Point by Point Compare and Contrast Between High School and College

12/05/09
ENGU100
Assignment #5 – Point By Point Compare and Contrast

High school and college are alike but also different in many ways. They are both educational institutions which help people achieve greater intelligence but differ in certain factors. High school is a mandatory and free secondary institution of learning, while college is both voluntary and expensive. In high school, students are guided for what responsibilities they have and students are corrected if they are out of line. In contrast, students in college have the responsibilities and they receive the consequences of the actions. One of the major differences is the classes. On the one hand in high school, students go directly from one class to another continuously; on the other hand in college, students often have time between classes depending on the times the students pick. The textbooks for high school are free or sometimes cost very little, while the college textbooks will likely cost a majority of money. Most of the classes are assigned to students in high school. On the contrary, college students are responsible for their own schedule made with the help of academic advising. Another differentiation is the studying habits. Studying habits used to be last minute preparations; yet in college, students need more time and students need to study harder. High school students are told what they need to study. Quite the opposite, college students have to read and understand the material themselves. Some similarities and differences occur in teachers and professors. Some relationships include things such as teachers and professors still assigning homework, reports, presentations, and giving tests. Unfortunately, college work is more difficult than high school work. Teachers in high school remind students of uncompleted assignments and upcoming projects. Just the opposite of that, professors expect students to read the syllabus. Teachers often use the board to write information to be copied into notes. This defers from the professors who may lecture nonstop requiring students to copy the important information into their notes. This requires good attendance and good notes. High school teachers approach students if they need help. The professors’ methods are do things differently. The professors are still open and helpful but expect students to ask for help. Testing and grading is another factor that differs in high school and college. Tests in high school are frequent and cover only the material learned in that period of time; nevertheless, tests in college are infrequent and cumulative, normally covering large amounts of material. In high school, makeup tests are often available in case the student misses them. Likewise, college students are given a chance to make up tests, but college students normally have to request for them. Grades in high school are calculated differently from college grades. In high school, grades are given mainly based on tests and homework. In opposition, college grades are calculated from mainly tests and major papers. So basically, grades in high school are structured towards how much effort has been put in. Unlike high school, college uses a system which is structured more towards the end result of how the student does. In conclusion, high school and college has its similarities and differences. The two levels of educational institutions have more differences, but still contain some similarities. High school resembles college in the case that it still has homework, tests, and other such things. Despite the resemblance, college has harder standards such as its classes, tests, professors, grading system, and many other things.