High Schools vs Universities Essay

Entering a university is a very important and responsible step for every teenager, and frequently it is connected with definite psychological discomfort and fears. Many high school seniors are afraid of possible difficulties and problems, which can arise in a new environment of university. This work is an attempt to examine and compare the most important differences between studying in a high school and studying in a university. The first and the most significant difference is responsibility. In high schools, teachers or parents usually remind students of their responsibilities, do the entire scheduling job and give permissions to join special activities, as well as supervise and correct students’ behaviors. However, in universities, students are supposed to be grown enough to shoulder all the responsibilities for managing own time, behaving properly and making own decisions. Another difference is organization of classes and educational process. In high schools, classes are organized for students and usually include up to 35 students. In universities, students have personal schedules and classes can include up to 100 people. In high schools, students study 30 hours a week and are provided with the textbooks, however, in universities, students study about 16 hours a week and are not provided with the textbooks. Finally, outside preparation is one more crucial difference. Typically, high school students spend less than 2 hours a week for doing their homework, which usually includes short and quite easy assignments. In universities, it is necessary to study minimum 2 hours for every 1 hour of class work, and homework includes preparing term papers and serious researches, as well as regular revising of the material. Certainly, there are a great number of other differences between universities and high schools, which include the issues of tests, grades, teaching strategies, and so on. It is unquestionable that understanding and learning more about these principal differences can be very helpful for all high school seniors for managing their fears and achieving a smoother transition.