I’ve always been baffled at the complete lack of preparation most schools give to students who are going to university. In the space of a few months, you go from the comfort and security of your secondary school to the big wide world. Unless you go to a very good school, then the chances are you know absolutely nothing about life at uni. Adjusting to new experiences is much harder when you’re underprepared. I thought I’d try and help anyone that’s currently in their last year of secondary school, preparing to go to university. Or, if you’ve taken a gap year or two, and you’re about to go to uni, then this will still benefit you. Also, it’s just fun to look back at how different school was if you’re already a uni student! So, without wasting any more time, here are the biggest difference between university and school:
The difficulty level
In school, you almost have a constant gradient of progression. If your education was a graph, it would show a steady diagonal line going upwards. Things get harder as you get older - it’s pretty obvious. However, the jump up to university level is like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. Going from GCSE to A-Level is probably the most significant jump in secondary school, but it’s still easy to get to grips with. Going from A-Level to university is almost like going straight from the end of primary school into GCSEs. The funny thing is, I don’t even think that’s an exaggeration! There’s just a toughness to uni work that you didn’t get in school. The tutors aren’t there to hold your hand, they expect you to know most of the things already. Plus, you have to think about your degree as well. You might be studying something that didn’t exist in school. Think about it, did you have any classes on dentistry, law, accounting, and so on? No! So, you’re learning new concepts and being taught entirely new things while simultaneously needing to remember specific skills or knowledge from other subjects that are relevant to this one. Just typing that out gave me a headache, let alone spending three years (minimum) dealing with it! The worst error you can make is being too relaxed about uni work. Realise that it is going to be the hardest thing you’ve ever done, so brace yourself for it.
The teaching methods
Part of the reason that uni is so much more challenging is that the teaching methods are different. As I said before, the tutors in your university don’t hold your hand. They provide you with some information, but you have to go out and find the rest of it on your own. You’re not given textbooks and pointed to the specific pages, and you’re not given printed out sheets with loads of info on. It’s up to you to take notes during lectures, and you’re pretty much all by yourself for the most part. Compare this to your teachers in school, and the methods are worlds apart. A schoolteacher provides you with all the information you need. They give you pretty much everything, they provide you with all the textbooks, revision notes, etc. Basically, your job in school is to memorise as much information as possible. Honestly, it’s well worth spending some time going to your school library or trying to do a bit of independent learning whenever you can. If you’re on a gap year, then I strongly suggest just doing a bit of reading relating to your course. Most course list books online that you should read or buy, so check them out and give them a look over in your spare time. This will help prepare you for what lies ahead.
The costs
Yep, there’s a remarkable difference in how much university costs compared to school. The majority of you probably didn’t pay to go to school at all. The public schools in the UK are exceptional, which means our education is free. You also have your lunch paid for you by your parents, all your clothes are washed at home, and you don’t have any expenses to worry about. Imagine going from this carefree life to one of near financial turmoil. That’s what it’s like for a lot of students when they go to uni. All of a sudden, you have a list of expenses that’s taller than you. Your place on the course costs money, your accommodation costs money, you need to buy books, food, stuff to wash your clothes - it’s a crazy step up from life in school. To make matters worse, you get a tiny loan to handle all of this with. If you’re fortunate, then your parents may help you out quite a lot and send a bit of money your way. Or, you can save money by living at home and slashing the cost of accommodation along with food, etc. I also saw an article titled Student Alert: You're The Boss Of Your Own Money Now… which provides a range of tips to help you gain control of your finances when you’re at university. This is probably one of the key reasons a lot of people don’t bother going to university. From some people’s perspective, the cost of uni is far too high, and the gains are too low. But, that’s a debate for another day!
The living arrangements/daily routine
Unless you choose to stay at home and commute into uni every day, then the living arrangements will be vastly different from when you were in school. No doubt you’re used to waking up in your own bed, seeing the rest of your family as you eat breakfast, then heading off to school. You come home, have dinner with the family, enjoy each others company, and so on. This routine gets completely obliterated when you go to university. For starters, your schedule will be nothing like it was in school. Here, you can be in uni from anytime between 9 and 5. On some courses, you’ll genuinely be in during that entire period. Other times, you’re in for an hour one day, three hours another, then a day or two off - it’s crazy. Compared to school, it seems a lot better. You don’t have to be in all the time, you get more free time - awesome. Well, most of your free time should be spent studying, so you still end up doing more work in uni than you did in school! But, the biggest difference is that you’re away from your family. Some of you may go to uni in different countries and will only see your family at Christmas, Easter, and during the summer. It’s a massive shock to the system that will take some getting used to. Also, you can sometimes feel very lonely in uni. If you struggle to connect with your flatmates, then the first year can be hard for you. My advice is to try and join societies or make friends with people on your course. This way, you should have a group of buddies that you could live with next year. As such, you won’t feel as lonely for the duration of your time in uni.
It’s really strange how two educational institutions can serve up entirely different experiences. School doesn’t prepare you for life at university, that’s a fact. Hopefully, by seeing these key differences, you can start preparing yourself for the change. From here, it should be easier for you to adjust to all the new experiences coming your way.
