Don’t let Welcome Week deceive you: college life isn’t all rock-painting and free Shakespeare’s. At some point, you will face challenges mightier than collecting as many black-and-gold T-shirts as you can. The world of college academics is new, but it doesn’t have to be intimidating. Here’s our guide to the differences between high school and college courses, and how your adviser can help you along the way.
Differences between high school and college courses:
–**Grades.** Although your grades in high school were based on dozens of assignments, grades in college courses often come entirely from a small number of tests and major papers. That provides a little wiggle room for slacking during the semester, but make sure you’re prepared when it comes time for midterms and final exams.
–**Homework.** Professors assign more reading and problem sets than your high school teachers probably did. You’ll rarely have to turn these assignments in, but if you blow them off, it will be hard to do well on exams. Furthermore, professors often won’t remind you about due dates, so make sure you keep track of what’s on the syllabus.
–**Class size.** A typical lecture course has hundreds of students in it. Worry not, avid hand-raisers: you can share your thoughts in your smaller discussion section.
–**Attendance.** Most professors don’t take roll, and some even put their lectures online using a service called Tegrity. But unless you have generous friends who let you freeload off their notes, you’ll regret not showing up for class. Nothing beats actually being there.
–**Extra help.** In high school, teachers might sit you (and your parents!) down if they think you’re struggling. In college, it’s up to you to realize you need help and visit your professor or teaching assistant’s office hours.
What your adviser can help you with:
–**Your four-year plan.** College is fun and all, but do you really want to spend a fifth year on campus just to get your bachelor’s degree? Your adviser can explain degree requirements and keep you on track to graduate on time or even early. An adviser can also tell you when your elective interest in history or Spanish has you a few credits away from a minor.
–**Registration.** When you hit a wall with MyZou, the advising office can often help. Your adviser can give you a permission number to get into a class that appears to be full, or help you figure out another way to fulfill the subject requirement. It’s a good idea to check in with your adviser before every registration session to go over your planned schedule for the next semester.
–**Finding interesting courses.** If you need three hours of humanities credit, but reading the works of 16th-century philosophers isn’t your thing, your adviser can help find a course that interests you. “Harry Potter, Magic and Religion,” anyone?
–**Getting involved at MU.** The advising office can help you find research opportunities, study abroad programs and ways to get involved on campus and in Columbia.
–**Your academic future.** If you’re planning to go on to graduate school after senior year, your adviser can help you choose programs and complete your applications.
College courses can be daunting at first. But if you prepare yourself and make use of the resources available to you, you’ll do just fine, Tiger.