High School and College are entirely different ball games… and as I’ve been transitioning to my new lifestyle at Babson, I wanted to share with you a few key differences I’ve noticed and how I’ve been handling them.
#1 The Work
While my High School certainly prepared me well academically for higher education, the type of work that is prominent is drastically different than that in high school.
While I am taking less classes than I did in high school (4 instead of 6), the work done outside of class for each class meeting is more intensive. The primary type of work outside of class is reading assignments, whereas in high school there was a lot more “work-based” homework (completing problems, answering questions, doing worksheets). Plus, the vast majority of texts are online, which is also an adjustment for me.
To adjust to this change, I have been learning which types of reading I need to read more thoroughly versus more of a cursory understanding, and I’m starting to get down how long it takes me to read different types of texts.
#2 The Emphasis
This may not be true for other schools, but at Babson the emphasis is much more on the experience as a whole rather than concentrating on academics. We are definitely being encouraged to live a life outside of academics, with a profound emphasis on networking, organizations, and workplace experience (internships, etc.). In high school, you could’ve gotten away with spending most of your time studying, but here, that’s not the case.
#3 You Can’t Escape
In High School, you’re able to go home each day, and then you’re away from all the craziness and drama that is associated with school. But in college? NOPE. Assuming you live on campus, you are constantly immersed in your experience. Anything you’d want to do, anyone you’d want to hang out with, is minutes walking distance away. With so many options, it can be overwhelming and, at least for me, it’s necessary to find some space to feel like you don’t have to do things all the time.
So, there you have it. Those are the three main differences I’ve been adjusting to with college life. Stay tuned for next week, where I’ll be revealing my new systems for task and time management!
❤ Alicia
