College vs High School

<p>Okay im a freshman and high school teachers love to tell horror stories about how hard it is, but really the only difference I noticed is more work, not harder work. I go to a Christian college so I have an extra class because we're required to have a bible class and its not that bad, but really boring. Socially, I had more fun in high school. I talked to the teachers more and I had all my friends in the same class and when I didnt have football practice I could hang out. In college I wake up, go to classes. Classes aren't that big with only like 15-40 in each class. I dont really know anyone and after classes I go to practice and go back to my dorm and repeat. Not much fun really. But what do you guys think.</p>

<p>For me, I have less work in college as an incoming 4th year student), but the concepts are more challenging to understand (so it’s the opposite of your situation). I still have gigantic classes (100+ usually, but I’m at a large university). Overall it isn’t that bad and high school was definitely more stressful for me.</p>

<p>How could high school be more stressful</p>

<p>I loaded up my schedule with AP classes and I had to do far more work (things like notes, worksheets, homework, etc. that aren’t present in college classes). There was a stronger pressure to succeed - it feels really bad to get anything lower than an A in high school but getting Bs in college isn’t a big deal. I feel that there is a stronger focus on extracurricular activities in high school. In addition, there’s more peer pressure in high school.</p>

<p>Yea I had loads of AP work to but at least I had friends to work with me. In college im surrounded by strangers and i hate living in dorms because its 12 at night where im at and people are running around yelling and being loud as possible acting like idiots. College to me so far is really boring and annoying</p>

<p>I’m a freshman too and here’s how my courses compare to last year
Calculus 3 > Calculus BC
Calc based Physics >>> Physics honors
Engineering economics (upper division course) > AP macro
bio concepts = typical honors science course
Then I have honors symposium and engineering intro which are just show up and learn classes but they do eat up a lot of time (10 hours a week)</p>

<p>I played varsity football in highschool and competed on varsity academic team and did 7 APs plus an honors course (physics mentioned above) senior year and I still think that college is much more difficult. It basically depends on what courses you are taking and how much you want to push yourself.</p>

<p>I do probably have a sweeter deal because I live in honors dorms which are much more chill and have fringe benefits.</p>

<p>Also, socially my college is awesome. Football days are crazy and they have a bunch of free stuff always going on like movies, concerts, and comedy shows. Last week they had an awesome event for parents week where a hypnotist performed and you could play glow in the dark foosball and ping pong.</p>

<p>I’m a commuter student, and in my mind college is a lot better than high school just because of the increased freedom in terms of scheduling classes. I can’t imagine going back to having to go to school all day with only three minutes between classes. College is more difficult than high school, but I’ve sort of gotten used to the difference.</p>

<p>To me the work doesnt seem harder, theres just more of it</p>

<p>What are you majoring in?</p>

<p>The short answer here is that it depends on the high school you go, the college you go to, and your major. There’s no blanket answer.</p>

<p>I’m a commuter, so I haven’t had a huge “high school to college” shift because I am not living on campus, but I like college. The professors don’t gripe about the little things that high school teachers and faculty always griped about. High school teachers were always concerned about stupid things such as dress code, and in college, my professors don’t really care. </p>

<p>I thought that college was going to be very difficult because my high school didn’t do a good job of preparing me, but I’m not struggling. I have a 3.87, but I had to work for it, which makes me appreciate it more. In high school, receiving a 3.87 was achieved by doing little work. Professors make you work in college.</p>

<p>I’m also glad that my professors don’t give “busy work” like high school teachers did. Also, we don’t spend a whole week of class on one subject matter. There were weeks in my high school math classes where we would be on the same topic for one or two weeks. I remember how much I wanted to cry. Professors get to the point and then move on.</p>

<p>Like others have mentioned; I’m a commuter student which changes my perception in the disparity between high school and college. I live at home - I sleep in the same bedroom I did when I was in high school, so I don’t have the whole “college experience” where I live where I study. </p>

<p>My classes this semester were incredibly easy with the exception of one - Environmental Science. I took Environmental because I thought it would compare to AP Enviro in high school (which was a breeze.) I was wrong. It isn’t so much that Environmental is horribly challenging so much that its just that the material is conveyed in a way that I am not accustomed to. I still did alright, though - at least I hope. I’m taking my final exam today. So far I have yet to receive anything lower than an A- in that class. </p>

<p>My other classes are incredibly easy, though. I imagine this is because they’re all 100 level classes and general ed requirements - but I’d say that my classes are easier now than they were my Freshman year of high school. Show up, take notes, do the reading, take the test. Very simple. My English class had 3 essays - one of which was the final. I’ve never had so few formal writing assignments in an English class (we had daily informal homework assignments, however.) </p>

<p>I do not imagine things will stay like this - I know that once I move up in my major, I will be taking more reading and writing intensive courses that demand a greater understanding of more complex topics. I already know that next semester will be harder than this one since I am taking Calculus and a 300 level Political Science course along with a research intensive honors seminar. </p>

<p>I’ve noticed that a lot of people in college do not care about their grades that much - after all, C’s get degrees. However, I have voluntarily put more pressure on myself to do well because of grad school admissions, so I still feel comparable pressure to excel in college as I did in high school. </p>

<p>High School vs College (On Campus Perspective)</p>

<p>High School
-Classmates are people I’ve known since kindergarten
-Similar economic backgrounds
-Counselor is easily available
-Cliques are rare
-Easy access to resources and people are always available to help (small town)
-Transportation isn’t an issue
-Very safe school and town
-Classes have very little homework</p>

<p>College
-Hometown is four hours away
-Nearly everyone is a commuter which can make it hard to make friends and campus is dead once classes are over
-Easy to get enrolled in the classes I want (Felt like my high school exaggerated waitlists)
-I’m responsible for having my dorm clean and getting to class
-More work instead of hard work as stated before
-Appointments must be made with advisers but still easy to access
-Instead of driving I must rely on public transportation if I need anything
-More cliques (Based on ethnicity and economic status)
-Dangerous to go outside of campus after dark
-Clubs are more diverse</p>

<p>I went from a small town high school student to moving to my state’s largest city for college. I love my college though and have no regrets. </p>

<p>Also, you said that you felt closer to your teachers in high school, and that’s probably because you just started college. It takes time to develop friendships and closeness, but it will eventually happen.</p>

<p>I’m in my 3rd year of college and I’ve gotten SUPER close to some of my professors. Way closer than to any of my high school teachers. One of my profs came with us on a summer study abroad trip and was pretty much like a mom. I texted her when I was freaking out, she came to see me when I needed someone to calm me down, she hugged me and told me everything would be okay, she invited me over for dinner to try and make me feel more at home, she texted me to make sure I was okay - she did tons of nice stuff and took a genuine interest in my well-being. I still talk to her and we’re friends on FB, and I feel like she actually knows me and cares about me. My high school teachers knew me and cared about me too, but I never had a glass of wine with them and exposed my inner most fears and worries with them. </p>

<p>Even just on campus, you’ll find that you may have the same professors a few times in your upper-level courses and that they may be involved in certain clubs. I drove with another one of my professors to a museum for a club event and it was pretty awesome. We were able to chat and get to know each other in a way that goes beyond just sitting in a classroom and asking and answering questions about the subject.</p>

<p>Heck, one of my friends went on a class field trip to Canada with one of her profs and they all drank and partied together! Others see their professors playing at shows and one of my professors even offered one of my classmates to go out with her and her husband for dinner on thanksgiving because the girl had nowhere to go. All kinds of stuff can happen.</p>

<p>The dynamics are totally different, and in general, you can network and perhaps make a mentor and a friend that can help guide you through life. Closeness comes with time and repetition, and that totally happens in college.</p>

Well i did transfer to a state college now and it is clique. I’m really just bored and i look foward to graduation ASAP.