There are many questions which are asked by high school students about what their lives are going to be in college. For example, do I have to wake up so early?, do I have to finish a lot of homework? Because it is the time for changes, they are very excited. However, after they join a college, some want to go back to high school again whereas some think that college is better than in high school. In several ways, college and high school have some differences and a similarity.
Firstly, people in high school have a stronger relationship with friends than people in college. In Thailand, from my experience, students in high school who are in the same room never separate from each other. It means that over grade 9 to 12, you are never taken apart from your classmates. Moreover, when there is a school event such as the sport day, people in the same room need to help together to finish the public work. Accordingly, they get closer as they grow up in a strong social environment that high school presents to them (Klein & Lapolla, n.d.). In contrast with college friends, because college lives are in the middle between children and adults, most of the people spend their times to find themselves individually rather than finding friendship. That is the reason why college students have a weak relationship with others. Nevertheless, friends in college are diverse (Koman, 2015). The students will meet people from around their country. Some might came from a rural area, while some might come from another country, so there are many different thoughts to share. Hence, this shows that high school friends and college friends are distinct.
Secondly, high school students have limited choices for learning. Students in high school are not allowed to choose any subjects by themselves. They need to follow what teachers provide for them so they can graduate ("Differences Between", n.d.). In Thailand, the common subjects, for example, that all high school students should study are Mathematics, Sciences, English, and Social Educations.