My education prior to college was NOT adequate to prepare me for college!

     When I entered college for my freshman year in 2010, I definitely noticed the differences between high school classes and those of college. In high school, I had been an honors student making mostly A's without having to put much effort into the classes. Then during my freshman year of college, I had to work hard in every class so that I could make sure maintain a A or even just receive a B. High school classes babied students with material that required minimal effort to excel in. We were then left to fend for ourselves when we stepped into a college classroom and the material, we were required to know already, took a few days to even grasp. The only classes I felt that prepared me for the academic shift to college level was that of AP courses which were made to prepare students for college. Beyond those, I felt that most students being honors or not were not adequately prepared to take on the academic hardships that is college.
     In high school, we are spoon fed material in the form of broad powerpoints and long class discussions. We hardly have to crack a book open in order to be prepared for the test because the teachers give us all we have to know. The only thing that required much effort in high school was the act of getting up to make it to school on time or even half way through. High school classes are made to give students a broad understanding of many topics without really going into depth.
     Then there are college courses, where class is composed of very detailed powerpoints or book discussions where we are assumed to already know that days material thoroughly. Then to prepare for exams, students must read the book or practice problems over and over to even have a speck of confidence of doing well. In college, everything requires a disciplined work ethic in order to survive the drastic changes that come with graduating high school. If I had to characterize college in a few words, it is preparation for the real world where life isn't so broad but more about reading between the lines.