School vs College

Studying in an Indian elementary and high school can be both, fun and stressful at the same time. If we ignore the state boards, then we have two major boards, the ICSE and the CBSE boards that most of the schools are affiliated with, throughout the country.

The elementary school is mostly enjoyable and fun-filled, as the pressure to complete the syllabus and examination stress is minimal as compared to the high school, where the situation is quite the opposite. The students are under tremendous pressure to keep up with the teacher’s pace or else they would not be able to complete the syllabus in time which will finally affect their results. Owing to this pressure on students, coaching institutions have made a fortune. Hardly does a student reach the 9th standard when they are admitted to a coaching institute to increase their chances of topping their respective examinations. For the 9th and 10th standard, we have about 10 subjects to take care of and 5 subjects in 11th and 12th. As the number of subjects decreases, the pressure increases.

Now, let’s talk about colleges in India. It is nothing like your normal school as the teachers here, won’t be after you, constantly asking you to submit your assignments or they won’t be reminding you daily to keep yourself updated with the notes and be prepared for the tests and examinations. You are all on your own here. It’s up to you, whether you decide to make notes of a particular subject or let it pass just like that. You will have to make sure that the teacher has marked you present for their lecture because now, it’s your concern. The professors will teach you from the textbooks but expect you to perform better than what they teach you. Sometimes it may seem that the professors are very formal and are all about themselves but it’s not the case always. If you approach them and ask for a solution to your problem they will gladly help you out, provided you make the first move.

When comparing a school to a college, the greatest difference a person can find is that the whole institution and the people there will not revolve just around you. In a school, it’s you among a handful of students that a teacher has to look after, so your relationship with them is stronger and deeper. But when in a college, you will realize that a single professor is assigned to hundreds of students for a particular subject which makes it very difficult for you to build a strong rapport with the concerned professor in a short interval of time.

The greatest fear

Yes, you read that right. Fear. What is the greatest fear a student can have when they first join the college you ask? Identity Crisis is the fear we’re talking about here.

When in school, it’s easy to show your presence and make an impact as there is not much competition and most of your classmates have known you for more than 10 years. But as soon as you step into college, the first thing you’ll struggle with is to make your presence count. You will want people to recognize you the same way your classmates at school did, but it won’t be the same, as you’ll be like a tiny drop in an ocean, surrounded by thousands of new faces, finding it hard to get a footing in the new environment.

But everything will start falling into place once you get used to it. Everything will make sense and you’ll enjoy your college life just like your school life. They both are completely different though, as you learn to become independent while in college, having to take care of yourself, being responsible, and sincere towards your career. You might have some trouble finding friends at first, but don’t rush, take your time and you’ll find the perfect people for yourself.

Pressure

You will experience pressure in both the institutions, but at both the places it will be very different from one another. In school, you will have the pressure of performing well in the examinations and that’s it. While in college, there are a whole lot of things that can pressurize you, such as managing your budget, keeping all your important documents as safe as you can as you won’t have someone to look after you all the time, you’ll have to deal with all sorts of people by yourself and try your best not to offend them and maintain a healthy relationship with everyone and not to forget, you’ll have performance pressure as well.

4>12

When it comes to career building, the 4 years you spend in college are far more valuable than the 12 years you’ve spent in school. The basic knowledge and intelligence that you develop in school are very important, but how your future shapes up depend solely on how you spend your 4 years at college. Some students do not wish to put in any extra effort and just carry on with life as it may come. But that does not promise you a bright future, instead, if you plan out your priorities and set basic, achievable goals for yourself spread throughout these 4 years, you’ll surely see yourself rising to great heights. Think of these 4 years as a catapult for your career, the harder you pull, the more stress you lay upon yourself, the farther you’ll land.

So, now you know all the major differences between a school and a college. Both are an important part of our lives and neither of them can be considered less important than the other as they both play a major role in shaping our careers.

All the best for your future!

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