Contrast and compare essay
October 28, 2008
High school vs. College
A major part in someone’s life is going away to college and can be a frightening time for some people. Some say that college and high school are very common; I have found them to be very different in many ways. I enjoy college more than I did high school. I have more control over my education in college. I noticed that freedom, the amount of work, and responsibilities have changed since I’ve been in college.
The freedom of a high school student is unfortunately limited. The curfew of a high school student is usually set during the weekends. By law a child under the age of eighteen has to be in the house by midnight. For example, my mother would set me a curfew and if I did not obey it, I would be grounded and not be able to do anything for a couple of weeks. I believe a high school student does not have any freedom because they live with their parents' and have to follow the guidelines that were made. A college student has a ton of freedom. Most college students do not live at home with their parents so they are able to do whatever they want, whenever they want. They have the choice to decide if they want to attend class that day or not. Unlike high school students, college students do not have classes for eight hours a day consecutively. They are able to decide what they are going to do with the rest of their time off for the day.
The amount of work in high school was not as much as there is in college. For example, a high school student is tested bi-weekly. Therefore there are plenty of grades that make it easier to have a better grade in that class. I believe high school was easier and more lenient due to the fact the teachers were more personal with their students. For example if I needed help with a math assignment I could go to my teacher after school each day if I needed it. In college a student would go to their academic support center, email the teacher or ask a friend.
In high school you were told what classes you had to take and only got to choose a couple classes that you wanted. In college you can choose to take any class you want as long as it doesn’t interfere with your prerequisites or the class is not full. Now that I have been able to choose the classes I have wanted I found that I am much more interested in them. In high school I would always dread going to that one math class or social studies class because the subject didn’t interest me.
The hardest thing so far about college is trying to manage my time. Now that I have more freedom I also have more bills. Finding time to work, go to school, do homework/study, and trying to find time to hang out with friends has become more and more difficult in the past few months since I have started college. In high school you would go to school go home and do home work for a hour or two and leave the house for the rest of the night. If you ever needed money your parents would just hand it to you and now if you need money from your parents it can take a week to get to you.
Although college has been a huge change to my life and I have had a couple rocky parts on the way I have found it to be an exciting new experience.
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