Why College is Harder than High School

Here there, college freshmen! Or really anyone in college.

Today, I want to talk to you about the difference between college and high school, and why college is harder than high school.

You might have watched movies and TV shows an you are now so ready, so pumped for college life WAHOO!

They get some parts right, that’s for sure. But, no one is telling you about the inside work you have to do to get good grades! College movies don’t teach you how to study in college (or university).

I decided to write a post about how and why college is harder than high school, because when I was joining college, things were confusing and it took me a while to figure things out. That is okay. Because everyone takes time to adjust to a new situation.

Without further ado, let me take you through college study life.

7 Reasons Why College is Harder than High School

Here are my top reasons why college is harder than high school.

Forming new habits

Before I begin to talk about how you need to learn to study and hold attention for long, here is the hugest difference between college and high school: Forming new and lasting habits.

The biggest thing you need to learn, and you need to learn fast is what habits you are going to form in your college life. Sit down and create a list of good habits that you will adopt in college, and stick with them for your entire college years. One good habit I can tell you is to study every single day. It’s easy to get carried away with all the new freedom you have in college, but be sure to do what you came there to do: to study.

Information acquiring and processing

In college, chances are your lecturers are going to walk in start talking. They aren’t using a strict syllabus like in high school. There won’t be fresh study guides to use, made just for you. You have to learn to retain the verbal information that your lecturer or professor is pouting at you. This leads me to my next two points:

You need to learn to keep attention for long periods of time

College classes are longer than high school ones. They might not seem like it, but 3 hours in college is longer than 3 hours in high school. The amount of information that will be parted to you in college is immense, and no one is going to give you breaks to relax your attention holding ability. That is why you are going to have to learn to pay attention for longer times.

Take better notes

In college, you need to learn to take better notes. Sure, some lecturers send notes after class, but they always give out little tidbits that they don’t include in their notes. That is why you have to learn how to take notes super fast, all the while you are processing and memorizing it for future reference. That is why you need to come up with a system for note taking that is efficient for you.

Loads and loads of reading

At this point, I don’t have to repeat the phrase: College is different than high school.

In college, you are going to have to read loads of material from different sources if you actually want to learn and get a good GPA. In high school, you can pass just by reading the class material. In college, if you want to pass your semester, you need to drown yourself in books. There’s no way around it. Be prepared to read a lot.

College Study Techniques

When in college, high school study techniques don’t work. In high school, an all-nighter would get you above average grades. However, in college, pulling an all-nighter is a death sentence. Studying every single day is essential for getting great grades in college. You need to learn new study techniques to help you keep your memory for long periods of time. Head on over to:  College Study Techniques to learn some great study techniques for college that you need.

No timetable or schedule

The next thing I want to talk about is that in college, no one gives you a time table to follow. Sure, your classes will follow a timetable, but what about you? What schedule will you follow? That’s why you have to come up with one. One that lets you be productive and healthy at the same time. That’s the mantra I follow: Productivity and health. Just keep those close to you, and you will be fine, if not awesome!

Finding new friends

The last thing I want to talk about in college is that you have to find friends. This is one of the make or break factors of college. Make sure your friend selection process is rigorous and ruthless. Don’t settle for creepy or suspicious people. Anyone that makes you the slightest bit uncomfortable should never get close to you. Don’t feel bad if you have to drop friends from your close circle because of bad behavior. Remember, be ruthless when it comes to people you let into your inner circle.

That is all I have for you today for why college is harder than high school. I hope you benefited from this post! If it resonated with you, consider leaving a comment. That stuff makes my day!

Additional Helpful Posts:

• How to Study in College
• 10 College Life Hacks You Need to Know
• How to get Motivated to Study in College