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Whether you like them or not, high school and college are two significant stages of your academic life. They both help you widen your knowledge through the discussions and assessments. They also enhance your skills, whether practical, professional or life skills. Moreover, they develop your character, which later on prepares you for your future career. You may favor one over the other based on personal opinions or other people’s stories, but they have their own merits. High school and college are different in terms of subjects offered, level of difficulty, workload, and ability to manage your time.
One of the primary differences between high school and college is the curriculum or subjects offered to the students. Their structures are based on the government’s requirements, prior educational researches, societal needs, and school committees’ discretion. Because they are developed to meet various needs, they vary from country to country and school to school.
In high school, students are required to take fundamental subjects. These include mathematics, science, languages, history, and physical education. They also need to study other subjects, such as music, art, and health. Although some students think some of them should be omitted, they are still necessary for their basic education. These will ultimately prepare them for their college education, whatever program they choose to take.
Meanwhile, in college, students are given more liberty to choose the courses or subjects they want to take. They are still required to take the subjects under their chosen program. However, there are some instances where they can select other electives that other people in their program may not take. In addition, they can opt to take one or two languages that they want to study. Some colleges and universities offer language courses, even if they are not really connected to their respective programs. So if you want to learn Japanese or Spanish, you can do that in college.
If you compare high school and college, you cannot leave out the difficulty of the lessons and assessments. High school students think that classes are already difficult, but their perception becomes different when they go to college. Most students fear college because they know how challenging and lengthy the lessons are, depending on their program.
In high school, the difficulty of the lessons increases yearly, especially for subjects that follow the spiral curriculum. It is based on the cognitive theory attributed to Jerome Bruner (1960). This refers to a curriculum design wherein the main ideas and concepts are repeated but with increasing complexity or in different applications. This entails that the students must learn or master the necessary skills before moving to the next level. This way, they can participate in the discussion and apply their prior knowledge to the following lessons and assessments. In terms of assessments, students are given several forms of tests, including seat works, assignments, quizzes, and examinations. In addition, they are also given performance- or product-based assessments that are graded using scoring rubrics. And if the school requires students to take standardized tests, like AP, SAT, or GRE, they also have to prepare for them.
In college, on the other hand, students are only given a semester to learn and master one course. This short span increases the level of difficulty of learning and the time dedicated to studying. Moreover, this causes most professors to give them long reading assignments because they do not have enough class hours to discuss everything. As a result, the students learn most concepts while reading and studying, and the lectures are dedicated to clarifying what they have learned. With little to no guidance from the teachers, students are left on their own, making their college life more challenging. Furthermore, their examinations are no picnic either. Because the lessons are complex, so are the tests. Often, some professors create assessments that are indeed challenging the students’ knowledge, hard work, and time management skills.
Another difference between high school and college is the workload. Like how the difficulty of lessons increased from high school to college, the workload also increases, even more than twice. In high school, students’ requirements are limited to give them more time for other activities. Because teachers consider the students’ health, they are advised not to provide time-consuming assignments or projects. Moreover, the students have extracurricular activities or outside lessons that they need to do.
In contrast, the workload of college students can be overwhelming. They are given more requirements and projects as part of their training. For example, if they are taking an arts or architecture program, they must submit artworks or present plates. These requirements take a long time to finish, so they even spend time outside of class hours to finish them. Furthermore, they must fulfill practicum duties that they will do outside the campus or on their assigned companies. Besides tasks related to their programs, they must also work on various group works that can take their time, whether inside or outside the class. Most importantly, they need to complete several academic or research papers. Before graduating, they must defend their thesis well. If not, they must repeat the course and might graduate a little later than others.
Lastly, managing time is an essential factor in the battle of high school versus college. At this point, you might wonder why some people loved college if they were given so many things to do. Even though school works in college seem endless, they are free to manage their time according to their needs. For example, in high school, students are required to go to school at a particular time. But in college, they can come anytime as long as they are not late for their class. This is possible because of the flexibility of schedules. Additionally, high school students are given more restrictions because of their parents. But when they go to college, they get to decide on some matters without their parents’ guidance. Because of this freedom, they can decide whether to study or socialize instead.
In conclusion, high school and college have similarities but mostly have differences. They contrast with the curriculum or subject offered and the level of difficulty of lessons and assessments. In addition, they differ in terms of workload and the students’ ability to manage their time. Their differences exist for a purpose, but their goal is similar—to provide education to prepare the students.