<p>Basically, everyone I've talked to has said college is just a natural progression up (kids going from here --->Princeton), and those going to the state uni say it's a piece of cake. </p>
<p>It's the kids who get really into partying and that scene, and who also have to work (aren't on scholarship, for example, thus probably aren't as academically prepared anyways) who have a tough time juggling colllege & life.</p>
<p>Ive heard that college classes are like senior year classes, except that you spend less time in class and more time studying on your own. and studying on your own is key.</p>
<p>Do college classes usually have more work or are just more fast-paced? And if you are in a large lecture hall, do professors grade you based on "class participation"? Also, do professors allow students to work together on homework or projects?</p>
<p>I agree, it depends on the institution but I think it's safe to say that yes, academics will be more of a challenge. Maybe in high school your teacher would've given extensions, but in college you're expected to manage your time well and usually you'll be penalized for late papers (e.g. half a letter grade off).</p>
<p>Do college classes usually have more work or are just more fast-paced?
I would say both. But especially more reading, although you'll have fewer assignments, maybe a few papers per semester or a few problem sets that are worth more of your grade. A typical breakdown could be: 40% final exam, 25% midterm, 20% 3 long-ish papers, 15% other assignments and class participation.</p>
<p>And if you are in a large lecture hall, do professors grade you based on "class participation"?
They won't even remember your face in a huge class, so usually then you'll have discussion sections with a TA and the TA will grade you. Class participation usually factors into your grade somehow. (It depends, though, it's not counted in many Econ classes at my school.)</p>
<p>Also, do professors allow students to work together on homework or projects?
In my experience it's been encouraged, especially in e.g. philosophy or theology classes where group discussion really helps. But if you work together for problem sets the answers have to be yours and not just copied. Universities are strict about their honor codes.</p>
<p>At some schools, lecture classes also have and additional class that divides everyone in the lecture into smaller groups with a TA and they base the class participation on that.</p>
<p>I find most college classes easier than high school minus a select few, but I went to a really good high school. The gen-ed classes all tend to be a joke.</p>
<p>Anyone else have mandatory 'weed out' classes?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Anyone else have mandatory 'weed out' classes?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry(pre-med students) are both weed out classes.</p>
<p>College is nothing like high school. No matter what you take you have to work a bit to pass in college. Whereas doing minimal work in high school would get you a 3.5+, minimal work in college wouldn't get you more than a 2.0... I think you will find that some classes are going to be more time consuming than others. There is usually one class that will take up the majority of your time while the others are put on the backburner. As long as you don't cram TOO much, you will be fine.</p>