College vs High School: Academic Challenges and Personal Preferences

In summary: I had to take for my major.Speaking in terms of physics, university is immensely harder than high school for two main reasons. First, the course material is quite a bit more difficult. Many students in high school, myself included, benefited a lot from having a good "physical intuition". It's hard to describe what this is, but if you have it, you'll know what I mean. You can make fairly accurate predictions about a physical situation without too much need resort to a pen and paper. As you progress through higher level physics courses, you'll find the problems can become very abstract, and that there's little your everyday experience can do to help with understanding. After all, humans' brains are evolved to understand
  • #1
tahayassen
270
1
Which of the two did you find harder? Which did you enjoy more?
 
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  • #2
University. And University.

Whilst university is orders of magnitude more difficult (I spent most of high-school physics refining my origami), university is way more fun.
 
  • #3
e.bar.goum said:
Whilst university is orders of magnitude more difficult

Ugh... really? I'm already running out of time, and I'm still in high school. D:
 
  • #4
Heh. People say that the last year of high-school is the hardest, but that's a total lie.

However, with the hard work comes the rewards. You learn more and deeper, and get to do things you never get to in high-school. At the moment I'm playing with femtosecond pulsed lasers. That's some cool stuff. I've also gotten to run a linear accelerator, been paid to work on a telescope... Also, university is more flexible. Can't get up in the morning? Fine, skip a lecture. The flip side, is that it's your responsibility to be in charge of your education. But that's ok.
 
  • #5
Speaking in terms of physics, university is immensely harder than high school for two main reasons.

First, the course material is quite a bit more difficult. Many students in high school, myself included, benefited a lot from having a good "physical intuition". It's hard to describe what this is, but if you have it, you'll know what I mean. You can make fairly accurate predictions about a physical situation without too much need resort to a pen and paper. As you progress through higher level physics courses, you'll find the problems can become very abstract, and that there's little your everyday experience can do to help with understanding. After all, humans' brains are evolved to understand things that are very big and very slow. Once things get very small and/or very fast, math is your only tool. You'll also find yourself working with more and more quantities that have never mattered in "real life", like a partition function or a Brillouin zone.

Secondly, and much easier to explain, everything is covered faster. You're expected to apply a concept with fewer examples and less explanation.

Best of all though, I'm almost finished my degree, and physics doesn't seem too much harder to me now that it did in high school. Of course it IS harder, but you slowly adjust to the difficulty level, and your brain "learns how to learn", things start getting easier.

To put things in perspective, I think the hardest course I've ever taken was my 2nd year classical mechanics course. I'm taking the second half of senior-level quantum mechanics right now, and although the course material is obviously much more difficult than classical mechanics, it doesn't seem that way, for the reason above!
 
  • #6
gomboc said:
... As you progress through higher level physics courses, you'll find the problems can become very abstract, and that there's little your everyday experience can do to help with understanding. After all, humans' brains are evolved to understand things that are very big and very slow. Once things get very small and/or very fast, math is your only tool.
...
Of course it IS harder, but you slowly adjust to the difficulty level, and your brain "learns how to learn", things start getting easier.

I'm going to use this in class during one of my "wait til you get to college" talks.
 
  • #7
You're going to wish you're an high school drop out haha, but yeah maybe not. I'm still in first year, the pacing is really quick, after frosh week you're going to get hit hard, maybe not as hard at first but it's going to hurt. I found once I bought my books I gained some footing, it could get disorienting having no one lead you around, material wise. Oh and you're going to lose out on sleep. Finals are coming up and I noticed that the way I study for exams should be the way you study everyday throughout the whole term.
 
  • #8
University is more difficult, but exponentially more fun and interesting. I really enjoy meeting people who love to learn and hearing their perspectives about things.
 
  • #9
Chi Meson said:
I'm going to use this in class during one of my "wait til you get to college" talks.

Thanks, I'm flattered!
 
  • #10
university for both questions. my high school experience is filled with having to deal with egotistical morons
 
  • #11
The level of competition as you move from HS to Uni ramps up quite a bit. Don't expect a smooth progression. Ain't going to happen, especially in math and sciences.
 
  • #12
Uni... finally around people who are motivated and enjoy studying math and science.

Great improvement over being around people that are just sitting HS out waiting till they can be rid of it.
 
  • #13
tahayassen said:
Which of the two did you find harder? Which did you enjoy more?
College was more difficult academically because I wasn't properly prepared for it via high school. College was much more rewarding in many ways, but I really liked high school a lot also. Tough choice.
 

What is the difference between university and high school?

The main difference between university and high school is the level of education. High school is typically attended by students aged 14-18 and is mandatory in most countries. It provides a general education and prepares students for college or university. University, on the other hand, is a higher level of education that students can choose to attend after completing high school. It offers more specialized and in-depth courses in a particular subject area.

Is university more difficult than high school?

This is a difficult question to answer definitively because it depends on the individual and their chosen courses. Generally, university courses are more challenging and require a higher level of critical thinking, independent study, and time management skills. However, high school can also be challenging, especially for students who take advanced classes or have a heavy workload.

What are the class sizes like in university compared to high school?

In high school, class sizes are typically smaller, with an average of 20-30 students per class. In university, class sizes can vary greatly depending on the size of the institution and the popularity of the course. Some classes may have hundreds of students, while others may only have a dozen or so. However, even in larger classes, students can still receive individual attention from professors during office hours or through email.

Do universities have the same structure as high schools?

No, universities have a different structure than high schools. In high school, students typically have a set schedule of classes that they attend every day. In university, students have more freedom in choosing their classes and creating their own schedule. They also have fewer classes per week, which allows for more time for independent study and research.

What are the main differences in teaching style between university and high school?

In high school, teachers typically follow a structured curriculum and use a variety of teaching methods, such as lectures, group work, and hands-on activities. In university, professors often have more freedom in how they teach and may focus more on critical thinking and research. They may also use a combination of lectures, seminars, and independent study. Additionally, university professors expect students to take more responsibility for their own learning, whereas high school teachers may provide more guidance and direction.

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