High School vs



Personal Autonomy:

|High School |College |

|High school is mandated by the state, and you must attend; public high schools charge|Public colleges and universities are voluntary, you choose to attend. You pay a lot to attend college and|

|no tuition. |should strive to do well so that you get your money’s worth. |

|Your time is usually structured by your parents or teachers. |You must learn to manage your own time, and to make wise decisions concerning time management. |

|You need money for special purchases or events. Often your parents provide you with |Your funds may be limited and they must be used to pay for basic necessities such as food, books, and |

|money, or you have a job that you may use to pay for special items or events. |personal items. Money management skills are necessary. Many students must learn to balance school & work |

| |responsibilities. |

|Your parents remind you of your responsibilities and whether your actions are |College administrators and professors consider you fully responsible for your actions. You may face moral|

|appropriate. |and ethical decisions you have not previously had to make. |

|Your parents often tell you or remind you when you have school-related tasks to |You are responsible for knowing what you need to do, when you need to do it, and for getting it done. |

|complete. Some parents even help high school students complete their homework! |Reviewing and using class syllabi and class schedules is very important – and your responsibility. |

Classes:

|High School |College |

|Every day you go from one class directly to another. Your time is highly structured. |You often have large gaps of time between classes. Class times vary throughout the day and may extend into the |

| |evening. You will need to keep focused and use your “free” time to study, read, do homework, begin assignments, |

| |or complete research. |

|You spend 6 hours a day, 30 hours per week in class. You may have study hall time to do your |You spend 12 to 16 hours each week in class. You must spend at least as much or more time on out-of-class study |

|homework. |and homework. |

|The school year is 36 weeks long. |The AY (academic year) is divided into two or three separate semesters. |

|Most of your classes are arranged for you. You are fairly limited in which classes you may |You arrange your own schedule, with the help of your academic advisor. You choose classes using the guidelines |

|take. |appropriate to your major and/or to fulfill general education requirements. |

|You are compelled to attend class on a regular basis. Your teachers are required to take |You choose whether to attend class. Professors may or may not take attendance (most will). However, you are fully |

|attendance. |responsible for the repercussions of not attending class. |

|Most classes have 30-35 students. |Some large classes may have 50-150 students, or more. |

|You are not responsible for keeping track of classes that are graduation requirements. |You are responsible for keeping track of classes that fulfill graduation requirements. These may include |

| |developmental education refresher courses, general education courses, and course requirements that are specific to|

| |your major. The online college catalog in effect when you enter the University will give you more information on |

| |required courses. |

|Email, websites and other electronic sources are used mostly as social tools. |Email, websites and other electronic sources may be important lines of communication between you, your classmates,|

| |and your professors. You should check your college email daily and class message boards or networking sites |

| |frequently. |

|High school teachers often write detailed information on the board to be copied in your |College professors often lecture nonstop. Many do not write notes on the board. Others write only one or two words|

|notes. |about a topic on the board. They do not write detailed notes because college professors expect you to know how to |

| |take notes. They expect you to be able to identify the important information in lectures, class discussions, and |

| |course textbooks. |

Teachers:

|High School |College |

|Teachers check your completed homework. |Professors may or may not take up an out-of-class assignment. (Most will.) However, you may be required |

| |to absorb information or perform the same tasks on a quiz or test. If you have completed homework and you|

| |have questions about it, and your professor does not take up homework, then you should seek your |

| |professor out and pose your questions to him or her. |

|Teachers remind you of your incomplete work and of due dates. |Professors do not always remind students of assignment due dates. They expect students to follow due |

| |dates for assignments as found in the course syllabus or class schedule. Professors assume work that has|

| |not been turned in has not been done. They assign a grade of zero for work that is not submitted. Many |

| |refuse to accept work that is submitted late. |

|Teachers tell you if they think you need tutoring or other types of assistance, and |Some professors approach students they think need assistance with class work, including tutoring. Others |

|may arrange a tutor for you. |do not. Most professors expect students to be aware of their academic strengths and weaknesses and to |

| |seek out tutoring when they need it. If you think you need tutoring, ask your professor or academic |

| |advisor for information on campus tutoring labs. |

|Teachers are often available to answer questions or discuss class-related work and |Professors expect students with questions and concerns to come to their offices during the office hours |

|assignments before, during, or after class. |listed on the class syllabus. Some do not mind answering questions via email, others do. |

|Teachers provide you with information and material you missed during an absence. |Professors expect you to contact your classmates for missed notes. Professors want you to approach them |

| |directly for materials and handouts you may have missed during an absence. They will not bring them to |

| |you, and they may not bring them to the next class. Some require you to access an online site to retrieve|

| |missed materials and assignments. |

|Teachers follow a textbook. Sometimes, they present additional material to help you |Professors may not follow the textbook in class, but still expect you to read the textbook and be |

|better understand a text. |familiar with the information it contains. They expect you to be proactive and approach them if you have |

| |questions about what you have read. Professors expect you to take notes and study information presented |

| |during lectures or found in handouts. |

|Teachers draw connections among topics introduced in class and lead you through the |Professors expect you to draw connections among topics introduced in class and to be an active, eager |

|thinking process. |scholar/participant in the critical thinking process. They expect you to be able and willing to weigh |

| |information and think for yourself, and to be able to express your thoughts and conclusions. |

Studying and Test Taking:

|High School |College |

|You may do most of your studying during homeroom or study hall. Your out-of-class |You will find that you need to study several hours outside of class for every hour you spend in class. |

|study time may range from 0-2 hours per week. |You will have to study late into the evening or over the weekend. |

|You may do a lot of “cramming” right before a class, quiz, or test. |You should organize and plan your study time, just as your classes are planned. Choose particular blocks |

| |of time during the week to study for particular classes. Stick to your study schedule. |

|In high school testing is frequent and covers small amounts of material. |In college testing is usually far less frequent than in high school. College tests may cover huge amounts|

| |of material, such as class lecture and lecture notes for half a semester, or several chapters of a text |

| |book, and/or information contained in class handouts, PowerPoint presentations, etc. It is not unusual |

| |for a college professor to give only two or three tests in an entire semester. |

|Makeup tests are often available in high school. |College professors seldom give makeup tests. If a professor allows makeup testing because of student |

| |illness or a death in the family, you may be required to submit supporting documentation from your doctor|

| |or a funeral home director or pastor. |

|High school teachers frequently rearrange test dates to avoid conflict with school |College professors usually schedule tests based on their class schedules or when they feel students |

|events, such as homecoming, a play, or a major sporting event. |should review material. They are not concerned with cheerleading practice, football or basketball |

| |practice, play practice, or rush week activities. They do not consider extracurricular activities as a |

| |good reason for missing class, not doing your homework, or turning a paper in late. |

|High school teachers often conduct review sessions before a test. |Most professors do not offer review sessions. When they do, they expect you to be an active participant |

| |and ask pertinent questions about course material. “What is going to be on the test?” is not considered a|

| |pertinent question. You should come prepared with specific questions about specific course content. |

Grades and Grading:

|High School |College |

|Grades are given for most assigned work. |It is not uncommon for college professors to assign work that they do not take up and that will receive |

| |no grade. Instead, this homework is assigned to build your skills and/or knowledge base. |

|Consistently good homework grades may raise your overall grade when test grades are |In college classes grades on tests and major papers provide most of a course grade. Look in your syllabus|

|low. |for information on how a professor assigns grade distribution among assignments. |

|Extra credit projects are often available to help high school students raise their |Extra credit should not be an expectation of students matriculating at the college level. Many professors|

|grades. |never allow it. |

|Poor test grades early in a high school term do not usually have a strong negative |Far fewer tests are usually given in a college class. Low test scores on your first exams of the semester|

|impact on your final grade. |can have a huge negative impact on your final grade average in a class, and your overall college grade |

| |point average (GPA). |

|You may pass high school classes and graduate as long as you have passed all of your |A “D” may be a failing grade in some college classes, such as developmental-level courses or major-area |

|classes with a grade of “D” or higher. |classes. In addition, most colleges expect you to maintain a certain GPA in order to remain in school |

| |and/or receive financial aid. These are called “minimum scholastic standards.” Look in your college |

| |catalog for more information. |

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