High School vs. College

Even though I’ve only been at Purdue for a month, I’ve picked up on some big differences between high school and college. If I were back in high school, I would have loved to have a serious heads up about a few of these. Let’s start with the differences that make college the “best time of your life.” First of all, for those social butterflies out there, the best thing of all is being constantly surrounded by friends. There is never a dull moment in the hall of a dorm, especially on the girls’ side. However, this could go both ways; those of us who are used to our own room and bathroom or doing homework alone in a very calm environment, say goodbye to efficiency and hello to about a million distractions. Fun? Yes, but also very frustrating at times. Another great perk of college for the more social student is definitely the constant availability of social events; parties, functions, clubs, etc. And also the nonexistent curfew. Nothing is better than going from home by 12:30 or grounded to being able to do as you please until all hours of the night. However, all of this freedom leads to a few more serious differences between high school and college…

With freedom comes responsibility, and this can be a difficult issue to tackle for an 18 year old who just wants to have fun. Personally, I am a very social person and I love going out and being with my friends. However, I also chose engineering as my major, and it’s kicking my butt. The amount of homework is incredible, and the amount of material I’m expected to learn on my own time is, in my opinion, not possible. Let’s face it - high school was basically a joke. I hardly ever studied for a test and I got good grades by doing just enough, and I’m starting to realize that that just won’t cut it in college. For the first month of college I have been trying to get all of my schoolwork done during the week so that I can have the entire weekend to do whatever I want. I would highly recommend this method – the girls living on my floor generally do the same and so far it has worked out pretty well (although we have yet to take an exam so my opinion may change after next week). Luckily I was a pretty responsible kid to start off with, but I think a lot of high school kids should really try to talk to college student to really get a feel for what they are in for.