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So in a few months I'm going to University and I'm curious to your guys opinions on the transition. So basically; is it a good change or is it a negative change?
Most University students I've asked told me mostly the same thing; it's a time of hard work, but the change is drastically better than high school.
Some (very few) told me high school is better, the common reason being that High School is a very easy way to form a group of friends. But can't you just do that in University? Or is it harder?
When I search up opinions on Google, its essentially the same response.
Personally, I hate my current high school, the juniors are the most arrogant bastards every single year, thinking they're high and mighty after their graduation of intermediate (middle school, i think in the US) and they always rebel against their teachers and senior students. The students in general do not treat the school properly, and every year there's some sort of major physical accident that leads to a kid going to hospital.
Oh and this education system kind of sucks.
I'm kind of looking forward to a 4 month holiday instead of the casual 2 weeks per year + 4 weeks they do here. And I'm looking forward to learning about myself, clear the self mysteries of what kind of person I actually am.
What do you guys think?
tl;dr, (Not sure if its really needed, tbh)
Opinions on the change from High School to University, good or bad?
Side note;
I'll be trying for computer science next year, it's a shit load easier to get into than Bio-med or enginnering but that's a whole new discussion.
 
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On October 14 2012 06:52 Frits wrote:
alcohol
ohhh shit
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Seriously though, better times infinity, you're gonna be living on your own and will be completely free and making friends who are like you instead of all the retards you're forced to attend high school with.
That, and alcohol.
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It's harder to make friends if you're not the kind of person to put yourself out there. In HS it's easier simply because you're forced to basically go to class with the same people for years and years on end, so you're bound to form decently deep connections, whereas in university, you basically go to class with some people a few times a week ... if you don't take the initiative to form friendships, you are going to have a lackluster social life.
However, that also means you have a chance to better "choose" your friends in college than in HS. In HS, again, it's just a bunch of kids who happen to conglomerate into a circle (which is, btw, such a HS thing, lol), whereas in college, it's more selective imo, and you tend to share more interests with your college friends than your HS friends (esp. academic interests).
I'm not sure how it is in NZ, but in the USA, you have fewer classes, but you have more homework, so you end up spending about roughly the same amount of time doing work (or more depending on major). But since you are (hypothetically) studying what you want to study and not what the government dictates that you should study, classes and work tend to be more enjoyable, so it evens out in the end imo. 
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I am a VERY outgoing person, and in engineering, and it's a lot tougher to make friends. The amount of friends you have is a lot less, but the ones you have are close to you. I've only been here for 45 days, and I have two really close friends, everyone else though even if you talk, you don't really think of each other as friends, but rather partners in business (exception being the point below).
Alcohol. Without alcohol university would be stupid. The people you meet through an alcoholic experience... it's like initiation to actually be close friends, these people you can share your life with, nobody else can you really talk anything personal with, nobody wants to hear it. Get involved, and party, and having people in university will make it more enjoyable, and you'll have people to help you out.
Really focus on finding the people that like to have a good time, but take school seriously. Party, but do it once a week or once every two weeks. Balance everything and it's a great experience.
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You go to high school because you have to, you go to university because you want to.
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The best advice I can think of is to not take advice on what you "should" be doing in college. As long as you're serving your primary goal and the reason for being there (acquiring an education, a degree, or a combination of both), do whatever you want. Don't party because you think you're supposed to do and don't not party because you think you're not supposed to. It is a good time to get out of that "you're supposed to do X and Y when at Z age" mentality because it will only hinder you as you continue through life.
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You get a lot of freedom, and learn to rely on yourself. Some people like that, some people don't.
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On October 14 2012 06:58 Itsmedudeman wrote:
You go to high school because you have to, you go to university because you want to.
This is not true. Many individuals go to university simply because their parents / society expects them to.
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Also don't forget to buddy up to the grad students ... they are useful for so many reasons.
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Probably the most important thing to keep in mind is that you get a lot more freedom, but you need to take on a lot more responsibility. Sure, you can decide not to go to your classes, not to study, dick around, party it up all the time... and sometimes, you certainly need a break from your coursework... but no one's going to hold your feet to the fire and force you to get your stuff done. If you miss class, you better have someone else take the notes for you. Miss an exam? You're fucked. Mommy can't bail you out anymore by e-mailing the teacher, and professors treat you like adults (even though you may not act like one).
Other things:
-Make sure you have a good work ethic. Was high school easy for you? If so, you probably didn't need to study for anything. That may not be the case in college- especially when you get into the higher level courses. Make some friends in your harder classes- you might just need to create a study group. This is especially true for your major, where you may take multiple classes with the same group of students. Believe it or not, some people in your classes will be smarter than you.
-Become outgoing and make friends and join organizations. These are the best years of your life, so don't fuck them up and waste them. Know when to study, and know when to relax/ party. See a club that looks cool? Join it. Hear about a class that sounds interesting? Take it. Enjoy college to the fullest extent possible, but just don't waste the tens of thousands of dollars you're putting into tuition by not passing your classes either.
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What DarkPlasmaBall said is very true. University is where you should start being an adult, assuming you have been acting childish in high school like most teens. It's going to be something of a shock to transition from having it relatively easy in high school to having to do everything yourself in university. And lecturers tend to be old men who aren't interested in how you were busy at that time and couldn't make that class and that's why you failed the exam but please please give me a good mark (not speaking from personal experience here  ).
But the good side is you're most likely going to be able to make a lot of industry connections with the people studying with you and with the lecturers, and the study is somewhat better than in high school because it's closer to what you want to learn. There will still be things you don't care about that you have to learn, but if you have good exam technique you'll be fine.
What university are you going to? If you're going to Massey maybe we can meet up sometime.
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You have a lot more responsibility, learning to manage time and be independent. It also depends if you dorm on campus or not.
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The education varies obviously on your school and discipline. Some will find their work hard, some worthless, and some will enjoy every minute of it.
In uni you are no longer a part of a big social ecosystem. You branch into your own niche. The niche of the engineer is different from the niche of the artsci. The niche of the goth artsci is different from the niche of the hipster artsci. Whether you make friends is up to you. If you do then I think the fact that you have so many people so similar to yourself will be a chance to have lots of fun.
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On October 14 2012 07:14 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:
These are the best years of your life
And for the love of spaghetti monsters, please don't believe this. For very specific types of people, this is certainly true, but this applies to any period of life. This line of thinking is essentially a self-fulfilling prophecy. I loved college and pushed my body and mind to the limit during that period and enjoyed the ever loving fuck out of it but life is, at every single moment, but you make of it. My time after college is definitely better than my time at college, just as my time at college was better than high school, and high school was better than being in middle school, etc. because I make it so.
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Netherlands45349 Posts
On October 14 2012 06:56 babylon wrote:
It's harder to make friends if you're not the kind of person to put yourself out there.
This is very much true in my experience. We usually have an intro week here, try and participate if there is such a thing so you can already meet some new people. In High school you are forced into a single class, in Uni you can choose to go to classes. Sometimes you will need to work together with other people. However these persons lead their own entire live outside of the university aswell, it doesn't mean you will become friends with them. Look for extra activities outside of your university, this can be a student organisation, a job near uni, sports or a fraternity. If you keep to yourself you won't make many friends(granted, some people are fine with this), but if you go out there you will meet all kinds of people.
Student life is what you make of it, take the initiative.
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On October 14 2012 08:52 RANDOMCL wrote:Show nested quote +On October 14 2012 07:14 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:
These are the best years of your life And for the love of spaghetti monsters, please don't believe this. For very specific types of people, this is certainly true, but this applies to any period of life. This line of thinking is essentially a self-fulfilling prophecy. I loved college and pushed my body and mind to the limit during that period and enjoyed the ever loving fuck out of it but life is, at every single moment, but you make of it. My time after college is definitely better than my time at college, just as my time at college was better than high school, and high school was better than being in middle school, etc. because I make it so.
Boy was that taken out of context My point was that college generally has so much to offer, whereas high school obviously didn't have nearly as many options for classes or organizations or friendships, and even after you graduate college, you tend to have to deal with "the real world" (e.g. getting a full-time job, having more bills to pay, etc.). I agree with you that every second of your life is what you make of it, but the options offered in university tend to come at a time when you can still enjoy a lot of freedom without yet having to deal with every responsibility a "real" adult has to realize. Of course there are always exceptions, but I think you should have read my entire post instead of picking out half of one sentence to argue with. Half of what I previously wrote is what you just posted, and he didn't ask about high school being better than middle school. He asked about the transition into college and what to make of that experience.
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Have fun, but remember the ultimate reason you're there for is to study and do well because #YOLO.
Seriously though.
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You basically get to do whatever you want because studying and everything becomes wholly your responsibility, it's sick.
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EPT
