What to Expect When You Get to College

College can be intimidating for high school seniors. The rigorous elimination process that many aspiring students endure after applying to colleges often leaves them feeling inadequate and unqualified even after they are accepted into a university. Don’t despair - your college career will be manageable if you make the effort! Students who arrive equipped with an abundance of potential and an eagerness to succeed find that they are more than prepared to handle the challenges that await them at college.

• Climate

  The climate on a college campus is one of the major distinguishing differences between high school and college. Students typically find that the atmosphere is incredibly independent; students are expected, not asked, to keep up with their classes and complete assignments. The characteristics of the student body vary from campus to campus, but most are far more studious than any high school. Another difference is that interaction with peers is much easier in college than in high school. While you will find peer groups with common interests, you’re much less likely to come across the tight knit cliques of students that are so common in high school.

• Class structure

  Group projects are out and class discussions are in—in college. Some classes will use them, but no where near as much as they were used in high school. The larger the class, the less interactive it tends to be. Small classes typically revolve around some combination of lecturing and group discussions, whereas large classes typically rely solely on lecture.

• Work load

  You probably guessed this: the workload in college is significantly heavier than in high school. Expect a large amount of reading and a fair amount of writing, depending on your major. Clearly students working towards a bachelors of science write significantly less than students pursuing, let’s say, English for example. This may vary from the rule, but in my own experience, I found that for every one hour in a class I had to devote about 2 hours outside of the course to keep up with readings and other assignments.

• Professor Student Relationships

  Professors and college students have a unique relationship. Unlike high school teachers, a professor enters a classroom filled with students who for the most part, all want to be there. They’ve paid their tuition and have a goal in mind and for such students college is likely the only thing that makes their goal possible. Very rarely do close friendships emerge from high school student-teacher relationships, but for college students and their professors, this is quite common. Professors won’t nag you about your homework, but they will make an effort to help you with course material that you might be struggling with.

The advisor for each of the high school clubs in which you hold a membership may be able to help you identify scholarship opportunities based on your extracurricular activities. A scholarship search that matches students with scholarship programs based on their activities can be an excellent resource for locating hard-to-find scholarships based on extracurricular activity participation.