Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
High school experience against university experience
My experience at University
My experience as a university student
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: High school experience against university experience
With dim lights hanging over green felt-covered tables on one side of the room and loud, blinking arcade games on the other, and music blaring from a jukebox, there was no way I was ever going to leave the university. Only a dollar twenty-five to play pool here for an hour! And when it wasn’t my turn, I could go and play pinball! Every day, hundreds of students hung around the arcade, shouting, laughing and looking to challenge someone to a game of pool or a shot at beating you on an arcade game. Yes, I came away from there many times with a bigger ego. I never left after being defeated-you just had to find someone else and beat him or her. I lost a lot of money in that gloomy basement amidst the cracking of pool balls and the beeping of video games. But I took something out of it too. In a way, all the money I lost was paying for what I know now: an arcade should not substitute for college, even if the arcade is in the basement of the student union.
As a freshman at the University of Arizona, I at first found myself awed by the power of college: The flocks of people-students and professors alike-mingling on the mall, in the buildings, and in the Student Union. And in the early weeks of my first semester, I quickly found my favorite place on campus: the arcade. Billiards, table tennis, video games, and music. All the trademarks of a college student’s recreation area. It was in these first few weeks that my impression was made about the university. When friends or relatives would ask me questions such as “How’s college?” or “What’s school like?” I would tell them what I really thought. I would say, “It’s like high school, but with a lot more people, a bigger campus, and a lot of time in between your classes.” And that is the plain truth. My class work did not offer much of a challenge-it was more or less the same stuff I’d been seeing for years. The professors weren’t that big of a deal-they were much like high school teachers, but you got to call them by their first name. And the number one best thing about going to college? I didn’t always have to go! That’s right: attendance in some of my classes wasn’t even mandatory.
Rick Perlstein states in his article, "What's the Matter with College?" that college should be a time of self-discovery. He thinks of college as a gateway into to adulthood where everyone is suddenly gaining this new sense of freedom and finding their own identity. It was a time one to read their first banned book and see their first independent film. Perlstein seems to consider one's college years as the most defining years of their life. Today, however, students do not have the luxury of attending an institution solely in the name of self-exploration. The college experience is indeed different from what it once was, much to Perlstein's chagrin. No longer are students going to college for the college experience that was once known by past generations, instead, they are going for the opportunities promised by attending college.
Entry to community college allows just that. Addison explains, “just follow any one of the 1,655 road signs, and pop your head inside—yes, independent film, a first independent thought, a first independent study” (212). Many potential college prospects are turned away because this self-discovery found in community college cannot be found in private college; however, Addison insists that community college is the golden ticket to regain these would-be scholars. To begin, acceptance is necessary for admittance to many colleges—not community college. In the words of Addison, “down at X.Y.C.C. it is still possible to enter the college experience as a rookie” (213). Any student desiring education, preparation, and self-discovery does not need to look any further than community college, which, for some students, is the only shot at the college experience. On top of this, community colleges provide opportunities like no college—public or private—could. Community colleges provide introductory courses that could not be found in regular institutions; this allows students to explore and get their feet under them. To find and pursue an interest proves more difficult at a college because intense classes are provided from the beginning, whether students have declared a major or have yet to decide. In sum, Addison claims that an atmosphere designed
The multiple choices students have today in college have made the university a party environment, resulting in complacent students. Mark Edmundson raises important questions and makes valid points in this essay that are worth thinking about. If people don’t take a look at our present college system and start thinking outside the box, the college education system will continue on its downward spiral of consumerism. It is fun to graduate high school and go to college to party and to have a comedic professor, but there is so much more to college then having fun. People need to realize that by challenging student, students can then start to recognize their own potential end become better for it. Learning and utilizing the information that is being taught in college is essential. “Everyone is born with their own mind, all that is left to do is break out of the stereotypical college student mold, and use
Between study group, debate, and chess tournaments there wasn’t much of a social scene around Winchester University in Omaha, Nebraska. The school year at this college was year round, but the students were given a 30 day summer vacation in July. The majority of the students went back home to visit their families during this time. But as juniors at the University Charles, Fredrick, and Stanley, all childhood buddies, decided it was time for a change and that they needed a little more spice in their life. Realizing that they were almost twenty-one and had never breached their comfort zone, they knew a road trip was in store.
How imperative is it that one pursues a traditional college experience? Although it might appear that Charles Murray and Liz Addison are in agreement that the traditional college experience is not necessary for everyone, Addison provides a more convincing argument that higher education is necessary in some form. This is seen through Addison’s arguments that college is essential to growing up, that education is proportional to the life one lives, and that community college reinvents the traditional college experience. Not only does Addison have her own opinions about college, but Murray does as well.
Imagine turning into someone unrecognizable and watching as your life rips apart, a life that you worked so hard for, because all hope is lost. You have hit the bottom of “the well of life”, and deep inside this “well of life” you understand it’s all because of students.
Coming to college as an adult, we have many expectations and preconceptions of what college will or will not be. The expectations we have can influence our college life for the better or the worse. My experience since starting college has been an interesting one. People have misconceptions about college because they do not know what to expect. After doing some research, I have concluded that there are three major factors that are often misunderstood about college life. The first is the financial aspect of college. Second, is the relationship between the professors and students. Third is time management. These three factors play an important role in why people are afraid to go down the path to college.
“Many institutions have begun to use hard-sell, Madison-Avenue techniques to attract students. They sell college like soap, promoting features they think students want” (Bird 372). This is a strong statement to use because it seems like some kind of item of need in everyday life for young adults. Colleges have gotten to the point where they have become so much like a business that they feel the need to satisfy the customer on what they are selling so they include all sorts of programs and curricular activities that could please the new students. Not only does it seem as if they are being pressured into attending college by their high school counselors and parents but also by their own classmates as most of them are going so many don’t want to feel out of place and they attend anyways. Due to society make it seem as if college is a necessity people feel the need to attend but also as if it is just a way to “temporarily get them out of the way…” (Bird 374) Today even some sociologist believe that college has become an institution so people just accept it without question. That’s wrong because people make it seem as if you won’t get far in life if you don’t have or get a college degree. But that shouldn’t be the case because in the past many jobs were done by people
After my first few months of college, I realized I enjoy being a college student much more than I enjoyed being a high school student. However, the transition between the two extremely diverse worlds, was challenging at first, I found out how to overcome it. Originally, I couldn’t realize how different the two were, but as time went on, I was about to notice the differences. Not everyone is able to be aware of the many similarities and difference. Some differences include: cost, amount of freedom, and reasons why people are there. On the other hand, both high school and college have similar class structure and both require time management. The better prepared a student is to challenged with these many similarities and differences, the more
My senior year is very important and that is why I must use it efficiently. There are many things I hope to accomplish during my senior year. Graduation is my top priority because if I do not graduate my future will be in jeopardy. Clubs and extra activities are very important for college acceptance. I hope to get certified in the areas in which I have been training for. Getting into college so that I can be successful is the main goal in my life is. I hope to get accepted to a college or university by the end of my senior year. My schedule will be busy but I will
For many students, going to college can be scary experience; and the adjustment from high school to college can be even more overwhelming. The realization of being adult and taking responsibility of my education and future had me running for the hills. After high school the thought of going to school made me nauseas. But now my college experience made me realize that getting my education was important it was something no one could take away from that I knew I worked hard for and help build the person I am today.
College for an incoming freshman is exciting, however, it is often focused on the social aspect such as the connections that can be attained through Greek life, parties and independence. Due to the social interactions, freshmen tend to drop out of college after their first year. Focusing on what college is meant for can prevent these situations. The pressures of college such as impressing parents, and maintain a high standard GPA-wise can lead to stress and freeze a student from achieving the proper academic performance. During the mid 1900s, college was considered more of a luxury than anything; people would attend college exclusively to acquire knowledge in hopes of obtaining a career after graduation. People in the twenty-first century, however, attend college to get away from home and enjoy freedom at parties. Education is taken lightly, and those who feel that education isn’t the main focus of college should not apply for sakes of the greater good.
When students are still in high school, college looms in the distance like an ominous cloud. Frankly, all of the students are scared about going to college. When students go to college they feel like going to the great unknown – to go to a place where they don’t know anyone. But after all college is not that bad.
College is a collection of diverse people, new experiences, and learning how to be an adult. While it is completely different from anything I have ever done before, I feel like I have adjusted well and am getting into the swing of being a college student. The transition from high school to college is difficult and I have faced some challenges including, learning good study habits and accepting who I am as a student, time management skills and putting myself into new situations where I can meet new people. While these have been difficult for me to encounter, they have taught me valuable lessons about myself and who I can and want to be.
Fun, scaring, exciting are the feelings of my first week of school. This is a brand new experience of my life having to leave my friends and teachers in middle school behind. New school, new friends and new teachers are all part of this new school year. This one is different though, it’s the first week of high school.