​High School Came So Easy to Me. Why Is College So Hard?

In high school, I felt like I didn’t need to study to get good grades. But in reality, I tried so hard in high school. I never skipped class, I never took a zero on an assignment and I paid attention in class. So yeah, when it came test time, I barely needed to study.

This is why college is a slap in the face to a large amount of straight A-high-school students. In high school a person has complete structure and responsibility. Yes, college students have this too, but it is more lenient.

Below are my top 5 reasons why college is challenging for recent high school graduates:

College students have too much freedom

Photo by Manny Moreno on Unsplash

College students have freedom, which is a responsibility in itself.

In college, if you don’t feel like going to class — you can just skip. No one will call your mom. You won’t have to sit out of the soccer game you have after school (this was a rule at my high school – if you have an unexcused absence for school you cannot participate in sporting events that day).

More homework in high school than in college

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

If you think about it, you probably had a lot more homework in high school than you do in college. I know I did. In college, a professor does not want to grade hundreds of written assignments every day.

Most college homework is to read a unit for a possible pop-quiz, but let’s be honest. We are going to skim it even if we read it at all. Most of the course points in college are from midterm and final exams.

Denial and procrastination

Photo by Michael Discenza on Unsplash

Many of these straight-A-in-high-school students play it off as no big deal because, “I’m smart. I always get good grades. It will be fine.” But then it is finals week ...

College is all fun and games until you realize you have to learn a whole semester's worth of course work in a week.