High school and college are two completely different school settings. Freshmen year of both is when you get to experience new environments all for the first time yourself, and ignore what everyone else has told you to expect. This is your time. Going into college, I thought I was going to rewind and repeat freshmen year of high school. Boy, was I wrong. College is in every aspect different than high school and this is why.

1. Finances

The majority of high school students don't have jobs, and rely solely on their parents for financial support of basically everything they have and go out to do. College is a whole other story. Being in college, I really have learned to stretch out as little as fives dollars throughout a course of two weeks. Oh yeah, it's possible. Universities basically charge you to breathe, so save wisely.

2. Social Life

Whether people want to admit it or not, there is a social hierarchy in high schools. You're stuck in whatever social "role" others cast you in from middle school up until graduation day. In college, you have a fresh start where almost nobody knows you, and you can be whoever you want to be.

3. Early Classes

At my high school, classes started at 7:20am, which meant I had to be up by roughly 6am to get ready for school. Seeing as how I thought I woke up early before, I thought it wouldn't be a problem to do a 9am class. Don't. Do. It. It's a trap. You cannot do a 9am in college when you're awake until the sun comes up, studying for whatever exams you have that week.

4. Independence

Being an under-age minor in high school, you constantly had to ask for permission to do well... anything. In college, you have so much more freedom. You want to go get ice cream and go to the park at 4am? DO IT. Nobody is going to stop you.

5. Dancing

High school: You're just awkward, face it.

College: Still awkward, but with slightly more twerking.

6. Breakfast

In high school, you probably woke up and ate a decent breakfast of cereal or pancakes. In college, you'll drink at least three cups of coffee, whether you hate it or not, and then the only thing you have in your fridge from two nights ago. We're too broke for groceries, remember?

7. Academic Achievement

Personally, I've seen that students work harder in college versus how they did in high school. I'm assuming that its because you're actually paying for your schooling in college, so you learn to appreciate it more and work harder so you don't waste your money by failing out.

8. Exercise

You're required to take a physical education class in high school, meaning you're going to at least do a little working out. In college, walking around campus class to class seems to be the only time you have for exercise while you're up to your neck in homework.

9. Weekends

You'll have every minute planned ahead of time for the weekend as a high school student. In college, you kind of just go day by day and whatever happens happens. Last minute and spontaneous plans in college are the best and worst things you could come across, though, so be careful.

10. Relationships

You will have some of your first experiences of dating and relationships in high school. You'll find your first loves and experiences your first heartbreaks. In college, most people don't even know what they're going to eat for dinner this evening, let alone fathom the time they'd have to commit to a relationship.

11. School Supplies

In high school, you have a list of things color-coded for each specific class you have. You're all very organized weeks before classes even begin. Whereas in college, you have a laptop and a few textbooks that cost you well over $1,000 to buy that you more than likely won't even use. I'm pretty sure two of mine are under my dorm bed having a competition at who can collect more dust before the end of the semester.

12. Friends

In most high schools, you'll be attending school with the same people you have since as long as you can remember and already know who is going to be in any of your class. In college, you kind of just pray you'll make lifelong friends in a matter of the ten seconds you spend with them on the elevator in your dorm building.

13. Attendance Policies

In high school, you could probably get basically anything considered an excused absence. In college, you better be on your death bed in the hospital, getting ready to pull the plug before you're excused to miss class for anything and everything.