Terri Goodman
College varies from high school. College offers opportunities for personal growth, academic exploration, and career development that empower a person to navigate life successfully. College is the vehicle for developing independence, commitment, perseverance, and productivity.
College students are responsible for managing their time and making independent decisions about education and their personal lives. Increased freedoms and less oversight than in high school exist in college. Class size is larger, especially in the first two years when the courses are general providing the bases rather than career-focused content, and the teacher and student relationship is less personal. Professors interact with students by appointment during office hours. This relationship changes in the junior and senior years when classes focus specifically on the career path the student has chosen. Professors become mentors as students prepare to enter their chosen profession.
College exams determine whether you can apply the information one has learned. Knowing the material is taken for granted; being able to apply it is the intent, Freshman students who do not realize this distinction struggle until their learning skills mature.
College provides a diverse social environment with a wide range of people from different backgrounds and age groups. In high school, students typically interact with peers of similar age and social backgrounds. College students who are immature and not yet focused on their futures spend their college years enjoying social activities while ignoring their academic responsibilities. Intellectual students understand the responsibilities and challenges and graduate.
A college student is traditionally twenty-two when they graduate and should be ready to move into the adult life for which they have prepared. People mature at different rates. Some struggle, not yet sure of the future they want and others move smoothly into adulthood, employment, and independence.
