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Key takeaways:
- You need to adjust to a different academic life, but you will be ok.
- Your life will be so different especially if you move from home. This will bring independence, responsibility, difficulties, but ultimately some of the best years of your life.
- Learn quickly to look after yourself, but ask for support when you need it.
- Friends help.
- The most successful students learn a routine quickly, and do not skip the extra work like drafting and extensive exam preparation, that improves their grades.
What are the Differences between School and University?
The differences between school and university are obvious in terms of education, but more importantly they are significant in your way of life.
University is bigger and the standard of education is higher. There are not classes but lectures where there could be up to two hundred students and it is possible that you will never meet or talk to the teacher, ever!
Life is completely different, but it is said that your times at university are the best years of your life, and this is generally true, especially if you are a successful student.
So, what is different?
1 Academic Differences
You are probably going to university to do a 3 year or 4 year degree, this is called an undergraduate degree. If you pass and wish to continue with your studies then you can do a masters or PhD which are postgraduate degrees.
At school you turn up, do what the teachers instructs you to do and have little control over your studies. At university you chose your degree, you choose to go to class, you choose how and when you study and it is your choices that determine your grades. So it you that determines your success or failure.
You chose your course before starting and many of the subjects will be compulsory. You may need to make very fast decisions on other subjects if you are given choices. You will be assigned an advisor although most students get to understand all the admissions, registration and requirements from each other.
Instead of classes you will have lectures where you just listen (try to stay awake) for 90 minutes.
You may receive some information in the first lesson like dates, the syllabus, the grading, the percentage and dates of the exams and assignments, and the expectations of communications and coursework submissions. Hopefully!
Academic tips::
- Get into a good routine for you, when you like to work and how hard you need to work to get the grades that you want.
- Learn how to present your work e.g. structuring, formatting & writing academic report with references correctly
- Things like presentations are scary but the more you do the better you get.
The academic year differs depending on where you are. Lets split these into west (e.g. US & Europe) and east (e.g. Asia). At western universities, there are normally additional seminars and sometimes practical ‘labs’ for some subjects (e.g. programming for computer science students). At universities in the east, these types of lessons are part of the normal classes (lessons contain lectures and other types of classes. Countries differ.
The academic year has two main semesters of 15 weeks of classes each. There are also holidays, reading weeks and exam periods. So you will take subjects in these two main semesters, same as school terms.
If you are studying 6 subjects then there will be two classes of 90 minutes for each subject, so your academic week will have 18 hours in 12 lessons.
If the university day is 8am until 4pm for example, you can see that your lesson time is less than half the day. This is important as you need to plan what you will do outside of class, and this involves study.
You are not given homework but you are expected to self-study. You will have to figure out what, how, where, and why yourself.
So, in summary, you are at a larger more difficult education place, where you are in charge of what you do.
Your day is not set by teachers. Your timetable is not full of classes.
You have chosen to be at university and will have to work out how hard you need to study outside of lectures to be able to pass the course.
Most students say they desire freedom, but, when they have it, they often say they have no idea what to do with it!
2 Living at University
A large part of the need to adjust to a new life is moving from home. Not just from your parents home, but away from your home town, friends and family. This can seem very daunting and everyone is nervous. When you arrive talk to the other students and this feeling will turn to excitement.
At most western universities it is compulsory to live on campus which is university property. This has a big advantage that once you have paid, you have somewhere to live and this is not a stress.
You will share your accommodation with other students, with several blocks, with several apartments, which house multiple students. For example, I shared with 7 other students, which was one of six apartments in a building which was one of 15 in a ‘village’. There were four other places where students lived on campus. So there are many year one and international students living in university accommodation.
If you can imagine what happens when parents go away leaving many teenagers to look after a house, then you get the picture of this life.
So your first year can be a trade-off of this amazing party time of freedom, hundreds of people like you, many exciting events and things you want to do, versus, the adjustment to a new way of studying.
If you do not study your fun life will end when you are told to leave the university. There will be little to no warnings, you will just be thrown out.
Living at university after the first year is another story. This will be covered in another article soon.
3 Studying at University
At school, students get through the day, revise for exams, and forget everything they learn in between. University is different.
Time is not spent just in class so you are expected to study for 2 to 3 hours out of class for every hour in class.
So what do you need to do? Well what resources do you have? There is the library and there are the lectures so you may decide to take notes. There are other students, so you will need to help each other to understand your requirements, what to do and when, and what does everything mean (e.g. understanding the material).
There is online and AI. Most of your research will be online and AI can help you with an overview, planning or understanding. Perhaps the biggest mistake that students make is thinking a task is about gathering information. and answering the questions.
At university assignments are tasks to evaluate your understanding. You need to research and then you need to communicate and present your work to showcase your understanding. If you submit work that is copied from the web or AI you will get in trouble. In some universities you can be dismissed / expelled/ thrown out immediately.
Try to learn how you work best. Where can you work on campus, what time do you work best, and how long can you work in sessions and how can you take adequate breaks to help recharge you between and during these sessions.
Some students stay up all night, either to study of in their social life. Others like to get up early and have set times to study based on their classes and activities.
You will need to consider your time management. Work around your lessons during the week, work out what you need to do at weekends. Get a routine for your weeks knowing when are your deadlines.
You will work to your deadlines and exams.
Your semester will get increasingly intense and full of assignments before exam preparation. You will have a small break between semesters and between academic years.
How you manage yourself is the biggest difference and challenge in your first year at university.
4 School and University Life
So university you need to spend a lot of time studying, and you have the potential for great experiences with great friends having the time of your life socially.
You choose how much sleep you get, what food you eat and when, when you get up, how and when to do chores like your washing, showers, tidying up etc. Did you forget to exercise? Well universities are famous for clubs, sports and activities, which are all great, but will also increase demands on your time.
So, given that nearly every person is not good with work, time, money, food, exercise, and generally looking after themselves, it seems that getting a good life study balance would be a great problem at university. But yet we survive.
Be aware that you need a balance. Too much study is not good, too much paid work is not good, too much partying is not good, too much isolation is not good. Everything is part of a puzzle and you need to fix it all together.
Finances will be another concern and you may need to work. I read that students that worked over 10 hours per week suffered poorer results. You must respect you need time to both study and also enjoy a social life.
5 Making Friends
At school you have friends in your class, and outside of school. When you go to university you often start with no one.
Perhaps the number one thing not reported as really important to do at university is the importance of friends.
You will face many difficult times at university, and, you will have the opportunity of having the greatest of experiences. Both these, and everything in between is greatly enhanced with good friends.
You will get to know the students that share your accommodation. You will meet some people on freshers events and activities set up at the start of your first year. and, you may meet other students on your course. All of these are opportunities to make great friends.
Although universities differ, you should make the most of the opportunities to join activities, clubs and teams. This ranges from sports which are good for fitness and great for friends, to academic clubs which also benefit your studies.
Finding hobbies that you share interests with other students like you is a great way of meeting like-minded friends.
Over time you will mature your social life and make long lasting friendships, so give them time to come to you.
6 Uni Support
Your classmates and teachers offer you much support at school on top of the love and care of your parents and the legal responsibility of the school.
You now only have a distant relationship with your parents, family and friends. This is a difficult time and you need to adapt to this new life. This is difficult for you and everyone around you, so facing difficulty in adapting is normal.
Your first time being independent is exciting and different. Being with people that are experiencing the same thing as you normally means you have great people to talk to that understand exactly how you feel.
Some students find it harder than others although nearly all of us need support at some time.
We are not used to asking for help and it is not always easy to know when you need support or where to go. But it is there.
There are two main support networks: your personal network and official support. For academic matters you should seek the advice from your academic advisor. For subjects you may need to go to the person in charge of that unit, such as the lecturer.
Outside the classroom you still have your family and friends, and a new group of friends. Talk with them.
For health, including mental health, there is the medical center. Health professions deal with many minor health issues every day, but also deal with a substantial and important amount of counseling with students that need support.
Perhaps the main takeaway you should note is that you will struggle, you will need friends, you will need support, but the earlier you realize when you need support the better.
Seeking support when you need it, is one of the most important aspects of becoming a successful student.
7 Expectations
There is little expected of you at school – yes, I know this sounds wrong, but you turn up and do the best you can/want to do. If you do bad then teachers may talk to your parents, but schools only remove students for poor behavior rather than not studying.
Although the level of student care differs by country and university, academically for your studies, it is all up to you.
University is not free therefore it should be a professional experience. Your experience should expose you to a higher level of learning which should both be enlightening and challenging.
Evaluation of your ability to do your course will also be challenging. Assignments will be less frequent but harder. You will need higher thinking skills like research, analysis, evaluation and creation, rather than memory of facts.
A standard subject will have 2 90-minute lessons every week for 15 weeks. There will be a midterm exam (e.g. 30% of the subject marks) and a final exam (e.g. 40% of the subject marks). The final exam will be 3 hours, the midterm exam will be either 2 or 3 hours long.
Your coursework differs in different subjects but will cover the remaining marks for the course minus the exams (e.g. 30% of the subject marks). So you may get two assignments for about 3 weeks before each of the exams.
Reading weeks are sometimes given either before an exam or by a holiday. You will need them to catch up on your studies, or with family.
Many school students expect 90%+ marks at school and when they get 55% for a university assignment in which is better than anything they did at school, it is a shock! This happens (it happened to me!).
You will need to adjust quickly. You need to find out exactly what is expected of you. Essays need to be written exactly how they are supposed to be written. The same with reports, case studies, presentations, etc.
Don’t give up, don’t pretend you understand when you don’t, get help. If 10 students only understand about 10% of a new assignment, when they start to discuss what they think they need to do, then they now have a good idea of over half the assignment. The rest should come after research.
Perhaps a difficulty for most students is group work. We all work differently. In Asian universities many of my students are either potential pass or ‘A’ students. Meaning students tend to either want to just pass or try hard for an ‘A’ grade. If you are in a group, chose a group that does the same as you.
A very common occurrence is the student that does nothing in your group. This is very frustrating, especially if your an ‘A’ type of student. Beware, if you force this student into doing work, they can plagiarize (copy web or AI text,). This could be very serious for you, so always check work before you submit it.
In summary, it is expected that students take time to adjust to university education but show they are competent and motivated to be able to pass the first semesters.
If you do not perform to the level you want then you will need to get better. Work out how. This could be small changed in time or intensity in your self-study, working with others to help you, or even a completely different routine.
Learn and learn quickly.
8 Teachers vs Professors
At school teachers follow guidelines to give you a balanced education and have a responsibility to monitor your wellbeing. The university lecturers don’t. They have a large amount of students and expect that some will fail. It is your responsibility not to be one of those students and to pass your subjects to continue your university life.
Professors will focus on the design of the course and evaluate students fairly and correctly. Ultimately students get the grades they deserve. Motivation is not the job of the lecturer.
Not all people that teach at university are professors. Nearly all will have a PhD and therefore be a ‘ Dr.’, so they are called lecturers. Some will gain academic rank and be a type of professor (like me!).
So you do not have the same interaction, time and relationship (closeness) with university lecturers that you had with teachers. That is not to say they don’t care, they do!
If you wish to speak casually with a professor they are normally busy but if you are respectful they are happy to help you.
If you really need to have any time with a lecturer to talk then make an appointment. If they know you need time they will make time for you.
Again, be respectful, and be clear what you would like to talk about.
If a university lecturer thinks you will responsibly use their help to help yourself in a positive way, then they will help.
9 University Assignments
Assignments will be set giving instructions, requirements and deadlines. Follow the instructions, understand the requirements and work to and meet the deadlines.
School teachers give homework to follow the guidelines of the school and curriculum. Assignments at university are tests to evaluate your understanding and competence in the subject.
At school you often submit poor work but it has no consequences. This is not true at university.
If your university professor is like me then you will be in trouble of you submit AI output as this is at best not understanding, and at worst proves laziness, disrespect and reason for failure.
Surprisingly, a common mistake by students is not reading the question properly. So much that I have shortened sentences in exams into short bullet points and it helps the students.
Nearly every teacher, lecturer and professor, has had the issue of reading exams and assignments that are far too short and missing of detail. Students leave exams so early, why?
If you are asked to prove your understanding then think of an example and explain it. The students that take notes in class, give complete exam answers, and use their knowledge to give thoughtful details in their work, really stand out from the students that don’t.
You are expected to exercise critical thinking. You should be able to plan, structure, research and dissect information and present it in a coherent way that proves your skills and understanding.
Be proud of your work. If you do the best that you can then you will get good grades eventually, even if you have small hurdles. If you submit poor work then you know it will lead you downwards.
At a top university one essential process that appears less popular with current students is drafting. Everyone’s first work is not great. By improving your first draft you are improving your marks and probably grade.
Every time you improve your work you are increasing your likelihood of a good grade. There is a point where this is not the best value for your time.
As a student, I had a reputation for being very critical when asked to check other’s work. Really motivated people liked to ask me to proof read their work but I warned them not to be sensitive. So this was limited to students who really needed a good grade or Asian colleagues that wanted to perfect their work.
10 Taking Responsibility
You will fail or succeed depending on you. If you can be responsible for yourself then you may struggle at times but support will be there for you.
If you do not take the opportunity to learn then it is easy to waste time before being told to leave without warning.
So, you wanted freedom, here it is. Great times if you are able to balance your study and life. Remember:
- your success depends on you — not your teacher or parents.
- Motivation fades — habits and structure replace it.
- Being late, missing deadlines, or not asking for help has real cost.
Difference between High Schools and Colleges and University:
Questions and Answers
Is a school the same as a university?
No, a school typically refers to primary or secondary education, while a university offers higher education and awards degrees. University students are expected to manage their own time and study independently.
What’s the difference between university and high school?
The main differences are in learning style, class structure, and responsibility. In high school, students follow a fixed timetable, but at university, class times vary, and students are expected to take responsibility for their own learning.
What are the main differences between a college and a university?
In many countries, a college is smaller and may offer diplomas or associate degrees, while a university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. Universities are generally larger, with a wider range of programs and support services.
What are the main differences between school and university life?
Uni life includes more independent study, managing your time, and seeking academic support when needed. You also have more freedom to explore liberal arts, take a part-time job, or join activities around campus.
How do university assignments differ from school homework?
Assignments are due less frequently but require more research, critical thinking, and referencing. The course syllabus outlines expectations in detail, and students are expected to plan ahead.
How big are class sizes at university compared to school?
Large universities may have lectures with hundreds of students, especially in first-year courses. This is very different from the small class sizes many students experience in secondary school.
What kind of support do first-year students get?
Most universities and colleges offer academic support, writing help, and mentoring programs to help first-year students make the transition from school to university.
Do universities encourage independent learning?
Yes. University students are expected to engage in independent study, read widely beyond the course syllabus, and take responsibility for their progress.
Independent Learning and Starting University for High School Students
- Class Times: University schedules vary daily; you might have only one class on some days.
- Learning Environment: More freedom, but also more responsibility. Professors won’t check up on you like school teachers.
- Learning Style: Expect a shift toward independent learning and critical thinking.
- Support Services: From tutoring to counseling—know what’s available around campus.
- Managing Your Time: You’ll need to plan your study, social life, and maybe even a part-time job.
- Course Syllabus: Your main guide. It outlines deadlines, topics, and readings—read it carefully.
- Making the Transition: It’s normal to feel overwhelmed. Seek support early and talk to other undergraduate students or graduate students.