Differences between college and high school - Essay Example

Compare and contrast essay Everyone enjoys being a and the experience one gathers from being a lasts all through one's life. Throughout one's student life, one goes through various types of experiences and one of the most important factors that affect one's student-experiences is the institution which offers study. When one progresses in the course of study, one passes through the experience of being a high school student and then the experience of being a university student. In a comparative analysis of these experiences in the life of a student, one realizes that the experience of being a university student differ from the experience of being a high school student, and these experiences differ based on the ways of making one's choices, the learning environment, and the culture and social life of a high school and a university.

Firstly, the experience of being a university student differs from the experience of being a high school student based on the ways of making one's choices in a high school and a university. Whereas a high school student is often told what to do and corrected if his behavior is off center, a university student is expected to take responsibility for whatever he does as well as for the consequences of his decisions. The rules in a school is mandatory whereas it is voluntary in a university and this difference, along with many others, results in different types of making one's choices in a high school and a university.

"When you are in high school, your parents are often there to stand between you and temptations Once you are in college in many ways you are considered an adult You choose how to balance your academic and social life. You make all of your own decisions, and you are responsible for the consequences. You choose whether or not you are comfortable with drinking, drugs and/or sex." (Klein and LaPolla) Therefore, a student's experience of a university greatly differs from that of a high school on account of the ways of making one's choices in a high school and a university.

Secondly, the learning environment influences a student's experience of a university and a high school and the student in the university is expected to have an opinion, unlike in the high school. As against the experience in a high school, the student in a university or a college is no longer a passive learner who just sits and listens to a teacher, sporadically writes a paper, and takes a test in which he merely reiterates what he has learned or been told by the teacher. "In college your professors are expecting you to voice your thoughts, and disagreeing with the professor's opinion is considered an interesting debate, not deviant behavior.

Class participation and providing your own perspective and analysis are central to success in the college learning environment." (Klein and LaPolla) Therefore, the learning environment in a university and a high school differ significantly and this results in different types of student-experiences. Finally, the culture and social life of a high school and a university differ immeasurably which cause difference in the student-experiences. A student in the university finds it challenging to balance the academic and social life, in comparison to the high school where the parents and the teachers help in this process.

There is a huge impact of one's social life in the university on his academic activity and the student in the university notices considerable changes in the culture of a high school. "Until you get to college, it rarely occurs to you that life could be any different -- until you find yourself surrounded by hundreds of students just like you, with very different stories One of the best things about going to college is the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of cultures." (Klein and LaPolla) Thus, a student's experience of a university greatly differs from that of a high school based on the culture and social life in a high school and a university.

In conclusion, there are various elements that determine the experience of a university student and a high school student. The ways of making one's choices, the learning environment, and the culture and social life of a high school and a university are three of the most important factors affecting one's student-experiences. Based on these, the experience of being a university student differs from the experience of being a high school student. Work Cited Klein, Jennifer and Alicia LaPolla. "How College is Different From High School.

" Quintessential Careers. Oct 19. 2009. .