Essay One
When I began my first semester here at Old Dominion University, I quickly discovered high school may share some similarities, it does not get you mentally ready for college. In High School there is authority, security and plenty of second chances handed out. One might say that we are often “babied” in high school which does not aid us at all for a college career. There is always someone there to wake us up in the morning and make us go to class. There is always a teacher around to make sure that we are doing our work and to answer any questions if needed.
We have plenty of opportunities to complete assignments after a due date as well as obtain extra credit. Although most high schools do offer college level courses, they are still in a high school setting. Teachers are there offering help and giving class time to complete assignments. In college, one quickly learns that college is nothing to play with. From the moment our guardians drop us off on move in day, to checking blackboard and obtaining our syllabus before the first day of class, it becomes clear that things are about to change drastically. In college there is no one to wake us up in the morning to attend class. It’s our responsibility to wake up and if we don’t it is up to us to follow the syllabus and keep up with the material and assignments provided.
Most classes if not all, are only fifty minute lectures. These lectures are purely for introducing new material and reviewing the old. This setting is a lot different from the typical 90 minutes offered in high school to learn new material as well as complete the assignments for that material. In college it is critical to stay self-motivated. It is fully up to us to read, learn and study material on a daily basis without that authority figure making us do so. If there is something that is not clear about the material, it is our responsibility to ask a peer, research or email our teacher to obtain the best solution. If an assignment is missed or late, rarely will there be given an opportunity to make up the assignment. There is also a rare chance that extra credit will be given to make up for points lost on that assignment.
Overall, High school does not mentally prepare us for college. There are some similarities when it comes to course work, joining clubs and organizations, paying for books and materials needed throughout the year and meeting new people. None of these however help us experience a college atmosphere. It is fully up to us to be independent, self-motivated and stay on the right track to obtain our degree without that sense of authority, security, or opportunity of second chances being there if we get off track. The transition from high school to college is a big part in our lives simply because it teaches us that we are no longer being “babied”. That at some point we have to become our own authority figure and keep our eyes on the prize at all times.