Those Stressful 5 Minutes

Many students do not realize the drastic changes that they go through after high school and into college. Everyone is focused on being free and being able to take control of their own lives, however this can be a lot more difficult than it may seem. Many students, including myself, were very shocked by the changes we had to adapt to in no time at all. One of these differences between high school and college was the highlight of the night, the stressful 5 minutes of scheduling your classes!! Tonight at 12:00 a.m. Schreyer Honors students were allowed to pick their classes before the rest of campus due to their priority of classes. Even though there is a smaller pool of people to fight with over your classes, it is still a very stressful night!! I found myself with my friends on so many different websites trying to plan out what times, what days, and exactly what classes we wanted to take. It was actually very difficult for me to figure out how all the times of classes were going to work and be organized as well as keeping in mind all my extracurricular activities including Equestrian lessons and Singing Lions Rehearsals. In the end we found ourselves constantly refreshing the page and entering our passwords into eLion as it got closer to 12:00 to make sure we get in as soon as possible. After, I realized how easy it really was but the rush and the possibility that the classes we wanted would be full was too terrifying to risk wait.
This entire process was unlike anything I experienced in high school. Back in Connecticut, there were certain classes that students were supposed to take every year; sophomore year was biology, junior year was world history, senior year was calc and physics, and many others. This lead students to take the same exact classes as their friends who had different ideas and interests than you. In college you completely do your own thing. There are specific classes you need to take in each major but you have the decision when to take them or in some cases whether to take them at all. Even the environment of picking classes is completely different. You sit down with your advisor in high school and they basically tell you exactly which classes to take for the year. Now I have the opportunity to choose whatever classes I want in the comfort of my own room. This is just one of the many differences between high school and college that I must become used to.

5 thoughts on “Those Stressful 5 Minutes

  1. One of the most overwhelming things about Penn State is how many classes are even offered. I got an email inviting me to take this 400 level class called “Functional Genomics,” and I thought, “I wish I could, but there’s all this other stuff I have to take, and want to take, that is just as interesting.” It’s tricky: I want to take everything. In high school, you can come close to taking advantage of all of the high-level classes: the APs, the IBs, etc. In college, there are ten times as many options. We all have to choose.

  2. I love this! I went through the same thing, and my friends and I drowned our stress and excitement in junk food at Redifer afterwards!!!! This experience made me realize how fortunate we are to be scheduling first because just imagine what it would be like with thousands of other students trying to schedule at the same time with sections already full! I think semester we should all just camp out in the computer labs and eat junk food and have scheduling parties!! On another note, I really love your blog idea and think it will be very relatable to all of us freshman.

  3. This blog is one I can completely relate in so many ways! In Boardman, Ohio, I went to high school with 400 other kids in the same grade level and there was sort of a set schedule that everyone had to take. While having 400 kids per class does allow for some “variety”, most of the time everyone took the same classes. Now, I have more of an option of choosing what classes interest me rather than requires me. It is a weird feeling like I have to make sure that I am taking the “right” classes as everyone else or scheduling classes with everyone else. It is a huge change; I am glad somebody else sees it the same way!

  4. I agree that this was one of the most stressful times of the year so far — for some reason, even though it seemed like I had everything planned out so well, everything collapsed at the last second. Even with all of the stress, though, I loved the freedom of being able to control my own future and I wish that I had some more freedom to choose classes when I was in high school.

  5. I really like your insight regarding the scheduling process in high school compared to college. I feel like this topic is personally relatable to many students. It is definitely a huge transition to go from having a strict schedule of classes planned out for us to suddenly having the responsibility to schedule any course that we choose. Were you able to interview any students and ask them their opinion on high school vs. college in terms of classes?

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