Weeks 1-3: The Biggest Differences Between High School and College

In high school they always preached to you about how they are preparing you for college and how difficult it would be. But how good of a job does high school do in preparing you for becoming a college student? A lot of it depends on the school you went to, and the difficulty of your course work. I personally feel like there are many things similar about high school and college, but there are also many things that are kind of a culture shock to me. There are many new weekly challenges I’ve experienced thus far in my three weeks at Muskingum University that have made me push myself out of my academic comfort zone.

The biggest difference between high school and college I’ve noticed is that you must read the textbook. In high school you wasn’t ever required to read before class; you show up, listen, take notes, and take a test over the lecture. In college you are expected to read the book, and just showing up for lecture isn’t going to get you that “A” you were hoping for. I’ve learned that reading before class helps you build a foundation that way when you show up for lecture you know what’s going to be discussed and those ideas get cemented into your brain much easier. However, it’s easier said than done. I am currently taking seven classes at the college and keeping up with the reading is no easy task. My high school ran on a block schedule, therefore you would only have four or five classes at one time. Juggling all 15 credit hours at once has definitely been a challenge for me and made me push myself to get my reading and assignments completed.

On top of all of the reading and studying I also started working at Kroger. I have found that going to work on top of being a full time college student is very stressful and really makes you have to plan your week out ahead of time. At the beginning of the semester I was scheduled for 25 plus hours a week; I quickly realized that balancing school and working that many hours just isn’t going to get the grades I want. I had to cut my hours down to 15 and I found that much more reasonable. In high school I never had to worry about scheduling my assignments and studying around my work schedule. I would have to say that balancing work and school has been the biggest challenge yet in adapting to becoming a full time college student for me.