1.Clothing
Nobody in college, I repeat NOBODY, cares what you wear. You could wear bunny slippers and a crop top to class and I wouldn’t even look at you weird. You know what I’d think, “She’s probably doing that for extra credit. I wish my professor would do that.” Whereas in high school, the self-claimed “cool kids” would rip you to shreds until you became one of the American eagle shirt wearing minions in their legion of the undead.
2. Hair
I struggled through high school being a girl who didn’t know what to do with my hair. It was thick and didn’t like to listen. I purposefully tried to do my hair a different way every day of the week because I didn’t want to be judged. Granted, I can do my hair pretty well now but you know how often I do it? Pretty much just bank holidays and for days I absolutely HAVE to dress up. When you’re up studying until 3 AM and have to wake up for your 8 AM class, you’re going to want to use those extra minutes for sleeping instead of braiding. Also, if you’re doing your hair, we can tell you’re a freshman. If it’s a pride thing, we get it. But if you’re worried about what people will think, I can assure you, no one is looking at your head.
3. The amount of times you can wear an outfit
I was so guilty of this in high school. I would look into my closet and think, “Nope, I can’t wear that because I wore it eight days ago. Oh, but I could wear that shirt with a different sweater. That makes it a whole new outfit right?” It’s funny how I went from that person to “This smells clean” and “These pants are so comfy. I’ll wear them again.” On the bright side, in college, you usually have different classes each day, so you can get away with an identical outfit.
4. Cliques
In high school you had your popular kids, your band geeks, your weird kids, your athletes, etc. In college there really aren’t cliques. There are teams and organizations. Sometimes your sorority or sports team may eat dinner together, but there is nothing that is exclusive. I’d prefer to call them niches, as opposed to cliques simply because there is no hierarchy. Nobody is the bottom or top of the food chain. There is barely even a hierarchy of grades. Freshman are treated the same as a senior. Instead of the age gap that each grade seemed like, it’s more of a “how many credit hours you have” thing.
5. Athletics
Boy did I find this one out the hard way. College athletics are much harder than high school athletics, even division three. The game is faster, the competition is higher, and the players are far more intense. Just because you were the superstar in high school does not mean you will be in college. You might be, but don’t count on it. You come out of high school a first team all- everything player who broke records and you go into college onto a team of people who were first teamers. Suddenly you realize that you’re not in Kanas anymore.
6. Classes
Your classes will be less frequent and more difficult. That’s just how it is. High school is structured so that you are in class from 7:30 until 3:30. That’s eight hours of school, plus any extracurriculars you may have, plus homework after that. Let me just say, ew. I am so glad that is over. Welcome to college, kids. Where you can have your first class at 9:00 AM and your second at 3:30 PM. Remember nap time in Kindergarten? Well, we reintroduced it. You are welcome.
7. Teachers (AKA Professors)
In high school, your teachers were typically politically correct and strict. They couldn’t do things like add you on Facebook because it was unprofessional. And they got angry when you forgot materials or missed class. College is a whole different ball game. I’ve had professors yell the F word out in class before and force the class to chant the names of genitalia to get comfortable with it. I’ve been paid to weed a professor’s yard before. I’ve gone in a group to dinner with professors. I have many of my professors as Facebook friends. I know quite a few on a first name basis. Professors are great, trust me.
8. Friends
This one I saved for last because it is the most important. The majority of people come out of high school with a few close friends. There are only a few people that you will actually contact on a regular basis after high school and that is fine. In college you will meet so many cool people who actually do the same things you do and like the same things. I have met some of my best friends in college and I know those girls will be my bridesmaids someday.
Basically, College is better than high school in all ways. I don’t miss high school in the slightest. Once you get over the initial fear of being away from home, it’s one of the best times of your life.
