How Difficult is College?

[Legend]

So many variables.

Like:

High School Difficulty
College you're apply for
Field you're going into


I'm in computer engineering, but my High School was so rigorous that it was easy as hell until I got to my late sophomore year. The biggest ajustments are sleeping schedule, and eating right.


If you're coming from an easy high school, and going into engineering, you're going to get reamed. I'm talking about using every second of your free time studying and doing homework. This happens in engineering. The highlight of your day is sleeping.

,..but it's not always like that. Very easy for me to adjust to becaus in my high school I was already doing about 6 hours of homework a day.

 

[IronWing]

The hard parts: Noise. Sleep deprivation. Alcohol.

The school part is fun if you are in the field that is right for you. If not, change majors fast. Note that I didn't say easy, just fun. If you want to get the most out of the time and money you are expending to go to college then you owe it to yourself to make sure it's hard; that you are learning; that you use the school for all it's worth.

 

[RedCOMET]

Originally posted by: Legend
So many variables.

Like:

High School Difficulty
College you're apply for
Field you're going into


I'm in computer engineering, but my High School was so rigorous that it was easy as hell until I got to my late sophomore year. The biggest ajustments are sleeping schedule, and eating right.


If you're coming from an easy high school, and going into engineering, you're going to get reamed. I'm talking about using every second of your free time studying and doing homework. This happens in engineering. The highlight of your day is sleeping.

,..but it's not always like that. Very easy for me to adjust to becaus in my high school I was already doing about 6 hours of homework a day.

I'm in the same program at my university. I found freshman year to be easy beucase in my highschool the courses i took covered the material of the freshman year curricula. I found sohpmore year to be more tougher, espeically digital logic.

I don't spend as much time studying as i should, but you do what works best for you, and if you need study more to do better, thats what you gotta do.

 

[maziwanka]

you'll figure it out when you're there. don't sweat it now

 

[zerocool1]

time management (or lack thereof) can either make you or break you in college

 

[rabiesdvm]

Leaning to be responsible, being able to schedule your time to include fun and work, remembering that while it appears to be a time to party that it is really an investment

 

[Kev]

It's pretty easy. The constant papers and presentations may make you want to walk into traffic, but other than that it's a snap. You usually don't even have to worry about bombing tests, because the other retards in your class will do even worse and you'll get it curved to at least a C. (Yeah I had high standards)

 

[Patt]

Hangovers are the most difficult.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Originally posted by: clickynext
Geez, why is Engineering so hard? I see arts students who are able to have 2 days of classes per week.

Because Engineers actually have to learn something. I live with two art students, and I can tell you I have NEVER seen either one of them study. One paints about an hour a day and occasionally does oragami, the other...um I think he wakes up and showers occasionally.

To the OP I would say:
Don't think about college in the terms of how hard it is. College is more of a lifestyle then a job. It has it's moments, both up and down. There will be desprate nights of franticly trying to finish some term paper, but there will be wild parties that will end with you shareing your bed with something much better then a book
There will be long nights of intellectual conversation with your peers, and there will be very "im so broke I can't even afford Raman noodle" nights. The one thing about collage is, it is never boring, it never seems to fall in the rut you get into after graduation. Each class is a new challange, and every semester there are new people to meet (and try to get in your bed.)

The best advice I can give to anyone thinking of going to college is, LIVE ON CAMPUS!
Campus is a mythical wonderland immune to the normal rules of the rest of the world.
Ask pretty much ANYONE who lived on a campus and they will tell you it was the best time in there life, just don't ask someone actually living on a campus now, they live in that wonderland and have NO IDEA what it is like back in the real world.

 

[cirrhosis]

Originally posted by: OVERKILL
I'm looking to go to college and was wondering how tough it was.
Are the term papers the most difficult thing?
Is just showing up the toughest?
Is homework and studying the hardest part?
All information appreciated.

Waking up in time to make class and not get dropped by the prof.

 

[imported_xaguynamedguyx]

Time management...thats all it really comes down to. If you wanna party get your work done first. Thats the only thing you gotta do. Get your work done and reward yourself by partying

work hard party harder

 

[dr150]

If you stay away from engineering and sciences, college will be a breeze! :thumbsup:

Also, the pay will be lower. .......But then you can get and MBA or JD! .........But then you're an office rat ............But at least you're a well paid office rat .........until you realize you sold out and never did what you truly wanted to do with your life


Enjoy college! :thumbsup: Don't graduate without getting laid at least once! :thumbsup:

 

[Deeko]

It all depends on your major. At most schools...honestly...if you're a business major its a joke, and will be no harder than high school. If you're a math/science/engineering major, life will be difficult. At my school...CS is a pain in the ass, while IST is a breeze.

What you will find most difficult depends on what kind of a student you are. One huge difference you'll note is that there is no busywork in college. For me, that's all high school was. So if you're the type of student that didn't have to study in high school because the in-class work was all you need, you're in for a rude awakeneing, because you'll have to do alot more out of the classroom work.

Another problem is just willpower. Many classes don't require attendance. Generally you should still go....

Of course there is alchol. I don't need to say anything else about that.

 

[eigen]

The burning sensation when you pee.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: OVERKILL
I'm looking to go to college and was wondering how tough it was.
Are the term papers the most difficult thing?
Is just showing up the toughest?
Is homework and studying the hardest part?
All information appreciated.

How about hte fienld you have chosen?

Engineering = 4 hours of homework daily. Choose either Friday or Saturday nights as homework nights. Do all homeowrok on tyour own and you'll never study for an exam.

It's easy if you put hte time in doing your own homework.

 

[HombrePequeno]

Well if you have an 8:30am class than the hardest thing in college will be waking up for that. Going from high school where you wake up at like 7:00 to having to wake up at about 8:00 may seem great. I assure you it's not. I suggest not taking a class before 10:30. Unless you are in a quiet dorm (their lives are boring) everyone else is going to be loud until about 1:30 to 2:00.

I also suggest not taking too hard of a load your first quarter (semester) of college. That's the time when you're going to want to get to know people. You're not going to be able to meet people if you're taking Physics, Chemistry, and Calculus.

Other than that college is pretty much the same as high school (if you took the harder classes) except without parents telling you to do everything.

 

[Wallydraigle]

Your mom goes to college.

 

[91TTZ]

I hated college so I quit. Now I'm a server engineer at IBM.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ
I hated college so I quit. Now I'm a server engineer at IBM.

Yes, thank you. I would like fries with that.

 

[nageov3t]

I found junior year of college to be the hardest... Freshman year was all intro courses and most overlapped with stuff I had already been taught in high school. Sophomore year was intro classes for my majors (200 level courses) and a few more 100-level classes.

Junior year, though, was straight 300/400 level courses. I banged out a double major in 4 years, so the third year was really the year to get stuff done and out of the way. both semesters were all 300 and 400-level courses.

Senior year was pretty much a joke, though... after junior year, I already had almost all of my majors' classes out of the way, so I was only looking at a handful of 300/400 level courses with professors that I already knew/liked, some independant study courses because I needed a few classes to graduate that weren't being offered during my last semester, and a bunch of intro courses that were fairly fun (intro to computer, chemistry, communications, etc).

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: SMOGZINN

Originally posted by: 91TTZ
I hated college so I quit. Now I'm a server engineer at IBM.

Yes, thank you. I would like fries with that.

IBM doesn't sell fast food.

Please don't take your mental deficiencies out on me.

 

[Martin]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: SMOGZINN

Originally posted by: 91TTZ
I hated college so I quit. Now I'm a server engineer at IBM.

Yes, thank you. I would like fries with that.

IBM doesn't sell fast food.

Please don't take your mental deficiencies out on me.

pray tell, what does a server "engineer" do? Are you in charge of designing IBM's next generation server architecture perhaps?

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: Martin

pray tell, what does a server "engineer" do? Are you in charge of designing IBM's next generation server architecture perhaps?

I know, it's stupid... I don't make up the job titles. Everyone seems to have the word "engineer" in their title, and it's ridiculous since we don't actually engineer anything.

You can be a systems engineer, a server engineer, a network engineer, a train engineer, etc.

I run the datacenter for one of IBM's clients and everything that that entails.

 

[habib89]

setting priorities is the hardest.. you're gonna meet women.. you're gonna have drinking buddies... you're gonna have exams and homework... choose what you want to do, and that will determine how well you do in college...

for me, the hardest thing was to do was to sit through classes that you hate.. and everyone has to do it.. i highly doubt everyone is going to like every single one of their general ed classes.. i hated english, history.. basically anything i had to read and write in.. ha!

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: Martin

pray tell, what does a server "engineer" do? Are you in charge of designing IBM's next generation server architecture perhaps?

I know, it's stupid... I don't make up the job titles. Everyone seems to have the word "engineer" in their title, and it's ridiculous since we don't actually engineer anything.

You can be a systems engineer, a server engineer, a network engineer, a train engineer, etc.

I run the datacenter for one of IBM's clients.

I do a similar job and share your frustration.

my official title is "data center engineer." when people ask what I do, that's what I tell them. then "real" engineers overhear me saying it and get all pissy, like I'm trying to pretend to be something I'm not.

it's, like, wtf. it's just my job title... I've never denied that my college degree is in English Lit, not Aerospace Engineering or something