Major Differences Between Highschool And Uni?

[Safi]

Just was wondering what were the major differences people found from transitioning between high school to university; just asking cause I'm curious and want to hear some ideas 

[qwerty2222]

(I assume you are in high school, if not here is what I wish I knew)

 

OK I want to help you because I wish someone told me this. (i'm in 4th year sciences BTW) 

 

1. People say your marks will be 10% lower than in high school BUT that does not mean you can let them stay 10% lower. You just have to work 110% hard to get them back up. 

2. Studying is totally different (I did full IB and got honors with distinction). You can't just be able to recognize the answer because the answer options will be too similar or restated another way. I have learned that I have to study until I can recite my notes by memory by just looking at topic words. In the same idea, you should be able to explain processes to someone completely and by memory. 

3. The exams are harder, but if you as mentioned above, you can do well. 

4. If you want to get into a professional program you cannot just get above average, you need to give yourself a good buffer. 

5. The class content is rarely mentioned more than once in class, so unlike high school where you get worksheets and review it over and over, you will see the info only once before you have to study for your exam. The more exposure to it the better off you will be- review, look at lectures before class, read the textbook readings

6. In high school you cover SO MUCH LESS MATERIAL. You have unit tests that cover one lecture worth of material in university. 

7. Use your first year wisely, learn how to study and learn how to you learn best. If it doesn't go as well as you hope, most professional programs have one year or forgiveness, but once your first year is up you will  need to do well. (if you do well enough in all years then you wont have to worry so much) 

8. You have so much extra time out of class, DONT WASTE IT! I was lulled into a false sense of having all the time in the world in my first year. I should have been using that time to study and do assignments etc. 

9. The end of your degree may seem like it is ages away but it is not, it is only 4 years away and what happens early in your degree can drag you down later. Be smart and work hard always, then you will have far less stress later when it comes to moving on to your next degree. 

10. Choose a profession you would like to do on your worst days, not just one that makes lots of money or what your parents want you to be. You have to do this for the next 40 years of your life. If that indeed is medicine, pursue it right from the beginning with all your might. If medicine is not truly what you want, shadow other profession and find what suits you best. Medicine is not the be all end all, and not everyone would be a good doctor. Find a job that you would do even if it did not pay so well, then do that. 

 

If you are in high school, I tell you this not to scare you but to motivate you to try harder at the start so you can have your pick of professions at the end and will not have to stress. You can do well, you just need to really keep your eye on the prize. 

[Bambi]

What you want to bring from h.s. to have an advantage is a strong work ethic along with time and stress management skills.

 

Don't let good grades in h.s. give you a false sense of security - they are meaningless and do not indicate anything regarding your future prospects. Be mature enough to hit the ground running in university and do not end up with the wrong crowd, with those who love to party as you will waste your time and potentially, your future, by having bad habits and the wrong short term goals. What can really kill you is finding a significant other who is needy, unstable or otherwise wastes your energies and when he/she dumps you, you will be depressed and this will adversely affect your grades and your future. You need to make good choices with nobody to guide you. You are on your own and left to your own devices. Should you not have the requisite maturity, you are in trouble. The prior poster has given you valuable advice.

 

End up taking a program that really interests you and it is important to have at least one Plan B, so you land on your feet should you not go for medicine or not get in. If you are interested in health care regardless, you should have a fallback so you can continue in health care.

 

You need to know how to study effectively and what works for you. If in trouble, go to counselling sooner rather than later to find help so you can identify the problem and improve. Good note taking is required as is being organized. For time management, if you take public transportation, use this time to read or review material. If you feel overwhelmed, do something about it sooner rather than later as you will lose focus and fall behind.

 

Do not volunteer or do ECs until you have academics under control.  GPA is king. Pursue activities that you enjoy and that give you CanMEDS competencies (google this). Show perseverance and commitment in your activities.

 

Be kind to others. Do a good deed every day even if it is just making another smile. Be humble.   

[Guest]

I have nothing interesting to add, but I just wanted to further support Bambi's post "Do not volunteer or do ECs until you have academics under control. GPA is king."

A lot of people don't get this. GPA is often the cutoff factor, you can have amazing ECs but if your GPA doesn't meet their cutoff, they might even look at your application. Also, GPA is 3-4 years of hard work, if you mess that up, you'll probably have to do a second undergrad degree to be competitive... School is expensive and very time consuming. There will always be time to work on your ECs, you can work on your CV by simply living life!!!

(Also, this may not be good advice but it is my opinion: ECs are subjective, what may look good to you may not be impressive to the admissions board, OR other applicants may have stellar ECs that year; that's why I refuse to risk my GPA for ECs, because at least I know exactly what my GPA is worth!)

[MountainAmoeba]

These people are on point. I wish I had understood how hard university CAN be. The material isn't exactly difficult, the amount is, the pace is.

 

I also wish I had known that in many classes there are only three grades. Two mid terms and final. With maybe 50-70 marks a test. Each question is worth much more of your final grade than in high school.

 

But you can do well. Do the readings before class. Then go to class. They usually barely scratch the surface in class, because that's all the time they have for, but the depth you are expected to know for the content goes way beyond the class content (often).

 

Study smart. Don't read the same thing over and over again. Look at all the material you are given and pay close attention to overlap. Those are usually high yield areas. Watch you tube videos. Read articles. Etc.

 

Start everything well ahead of time. Professors are usually able to help you, but only if you approach them early, and have a substantial effort already put in . They have no tolerance for last minute requests. If you don't understand something, book an appointment with a TA or your prof.

[indefatigable]

The major differences for many people are time management and learning how to study effectively.  In high school, even a lesser amount of studying can often be enough to do well.  In university, this isn't generally the case - so being able to regulate your time and plan ahead is crucial.  Compared to high school, lectures take much less time, so there's a higher requirement for using the time outside of class effectively (reading, lab work, studying..).  Attending lectures isn't nearly enough, unlike possibly for high school.

 

 The biggest transition for a lot of people may be social - living away from parents and possibly managing a living space, work and a budget.

 

 Finally, unlike high school, university is essentially a permanent record.  University transcript and GPA is often the biggest factor in professional program admittance and can even sometimes have a role later.  Choose a peer group wisely, as Bambi suggests: a highly successful Bachelor's degree is the entry point into a number of careers whereas an unsuccessful degree can often mean exclusion from many.  A Bachelor's is a transition point and not the end goal.  

[MountainAmoeba]

Oh also. One last thing. There is a ton of reading to do. I really really recommend doing it. It makes such a difference to your learning. I'm 31 and back in university and just killing it. But I do all my readings before class.

[1D7]

Agreed with everything else that has been said (similar material but faster pacing, social difficulties, etc.) but IMO a key point that hasn't been mentioned yet is that you should always have a good sense of what the upcoming exam will be like roughly 1-3 weeks ahead of time. If you know what will be on the upcoming exam, you'll understand what material you should focus on (and what material is unlikely to appear).

 

There are a few different ways to do this.

1. Use practice exams.

Generally these will be provided by the course or course notes but if not, there will usually be question banks at various university clubs for 1st year courses. Look for recent ones otherwise they won't be representative of the exam material.

 

2. Talk to the professor/TAs about what material is pertinent to the exam and what isn't

Sometimes helpful, sometimes not. However since they're the ones actually making the exam (and exam styles can change every year), you should always check with them just in case past practice tests/exams are outdated.

 

3. Talk to your peers/friends

Pretty self-explanatory. The more academically driven & capable your friends are, the more likely they'll be able to help.

 

4. Look at lecture slides/review lecture material

There will be concepts that are implicitly or explicitly emphasized as testable material.

[Jessica160]

Both myself and my husband found that perhaps the biggest difference is that there is no one holding a safety net; you are 100% accountable. 

 

My husband SHOULD have failed many of his high school classes but didn't because the teachers felt bad for his upbringing and gave him chance after chance to get his grade to a pass. When he finally went to university he failed the first semester - he couldn't pass because there was no leeway like there was in high school. No one called when he missed classes, no one extended deadlines at the deadline, no one waived late penalties, no one offered extra credit assignments...