In our school halls, students hear noise about how excited they are for college and the process of narrowing down their top schools. Today’s seniors are ready for a positive change that college will give them. It is time for seniors to get out in the real world and experience life without their parents and teachers holding their hands.

With COVID-19 numbers going down significantly the normal “college experience” is more attainable for students with large social events and in-person classes making a huge return. While there is no doubt that seniors are quite immature at times, let us be honest and admit that no college students are more mature.

College work is intense and can be a lot of pressure on freshmen but college should be fun like high school was. College freshmen just need to learn time management when it comes to balancing work and normal college activities. High school students constantly battle balancing clubs, school work, and their social life. Organized students have created a healthy balance between each activity.

College is a chance for teens to enter the adult world and learn the harsh realities that they will have to do on their own. These realities can look like doing your own laundry, eating three meals a day and waking up on time for class. All of these tasks and more will be the individual’s responsibility, not their parents.

There is no doubt though that the prospect of college can be scary; it should also bring excitement and motivation to students. Whether one is attending a big university or local community college, everyone should be grateful they get the opportunity to get a higher education. Take advantage of the time away from home to grow as a person, meet new people and mature.

Students are constantly told that college is way different than high school. Examples such as professors not giving out extensions and exams requiring you to study sound annoying, however, these statements are true. College is a different environment than high school and some of the seniors are not ready for that transition because they lack the responsibility they need to succeed.

Skipping class or sleeping through class in high school is something that teenagers do and what seniors neglect to recognize is that if they do that in college, the money they spend on tuition is being wasted. Depending on the college one goes to, the price of it can be expensive. 

High schools offer plenty of resources for students to take advantage of, yet not many of the students do this. College is all about independence and the one-on-one time students are used to will not be the same. In college, professors will give lectures or have open discussions with the class but none of that time will be spent talking to you alone. At most universities, professors are required to have office hours where students can ask questions, get help with an assignment or find guidance. Teachers in high school have the time to get to know their students yet in college this is not the case. 

Students are the ones in charge of their education and that is because of the freedom they have. Not having parents bossing them around sounds freeing, yet there are new responsibilities that come with being in college that students might not know how to do. Having to wake up, do laundry, eat meals, go to class and schedule time to study can be overwhelming to think about. Yet, it is all about having a balance and a set routine. It will be hard at first, but as time goes by, students will find that college will become easier as they get into the flow of things. 

College is an exciting time, but some seniors fear the unknown. The class of 2023 has seen the ugly side of the pandemic and was fortunate enough to have a normal senior year. As this chapter of their journey closes, the hope is that they can succeed in college. However, this will not happen unless one puts in the effort to achieve their degree.