How Difficult is HS Compared to College?

[indya]

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[BigRedder]

College is harder mainly because there is no one around to make sure you do everything you are supposed to. And there are plenty of distractions. Do allow yourself to be distracted a little though. It's ok to have a little fun.

 

[JJMrK]

Moving to hSDN.

 

[morning]

It depends on the school, the professors, and the grading structure...and the class, of courses. College can be very easy or very difficult.

 

[Barcu]

College is harder mainly because there is no one around to make sure you do everything you are supposed to. And there are plenty of distractions. Do allow yourself to be distracted a little though. It's ok to have a little fun.

Precisely. Classes-wise, I thought college was harder, but it seemed like a natural progression from HS, not a completely different experience.

You spend much less time in class, so you can really fill up a lot of time with whatever you want. That, with no authority around, makes it easy to slack off a bit, which can come up to bite you.

Have fun at college for sure, just be careful not to fall too far behind. Classes should be no problem as long as you keep up.

 

[once]

I am a high schooler in an IB program. I'm taking all of the hardest IB higher level classes (bio,chem,phys,english) and the rest of my classes are also IB (total 8.) FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH THE IB, I was wondering how the IB program compares to the first years of college. It seems like the reason IB is hard is mostly because of lack of time (ie the subject material isn't horrible.) Is it the opposite in college?

Having gone through the IB program, I can say that I had to tone it down a bit for college. There are definitely a ton of variables though; examples include UG difficulty, HS difficulty, work ethic, ECs, etc.

In high school I came home from classes and ECs and studied until about 12 or 1. I was planning on keeping that up through college, but quickly realized that freshman year classes aren't difficult at all if you stay on top of stuff.

What I'm saying is that relative to IB classes I would say UG is the same difficulty with less of a time commitment.

 

[mdbound1987]

College doesn't allow you to increase your grade with a lot of homework assignments. Your grade for most classes will be based upon omly 3-4 tests and a final. Plus you don't have an entire school year to bring up your grade since classes are one semester long.

 

[Ischemic]

highly variable but your first year should be easier coursework wise because it will be a lot of review but harder socially because you have a lot of distractions to your studying. Once you get past your first year it gets harder because you learn new materials and still have those distractions but will be easier IF you learn how to deal with the distractions early on.

 

[avatarftw]

It depends on the college and degree program. Apparently, electrical engineering is a pretty darn hard degree. I would venture to say that for most people, engineering is more difficult than a pre-medical course of study like Biology. I know that at our undergrad school, the engineers were always studying.

If you are taking a lot of IB/AP classes, college could very well be easier. However, if you are a double mathematics and biochemistry major then it will obviously be a different matter.

I am a high schooler in an IB program. I'm taking all of the hardest IB higher level classes (bio,chem,phys,english) and the rest of my classes are also IB (total 8.) FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH THE IB, I was wondering how the IB program compares to the first years of college. It seems like the reason IB is hard is mostly because of lack of time (ie the subject material isn't horrible.) Is it the opposite in college?

 

[EyEnStein 07]

There is really no way to answer this question without much more details. Someone going from a top HS school in state to a local city college or university might not have much trouble at all. Also depends on person, HS they went to, College/University and major i would assume (someone who took up to linear algebra or something in HS..may not have much trouble being a math major atleast up to linear algebra)

 

[Tarabara]

Im kinda surprised by how many people said college is harder. I found IB to be way harder than college, because the work load in IB was a lot more. But like someone already mentioned college grades are almost always based on about 4 tests and no homework. So if you're a good test taker it should be easier, but if you rely on lots of assignments to boost your grade than it will be harder. Overall I think having to have time management and prioritize for IB has helped me with college.

 

[bryce]

Like anything else, it totally depends on you. I, personally, hated high school [I just thrived on the competition - ya, I was 'that' guy]. However, I adored undergrad... Best 6 years of my life🙂... Point is, you're obviously an achiever and more than likely you'll do what you have to do to thrive. But just remember that you have to have fun [Absolutely a must!]... but, in moderation just as you do everything else.

Go to a 'great' school for YOU & stay out of trouble as much as you possibly can.
Cheers

 

[silverhorse84]

College was easier for me than IB because there was a lot less busy work - gives you more time to focus on studying for exams

College was harder though too, because without the busy work, less things factor into your grade. Exams are worth more.

In terms of the amount of knowledge - the first year of college was similar to my IB program, so it wasn't a difficult transition.

Just make sure you're good at motivating yourself - no one will make you do anything, you have to do it yourself.

You'll be fine. If you're already thinking about this and worrying, then you should have no problem with motivation. Just make sure you find a good balance between school and ECs - ex. if you decide to join a frat/sor, make sure it doesn't get in the way of school. I'd say, take it easy the first quarter/semester - you can always join the Greek system in the spring (or whatever you want your ECs to be), and if you take a lighter course load for the first round then you can find that balance for yourself and then start adding in more difficult classes.

 

[Web MD]

I didn't study in high school. I study in college. So college is harder, I guess

 

[taechris]

IB isn't that hard... The hardest part was writing that 30 page essay on parabolas my freshman year because I took a junior class xD. Plus you don't take as much classes in college so it's not as hard. Getting distracted is easy in college and that might be why people think college is so difficult.

 

[Reaction]

More or less I would have to say College is much more difficult. However, it depends on what College you go to and what HS you attended. If you go to any Ivy league college or some big name college it is bound to be much more difficult. Also it depends on what your major is.

 

[SitraAchra]

College is harder than IB in high school.

The material is harder and you are forced to do more of it on your own in the face of many distractions like partying.

 

[Fort]

Let's put it this way, you'll actually have to crack a book in college. I suggest majoring in physics, as you use very few books in those courses and the books are usually super small, not like some 40 pound clunker on philosophy. Seriously....

 

[45408]

It depends what you take. There are some pretty easy college classes, and there are some very difficult ones. It's up to you in many regards.

 

[Narmerguy]

I don't think I ever really studied in high school besides doing homework assignments and maybe studying the day before a test. Most days I stayed up late playing computer games. I never studied on the weekends.

In college, I've had to quit computer games, I study multiple hours extra from homework every day and I put in a lot of time on the weekends. What's more, I went to a private college prep high school and graduated #1 in my class but it is probably impossible for me to get to that point in college.

College doesn't have to be that difficult if you're smart about choosing your classes and are realistic about your abilities. I think I would do even worse in college if I didn't do that stuff. The distractions aren't really an issue for me as there were plenty of distractions in HS and my parents never really accounted for why I did the work I did in HS. College shouldn't be too much different unless you're intent on partying every weekend and not working during the week.

 

[Maygyver]

College is a lot more tough/time-consuming than even the most difficult high school schedule. I took a full schedule of AP classes my senior year and never even studied and finished with a 4.3 GPA. In college, even when I took 16 credit hours, I studied more in one week than I did my entire high school career. It's a lot of work, but if you put in the hours, you will be fine. And don't forget to balance a social life too.