High School to College Going from high school to college can be a culture shock. Although they share some basic similarities, the differences between the two are profound. While both require pencils, paper, books, classrooms and teachers; the choices, responsibilities, locations and cost are differences that impact the student for the rest of his or her life. The choices a student is responsible for while in high school are geared more toward their social standing, and not their education per say. Examples of decisions range from which clothes to wear to school, to whom to be friends with; to should he/she join a team sport or club. The student has limited control over the actual decisions surrounding their education. Most all decisions directly relating to a student’s education, in fact, are the responsibility of the government, teachers, guidance counselors and lastly the parents. The government decides which curriculums meet the approved national standard; it also has set the mandate that all minors must attend high school or pass the high school equivalency exam. They dictate how long and how often a student attends classes, in traditional public education settings students will attend Monday through Friday from approximately 8am until 3pm. If a student fails to attend class or is continually absent or late, it’s the parent, not the student who is held responsible. Teachers, guidance counselors and parents share a great deal of responsibility for the student, while in high school. At times it might seem as if the student has a team of supporters, this would be an accurate assumption.
Responsibility of choices in college however, falls squarely onto the students’ shoulders. The student not the government decides which career path that they should take. There are still guidelines as to what classes combined together warrant a degree, but it is completely the students’ choice on if they take those classes. If a student wants to be a doctor, they will sign up for and take all the required courses for that field of study. If they chose to miss class it is them, not the parent who will be responsible to make sure that they are in good standing with the professor. A student also has a variety of ways in which they choose to attend class. For example a student can attend English 1010, one or two days a week, online, in the evenings or a combination of all three. Assuming the student is of legal age they can chose to stay out all night with friends and perhaps not even return to the dorm. The consequences of their choices are far greater while in college and the impact of those choices weigh far heavier than those that are entrusted to a student while in high school. The assumption is that in college one is more mature and has the ability to make responsible decisions. Traditionally in high school a student will attend the school that they are zoned for based on the state, city and town they live in. A student can apply for exceptions, however generally speaking he or she will attend the school that the city has zoned them for. So the first day of class students are sitting among friends whom they’ve known as long as they’ve lived in the area. There is a sense of familiarity, not necessarily with the new grade they are entering, but it is with those that are entering in with them. Sometimes, especially in small town America, the chances of a student attending high school with the same group of kids they attended kindergarten with is a very real probability. There is a level of comfort between classmates and the daily routine. It is familiar and reassuring.
In college, depending on the choices that a student made, they could be in a city or even larger a state totally different from that they grew up in. In fact one could choose to attend college on an entirely different continent. There will be new faces, from all walks of life, and just like the student, they too can be from different cities, states, or countries.