Thefirstthingyouwillnoticeaboutcollegeisthatitismuchdifferentthanhighschool.Youhavemorefreedomandmoreopportunities,indicatingthatyoumustmakeimportantdecisionsyourself.Atdayoneyouarealone.Evenifyouknowotherstudentsattheuniversity,youareoneinthousands.Becomingsomeoneofimportanceischallenging,andattimescanbeveryintimidating.Understandingthechangesfromhighschooltocollegewillgiveyouaheadstart.

　　Freedom

　　Oneofthebiggestdifferencesbetweenhighschoolandcollegeisthatincollegeeverydecisionisyourstomake.Yourparentsarenottheretoremindyoutodoyourhomework.Youarenowallowedtochoosewhatclassesyouwanttotakeandwhenthoseclasseswillbe.

　　TheBenefit:Ifyouhaveeverfelttrappedwhileinhighschool,becauseyouwereunabletomakedecisionsforyourself.Nowisthetimetoprovetoeveryonethatyouknowwhatisbestforyou.Incollegeyouaresetfree,andifyouletyourambitionsguideyou,youcangoplacesanddothingsthatyouneverimagined.

　　TheNegatives:Formanystudents,freedomistheonethingthatdestroysthem.Ifyouhavethefreedomtodogreatthings,youalsohavethefreedomtomakepoordecisions.

　　MyfavoritefreedomthatIgainedbygraduatingfromhighschoolwasnolongerneedingtoasktousetherestroom!Ihatedaskingastudentteacher,stillincollegeandonlyafewyearsolderthanme,ifIcouldusetherestroom.

　　Classes

　　Inhighschool,Iwasabletogotoclass,listentotheteacher,finishthehomeworkassignment,andtalktomyfriends,allinoneclasssession.Incollegethosetaskswillbeseparated.

　　Totalclasstimeincollegeismuchlessthaninhighschool.Professorswillcoverwhattheybelieveisthemostimportantinformationinthattime;however,itdoesnotmeanthattheywillcoverallofthematerialthatwillbeonthetest.Mostofyourcollegelearningwillactuallybedoneoutsideofclassandclasseswillbeusedforreviewingandreinforcementofconcepts.Whereasinhighschoolalllearningwasdoneinclassandreviewwasdoneoutsideofclassandonlyifnecessary.

　　ClassAttendance:Someprofessorswillgiveyoucreditforbeinginclass.Otherscouldcareless.However,itisHIGHLYrecommendedthatyouattendALLclasses.

　　Syllabus

　　Everythingyouneedforaclasswillbeputonthesyllabus.Professorsmaynotgiveanyadditionalremindersoftests,homeworkassignments,andpapers.Notpayingattentiontoyoursyllabuscouldbeoneofyourworstmistakes.

　　Opportunities

　　Thepossibilitiesareendless.Youcanparticipatein“real”research,researchingthingsthatnooneelsehas.Youcanbealeaderinastudentorganizationthatgrowstobeanorganizationthatmanyuniversitiessupport.Youcanwriteabook,andhavethenecessaryadvisors,professors,toteachyoutheropesofhavingsomethingpublished.Youwilllearnhowtogetinvolvedincampuspolitics,whichIbelievecanbeasimportantascityornationalpolitics.

　　MeetingPeople

　　Oneofmyfavoritepartsofcollegeismeetingpeople.Reachouttopeople.Don’tbeafraidtostartaconversationwithastranger.Youneverknow,thatstrangermayendupbeingyourcoauthor,oryourbusinesspartner.Thereisnowhereelsebesidesauniversitywhereyoucanfindsuchalargeamountofpeoplewithcountlessandunimaginableskills.

　　IfIweretowriteallthed