From High School to College: Navigating the Transition - Essay Sample

Introduction

School is an important institution for learning and acquiring the knowledge necessary for a future career. Today, people spend more than 15 years in school in order to be well equipped with the qualifications required for certain careers. The school years are broken down into several levels in which some are said to be enjoyable than others. The most common levels in education are high school and college education. The transition from high school to college is one of the interesting things that students are happy about. During the transition, people assume that college is one step ahead of high school. Indeed, high school and colleges compare and contrast in several ways which include costs, independence, class structures, social life, and test assessment.

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One of the similarities between high school and colleges is that classes are conducted in the same fashion. In both high school and colleges, a teacher will stand in front of the classroom and deliver teaching lessons as students take notes. However, the classroom structure in high school differs from that of college in that in high school students usually have classes at the same time every day and every week (Berliner 125). In college, classes might be once, twice, or thrice a week. Additionally, in high school, most classes occur for about 50 minutes while in college a single class might go for about 3 hours.

Additionally, high school and college compare and contrast in terms of education cost. It is evident that colleges are more costly than high school education. A college education is expensive by the fact that it provides a high learning level of education. Providing a higher level of education requires students to be exposed to practical skills in the line of their career and thus demands expensive equipment (Venezia & Laura 117). Additionally, high schools are common in every city, therefore, cutting on education costs. However, not all cities have colleges and students must move to other different cities and are expected to cater for their personal expenses such as housing, transport, and living expenses. However, the education system in both high school and college is expensive because students have to buy books and cater for other expenses, therefore making the fees to be high.

Also, the independence level of students in high school and colleges is different. In high school, you are regarded as a child and, therefore, you are required to follow certain rules and guidelines especially when at school. For instance, high school education does not give student choices to or not attend classes. The high school system has set guidelines which require a student to be in a specific place at a particular time. However, college students experience a certain level of independence because they are responsible for their own decisions (Venezia & Laura 117). College students are considered adults who are supposed to make the right decision about their life. For example, in college, nobody will force you to attend classes, unlike high school where failure to attend classes is viewed as breaking the rules and are punishable.

Consequently, the social life in high school and college compares and contrast in different ways. In both colleges and high schools, students get to interact and socialize with different people of different cultures and races. However, the atmosphere of social life in college is different from that of high school. Firstly, for college students, their place of study became their home. The college students interact with hundreds of people in towns, clubs at night, and in other important functions. Additionally, the scope of education experience in college is larger compared to that of high school (Venezia & Laura 118). For example, libraries, laboratories, sports facility are much bigger and complex compared to those in high school creating a complex atmosphere of interaction.

Additionally, both colleges and high school compare and contrast in terms of workload and test assessment. In both college and high school students are expected to cover a certain course material in a certain period of time. Also, in both college and high school system students are usually accessed by taking tests. However, the workload and method of assessment in college are different from that of college. Firstly, the course workload in high school is bigger. Students in high school are required to cover more subjects which results in a big workload for students (Berliner 125). However, in college, students have the freedom to choose subjects to major with. As a result, college students study fewer subjects with few chapters per course. During the assessment, the high school education system involves frequent assessment. According to Berliner (219), there are numerous standardized tests in high school which makes life at high school more complex. In contrast, college tests are infrequent and may include one or twice assessment per course.

Conclusion

In conclusion, high school and colleges compare and contrast in several ways which include costs, independence, class structures, social life, and test assessment. A college student is independent, have a large scope of social life, and do not have frequent tests. However, a college education is more expensive compared to that of high school thus limiting students from low-income families. Having evaluated the comparison and difference between high school and colleges it becomes clear to where colleges are considered more enjoyable than high school.

Works Cited

Venezia, Andrea, and Laura Jaeger. "Transitions from high school to college." The future of children (2013): 117-136.

Berliner, David C., and Gene V. Glass, eds. 50 myths and lies that threaten America's public schools: The real crisis in education. Teachers College Press, 2014. http://encore.lccc.edu/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1200042__Shigh%20school%20and%20college%20tests__Ff%3Afacetpubdate%3A20140000%3A20140000%3A2014%3A%3A__Orightresult__X1?lang=eng&suite=cobalt. Accessed 1 May 2019.