Don’t we all think that this academic year has flown by so quickly? I agree that we encountered loads of experiences and fun moments together, but now the countdown has begun! Fifteen more days till summer begins! As we know, this is the last year for our 12th graders here at KIS, so this post will be comparing our school lives, with the lives they will soon have at university.

Freedom of classes:

As you may know, colleges are very large.  Therefore, you might not know everyone in your class, unlike at schools where you are familiar with everybody in your class who you spend the entire academic year with. We all know how we are excited for residentials which only last for a week. But imagine seeing your parents only twice a year? How would you cope up with that? Well, that is what you will eventually be doing when you leave for college. Now my favorite point: in college you can learn whatever subjects are your favorites as well as what you want to do in future. However, at school you are forced to learn all subjects. According to Fast Web, in high school, you study comfortably at home before a test, while at university, the library becomes your home away from home. At school, you are able to finish all your homework in one night, avoiding getting detention, while in college, that is nearly impossible to do!

Student Responsibility:

In school, people may worry too much about what people think about them and that’s normal. But trust me, in university, your mind will be too busy to remember and do all of your homework than think what people might think about you. At school, everyone has a small gang or squad and that’s how you are seen by other people. Whatsoever, at university, you are a completely new individual, and you are able to be yourself. I know that we all get annoyed by our parents telling us that most of the things we do is wrong, even though for us it might feel right.  But hey, we should listen to them now because we may face some challenges in college when they aren’t there for us. Student responsibility has a huge importance and impact on students lives because they have to take matters and decisions into their own hands and think logically before making a decision.

So, who is excited for university?

Category Differences In School vs University:

Let’s take a closer look specifically in the first category; freedom of classes. The pros about being forced to have an overall understanding of all concepts in school is really beneficial in order to know what passionates you and what you are really interested in.  On the other hand, what is good at university is when you have a chance to choose what you want to focus on in the future, you never get bored as you are learning things that interest you. There are no specific winners for this round because it is more of an opinion based learning choice.

For the second category regarding student responsibility, it is a very important aspect part of the educational system that our schools provide us. They basically prepare us for what will eventually come next in our lives. One of the most dramatic changes for some of us is to live far away from our parents, in order to achieve that goal. For example, KIS organizes residential trips every year for every grade starting from Grade 3 in order to take a little break from our regular school routine and our parents, teaching us to be responsible students along with our classmates. Another important point is that you wouldn’t have your teachers to keep reminding you to submit and do your homework on time. At university you have to be much more responsible and take matters into your own hands. For this category, I believe that schools prepare us for college which is a big advantage for all of us.

Now that you have general knowledge about both categories, which of the two do you think is better, school or university life? Well, this question in my opinion is only answered when each one of us finish our Diplomat Program and start to go to university and begin learning there, after spending a year or so we can make our own personal judgements to this question.

I interviewed a few 12th graders about their feelings and thoughts about going to University. Here is what they had to say:

Minsue:

“I feel really weird about going to university especially after staying in the same school for 5 years. It’s all going to change; new school, new people, new culture, new environment, new country. It will be a touch challenge but I also hope I can create another chapter of memories and pursue my future by studying more in depth about my profession. Also I hope to become more independent by living alone in a new country. I wish for a happy life wherever I go or whatever I do, and I will never forget the memories I had in KIS” (Minsue).

Krit:

“ I feel truly excited for university. I know that’s what everyone says but for me I really feel like university will be the start of something very new. I want to be in control of every aspect of my life decisions, meaning everything, mistakes included will come of my own accord. In addition, I’m happy that I will be able to pursue learning about something that I am passionate about, no longer confined to the structured system of the past 12 years of my life. I hope that I will be able to achieve my life long goal of becoming a physician, but I’m also worried about how I will be able to cope with the newfound stress and responsibilities that come along with this new period of my life” (Krit).

We wish all the 12th Graders departing from KIS to begin a new chapter in their lives all the very best in the future . Good luck to the rest of y’all in accomplishing your upcoming summatives and exams before summer holidays !!!!!!

“20 Differences between High School & College Life.” Fastweb.Web.

“Difference between School and University, Undergraduate, Education – Future Students | Curtin University, Perth, Australia.” Future Students. Web.