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College vs. High School
A comparison for Running Start students |
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Personal Freedom in High School
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Personal Freedom in College
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Your time is usually structured by others.
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You manage your own time.
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You can count on parents and teachers for guidance and to remind you of your responsibilities.
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You will be faced with new moral and ethical decisions. You must balance responsibilities and set priorities.
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Guiding Principle: You will usually be told what your responsibilities are and corrected if your behavior is out of line. |
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Guiding Principle: You're old enough to take responsibility for your decisions and their consequences. |
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High School Classes
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College Classes
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The school year is 36 weeks long; some classes extend over both semesters and some do not.
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The academic year is divided into three separate 10 or 11 week quarters, plus 3 days at the end of the quarter for final exams.
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Teachers carefully monitor class attendance.
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Some instructors factor attendance into final grades; some do not take attendance at all.
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| You are provided with textbooks at little or no cost. |
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You must budget $200 or more for textbooks each quarter. |
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Studying in High School
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Studying in College
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Study time outside of class can be as little as 2 hours per week, and this may be for last-minute test preparation.
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You should plan to study 2 to 3 hours outside of class for each in-class hour throughout the quarter to achieve mastery. You will need to review class notes and assignments regularly.
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Class participation is often all that is necessary to learn what is needed.
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Substantial reading and writing assignments may not be directly reviewed in class. |
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Guiding Principle: You are usually told in class what you need to learn from assigned readings. |
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Guiding Principle: It's up to you to read and understand the reading assignments. Lectures and other assignments presume you have already done so. |
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High School Teachers
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College Teachers
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Teachers approach you if they believe you need assistance.
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Most instructors expect you to initiate contact if you need assistance. |
Teachers provide you with information you missed when you were absent.
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Instructors expect you to get notes from classmates for information you missed. |
Teachers often write information on the board to be copied into your notes.
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Good note-taking skills are a must; instructors expect you to identify the important points. |
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Teachers often take time to remind you of assignments and due dates. |
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Instructors expect you to consult the course syllabus for all important class information. |
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Tests in High School
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Tests in College
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Frequent tests covering small amount of material.
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2 or 3 tests per quarter, may be cumulative, covering large amounts of material. |
Teachers may rearrange test dates to avoid conflict with school events.
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Instructors in different courses usually schedule tests without regard to the demands of other courses or outside activities. |
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Grades in High School
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Grades in College
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Consistently good homework or "extra credit" may raise your overall grade when test scores are low.
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Grades on tests and major papers usually comprise most of the course grade. review class notes and assignments regularly. |
Initial low test grades may not have an adverse affect on your final grade.
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Generally, all tests contribute substantially to your final grade. A low initial test is a "wake-up call". |
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Guiding Principle: Effort counts. Teachers reward a good-faith effort. |
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Guiding Principle: Results count. Instructors expect quality work. |
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Thanks to
Doug Morgan at Spokane Falls Community College for use of this
table.
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