Compiled by the Schoolcraft Connection Editorial Staff
It is finals season! We’re all cramming everything we’ve learned this semester to this year out. However, let’s take a moment for the people experiencing finals for the first time to compare and contrast what the experience at college is like versus high school.
High school was a little more intimate than college; with things like close friendships with teachers, smaller body count and students who’ve known each other since preschool are all things that have been lost with the transition to college. Everything is alien to new coming students. Old friends are gone, everyone and everything is new and strange, making the whole identity of the college not as solid, not as opaque.
College is far more relaxed when it comes to making friends. These friendships can sometimes fizzle out with distance, but will rekindle later when a class is shared. Sports games, extracurricular or even visiting the Student Activities Center is a good way to find a group to hang out with.
Moreover, when comparing classes in high school to that of college, the biggest difference is that the length of college classes are longer that those taken in high school. Professors provide more time to complete assignments, giving the illusion that it will seem easier than high school. With that being said, the pressure to do well on your assignments and preparing for finals is much higher being that your GPA is affecting far more seriously.
In high school, many students hated lunch from the cardboard pizza to the limited salad bar, all of which was a planned menu providing you with limited options. Contrastingly, students at Schoolcraft are lucky to have great places to eat on campus. Henry’s is always a good bite, but if you’ve found yourself in the Jeffress Center or Physical Education building, you have a more healthy option.
Parking in high school compared to that of Schoolcraft was far more simplistic. There were fewer students and employees, which meant a smaller parking lot with more available spots. High School parking is not as chaotic as college parking in the regard that Schoolcraft is currently undergoing building developments and upgrades which have since carried over into the parking lot of the Applied Sciences building. Even though there are days when it’s not as bad, the parking still overflows into the VisTaTech lot which can be more of a hassle on the days when there is an event being held, but sometimes that’s OK if you both work and study here. Furthermore, student employment is perhaps one of the biggest differences. High school students, given their age, are pretty limited to places they can work. As such, many work in fast food or retail while others did not work at all. When you get to college, there are multiple areas of student employment from Student Activities to the Physical Education building. Work study programs are very beneficial to college students and to the school itself.
Overall, the experience in college is much more lax than in high school. We have quite a bit more freedom here in comparison so make sure to appreciate that while you study for your finals.