College is a very humbling experience. This is, in part, because it is nothing like high school. Coming from a top-ranked public school in Pennsylvania, I thought that I would excel in college. I ran clubs, played sports, dated, and had a close group of friends in high school, but college is different. Your peers did all of those things in high school, too. They did just as well as you--that's why you all ended up at the same school!

1. Just because you did well in high school does not automatically mean that you will do well in college.

I've heard too many college students complaining that they did really well in their high school Physics class, but that they cannot seem to get higher than a “C” on the college tests. High school and college are very different. Our transcripts often reflect this. Freshman year is the adjustment period where you learn that the hard way. High school classes are, usually, a year long and roughly 40 minutes every day. There are often many quizzes and exams and the courses always have a midterm and a final. College courses are a semester long and meet two or three times a week. There are fewer exams, which means that each exam will count for more of your grade. You should forget that homework portion that brought up your grade in high school! The structures of the courses are completely different and, thus, you cannot compare how you do in one type of schooling to the next. Exams count for more. Homework and participation count for less.

2. While coming from a "hard" high school may have somewhat prepared you for college, it does not separate you from other students.

When you go to a small liberal arts school then everyone comes from a hard high school, so it will not translate to you being at the top of your class. Even if you go to a large university where there is more diversity in grade school education, there are so many students bound to be from hard high schools just like yours. The high ranking of your high school probably helped you get into your college and, hopefully, it will help prepare you for managing your difficult college schedule since you probably had to juggle a lot of work, but it stops there. High school is behind you. You are now at the same level as your peers. It does not matter how you got here. What does matter is that you are here now.

3. A "5" on an AP exam may get you exempt from a class, but it does not necessarily translate to you doing well in that college course.

AP courses are different from college courses. In college, your AP Psych course probably translates to an Intro to Psychology course. Your AP class was based on memorizing facts to do well on the AP exam, while your Intro to Psychology class focuses on the end goal of preparing you for future Psychology courses. Basically, your AP class is about memorization because it comes to a definitive ending and your college course is about understanding the information because it will flow into your future courses. You could be really good at memorizing and that helped you get a "5" on your AP Exam. But, maybe, you don't completely understand the information and so you won't do well in the college course.

4. High school subjects and college subjects are different, so explore!

I hated history and government courses in high school. It was all about memorizing dates and spitting out facts. In college, history and government classes are about understanding our past and the present of how our government system works. It is much more conceptual than the high school definition of a history class. This rings true for many subjects when switching from high school to college, so if you disliked a high school subject do not be afraid to try out the college version. Who knows, you may end up majoring in it!

5. High school will always be a part of you, but you will not always be a part of high school. Move on!

School spirit is great, and feeling nostalgic is very natural, but at some point you have to move on from high school. However, this does not mean you should forget about high school or that you should lose touch with your high school friends. High school helped shape you into the person you are today, but you're not done finding yourself. Accepting college will get you one step closer. Update your high school friends about your college life! It will help you all move on and keep you close. College is only four years of your life, but people say that they are the best four years. The sooner that you let go of high school and embrace college, the more that you will get out of your experience here.