<p>As the fall term gradually draws closer and closer, there’s been one question that lingers in my mind.</p>
<p>What are the differences between high school and college, specifically the differences in academics. Is college work really that hard? How was the transition from high school to college? What can we freshmens expect in our first years?</p>
<p>Some advice to start. Do your assigned readings before you attend class. That way you will grasp more from the lectures and be better prepared to ask questions. Don't procrastinate and get behind. Quarters move fast, you will have mid-terms three weeks into school. Go to office hours. Don't just show up and waste the professor's time. Always come prepared with drafts of papers or questions. All UC's offer tutoring, much of it is free. Take advantage when you need it. Don't wait until it's too late to get help. It is going to seem like everyone is sick. Try to get enough rest, eat right and use hand sanitizer. Get exercise either through intramurals or go to the ARC. Make an effort to meet a few people in each of your classes and get their phone number or become facebook friends. When you miss class you can find out what happened and borrow notes from each other. Make an effort to start study groups in classes where it will help. Most important of all make friends and have fun.</p>
<p>Great Advice! I need to work on the procrastination part. I have been labeled by my friends as a master procrastinator it will be an arduous feat to overcome.</p>
<p>You and my son both!</p>
<p>I'd pass on reading course materials before class beings. If the lecture covers the same material as the readings then you've wasted time with the readings. Also, for some classes, there are many readings assigned but only a few are covered in the exam materials. Hence, it may be better to wait to read your texts.</p>
<p>Everything else collegemom recommends is spot on. Unfortunately, that's what you'd do in an ideal world. The biggest challenge you'll have is having the self discipline to do work when you know nothing is do. You'll probably end up procrastinating just like you did in high school. That's what many of us do and we manage to do just fine. Bottom line, college isn't much harder than high school, if at all.</p>
<p>For the first quarter, you'll be adjusting to the workload (or lack thereof) compared to high school. You'll learn that the GE classes you're taking are very simple in terms of grading; usually a midterm, a paper or two, and a final. Compare that to high school where you had homework just about everyday. </p>
<p>One thing that really got to me was how it felt as if I did really bad on a midterm, it meant that I wouldn't pass the class. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just keep fighting 'til the end.</p>
<p>You'll also learn that attending class is optional. If you can absorb the material yourself (#1 complaint for statistics is that lectures aren't very helpful-- you wind up learning the material yourself), then you shouldn't feel obligated to go to class if it isn't helping you.</p>
<p>Make use of all the resources your university has to offer! Remember, you're paying for it in tuition. See those buses run by your campus, or the recreation center, or the sporting events? You've got an annual membership... get your money's worth!</p>
<p>The hardest thing this quarter for me was to get enough sleep...Hell, it's 4 AM and I'm on CC!!! I have no excuse to not have enough sleep, as my workload is pretty simple this quarter.. but I wind up staying online checking facebook, blogs, and news to the point that I only get about five or six hours of sleep. As a result of that, I take multiple naps which is not very healthy.</p>
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<p>College is not that bad. I remember my track coach had told me that a lot of people wind up getting placed in academic probation, but really, it wasn't that bad. It's SO true what they say about college; whatever you learned in high school doesn't count for anything. If you came from a bad high school and thought you were going to be disadvantaged, it's not true. College is all about finding your own way to study. In some cases, it feels easier than high school because you're given so much free time to either study or to goof off. Also, you'll be taking classes that interest you, which makes it SO much easier to study for tests.</p>
<p>Pray that you and your roommate get along if you choose to get a random one. I had a high school classmate who went for a random roommate (it turned out to be one of my other friends) and they were complete opposites. In the end, my classmate moved out after fall quarter. He hated him so much (He even locked the prongs of his microwave so his roommate couldn't use it!) Because of that, my classmate didn't really have an easy time meeting new people.. I see him eating at the DC alone a lot... which I also must say, don't be afraid to eat at the DC alone when you need to. No one's going to care that you're eating by yourself as long as you're not doing it daily. </p>
<p>College is SO fun. I wouldn't go back to high school if I was given 10 grand (if it were 100 grand, then maybe =P). Really, just be yourself and have a good time!</p>
<p>P.S.: I will admit, senioritis decided to stick on me for the entire fall quarter.. I did not read any of my anthropology books until the days before the midterm. In the end, I received a B- in that class. Procrastination is the devil, but I love it =P. After fall quarter, you should pretty much have established your study habits and college should be more relaxing when midterms and finals draw near.</p>
<p>I would add to what the above folks have posted. You may find it weird that there are very few to no grown-ups in your world once you get to college. That may sound like, "PAR--TAYYYY!!" Or, it may sound like, "YIKES." Or somewhere in between. You will need to be your own grown-up in so many day to day decisions. Of course there are still adults to consult if and when you need help (advisers, etc.) and your family is definitely still your family. But don't underestimate the impact of the need for self-discipline.</p>
<p>While highschool, you can probably get decent grades just by talent, it's not really the case in college. I think to be successful in college is really about balance and discipline. I remember the guy who did the best in my class wasn't wiz-bang genius, but he had a good method. He never slept past 11pm on weeknights and did his lab reports/homework once he got them. Time management for him was key because he was a sports player and appreciated a social life.</p>