<p>My freshman daughter recently said to me "College is so much easier than high school." </p>
<p>My daughter went to a very competitive high school and took many AP courses. She's majoring in computer science and math, which is considered to be a very rigorous program at her college. She signed up for 16 credits her first semester. After the first two weeks of school, she switched two of her classes (math and comp sci) to more difficult ones. She said that compared to high school, she has much less homework and is getting A's on all her tests and papers. Plus, her stress level is substantially lower.</p>
<p>I was curious how many students agree that college is easier than high school? My thought is that it's actually the other way around.</p>
<p>It depends on what college you actually go to.</p>
<p>My freshman year started off easy and slow but now, November, the last month before finals, I am staying up until 3am every weekday just to keep up with the work and have time to prepare for Nov. mid-terms. I also am in a few clubs and volunteer, so that may be taking up my time.</p>
<p>High school was easier because no matter what I wrote, I could argue with the teacher and get an A.</p>
<p>Many students who went to truly competitive high schools find first semester to be very easy since most freshman classes assume a lower level of college prep work. As she progresses, she won’t feel like it’s THAT easy anymore.</p>
<p>My high school was barely a real school (it was a lot like the high school from Glee actually lol) so when I came to college I was shocked by the amount of work I actually have to do :(</p>
<p>Although I think there is a definite difference in workload between different years. Freshman year I wasn’t too overwhelmed by the work and had a lot of free time still, this year it’s definitely more challenging and I find myself getting stressed which never happens to me.</p>
<p>She isn’t taking the typical freshman courses. All of the classes (except for freshman honors forum) she is enrolled in are mostly taken by sophomores and juniors.</p>
<p>Most of the other freshmen she knows are stressed out already. It will be interesting to see how she feels next semester or next year.</p>
<p>I jumped into junior and senior classes my freshmen year and I think overall it was easier. I love major papers and presentations which is what most of my classes consist of. High school was hard because I was so busy and busy work homework was just annoying. Now that I have longer than one night, it is so much easier.</p>
<p>College is easier for me because my teachers are mature adults- not petty kids-in-adult-bodies that like to bully students, pick favorites, and give bad grades for no reason. </p>
<p>I also agree about the busy work. I have fewer assignments, but they all legitimately count for something.</p>
<p>I love college. I only wish high school had been this good.</p>
<p>Sorry to say, but your daughter most likely attends a school that isn’t even in the top 50 in math programs. Is she even doing proofs in her math classes? It would be quite sad if she is bragging about finding simple computational calculus to be easy.</p>
<p>I highly disagree. I am struggling badly in college. In high school I breezed through everything. I barely put effort into anything and got straight As. Here though I have a ton of work that is extremely difficult. I thought I was smart, but college was a slap in the face. </p>
<p>Personally I blame my high school since it was a very easygoing and supportive school where your hand is constantly held all the time, and the transition to college was a lot rougher than it should have been.</p>
<p>OP, I totally agree with your D. Freshman year(18 credits first semester) was so much better than my last year in HS. Part of this is that I’m a double degree student in Piano performance/Chemistry. In HS, my piano study was something done mostly on my own time in addition to 6 AP classes and a ton of ECs. I have so much more me time now. It’s nice. :)</p>
<p>BTW, for the cynics, my university is rated by ARWU as number 25 in the WORLD in natural sciences and mathematics.</p>
<p>I’m in my 1st year in college and I find it much easier than high school as well. I only do a small fraction of the work I did in high school, and still aced my midterms. I had way too many stupid projects, posters, notes, etc in high school, now I only have to read my textbooks and do 20 online problems a week.</p>
<p>Part of it may be the relief of stress she had in high school about keeping the perfect record, getting into college, getting scholarships, etc. That weight has been lifted and she can focus solely on her classes. I found my first 2 years of college to be really quite easy. Then I started getting serious about grad school, took more time doing research projects outside of the classroom and became busier, along with taking more difficult classes. </p>
<p>If she is already taking soph/junior level courses in her major, I am curious, what will she be taking when she IS a junior/senior? Or will it all be filler classes to earn her required number of credits for graduation? Hopefully her program offers a wide variety of courses in her major so that she is left with some challenging options her 3rd and 4th years.</p>
<p>She might also find that some professors are quite easy, while others are much more difficult. So she may find that the workload/stress levels change from semester to semester, or from class to class.</p>
<p>My S, a freshman engineering major at UC Berkeley, has never worked harder in his life than he is currently. He went from the top of his class in both math and physics to more like the “middle of the pack” (or so he says). The international students, well-represented in engineering, seem to be the top performers.</p>
<p>My D is not bragging. She simply told me that her freshman courses are much easier than her classes in high school. Since I have never taken calculus myself, I don’t know if she is doing proofs. She is currently enrolled in honors differential equations, as well as multivariable calculus, which are both 200 level courses at her university.</p>
<p>She shared her 4-year plan with me. If all goes as planned, she will be taking 2 comp sci and 2 math classes each semester through her senior year. Of course, she will take other courses too (i.e. physics, statistics, required honors classes, etc).</p>
<p>Her comp sci faculty advisor (who has a PhD in comp sci from Harvard) has already approved her 4-year plan.</p>
<p>Then it sounds like her program offers a good variety of courses. Although, many freshman take 200-level courses. Especially if they do not have prerequisites, or if you are able to test out of the prereqs. But it could just be that your daughter’s ability is above those in her class. Not everyone comes from the same high school preparation, so not all “honors” and “AP” courses are equally challenging. In her case, having an easier time is certainly better than struggling.</p>