Torch

Issue date: 7/14/08 Section: News

Congratulations graduates of 2008! You have completed four years of high school with all the exams, pressure of doing well on SAT's and choosing the best college.

But now it's time to start a new chapter in your life: the next four years of college in which you will grow into a young mature adult and learn to be independent, have a little more freedom and really get to know yourself better as you grow.

However, amidst all of that, you will find that college can be very different than high school in many different aspects.

Responsibility is one of the biggest things that changes after high school. Beginning the first year of college, the transition may be hard depending on if you're a commuter or a resident student.

However, for resident students, the responsibility of living away from home and taking care of yourself is a part of their daily college life.

In college, you need to be more independent and be more conscientious about your actions and decisions. Decisions like when to study or when to hang out with friends or even when to eat can be crucial when it comes to managing your time. On the other hand, in high school, your time and schedule is structured everyday and you are more likely to be more dependent on parents and teachers.

Classes also differ from the traditional class set up in which most students have experienced for most of there academic life.

When is comes to the structure of the two different levels of education, both vary at two different extremes. In high school, the school year lasts about 36 weeks with possibly 8 or more classes (periods) a day. Usually, classes have 30 students or less and teachers spend more time on the classroom material.

Students are specifically told what homework and reading they are to do for the following day. In contrast, the college year is much shorter, which is broken up into two semesters.

The year includes a month long winter break and finishing off the year in May rather then in June. Sometimes, classes can have up to 100 students or more in auditorium size classrooms.

This may not be the ideal class size because the professor will go through the material faster. Also, all college professors are required to hand out a syllabus, which lists all the assignments and work that is expected from the student. Once again, time management plays a big role.Grading and Professors also come in more of a variety in college.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools