Ok so I’m a highschool sophomore that is wondering what colleges are like. (Well not a sophomore anymore, Junior next year)
So what are college classes like? What does it look like? I heard that your main class looks different than elective classes. Also how many people in a class? and how any courses do you take? How many are mandatory? and how many are optional? lol if you can tell me more about college just in general. Your experiences etc. Thank you very much!
And also are college more fun than highschool? by fun I don’t mean not studying, partying or whatever. But like the environment and stuff. Since college is so diverse compared to high school. And are teachers a lot more careless compared to highschool? I also heard that in college mostly you just take notes in class, is that true?
I’m going to Stanford if it helps.
There are no simple answers for your questions. You and you family need to visit some colleges.
One thing is pretty common though, if you do not want to do the work, professors will not force you. You are free to fail!
lol it’s the same in every school.
That’s going to be a tough road, I wouldn’t think like that. Chances are you will end up elsewhere, at one of the other great colleges that are luckily abundant.
In college you take around 4-5 classes per semester, that change regularly. You spend less time in class and more time working on your own out of class. Schedules have breaks and varying time ranges, all of which you have a heavy hand in choosing. Some people choose all their classes in the morning while others go for the afternoon. Some choose to spread them out. You’re responsible for yourself: few have attendance or daily homework collection. Most of your grade is exams, large tests, and projects.
Class sizes range at every school, from under 20 to over 100. Usually as a general trend the class sizes get smaller as you get older, as general classes have more people but major specific classes have fewer.
Universities usually have a common core, a few basic classes or types of classes every takes. Beyond that, the classes you take are all based on what you major in. So, technically, most classes are optional. But within your major, you have requirements you have to take. So pick a major you like!
Teachers aren’t careless, they just expect you to know how to work in an academic environment and don’t hold your hand. But yes, most classes are lectures.
For almost all, college is a lot more fun. It’s just more independence. It’s about personal freedom, not just high school v college classes.
How could you possibly know you’re going to Standford as a sophmore? Maybe you want to go Standford but most likely you will not.
Maybe it is a Stanford faculty/Dean offspring. May not be such a stretch if so.
If it were, I suspect s/he’d be exposed enough to the workings of college that s/he wouldn’t be here asking questions like ‘what are college classes like?’. Seems a stretch to think this is anything more than an uninformed and hopeful hs junior.
Heh heh, many a slip between the cup and the lip… Good luck on admission to Stanford though! Start checking off the 1st place Olympiad winner, top-notch sportsman, incredible musician, research-published, ISF winner, etc etc boxes! 
@PengsPhils
Thank you so much, Just the answer I wanted!
@WustlMom2019 lol thanks, I definitely got my head in the game. Stanford is NO JOKE.
I’m editing my post because my reply isn’t relevant anymore. Just out of curiosity, why are you so sure that you’re going to Stanford?
@radmadeline since you sound a lot more educated, I’ll speak the same way to you I never said I was SURE I got into Stanford or that I got ACCEPTED. What I said meant I wanted/determined to go to Stanford. I said that so the answers could be more specific/about Stanford.
Also how does being a Stanford offspring even mean you’re going to Stanford for sure? This is America. Also I never saw your reply in my post…it’s weird lol
@Ayitsderek Nah, I’m just a high school grad xD Being a Stanford legacy doesn’t guarantee anything, but supposedly it can be a boost in the application process. Same goes for the other ‘elite’ schools.
I guess it was just the wording that threw people off. Saying “I’m going to Stanford” means something different to me as opposed to “I want to go to Stanford.” I think we just misunderstood. I wouldn’t brush anyone off though – many of the users on this forum know a LOT about the college admissions process and are very highly educated.
@radmadeline I get your point. But even if somehow I WAS sure that I would get into Stanford my sophomore year, it still doesn’t matter. Because my question is What are college classes like. Not “guess how I got into Stanford my sophomore year”. You get my point
Why not go visit some colleges over the summer, especially Stanford? This is a good time to go on visits because you’ll be busy during most of the school year. That way you’ll be able to see some campuses and maybe sit in on some summer classes, or at least get to go to an information session or two.
I had no idea what college I would want to go to until I visited a few. It’s great that you have the goal of getting admitted to Stanford, but you should always keep your options open. You don’t know if you’ll actually like a school until you visit, especially if you don’t know much about the college ‘process.’
Visiting a college campus (especially while it is in session) would give you a better idea than people trying to describe it to you.
College students have very flexible schedules because they can choose when to take classes, so long as there are sections of the class offered at their preferred time. A student is considered full time at about 12 hours, but most take around 15. Some are brave enough to take 18 or even petition (get permission from the college) more than 18 credits. The average college class is worth 3 credit hours, so most people take 5 classes each semester.
The size of the class just depends on whether or not lots of people need that course to graduate, and how large the university is. An introductory level biology class could have 200 or more students, whereas an upper level elective for Russian culture might have as few as 15 students. Small classes are held in classrooms much like high school ones. Large classes are held in lecture halls, which basically look like auditoriums with desks. Just google lecture halls and you’ll see a ton of pictures. Also, classes usually don’t meet everyday. Usually they meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, or Tuesday and Thursday. Some days you will have more classes than others.
Much of college is taking notes, but many classes have other components. Most science courses have labs which are interactive and require experimentation. Many large lecture classes (like math) have recitations, where students meet in smaller groups and can ask their assigned teaching assistant questions. Some classes function almost identically to a high school class, except faster paced (for example, my Spanish courses have about 20 people and are very interactive).
Professors’ attitudes vary widely, so it’s hard to lump them all together. They usually aren’t interested in babysitting, though, and expect you to seek their help if you want it. If you’re failing and don’t ask for their help, they probably won’t offer. Some professors are strict about attendance whereas others don’t make attendance part of your grade. Some require students to call them Dr. or Professor So-and-so, while others go by their first name. In general, though, professors will care about your success in their class if you are putting in the effort and want their help. I was told a lot of tales about unreasonable professors before I went to college, and while some professors are losers, most are not, so there’s no need to worry.
There’s still a lot more to college than what I wrote, but this post is getting too long! My best advice is just to visit campuses, and if you can, Stanford, since that seems to be your university of choice. Best of luck!