I know in high school, your time is very constricted with 7-8 classes for an average of 8 hours a day (and after school sports and activities)
Your course rigor in high school may play apart on this as well.
But how was your time in high school vs time in college?
More flexible? Much easier to explore hobbies? Time management 101?
Like I see myself in college actually being involved activities I show large passions for such as dance and volunteering with some addition of exploring new passions.
In theory, yes. In high school you are generally in class for 6 hours straight every day 5 days a week (8 am to 3 pm, maybe) - so 30 hours. The average college student takes 4-6 classes a semester; those classes usually meet for about 3 hours a week per class, meaning you’re in class maybe 12-18 hours per week. That leaves you with an additional 12 to 18 hours you didn’t have in high school to do whatever you want. Moreover, the classes aren’t scheduled straight - so you may schedule all your MWF classes in the morning so you have afternoons free to do whatever, or may have a 3-hour gap in the middle of TR so you can take a nap or study for that one class or whatever.
The net result is usually that you have a lot more “flexible” time that you can fill with activities, hobbies, and just hanging out. There’s definitely time for volunteering and dance, for learning new things, and for making new friends.
However, you have to be careful not to overschedule yourself. For one, even though you spend fewer hours in class, each class will take more studying, reading, and homework than your college courses. This is particularly if you are in a major that gives a lot of out of class assignments. Also, some majors have additional commitments - like many life and physical sciences classes have labs and recitations that aren’t immediately apparent from the schedule, and many language classes require you to spend hours in the language labs practicing. If you have a performance major (like music or drama) you may be required to participate in recitals, plays, or other performances on campus. Other majors may require some time interning or doing practica experiences. So be careful to factor that in.
Also, just because you have free hours doesn’t mean you want to book them all - you need to leave some open time for meals, for quiet thought, and for spontaneous social gatherings and ideas.
Also it may be really hard to do certain hobbies. For instance, I love theatre and I wanted to do it in college. But I’m not a theatre major so I was unable to get professors to sign off me missing their classes. Oh well, I’m planning on doing some type of theatre stuff in the future like help out at a local place.
I think you will find that you have less structured time but more potential distractions. They aren’t necessarily bad but it’s up to you to use your time wisely. You will have friends who will be on completely different schedules than you and they may be free and encourage you to have fun with them while you should be working. Your 12-18 hours of class time very well could translate into 20-40 hours of study/homework/project time (maybe more at certain times and with some majors). It will be much easier to explore new interests and hobbies but also easier to do too much. You will not only have your own interests but by meeting new people you will discover interests you never knew you had.
In HS you are surrounded by peers while in school but once you leave the people you interact with will be largely adults. In college most of your interaction is going to take place with people within 4 years of you. Freshman year is often the most structured. There will be people, primarily peers, who will be there to help and guide you through the process. Good luck.