But, in high school you are pushed in the right direction, given second chances (many many second chances). It is free and you do not lose money if you fail a class. You can always start over next year. High school, as far as your future goes, is meaningless, to a certain point. For college, none of the above is true. I'm adding this in here because I forgot to mention it: college is REALLY expensive and if you fail your class or even get a D, which does not count in college, you just lost all your money. No refunds, nothing. So if you go to a university or state school, you might be out 600-1000 dollars. Your professors honestly couldn’t care less if you do well. There are a few professors who will give you ONE second chance, depending on the circumstances. But if you fail a test, miss homework, don’t come to class, they don’t care. You will not get a call home, and you will not be able to get the assignment unless they have a website or you know someone in that class. Also, and this is the most important aspect of college to be successful, you CAN NOT fall behind. In college, if you fall behind in reading or whatever, it almost always will affect your grade because of the amount of studying and homework. Some of the big changes and differences are teachers/professor’s, grade, attendants, responsibility, classes, textbooks, locations, and studying. Let’s go!
The first major difference between my life before college and after college is teachers/professors. For example, back then teachers will call your parents if you don’t turn in homework and teachers will approach you if they believe you need assistance. Teachers often write information on the board to be copied in notes. Teachers bear much of the responsibility for your learning. But now, teachers don’t care if you do or if you don’t turn in homework. Teachers/professors expect you to initiate contract if you need assistance. Some professors may lecture nonstop, expecting you to identify the important points in your notes. Your bear the responsibility for your learning. In high school, teachers will remind you when assignments or homework is due and in high school you are assigned homework and it’s due the next day. The teachers will help you and stay after class with you. Teachers in high school will stop to explain every little detail and take question from the class. Your teachers are likely to pull you aside if they think you are struggling. In high school, instruction is directed - teachers are clear about what is being taught what students should be able to do, and what will be on tests. However, in college teachers/professors tell you ahead of time when the rough draft is due and the final draft and will not remind you again. Some teachers are nice about it to remind a few days before but others are not. In some college classes you have three weeks and sometimes a four weeks till your homework is due. The teachers/ professors expect you to make appointments with them. back then, high school is mandatory and usually free. Your time is structured by others. You count on your parents and teachers to remind you of your responsibilities and to guide you in the setting priorities. You are not responsible for knowing what it takes to graduate. You are not requiring knowing what you want to be when you grow up. Pressure is minimal. Turning 18 consumes your thoughts. You will usually be told what to do and corrected if your behavior is out of line. Consequences include after-school detention loss of privilege,etc. But now, college is voluntary and sometimes expensive. You manage your own time, build your own schedule. You must balance your responsibilities and set priorities. You will pick new friends and will face moral and ethical decisions never faced before. People see you as an adult, you are asked almost daily, “what’s is your major, what’s is your career choice, what are you going to do with the rest of your life?”You are expected to take responsibility for what you do and don’t do. Consequence can involve money, the law. In high school, students are expected to do as they are told and follow the rules. High school students that do not do what they are told or do not follow rules will probably be "corrected" in a variety of ways. However, in college, students are expected to make responsible choices. College students that do not make responsible choices are likely to be "academically dismissed."
A third difference I discovered is classes/ grades. For example, back then you do the most of the studying in class, with homework as a back- up. You seldom need to read anything more than once, and sometimes listening in class is enough. You are expected to read short assignments that are then discussed, and often re-taught in classes. Grades are given for most assigned work. Consistently good homework grades may raise your overall grade when test grades are low. Extra credit points are often available to help you raise your grade. You can sometimes throw out your lowest test score. You may graduate as long as you have passed all required courses with a D or higher. But now, you do most of your studying outside of classes (at least two hours outside classes for each hour in class- 3 credits class= 6 hours) with lecture and other class work as a guide. You need to review class notes and text material regularly. You are assigned substantial amounts of reading and writing which may not be directly addressed in class. This material is in additional to your text book assignments. Grades may not be provided for all assigned work. Extra credits projects cannot, generally speaking, be used to raise a grade in a college course. Since many courses only have 2-3 tests a semester, “throwing out” your lowest test score is usually not an option. You may graduate only if you meet the college/ university GPA requirement. Usually a 2.0 or C average. In high school, successing in high school classes. High school classes will "re-teach" areas that students have trouble with. you usually will be told in class what you need to learn from assigned readings. Teachers provide study guides,your Grades “effort counts on the study guides.” Courses are usually structured to reward an “a good-faith efforts.” Teachers appreciate students who try to give their best. However, in College professors will move on - those that are not ready will have to accept failing grades and try again if they can. lectures and assignments are based on the assumption of students that students have read their assignments. Though “good- faith effort” is important in regards to the professor’s williness to help you achieve good results in the grading process.
College and high school share the same common goal: teaching students to learn. But the truth is, there are a lot of differences between college and high school. In fact, college and high school are completely different experiences. Finally, are a lot of differences between high school and college and the question is what do I think is best, before college or after college? This is kind of hard because I like both college and high school. But college life is very exciting than high school life because first I don’t have to go everyday and I’m not spending eight hours in school and I don’t have five mintures to get to class. this may be childlish but I didn’t have to ask the teacher to go to restroom or have to sign out. Yes college is great, but it has it falls down like if you’re the type who likes to procrastinate a lot and put things off to the last minture. this is going to be a wakeup call for you because I was that type, and once you find out you have a D in your class, it’s not like high school. you don’t pass and move on. You fail and have to retake it and pay for it again. sometimes when you fail a class, financial aid won’t pay for it again.it will have to come out your own pocket. But all that being said, I think college is better than high school because you can live in college meaning more freedom and you learn responsible and self control and YOU CREATE YOUR OWN FUTURE.