“High school is the best four years of your life.”

Probably not, especially when you compare it to college. The university experience and high school experience couldn’t be any more different. The drama, the pettiness, and the teenage angst that were the hallmarks of high school don't follow you to college. High school is definitely a coming of age period in your life, but it's your time as an undergrad that really help you become an adult.

1. Your friends

Your friends from high school won’t last forever. Sure, one or two might stick with you after you get your diploma, but most of them won’t. Most of the people you’re friends in high school are probably only your friend out of circumstance: you spend eight hours a day with the same people for four years, so you take what you can get. In college, not only is it easier to make friends, but it's easier to meet people you genuinely love.

2. Your classes

“When will I use this?”

“This has nothing to do with my future career.”

“Why do I have to be here?”

Unless you’re in a one time only Gen Ed class, these sentences will cease to be a part of your vocabulary. You get to pick which classes you take, and you get to pick your major. There will be some Gen Ed subjects you might not be thrilled with, but you only have to take them once and then think of it no more. You’ll take almost all of your college classes because they’re for your major, or because they’re something of interest. Beyond Gen Ed’s, which are usually at least a little interesting, you won’t be forced to take a myriad of courses in subjects you don’t care about.

3. Your schedule

Ok, so sometimes the class you have to take for your major is only offered at 8 a.m. on the other side of the campus, but, for the most part, you have autonomy over your schedule. Not only do you get to decide which classes you take, you usually get to decide when you take them. Not a morning person? You can take classes later in the day — or night classes. Want a free day? Take all MWF classes. In high school, you were trapped in a building all day with very little freedom. In college, you’re in control of when and where you go (within reason).

4. Your teachers.

Most people had at least one teacher in high school they were very fond of. They gave you great advice, listened to your problems, and a made class you might have not originally care about fun. There are some great high school teachers, but there are just as many that aren’t. In college, you don’t have teachers who were hired just to coach football. Your professor will not only be well informed on the course they’re teaching, but they might also be the gatekeeper to future success. A letter of recommendation from the right professor might open all the right doors.

5. Your freedom.

In high school, you show up at the same time every day and don’t leave till eight hours later. You’re herded from room to room, and you aren’t allowed to leave without permission. If you don’t show up consistently, there are legal ramifications. College isn’t like that. You’re in control of when and where you go, and once you do when you get there. It’s up to you if you actually go to class, and which classes you go to.

6. Your experience

For the most part, when you’re in high school, you’re in a bubble. Certain topics and language will never be allowed in a classroom. College is like that too, to an extent, but it’s the first taste of the “real world” and adulting that you get after years of being told where to go and what to do. In college, you’ll be presented with may more worldviews and opinions than were ever allowed in a high school. The real world doesn’t shy away from controversial topics and situations, and neither does college. It’s a great stepping stone between your parent’s house and having to face pure adulthood on your own.

7. Your relationships

Some people actually had really good luck in the relationship department while in high school, but plenty of us didn't. High school has a way of bringing out the awkwardness in people, so maybe you never got asked out because someone was too shy to, or because you were too shy to tell someone how you really felt. College is much less judgmental. At your university, it's easier to find people that you'll actually want to date, and it's more acceptable to be forward with what you want instead of hoping that that guy or gal in 4th period will finally notice you.

8. You

Maybe it’s something in the water, but college has a way of transforming people. Free from high school drama, cliques of mean girls, and a repressive social hierarchy, it’s so much easier to find yourself. In college, it’s easy to find your passions, your best friends, and yourself. Undergrad gives you a sense of maturity you could never achieve in the 12th grade. College changes you, and that’s a good thing. You don’t undergo a personality transplant, but you learn to express yourself the way you’d always been meant to.