The U.S. News and World Report just recently unveiled their lists of top schools for 2017, and college admissions season has begun in earnest. For many people, going off to college is terrifying and somewhat difficult, but for others, college (freshman year, anyway) provides them with a break from the stress of high school. As colleges are becoming more difficult to get into and high schoolers begin doing more and more in an attempt to attend their dream schools, I'd like to focus on some of those former high school overachievers and see where they are now. I pulled primarily from my friend groups, so if you or someone you know wants to contribute to this article, shoot me an email at kaitlindippolito@gmail.com and I will add you!

Name: Kendall Clay

College: University of Georgia; Franklin College of Arts and Sciences

Major(s): Biology with neuroscience emphasis

Minor(s): Genetics

High School Courseload: 8 AP's in high school, everything else gifted; 8 honor societies plus show choir

College Experience: In high school, I was constantly busy and never had enough time for anything. Now I feel like I have enough time to do my homework and catch up on readings and study more effectively. I can actually pick and choose how I want to spend my time, and it's great. I'm involved in a few things on campus, but it's so much more manageable because of the breaks between classes and available resources on campus.

Name: Kate Burgess

College: University of Maryland; School of Public Health

Major(s): Public Health Science

Minor(s): None

High School Courseload: 9 AP classes

College Experience: Right now I'm a Public Health Science major, but I'm thinking about double majoring (or getting a double degree... I have to meet with my advisor to see the pros and cons of each) in Public Health Science and Behavioral and Community Health or Family Science. I'm leaning towards Behavioral and Community Health right now, but who knows! I'm also interested in minoring in Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, but I haven't officially declared a minor. I think, for me, the biggest difference between high school and college has been the adjustment of living in a dorm away from my family and the emotions that relate to that. I'm so excited for this next chapter of my life, and I do love my school, but there are days when I would really like to be home with my parents in the environment I'm used to. I'm still in this adjustment period, so I know it will get better. Also, in high school I felt like there was a definitive "end" to my homework each night. I had a to-do list for that night, but in college the homework is never done. I finish my assignments that are due, but you could always be studying or reading. There's no definitive end point.

Name: Sebastian Puerta

College: University of Georgia; Terry School of Business

Major(s): Economics BBA

Minor(s): None

High School Courseload: 14 AP classes

College Experience: College is interesting so far. I have all this freedom and the ability to control pretty much every aspect of my life, and yet that's not what the biggest change is for me. I already had a fair bit of freedom in high school. The main difference for me is that the barrier between now and the rest of my life has come up to my nose. I can look over and see jobs, in-laws, and income taxes. Real life looms on the horizon now, and that's the biggest difference for me.

Name: Tanner Nardone

College: Auburn University; Samuel Ginn College of Engineering

Major(s): Aerospace Engineering

Minor(s): None

High School Courseload: 8 AP classes

College Experience: In high school I could always just go up to random people and start a conversation, and I can't do that in college. I tried it the first few weeks of class, and I just got weird looks from people. I've realized that it is mainly due to the sheer number of people being so much greater at Auburn than back in high school, so high school was a much tighter community. I still love college, but that seems to be the biggest difference between the two for me.

Name: Sitara Shirol

College: University of Pennsylvania; College of Arts and Sciences

Major(s): Biological Basis of Behavior, Economics

Minor(s): None

High School Courseload: 11 AP classes

College Experience: Clubs are more competitive in college; there's an application, essays, and multiple rounds of interviews, but they're definitely still fun. Club offerings in college are much more extensive than the academic club offerings in high school, and even the art clubs have more options, like with our 15 acappella groups. There is much more to do as far as clubs go because our school is not very sport-based when it comes to clubs. When you're taking big lecture-style classes, obviously it's very hard to get to know your professors, but in high school it was much easier to have a great personal relationship with every teacher.

Name: Hannah Butler

College: University of Southern California; Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences

Major(s): East Asian Languages and Cultures, potential double major in Linguistics

Minor(s): None

High School Courseload: 9 AP classes

College Experience: I would say that college is significantly more relaxed than high school, not only because of the openness of your schedule but also because of the lack of established and well-known friend groups that made people feel divided in high school. College is full of interesting people who (for the most part) actually want to be there and are passionate about the topics that interest them.

Name: Shahamat Uddin

College: Tulane University; School of Liberal Arts

Major(s): Political Economy, International Development

Minor(s): Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship

High School Courseload: 12 AP classes

College Experience: College is definitely significantly different than high school. There's an obvious change in academic rigor and the relationship you have with your teachers, but I think the biggest change is definitely in the social aspect. At college, you don't have parents that restrict you from going out and hanging out with your friends- you really have the independence to do whatever you want to and you have to use that independent to make intelligent choices about what you do. No one here is gonna stop you from going out and drinking every night except yourself. I think you also have a lot more responsibilities to take on. In high school you could rely on your parents to have food in the fridge and you could rely on them as a fallback for transportation or money; in college, you need to take responsibility into your own hands and act on your own. While all of these are major facets of change, the biggest change is how much time you have to spend by yourself. College may seem like one giant summer camp slumber party, but I find myself having to be just on my own a lot. Since everyone's schedules are different, you have to get comfortable on eating on your own and walking to classes without having someone to always talk to. You have a roommate, but most of the time your schedules don't align and you'll spend time on your own just sitting in your dorm. There's a lot of self-growth in college because you are your best companion. You get to learn who you are because you spend so much time with just yourself. I'm in the honors college here and I'm a Presidential Scholar, so that adds a whole other dimension of academic rigor and risk of losing your scholarship too.