The Difference Between High School and College:

The Workload Myth

I remember sitting in that white chair on my high school graduation day dressed head to toe in cap and gown. Graduating from high school only meant one thing for me, college. I remember sitting in that chair wondering what came next for me. I was smiling ear to ear thinking about going to the glorious place called college. It was a new place to live, freedom, a change in everything. I remember being very young and not knowing a lot about this whole “college” place, except for the fact it was where the “smart” people went. I never imagined how fast college would come. While growing up I seemed to get some positive vibes as well as negative vibes about college. My older brother would tell me the wonders of living on campus and the endless fun that went on, yet I was also told by others that it would be a struggle with endless days and nights of work. All through high school I heard the constant criticizing of students work from high school teachers relating it to college. “This will not be acceptable in college” and if there was one little complaint on the work load, “just wait, there will be a lot more in college.” This truly set me back and made me wonder if I was really cut out for this. If college had such high expectations, I was definitely setting myself up for failure. Actually coming into college, I noticed something did not match up with the things I was told. There was not as much work as expected, probably around the same amount as high school, but less in class work. At the same time I realized it wasn’t so hard that I couldn’t complete it. It may have been more time consuming and a bit more challenging but more time was given to complete it. That, with less classes everyday compared to high school, made the work much easier to get it done.

Change In Habits

One of the biggest adjustments I went through was changing my study habits. In high school we got a study and guide and all I really did was fill it out and take the test the next day, but for college one must make their own study plan. Studying for tests and exams are very crucial in college. Ken Bain’s “What the Best College Students Do”, discusses many tips on how to manage college but one that really stood out to me was the topic of changing the mind to be more successful. Coming into college one needs to change the way they think to adapt to the new changes. I needed to change my study habits to adapt to the new way the education was set up; I had to be adapting mentally to the new way of learning while adapting physically to the new environment. It’s not the work that is hard, it’s the adjustment.

Your GPA isn’t everything

In high school I focused on my grades and getting the best GPA I could to get into college because that is what I was told by teachers and guidance counselors was most important. School comes first before anything else. This mind set changed when I got into college and realized the important things necessary for my job after graduation. Yenny Cheung’s article “For college students: 3 things I wish I had known when I first entered college” has a section focused on the importance of one’s GPA in high school versus college. Cheung discusses how the focus shouldn’t just be on the GPA. Cheung states “Not saying that classes are not important, they are, so as your GPA. Only having a shiny GPA though, does not land you on your dream job or get you anywhere in life.” In high shool, school came first before other activities but just because someone got all A’s in every single one of their classes does not necissarily make them qualified for a job. That’s why in college it is stressed that someone looks past the perfect GPA and fills up their free time with important internships and interesting experiences that will make them more applicable in the world of jobs after graduation. College was definitely a transition, but it’s not as drastic as it is put out to be, it just takes a change in mindset.