How much harder is college/university than high school?

[God saves]

As a final year high school student, I am curious about how much harder is college/university than high school and whether it usually takes undergraduate university students to graduate with a Bachelor's in 3-4 years or longer?

 

[Mary Meg]

I'm curious about this too.

 

[Rubiks]

College is a lot different from High School. How harder it is depends on what your major is.

In High School I got mostly 'A's. Whereas in College I got mostly 'B's. My major was computer science.

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

If you're used to upper-level classes in high school, then you might find college a little easier. If you weren't already taking upper-level classes in high school, then you might find it harder. The biggest factor, though, is your own psychology. Half of all freshmen never make it to their second year, and that includes very intelligent people who were the top of their class in high school. Freedom gets to people. Some people can't handle it. College doesn't have all of the baby-sitter restrictions of high school. They let you ditch class. No one is there to make you study. Lots of distracting influences will be coming at you. You leave high school feeling like you're done, and then a few months later, you're not done anymore, and it's hard to get back into the swing of things. If you can overcome that, then half of the battle is already won.

 

[PloverWing]

I only really know about high school and college/university in the U.S; I teach at a state university in the American northeast, but I haven't travelled much outside the country. If you're in China, @God saves , then I don't really know about the school system there. In the U.S.:

1) College is usually faster-paced than high school. Expect to spend one class period per topic; the next class period is the next topic, and so on. By contrast, a high school class might introduce a topic one day, and then spend the next couple of weeks practicing that topic or skill. In part, the faster pace is possible because...

2) You're responsible to do extra reading and practice on your own, outside of class. There will be homework, of course, but you'll likely need to go beyond the homework assignments and do extra practice problems on your own, as many as you need, until you understand the concept or have mastered the skill. Merely listening to the lectures and doing the assigned homework probably won't be enough. Expect to spend multiple hours outside of class for every hour of lecture.

3) In general, in college you're responsible for your own education. Professors, TAs, and tutors are there to help you, and they're glad to help, but you have to seek them out. Nobody makes you go to class, or makes you do your homework, or makes you go to tutoring; all of that is up to you, and that's an adjustment for some people.

@Mary Meg , since you were home-schooled, you're already used to being responsible for your own education, so that's in your favor. @God saves , I know less about your background. For me, coming from a traditional American high school, it was both liberating and scary to be responsible for managing my time every single day.

If you're a full-time student at an American college/university, you should be able to finish in four years. Some things can slow you down: If you're a part-time student, or if you have to take time off for illness, or if you change your major, or if you take on a difficult double major that requires lots of extra classes, then you may take longer. But normally you should get your degree in four years.

 

[Dave-W]

I agree with Plover.

The rule of thumb back in the day was that for every hour in class time, expect to put in 2 hours of homework. That was an average. STEM classes probably will be more like 2.5-3 hours.

 

[Dave-W]

@Mary Meg , since you were home-schooled, you're already used to being responsible for your own education, so that's in your favor

Agreed.

 

[keith99]

A lot depends on the college, the high school and what you took and will take.

As has already been mentioned the baby sitter aspect is usually gone. Miss class and no one will even say anything. Along the same lines there will be considerably more material covered in class that is not adequately addressed in the text book or even not mentioned at all. Miss a class session where a lot of that is covered and you pay for it at exam time.

I found college a little harder. But perhaps a lot of that was because I took the hardest options available in the sciences in high school, drifted into AP European History and in college was able to concentrate somewhat on my strengths. If I had gotten into the only other college I applied to it would have been a lot harder. I would have been allowed to focus even more on my strengths, but that would have been the desire of almost everyone there. Cal Tech isn't easy. So difficult that the graduation rate takes a big hit. At one point a major college rating company had them at about 8th in the United States which was rather strange because the same company had them tied for 3rd worldwide. I think that company had graduation rate as a significant factor in U.S. ratings but not so much in worldwide ratings.

Near me is a community college. So close that the cross country team at my high school ran there and then trained on the cross country course there. I took some accounting courses there before going to grad school in business. They were far easier than the vast majority of my high school classes. There was also a degree of baby sitting. Roll was taken and homework made up a significant part of your grade. The nickname given that community college 'cow tech' was deserved.

If you are going full time getting a degree in 4 years is the norm. Trying to cut it to 3 can be very difficult, especially if the motivation is economic. The most obvious way to cut teh time is to go to summer sessions, but at many schools, especially state schools, the summer sessions MUCH more expensive. Not all so check at the schools you are interested in. Some people suggest getting some prerequisites r required classes out of your major out of the way at community college. I would not suggest that for prerequisites and for either check on transferability to the specific colleges you are interested in.

 

[Albion]

It is harder, but the answer really depends on which college you attend an what your course of study is. It also matters what kind of high school student one was. Really smart people seem to do well at both, but those who got through high school but never were on the honor roll may well experience trouble in college.

These days, many college students take 5 or even 6 years to get the *4 year degree.* The colleges take it for granted. All sorts of factors can bring this about, but it is worth trying to avoid because of the high cost of college now.

 

[God saves]

A lot depends on the college, the high school and what you took and will take.

As has already been mentioned the baby sitter aspect is usually gone. Miss class and no one will even say anything. Along the same lines there will be considerably more material covered in class that is not adequately addressed in the text book or even not mentioned at all. Miss a class session where a lot of that is covered and you pay for it at exam time.

I found college a little harder. But perhaps a lot of that was because I took the hardest options available in the sciences in high school, drifted into AP European History and in college was able to concentrate somewhat on my strengths. If I had gotten into the only other college I applied to it would have been a lot harder. I would have been allowed to focus even more on my strengths, but that would have been the desire of almost everyone there. Cal Tech isn't easy. So difficult that the graduation rate takes a big hit. At one point a major college rating company had them at about 8th in the United States which was rather strange because the same company had them tied for 3rd worldwide. I think that company had graduation rate as a significant factor in U.S. ratings but not so much in worldwide ratings.

Near me is a community college. So close that the cross country team at my high school ran there and then trained on the cross country course there. I took some accounting courses there before going to grad school in business. They were far easier than the vast majority of my high school classes. There was also a degree of baby sitting. Roll was taken and homework made up a significant part of your grade. The nickname given that community college 'cow tech' was deserved.

If you are going full time getting a degree in 4 years is the norm. Trying to cut it to 3 can be very difficult, especially if the motivation is economic. The most obvious way to cut teh time is to go to summer sessions, but at many schools, especially state schools, the summer sessions MUCH more expensive. Not all so check at the schools you are interested in. Some people suggest getting some prerequisites r required classes out of your major out of the way at community college. I would not suggest that for prerequisites and for either check on transferability to the specific colleges you are interested in.

I said 3-4 years because in universities in the UK, many Bachelor's degrees (without a foundation year) are 3 years.

 

[Albion]

I said 3-4 years because in universities in the UK, many Bachelor's degrees (without a foundation year) are 3 years.

If I go to university next year, I am interested in subjects (majors or minors) such as special needs and inclusion studies, deaf studies, early childhood education, and/or social work.

If this were about the USA, I would caution that some of those careers almost always require work beyond the 4-year (Bachelor's) degree, mainly because there are so many degree-holders competing for positions.

 

[Coady]

As a final year high school student, I am curious about how much harder is college/university than high school and whether it usually takes undergraduate university students to graduate with a Bachelor's in 3-4 years or longer?

In the USA I think you would find that it is only harder at the so called "ivy league schools" or in a state university that has the best program for some specialty that you're interested in because if they're grading on the curve and you're competing with the best students, naturally it's going to be competitive, but foreign students, especially from China or South Korea, have already had to compete in order to be in the position to go overseas. The only problem would, of course, be English speaking ability. You probably know some USA state universities actively seek foreign students and have special arrangements to help acclimate and get you up to speed in English. I marvel at how well they learn our language because it is surely one of the more difficult languages to learn!

 

[Ttalkkugjil]

College is a lot different from High School. How harder it is depends on what your major is.

In High School I got mostly 'A's. Whereas in College I got mostly 'B's. My major was computer science.

In high school I got mostly C's. Whereas in university I got mostly A's.

 

[God saves]

One of the reasons I started this thread is because I'm not certain about whether to go to college/university next year or not (alternatives may include employment (possibly with part-time study) and/or 1-2 gap year(s)).

 

[usexpat97]

I found college way harder than high school, and then I found work way easier than college. I would not work first if I were you, provided the financial means are there. Maybe for a summer is good. But 2 years can easily drag out into 5 years, and you can get into a rut. The point is to seek out a better life. If that's what you want, then go grab it now.

 

[Albion]

One of the reasons I started this thread is because I'm not certain about whether to go to college/university next year or not (alternatives may include employment (possibly with part-time study) and/or 1-2 gap year(s)).

There is no absolute answer to that question, but there is no harm in waiting a bit before enrolling in a college.

Sometimes people get the idea that they are going to be missing out or are slough-offs or academic failures if they do not go automatically from high school to college...but all of that is just bunk. There may be plenty of benefit in waiting a little while and seeing what else could be better for you, if anything.

 

[keith99]

There is no absolute answer to that question, but there is no harm in waiting a bit before enrolling in a college.

Sometimes people get the idea that they are going to be missing out or are slough-offs or academic failures if they do not go automatically from high school to college...but all of that is just bunk. There may be plenty of benefit in waiting a little while and seeing what else could be better for you, if anything.

If you are going into a STEM major there can be huge harm, your math gets rusty and you no longer have the base to do well. Similar things can happen with other academic abilities like writing decent papers, but that usually is not as drastic.

 

[Albion]

If you are going into a STEM major there can be huge harm, your math gets rusty and you no longer have the base to do well. Similar things can happen with other academic abilities like writing decent papers, but that usually is not as drastic.

It does matter to some degree, as most of these decisions do, on HOW LONG the absence is. I thought I made it amply clear that I was referring to a short time-out, not to a lengthy one.

 

[Jon Osterman]

It really depends on who you are, your ability, where you went to highschool and where you go to college. I personally found it easier than highschool because I wasn't so stiffled and I had better teachers and better resources. But most people find it harder because the pace is faster, and they get distracted by young-adult life.

 

[keith99]

It really depends on who you are, your ability, where you went to highschool and where you go to college. I personally found it easier than highschool because I wasn't so stiffled and I had better teachers and better resources. But most people find it harder because the pace is faster, and they get distracted by young-adult life.

I did not find it much harder and perhaps my experience is somewhat similar to yours except I worked the system a little better in High School. I opted for the teachers who were less boring which had a significant correlation to the classes and grading being harder. My task was made easy because most students did the exact opposite.

Thinking along those lines students who took the easy course in High School may get a double hit in college. The increase in difficulty will be greater and they may find that they are missing crucial parts of teh foundation that they will be assumed to have.