As the end of senior year approaches the age old question starts to form. “What’s next?”

High school seniors start transferring their thought process from high School to college. The “what’s next” question becomes louder.

Most have spent the last four years complaining about early wake up, long school days, heavy class burdens and relentless teachers. Students are now at the finish line.

Again, “What’s next?” Will this be the same for college? Will college be harder?

Oftentimes, high school teachers utter the phrase “that won’t work in college.”

But while interviewing current and former college students this might not be the case.

Having the freedom to self determine her day made the college transition easy for one interviewee.

“I still have a bunch of assignments in college, but our due dates are more spaced out during the week. I have classes Monday, Wednesday,and Friday. I have off on Tuesday and Thursday. This makes turning in assignments much easier”,  Andi Mazzarella, a current Temple University student said.

An article written by  University Of The People discusses that  “the professor’s goals are to teach you about the subject you are learning. They are not going to tell you to take your hat off and sit up straight.”

College will allow students to choose classes that peak their curiosity, directing them to achieve a degree in a major of their choice. Students will choose where to eat, where to dorm and how to navigate their day.

This open format teaches students how to structure  time and places failure directly on their shoulders. It won’t be a parent’s fault or teachers. The burden of choice will be theirs.

The ability to focus on a major, an area of specific interest makes the process easier for some, like Dallastown graduate Natalie O’Dell who is an Advertising and Public Relations major at Penn State.

“Now as a junior I’m taking classes like digital marketing and research in Advertising/PR which is directly what I want to do. My classes now are what I do in my everyday life with my internship and social media management agency, so they’re super easy for me and it’s fun to collaborate with my professors and students in my class, even though I go to a huge school. “

For some students college can be harder than high school.

 “College requires a lot more time management and independent work. Rather than doing in person work and getting help in class like in high school, college is more lectures in class and work in your own time,” former Dallastown student Taylor Witmer, a current Drexel University student said.

College will provide topics that are more in depth, faster pace and more expectation for self – teaching.

This seems to be the struggle of some college students.

“I had a hard time adapting to so much of the class work being about my self motivation to get it done. No one was telling me day to day to keep working on an assignment. They just give you a date and expect it to be turned in. It was a new way of studying for me,” Melissa Lively, a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology said.

I’ve come to believe study skills such as organization, time management, prioritizing and self motivation, if learned in high school, gives students a leg up in college.

Maybe the answer lies more in what the high school student brings to college, their willingness to grow and develop. Each student bringing their own skill set, leads the answer to be very individualized.

So maybe there is no correct answer..