From High School to College

Dear High School Student,

In High School, everything is very routine and regulated. Basically, the rules do not change from class to class. Well, forget what you think you know. It all changes in College. Teachers in High School give you a general idea of what they expect and give you leeway. However, in College, each professor has their own specific set of rules and ways of doing things. I've recently discovered this in my Into the Psychology class. In College it is expected that you figure out what it is each of your professor want from you in each assignment. You will also see that every class is not the same, professor are allowed to choose how they want to run their classes. Some professors will go by a power point and let you write down your notes, some will simply do old fashioned seminar style, and then there are the creative professors. These "creative" professors force you to think and apply the text to real world issues. Especially in your first year, College becomes a "free thinking" and "free learning" environment.

From my own experience, I have noticed that some professors do not assign homework very often. They expect you to be adults and read the texts they assign and learn the information on your own. This especially is not like High School at all. In High School you could get away with not doing any homework or reading and pass with a solid B. This is because you'll end up learning the material from your teacher the next day in class. But in College, your professors want you to tell them what you learned, what you got out of it, voice your opinions and questions. College forces you to become your own advocate for your education, no one is going to hold your hand anymore. Something else I've learned through my own experiences is that time management is essential to your education. In High School you wait until the last minute to get everything. In College that just won't cut it. You can't wing anything and get a passing grade, you have to plan out when you have time to do each assignment and have them done in a timely manner. Without this step it's a very good possibility that you will fall behind or even fail out of College because your method of getting things done isn't effective anymore. I promise that if you listen to these four large changes you will make it through College as a good student.