1. How are College Academics Different from High School
How are College Academics Different from High School? Be Prepared for the New Challenges of College By Allen Grove, About.com Guide
The transition from high school to college can be a difficult one. Both your social and academic life will be remarkably different from high school. Below are ten of the most significant differences on the academic front:

2. No Parents
Life without parents may sound exciting, but it can be a challenge. No one is going to nag you if you're messing up. No one is going to wake you up for class or make you do your homework (no one will wash your laundry or tell you to eat well either).

3. No Hand Holding
In high school, your teachers are likely to pull you aside if they think you are struggling. In college, your professors will expect you to initiate the conversation if you need help. Help is available, but it won't come to you. If you miss class, it's up to you to keep up with the work and get notes from a classmate. Your professor won't teach a class twice just because you missed it.

4. Less Time in Class
In high school, you spend most of your day in classes. In college, you will average about three hours of class time a day. Using all that unstructured time productively will be the key to success in college.

5. Different Attendance Policies In high school, you are required to go to school everyday. In college, it's up to you to get to class. No one is going to hunt you down if you regularly sleep through your morning classes, but the absences could be disastrous for your grades.

6. Note Taking Challenges
In high school, your teachers often follow the book closely and write on the board everything that needs to go in your notes. In college, you'll need to take notes on reading assignments that are never discussed in class. You'll also need to take notes on what is said in class, not just what is written on the board. Often the content of classroom conversation is not in the book, but it may be on the exam.

7. Different Attitude Toward Homework
In high school, your teachers probably checked all your homework. In college, many professors won't check up on you to make sure you're doing the reading and learning the material. It's up to you to put in the effort needed to succeed.

8. More Study Time
You may spend less time in class than you did in high school, but you will need to spend far more time studying and doing homework. Most college classes require hours of homework for every hour of class time. That means that a 15-hour class schedule has at least 30 hours of out-of-class work each week.

9. Challenging Tests
Testing is usually less frequent in college than in high school, so a single exam may cover a couple months worth of material. Your college professors may very well test you on material from the assigned readings that was never discussed in class. If you miss a test in college you will probably get a "0" -- make-ups are rarely allowed. Tests will often ask you to apply what you have learned to new situations, not just regurgitate memorized information.

10. Greater Expectations
Your college professors are going to look for a higher level of critical and analytical thinking than most of your high school teachers did. You're not going to get an A for effort in college, nor will you usually get the opportunity to do extra credit work.

11. Different Grading Policies
College professors tend to base final grades largely on a couple big tests and papers. Effort by itself won't win you high grades -- it's the results of your effort that will be graded. If you have a bad test or paper grade in college, chances are you won't be allowed to redo the assignment or do extra credit work. Also, low grades in college can have serious consequences such as lost scholarships or even expulsion.