<p>hey,</p>
<p>I'm just curious on how much more difficult college life is supposed to be. I've heard stories of how it's impossible to get A's in college, no matter how hard you try, and that you could not even compare them to AP classes you've taken in high school...Is this true- is it expected for someone who's used to getting A's to get B's? Is there a difference in this between liberal arts colleges and larger private universities?
Thanks</p>
<p>hey sony...I don't know the answer to your question...but i love the "Clourses", made me laugh. :)</p>
<p>I found the biggest difference between high school and college to be in the amount of time needed to complete work for class. I used to laugh when people said that your professors expect you to put in 3 hours outside of class for every hour that you spend in class. I don't anymore. I was a straight A student and took several AP classes in high school and I can't even compare the difficulty of an AP to a college course. It is possible to get A's, but you will probably have to put in more time and effort than you are used to. I'm not sure how this translates among different types of colleges, but I am fairly confident that it is true for most schools.</p>
<p>Depends on the high school and the college.</p>
<p>i go to a high school in orange county..have taken 6 Ap's and do averagely in them (average 3 on AP tests)</p>
<p>honestly to say i don't try hard in high school at all n find Ap material average. (i get B, C in my Ap classes cuz i'm so lazy)</p>
<p>i'm going to UCirvine next year and have looked over ppl first year chem tests and found them incredibly easy. it surprised me that the stuff on my test in ap chem class is way harder.</p>
<p>i also looked over the books for freshman chem and bio and think they're the same or easier than my ap class. Maybe itz just my presumption ...iono...since my school has hard science teachers.</p>
<p>If your AP program was rigorous, you'll be fine in college. In fact, you'll find yourself procrasinating more than you really need to do in your first semester as I did.... that I had to pick up an extra course in the spring to kill time...</p>
<p>And my school was tough academically! But yes, I did fine myself putting in more effort to get good grades.</p>
<p>Talk to your high school alums and see what they think.</p>
<p>Depends on the college, the classes, the professors, etc, etc. I'm doing fine now, but high school was hard/pathetic.</p>
<p>You can get As; you just have to work for them. I also laughed at the thought of the 3:1 rule. But, it's really true. The more work that you do outside of class, the better your grades will be. Then again, if you already have a strong grasp of the material, you should be able to do the minimum and still get an A. This method worked for me, because I had A.P. History and English classes in high school and the college level was just a joke. See how the first couple of weeks are and then determine the amount of work that you need to do.</p>
<p>Ah.. this really helps!
For some reason, I garnered that college classes would be these really difficult courses with dour professors and heavy competition. I guess it's just like high school then- you get out how much you put in- but it's not impossible?</p>
<p>When you study enough to get a grade you want, say a B, percentage wise, and then the exams come back and you find everyone else studied way more, so the class average is higher than the professor wants, and then all the grades are curved down, you will be angry.</p>
<p>... I follow the 1:1 rule, and it's doing ok so far. I'll probably have to increase it to 2:1 to up my gpa though, right now i'm around the school average.</p>
<p>Depends on your high school and college/major. I coming from a high school with a great english program and decent social studies honors system with below average science and math going into ChemE at U of I was a HUGE WHOPPING DIFFERENCE. I can't stress that enough. Even with my strong ADHD tendencies I managed to get through high school working but barely (I don't want to say I slacked b/c I tried my hardest only b/c I wanted to but I didn't have to).</p>
<p>So coming to college with having never studied for a math test b/c "either you know it or you don't" (yeah that changed) or science test "I know what I'm doing in class sort of so I'll be fine on the test" (hell no) type of ideas vanished in the first few months of school. It was a big eye-opener b/c it was hard enough already but then I had to compete with kids from the best programs in math & science in the state! That was hard to know that I already had so much catching up to do that I couldn't b/c of my ADHD plus the fact that I was even further behind by not having a good math & science program.</p>
<p>So having said that I still managed above a 3.0 and am working toward a 3.5 I am very happy with where I stand b/c of my hardships and I can't believe I did it. It took a lot of work and everbody is like "is college hard?" Well you know what? Yeah, it's damn hard, but that's what you're paying for. I feel like I've learned more than 10x as much in one year of college than 4 at high school. It is incredible how much I know now.</p>
<p>The biggest changes (for me):
1) Math lectures are long! - In high school the teacher taught for 10-20 minutes and set the rest of the period for hw. Yeah lectures are long.</p>
<p>2) Math hw must be done regardless of grading. - Nuff said</p>
<p>3) Math, again, tests can be studied for and it requires endless repetition of problems and understanding CONCEPTS yes in math there are concepts. That was big for me.</p>
<p>4) Don't ever slack off in a gen ed - truly the biggest waste of time besides taking an unnecessary gen ed is doing worse b/c you thought it would be easy and slacked off.</p>
<p>5) High school help = stupid; college help = SMART - about OFFICE HOURS: treat them like a class.</p>
<p>6) Get to know your profs, TAs, etc. - They will like you more. Believe me. I don't care how much you hate them, if they like you everybody wins.</p>
<p>7) You are competing against the best and brightest, not stoners and others who although in honors have lesser career goals than you. - Nuff said again</p>
<p>8) Group studying in high school = socialize; group studying in college = lifesaver. - No joke, get to know people from the first day in class. You never know when you might need them.</p>
<p>9) Don't overload - If you are going to an excess amount of class and one isn't required, drop it. You have 4 years for a reason.</p>
<p>10) If you need help in any area, seek it fast. - My ADHD was eventually treated with the right amount of medication by halfway through the second semester. At least I had the courage to go at all but it still managed to wreak havoc on my first semester & some of my second. Now on something that I know I could have done better I am picking up the pieces (like a person who partied or gamed too much but it wasn't either so that makes it so much worse) and that is no fun. Lesson learned - if you need extra time on tests, etc GO AND GET IT. LEARN WHERE & HOW. Sorry but I can't stress this last point enough.</p>
<p>I will try and come up with more but that is enough for now.</p>
<p>i have a question...wat do u mean by go and get it wen it comes to extra time? i never get to finish any test and it kills my grades a lot. (i'm in high school still)</p>
<p>at my high school, my cal teacher teaches for the entire period lotz of concepts n calculation (i only like the conceptual parts, i hate calculations n i tend to make a lot of calculation mistakes)</p>
<p>um do they make any exception if u tell the college u have ADHD? i have something else but not sure if thats gonna make any differnece.</p>
<p>It requires notes, forms and maybe some testing so if you have concerns in this area go to the counseling office immediately. (I seem to be having insomnia tonight.) I have no problem finishing tests but concentrating on them is where I fail a lot. It isn't just about ADHD. My friend gets to take his tests separately due to a reading disability. So if you need extra time, just ask. College people want you to do well. If you can succeed, they will try and help in any way to see it happen.</p>
<p>I was an "honors" student in HS, and went into my 1st year thinking I wouldn't have to do that much work, but by all means, don't assume that. The work may seem excessive and a lot more in-depth, but it's still important. Other than that, remember that everyone else just came from HS too, so they're in the same boat in terms of work.</p>
<p>that was an awesome, down to earth post. Although I'm not adhd, i can still see perspective i guess.</p>
<p>I look forward to more.</p>
<p>As an IB kid, I have always been getting feedback like "oh, college is gonna be so easy once you get through this" and I sincerely believe it (that program is damn rigorous) but I dont think it is going to hold true for me at UChicago. It probobly would have been so at the U of MN:Tc (hell, I probobly could have entered as a sophomore) or many other schools but for how much the work at Chicago is talked about...I think I am going to have to learn how to study and do homework all over again.</p>
<p>otto,</p>
<p>keep in mind, that instead of having class for 8 hours a day, and then going to your activities, you will have class for 2-4 hours a day. There's so much more time. Personally, I never really studied in HS, because I was smart enough to get through with good grades with maybe an hour review of the material the night before the test.</p>
<p>That said, you will run into the people who go to class for an hour, and then spend 3 hours that night going over the material. And you will find people who start studying 5+ hours a day a week of more before an exam. Personally I can't really motivate myself to study that far off, but I'm trying to get there.</p>
<p>Having come through IB, I can tell you that you will be able to put out well written papers faster than a lot of the other students.</p>
<p>Oh... and when 50%-60% on an IB test gets you a solid score, it still gets you an F at college, lol =/. That is the one complaint I have about the IB preparation, is that it got me in the mindset that you didn't have to know everything (because frankly, there's hardly anyway you can).</p>
<p>How does IB work? How is it different from AP classes?</p>
<p>I dont want to explain in depth but it is like AP but much more in depth (and not so US biased).</p>
<p>Instead of just taking a test (hell, you dont even have to take an AP class to take hte ap test), it is a full course that you have to take and has multiple other assessments (some teacher graded/some externally graded) in the form of papers and labs in addition to the test that determine your final score. There is also hte IB diploma which is a way to work the tests together with a few other requirements to get an actual diploma (if you have enough total points).</p>
<p>so are you competing against all the people in your class? or the people in the course? (because there could be multiple courses, usually intro, taught by the same prof.)</p>