College: It’s Not Just Thirteenth Grade
...ity, he could breeze through school just because he was a (name of frat) brother. (his name) soon found out that this was not the case. He always participated in (name of frat) happenings, which left him with no time for his studies. Sadly, (name) was forced to drop out of school because he could not keep the grades that the college required him to make in order to receive financial aid. When students try to fit into a certain crowd, they tend to focus entirely on the social aspects of college. Unfortunately, students often forget that they are in college to get an education. Along with trying to fit into that special crowd, many college students find that having a relationship with their professors similar to the one they had with their high school teachers is nearly impossible. In high school, sweet-talking a teacher into giving an extension on an assignment is an every day occurrence. In college, professors could care less if one of their students does not have time to complete an assignment because they have football practice and a part-time job. Many students give up and do not want to go on with their education because of the rigidity of college courses as well as the lack of support given by professors. By doing so, they fit into the growing category of students who drop out of college after the first two years. Also, the huge class sizes at universities can be overwhelming. Classes at the University of Texas at Austin, for example, often exceed one hundred. Compared to high school courses where there are usually thirty students per class, this can make learning a challenge for those students who are used to small classes where they get attention. Clearly, the fact that students are often just faces in a crowd while in a class can be frustrating enough for a student to give up. In addition to not having a good student-professor relationship, the number one reason why many students do not excel in their studies is because of the college parties. For the first time, students can go party without the consent of their parents. Unlike high school, parties in college do not just happen on Friday and Saturday nights—they occur every night of the week and there is more than one to choose from. Parties do damage to unsuspecting students who forget that they have an eight o’clock class the next morning because they are having so much...