7 Things You Won't Miss About High School After Graduation
1. Having Class 5 Times a Week
Ok, you’ll probably do this in college. But you don’t have to. While it can be difficult to manage, it is possible to arrange your schedule so that you only have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays or on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I’ve done the latter for several semesters, and the extra days off can be really nice, as long as you’re fine with longer school days than you’re used to when you do have to show up for school.
2. Early Mornings
You might have class in the morning, but that’s only if you want to. If you’re an afternoon person, you can schedule your courses so that your school day doesn’t start until the time you were usually finished with a day of high school. There are even night classes for the night owls. Arguably the best thing about college is being able to arrange your schooling around your schedule, while in high school you were stuck having to plan your life around your school.
3. The Lack of Bathroom Breaks
In college you can get up and go to the bathroom whenever you want. You don’t have to ask, and you don’t even need a pass. While some teachers might find it rude for you to walk out of class in the middle of a lecture, most won’t care, and none will penalize your grade for it or call school security to send you to the principal’s office for skipping class and trespassing in the hallways.
4. Busywork
College is all about tests and quizzes. Classes where you have nightly homework assignments and countless worksheets are few and far between. This means more of your grade is determined by how well you do on your tests, but a little extra time studying is a fair tradeoff for a lighter course load.
5. Cafeteria Food
College campuses always have several different dining halls with more options than high school cafeterias and much better quality food. There are also plenty of chain restaurants on and near campus, and no one forces you to eat the school’s food if you don’t want to. You can also bring food to most classes, meaning lunch time can be any time.
6. The Dress Code
You can wear (almost) whatever you want in college. Whether you wear your pajamas or a costume on Halloween to your 8 a.m. class, no one will bat an eyelash. Gone are the days where you have to measure your skirt before leaving the house and throw out your spaghetti straps because your shoulders are too inappropriate for other students to look at.
7. Cliques
Sure, there are fraternities and sororities and clubs and organizations, but for the most part, the superficial labels of “popular,” “nerdy,” “goth,” etc. in high school disappear in college. Between residence halls and core curriculum classes across nearly every discipline, you’re going to meet and befriend a lot of different types of people interested in a lot of different things, and the lines between specific groups quickly start to blur.