If you are thinking of going to college then you might be wondering whether or not it will be as hard as people say that it is.
This post will show you a number of reasons that college can be difficult as well as a number of reasons that it won’t be.
So, is college as hard as everyone says? The classes will be more difficult, you will be expected to study more outside of class and you will need to figure things out for yourself more. However, you will likely be taking classes that interest you, the classes will go more smoothly and you can choose your professor and class times.
There are actually a number of factors that will influence how difficult college is for you and there are a number of things that you can do to make it easier for yourself.
Why college can be more difficult than high school
There are a number of reasons that college can be more difficult than high school that I will mention below.
The classes will be more difficult
The classes that you take in college will generally be more difficult than the classes that you take in high school.
This is because the classes that you take in college will likely cover more advanced material than the classes that you take in high school. The classes will also likely go through the material more quickly as well.
In addition to this, it will be expected that you will study more outside of class time than you would in high school. You will be given more assignments and homework that you will be expected to complete and you won’t always be reminded of their due dates. It will be your responsibility to keep track of everything.
The classes will also likely be graded in a different way to your classes in high school. In college, there will typically be one or two mid-term exams and a final exam. Usually, the final exam will make up a significant part of your grade at around 40% and the mid-term exams will likely make up another 40% leaving only 20% being weighted by homework and assignments.
This will mean that you will need to study more throughout the semester since you will need to be able to recall the information when you are taking the exam.
Also, since the final exams usually take place at the end of the semester it means that you will be taking final exams for all of your classes at the same time. This means that you will need to spread out your study time between each class in your final weeks to ensure that you are able to do well on all of the exams.
You will have to figure things out for yourself more
College can also be more difficult than high school since you will usually be expected to figure things out for yourself a lot more.
In college, you will be expected to keep track of exam dates, homework due dates and the rest of your schedule. If you also move out when you go to college, you’ll likely have to do all of the cooking, cleaning and washing yourself. You will also have to be the one to deal with getting to and back from class, keeping track of upcoming exams and assignments and ensuring that you are on track to complete your degree.
This means that you will need to spend a lot more time, out of class, looking after yourself. Since you will also be expected to study more, out of class, as well this can be difficult at times.
You will need to be more disciplined
In order to do well, in college, you will need to be a lot more disciplined than you would have in college.
This is because you will likely not have as much free time as you normally would have in high school. This will especially be the case when final exams come around.
If you do not stay disciplined and ensure that you complete assignments on time and that you study well in advance for your exams then you will likely struggle in many of your classes. This is why it will be important for you to take the time, at the start of the semester, to plan out your schedule.
Why college can be easier than high school
Even though college can be harder than high school, academically, there are a number of ways in which college can actually be easier as well.
You’ll be taking classes that interest you more
One of the main reasons that college can be easier and a more pleasant experience than high school is that you will likely be taking classes that you are more interested in.
In college, you will need to pick a major which defines the set of classes that you will need to take in order to graduate. Each major will have a sequence of classes that you must take as well as a number of elective classes that you can choose from.
Since you can choose your major it means that you will be able to choose to take classes that you have more interest in. This is unlike high school where you don’t get a say over what classes you are taking.
This should mean that you will find it a lot easier to study when you are in college and that you will find that it is more enjoyable.
Your classes will go more smoothly
In college, the other students will also likely be taking classes that interest them and they will be much more likely to want to be there than your high school classmates. Also, your professor will likely be an expert on the subject.
This means that your classes should go a lot more smoothly than in high school. So, you should find that you will be able to learn a lot more while you are in class. This does also mean that more material will get covered in class which is why
You can plan your schedule
Additionally, you should find that you will like your schedule a lot more when you are in college.
This is because you will be able to pick classes that start at times that you want them to. This means that, if you don’t like getting up early then you will be able to schedule classes that start later on. It also means that you could chunk the classes to be together or to space the classes out more if you want.
However, if the class is not very popular then you might only have one to choose from. You will likely find that this will happen more in your junior and senior years. In this case, one option would be to take the class in a later semester if it is possible.
You can choose the professor
Another reason that college can be better than high school is that you can choose what professor you get.
This is because there will usually be multiple offerings of the same class that are each taught by a different professor. So, you will be able to choose the class that is taught by the professor that you want.
If you are unsure of what the professors are like then you can use the website ratemyprofessors.com to see what other students have said about them in the past. Make sure to schedule your classes early since the professors that have good ratings will have their classes fill up quickly.
Things to consider
There are a number of things to consider that will have an impact on how difficult or easy college is for you.
It will depend on the college that you go to
The college that you go to will likely have a big impact on how challenging it is for you academically.
If you go to a highly selective university then you will likely find that it will be more academically challenging since. This is because the professors will know the material very well and your classmates will do well academically which will mean that the material will be covered quickly.
It will depend on the major that you choose
Another thing that will have a large impact on the difficulty of college will be the major that you choose.
Some majors will be more challenging, academically, than others. Generally, STEM majors will be the more difficult majors to choose from. However, they also give very good career prospects, they will often be funded at the graduate level and they can be rewarding majors.
