us & THEM The Road to College Success

2. The Grading Systems 3. Time Management 4. Personal Problem Differences 5. Working Independently 6. Gggggg 7. The Expectations 8. Letter from the Editors

The Grading Systems By: Xavier Parker A very big difference about High School and College is the way the teachers grade. You will see once you get to College, but it would be so much better to already be prepared for it so when you get to college and instead of getting a C in class you will get an A because you know what the professor is grading you on. Now if your planning on making an A, which you should be unless you’re not trying to reach your full potential, I will tell you how you can make an A. In college if your trying to be at an A level your teacher is looking for consistent mastery of the subject matter, including key concepts and vocabulary, and questions about the material also their looking for commitment to careful and accurate critical thinking. That might seem like a lot, but you have to realize its college not high school. In high school you can do surface learning and pass the class, but college requires you to use achievement learning. In high school you might be able to make an excuse for not getting an assignment turned in or not do it and still get credit, but it is not like that in college. You can’t turn in something late and expect to get full credit and most professors won’t care for your excuse because they gave you a syllabus with all of the dates and assignments so you will be stuck not doing well in one of your courses, but hopefully this article well help you get ready to make that change the change from a high school student to a young adult in college.

Time Management By: Imagine Moore When in college, time becomes more critical than time in high school. It is recommended to use all time. Try to avoid distractions such as any internet sites that have nothing to do with your study material, because one minute on the site will turn into an hour, before you know it, all of your time will be wasted. This isn’t the only time-management skill you should work on but also you should also work on being in class on time and having a plan for when you’re going to do your work as in what time and day. It is better to have a plan, so you won’t have to cram and things are least likely be forgotten. Also you should get yourself a planner. A planner will really help you organize information and then you won’t have an excuse for forgetting work. Don’t forget to always make sure you stay aware of what is coming up and what’s going on in class.

Personal Problem Differences By: Justin Gonzalez Imagine yourself walking into one of your high school classes depressed because of a personal problem you’re being faced with. For example, your girlfriend/boyfriend broke up with you, or you are on the high school football team and your team lost the homecoming game. Your teacher will probably have sympathy on you in the class because you can talk to her/him about the problem and they’ll understand. Now, let’s switch this around to the teacher being a college professor of an entry-level course. When you tell him/her one of the problems you are having, the reaction to what a new college student thinks the professor would say is totally antithetic. The instructor would refer to what their syllabus and say excuses aren’t acceptable. Research has been made to determine the requirement of students. Instructors have their own specific ways of success in their knowledge-rich courses. This links with passing your classes which is critical to be successful. This should always be remembered as important throughout your college life.

The main difference between college and high school is that in college you learn independently. While in high school you get most of your information second hand, in college you have to use is critical thinking to solve problems. The best place to start looking for how the instructor will expect you to write and how you will be graded will come from the syllabus. In college you also have more papers but fewer grades. Working Independently By: Jessica Ray College classes also move at faster paces because you have to do most of the work on your own time. College professors see a growing problem that students think there is a sense of entitlement that they should get good grades for attending class. They mistake effort for achievement.

In college you can’t just cruise by with all of the things you did in high school. A college professor has different expectations than a high school teacher so that will ultimately get you nowhere. Students are expected to be able to work and think independently meaning you can’t just go to the professor every time you don’t understand a problem, you have to take the appropriate measures in finding a solution by yourself. Also, a college student’s work must look like a college student’s work. Professors don’t want a one page paper with short, simple sentences, that’s not even high school level work. They want multiple page papers with long, well thought out complex sentences. The Expectations By: Modinat Showemimo

We just want to ensure that students don’t have the wrong ideas about college and the amount of commitment it takes. College and high school both require different levels of needs and should be treated as such. The sooner you can separate the two the sooner you are to being college ready.