Highschool vs College: Difference and Comparison

Education is the most crucial aspect of a person’s life. There are different phases of receiving education. The two categories of educational institutions are high school and college.

These expressions are used in the United States and American English. However, the notion is the same in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Key Takeaways

1. High schools have a more structured environment, while colleges provide greater flexibility and independence.
2. College coursework is more in-depth and specialized than high school classes, focusing on specific fields or majors.
3. Colleges offer more extracurricular activities, resources, and networking opportunities than high schools.

Highschool vs College

High school provides students a well-rounded education in various subjects, including math, science, English, social studies, and physical education. College is a specialized post-secondary education that prepares students for specific careers or professions.

In most educational systems in the United States, high school refers to any three to six-year secondary school that serves students aged 13 (or 14 or 15) to 18.

Freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior are commonly used in ascending order at four-year schools to identify the various school levels.

A college is a higher education institution that grants students a degree. Students anticipate continuing their education at college after graduating from high school.

College is a setting where students may choose from a variety of courses. College is not mandatory to pursue; it is a paid education system.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Highschool	College
Class size	Less strength of students.	The strength of students depends on the college.
Study period	30 hours a week.	12 to 16 hours per week.
Testing system	Frequent tests.	Fewer tests.
Graduating criteria	Can graduate as long as students attend all the classes and pass all compulsory courses.	Students’ grades must fulfill the set criteria.
Expenses	Expenses are low.	Expenses are high.

What is Highschool?

A high school is a secondary school where kids receive their education before beginning college or working. From ninth to twelfth grade, most high schools have four numbered rates. High school is the next step after middle school or junior high.

The name originated in Scotland, where the Royal High School is located, the world’s oldest high school. It opened in 1505 and was a model for the United States’ first public high school in 1821.

In some countries, kids enter high school at the age of eleven, whereas in the United States, high school begins at the age of fourteen.

The comprehensive high school is the most prevalent, with a program incorporating both basic academic tracks and customized tracks oriented towards commercial, trade, or technical subjects. 

Most high schools in the United States are public, meaning they are tuition-free and subsidized by the government.

However, a handful of private high schools nationwide are funded partly by tuition and partly by private grants or endowments. The majority of these institutions cater to college-bound pupils and are sectarian.

High school is essential for a multitude of reasons. Still, most importantly, it is the last low-stakes period in a person’s life during which they may study, explore, and even indulge in a range of courses and hobbies before entering the real world or deciding which one to pursue a long term.

What is College?

A college is a higher education institution where students can get a degree and specialized professional training. Students might use a college to help them develop their abilities and become skilled.

The institution serves as a link between students’ passions and their chosen professional path. A student can derive various factors about the sector and, as a result, prepare for the next job obstacles.

A college education aids in developing technical, creative, and critical thinking abilities. Second, the institution is crucial in preparing students for careers in business. In college, professors may deviate from the textbook.

Instead, they may add visuals, background information, or highlight research on their teaching topic to supplement the text.

They may also ask the students to connect what happens in class and the textbook readings. Testing is done infrequently and might be cumulative, encompassing much information.

To prepare for the test, the students are required to organize the material. In a semester, a course may only have two or three tests. The grading system in college is slightly different than that of any institute.

Most course grades are determined by test and primary paper grades.

Main Differences Between Highschool and College

1. In high school, courses include no more than 35 people and are taught by teachers; however, in college, classes can vary significantly in size from twenty to hundreds of students, depending upon the type of college the student chooses. Professors are in charge of teaching the classes.
2. In high school, the class time is six hours a day totalling up to 30 hours a week, whereas in college, the class hours are between 12 to 16 hours per week, including breaks.
3. Testing is common in high school and covers a minimal amount of content. Teachers routinely offer review sessions, highlighting the most significant topics, but testing in college is uncommon and might even cover a tremendous amount of content.
4. In high school, students can graduate with a D or higher, the only condition is to complete all needed classes and students must pass all compulsory courses but in college, the students can only graduate if their class average satisfies the departmental level, which is normally a 2.0 or C.
5. In high school, all the expenses of the students are covered, and textbooks are of lower prices and in some cases, are also covered under the expenses. In contrast, in college the student has to take care of all the expenses.

References

1. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00098655.1969.11478372?journalCode=vtch20
2. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/009155210102900302?journalCode=crwa