{"id":68,"date":"2018-03-05T17:05:09","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T17:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-parents\/highschoolvscollege\/"},"modified":"2024-03-09T08:50:46","modified_gmt":"2024-03-09T14:50:46","slug":"highschoolvscollege","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/parents\/tipsforsuccess\/highschoolvscollege\/","title":{"rendered":"High School vs. College"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

High School<\/h3>\n<\/td>

\n

College<\/h3>\n<\/td><\/tr>

\n

Following rules in high school<\/h4>\n

\u2022 High school is mandatory
\u2022 Your time is structured by others.
\u2022 You need permission to participate in extracurricular activities
\u2022 You can count on parents and teachers to remind you of your responsibilities and to guide you in setting priorities.
\u2022 Each day you proceed from one class directly to another, spending 6 hours each day–30 hours a week–in class.
\u2022 Most of your classes are arranged for you.
\u2022 You are not responsible for knowing what it takes to graduate.<\/p>\n

Guiding principle: You will usually be told what to do and corrected if your behavior is out of line.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>

\n

Choosing responsibly in college<\/h4>\n

\u2022 College is voluntary
\u2022 You manage your own time.
\u2022 You must decide whether to participate in co-curricular activities.
\u2022 You must balance your responsibilities and set priorities. You will face moral and ethical decisions you have never faced before.
\u2022 You often have hours between classes; class times vary throughout the day and evening and you spend only 12 to 16 hours each week in class.
\u2022 You arrange your own schedule in consultation with your advisor. Schedules tend to look lighter than they really are.
\u2022 Graduation requirements are complex, and differ from year to year. You are expected to know those that apply to you.<\/p>\n

Guiding principle: You are expected to take responsibility for what you do and don’t do, as well as for the consequences of your decisions.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr>

\n

Going to high school classes<\/h4>\n

\u2022 The school year is 36 weeks long;
\u2022 Classes generally have no more than 35 students.
\u2022 You may study outside class as little as 0 to 2 hours a week, and this may be mostly last-minute test preparation.
\u2022 You seldom need to read anything more than once, and sometimes listening in class is enough.
\u2022 You are expected to read short assignments that are then discussed, and often re-taught, in class.<\/p>\n

Guiding principle: You will usually be told in class what you need to learn from assigned readings.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>

\n

Succeeding in college classes<\/h4>\n

\u2022 The academic year is divided into two separate 15-week semesters, plus a week after each semester for exams.
\u2022 Classes may vary in size from 6- 30 students or more.
\u2022 You need to study at least 2 to 3 hours outside of class for each hour in class.
\u2022 You need to review class notes and text material regularly.
\u2022 You are assigned substantial amounts of reading and writing which may not be directly addressed in class.<\/p>\n

Guiding principle: It’s up to you to read and understand the assigned material; lectures and assignments proceed from the assumption that you’ve already done so.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr>

\n

High school teachers<\/h4>\n

\u2022 Teachers check your completed homework.
\u2022 Teachers remind you of your incomplete work.
\u2022 Teachers approach you if they believe you need assistance.
\u2022 Teachers are often available for conversation before, during, or after class.
\u2022 Teachers have been trained in teaching methods to assist in imparting knowledge to students.
\u2022 Teachers provide you with information you missed when you were absent.
\u2022 Teachers present material to help you understand the material in the textbook.
\u2022 Teachers often write information on the board to be copied in your notes.
\u2022 Teachers impart knowledge and facts, sometimes drawing direct connections and leading you through the thinking process.
\u2022 Teachers often take time to remind you of assignments and due dates.
\u2022 Teachers carefully monitor class attendance.<\/p>\n

Guiding principle: High school is a teaching environment in which you acquire facts and skills<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>

\n

College professors<\/h4>\n

\u2022 Professors may not always check completed homework, but they will assume you can perform the same tasks on tests.
\u2022 Professors may not remind you of incomplete work.
\u2022 Professors are usually open and helpful, but most expect you to initiate contact if you need assistance.
\u2022 Professors expect and want you to attend their scheduled office hours.
\u2022 Professors have been trained as experts in their particular areas of research.
\u2022 Professors expect you to get from classmates any notes from classes you missed.
\u2022 Professors may not follow the textbook. Instead, to amplify the text, they may give illustrations, provide background information, or discuss research about the topic you are studying. Or they may expect you to relate the classes to the textbook readings.
\u2022 Professors may lecture nonstop, expecting you to identify the important points in your notes. When professors write on the board, it may be to amplify the lecture, not to summarize it. Good notes are a must.
\u2022 Professors expect you to think about and synthesize seemingly unrelated topics.
\u2022 Professors expect you to read, save, and consult the course syllabus (outline); the syllabus spells out exactly what is expected of you, when it is due, and how you will be graded.
\u2022 Professors may not formally take roll, but they are still likely to know whether or not you attended.<\/p>\n

Guiding principle: College is a learning environment in which you take responsibility for thinking through and applying what you have learned.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr>

\n

Tests in high school<\/h4>\n

\u2022 Testing is frequent and covers small amounts of material.
\u2022 Makeup tests are often available.
\u2022 Teachers frequently rearrange test dates to avoid conflict with school events.
\u2022 Teachers frequently conduct review sessions, pointing out important concepts.<\/p>\n

Guiding principle: Mastery is usually seen as the ability to reproduce what you were taught in the form in which it was presented to you, or to solve the kinds of problems you were shown how to solve.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>

\n

Tests in college<\/h4>\n

\u2022 Testing is usually infrequent and may be cumulative, covering large amounts of material. You, not the professor, need to organize the material to prepare for the test. A particular course may have only 2 or 3 tests in a semester.
\u2022 Makeup tests are seldom an option; if they are, you need to request them.
\u2022 Professors in different courses usually schedule tests without regard to the demands of other courses or outside activities.
\u2022 Professors rarely offer review sessions, and when they do, they expect you to be an active participant, one who comes prepared with questions.<\/p>\n

Guiding principle: Mastery is often seen as the ability to apply what you’ve learned to new situations or to solve new kinds of problems.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr>

\n

Grades in high school<\/h4>\n

\u2022 Grades are given for most assigned work.
\u2022 Consistently good homework grades may raise your overall grade when test grades are low.
\u2022 Extra credit projects are often available to help you raise your grade.
\u2022 Initial test grades, especially when they are low, may not have an adverse effect on your final grade.
\u2022 You may graduate as long as you have passed all required courses with a grade of D or higher.<\/p>\n

Guiding principle: “Effort counts.” Courses are usually structured to reward a “good-faith effort.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>

\n

Grades in college<\/h4>\n

\u2022 Grades may not be provided for all assigned work.
\u2022 Grades on tests and major papers usually provide most of the course grade.
\u2022 Extra credit projects cannot, generally speaking, be used to raise a grade in a college course.
\u2022 Watch out for your first tests. These are usually “wake-up calls” to let you know what is expected–but they also may account for a substantial part of your course grade. You may be shocked when you get your grades.
\u2022 You may graduate only if your overall average is 2.0 (C) and you meet the departmental standard for courses in your major, minor or concentration (typically a C- or higher).<\/p>\n

Guiding principle: “Results count.” Though “good-faith effort” is important in regard to the professor’s willingness to help you achieve good results, it will not substitute for results in the grading process.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr>

\n

High school guidance counselors<\/h4>\n

\u2022 It is their full time job to carefully monitor your progress on graduation requirements.
\u2022 Picks your classes for you each term.
\u2022 Will seek you out to check on how you are doing.
\u2022 Will inform your parents about your grades and your progress towards graduation.<\/p>\n

Guiding Principle: Someone else is keeping track and will inform you of what you need to do.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>

\n

College academic advisors<\/h4>\n

\u2022 Are faculty members with many other responsibilities\u2014teaching, research, administration.
\u2022 Make recommendations about class selection, but leave the final decision to you.
\u2022 Are available to assist you with planning and making the most of your college career, but will expect you to initiate contact and take responsibility for your decisions.
\u2022 Are not permitted to speak with your parents about your academic life unless you sign a waiver. Advisors expect you to inform your parents about how you are doing.<\/p>\n

Guiding Principle: You are responsible for your academic life and for seeking out the resources you need to be successful.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

High School College Following rules in high school \u2022 High school is mandatory\u2022 Your time is structured by others.\u2022 You need permission to participate in extracurricular activities\u2022 You can count on parents and teachers to remind you of your responsibilities and to guide you in setting priorities.\u2022 Each day you proceed from one class directly […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":18,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-68","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/68","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/68\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":557,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/68\/revisions\/557"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}