Jonathan Trent Patterson
McFall
ENG-155
September 27, 2018	
High School vs College
Let me explain some of the differences that I see between high school and college. I have only been in college for a little over a month now. I can only see a few similarities and many differences from being in college compared to when I was in high school. There are many differences between high school and college such as the cost, scheduling, and freedom.
The first comparison that I’ll mention is the cost. In high school I only had to pay a registration fee and buy a list of school supplies. I was provided textbooks, a Chromebook, and whatever else I may have needed. However, in college I have tuition, textbooks, homework, and I have even had to buy my own Scantrons from the vending machine, or the campus store. Another thing is that my lunch cost more in college than it did in high school. It was about $2.50 a day in high school, but now if I eat at the college cafeteria every day it would cost between five to eight dollars a day.  I came up with a way to save money on lunch. Instead of eating at school, I go to McDonalds and get a free Mc Double sandwich and buy an order of large fries. My total is $2.17 each day for the fries. Then I fill out the surveys on the receipts; it takes only a minute. After that, I take the receipt with the survey code to McDonalds and get a free Mc Double sandwich. Gas, and transportation is another increased cost I must face. I live only six miles from my high school, but 23 miles from Tri County, which is a 34-mile difference each day that I must travel. Not only does it cost more for fuel, but I spend a lot more time traveling to and from, and wear and tear on my truck. I really can’t think of any similarities in the cost category. The bottom line is that college costs more.
The next comparison that I’d like to discuss is scheduling between high school and college. In high school I was given a schedule that told me what days and what time my classes were to be. In college I had many different options of what days, times, and order my classes would be when I created my schedule. When I was in high school I had A/B days, and all class time was even across all, but in college I have the same classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and then the same classes on Tuesday and Thursday. Seems to me that I will have more time in some classes, and less time in others. My last year in high school I would get out at 12:30 one day, and have to stay until 3:00 the other. This semester in college I’m out by 12:30 each day. There is only one similarity that I can think of between my schedules here and when I was in high school. In both college and high school my first classes start around 8AM each day. I chose to start my schedule early each day, although it was tempting to have later classes some days so I could sleep in. Getting here early each day helps me get a good parking space, so it works out well.
The last comparison I will discuss will be the freedom that I have in college vs the lack of freedom I had in high school. The last couple of years in high school they put a shadow with me to keep me on task. That limited my freedom in high school, and ensured I was where I was supposed to be when I was supposed to be. I had a certain time to go to lunch and not much time between classes to get to where I needed to be. If I missed a class and was marked absent my parents received a phone call to inform them. However, in college I don’t have a shadow, and I have the ability to roam the campus. I can go to lunch early or late, and the freedom to choose where I want to eat. If I miss a class now or if I’m late my parents don’t know unless I tell them.
This is a comparison of the differences and similarities that I can see between high school and college. I compared cost, scheduling, and the freedom of high school vs college. As you can see there seems to be more differences than similarities. I enjoy being in college; I like having more freedom and the ability to make my own schedule. I do not like all the added costs that comes with being in college. I’m thankful that I qualified for the Life Scholarship, that helps a lot.