2017 Aug 24
Most of us are pretty excited to leave behind our school years and embark on university adventures. Especially if you are thinking of going abroad, you are probably focusing on the freedom, the parties and perhaps a better shot at a cute love story (*Wink* *Wink*). Majority of you will get to experience such pleasures, but there is more to college life than that.
I hate to rain on your parade, but despite your hurry to get to college, us Sri Lankans will have a lot to adapt to. Here are 5 of the biggest challenges my friends and I had to overcome in university.
No Spoon Feeding: It’s all on you
According to my experience in both a local and international school, Lankan school teachers spoon feed you quite a lot. If you feel like dropping a subject that is too hard, they are going to come behind you and try to convince you otherwise. They make you do all the past papers. They worry about your bad handwriting and if you are really lucky, they will care about your well-being even outside of school. Does any of this ring a bell? Well reader, I am sorry to say that you will not experience such privileges in university.
“Well whilst there’s someone to watch your back and walk you through your academic problems at school, you usually have to find your own path at uni and figure things out independently.”
-Bimsarie W. (Economics Student at Warwick University, UK)
“Since we were spoon-fed in high school, university culture will be difficult to get used to at first. We are only taught basic theories. We have to figure out how it is applied to the real world.”
– Ovini P. (Engineering Student at University of Adelaide, Australia)
But do not panic too much. I can testify that after a few times of curling up into a ball and weeping in the corner, you will eventually adapt to it!
Time-tables without intervals
“I sit in the last row of the lecture hall and gobble down a Sainsbury sandwich. It is a real struggle to decide whether I should be concentrating on the boring lecture or my precious food!”
– Anonymous (UK University)
Do you remember impatiently awaiting break time at school? That 20-30 minutes you can calmly eat your rice and curry, enjoy the breeze and chat with friends… It is truly heavenly! However, at university the story is quite different. There will be days when your schedule goes like; 10.00 – 12. 00, 12.00-14.00 and 14.00 – 16.00. Hence, quickly eating a bag of crisps while racing to your next lecture with the wind knocking on your half-frozen face has to become second nature to you. Pity such talents cannot be added to your CV (Pssst…Try squeezing it in if you can).
Only one chance to get it right
The great thing about high school is that before your O-levels and A-levels, you will have many term tests to improve yourself. Additionally, these tests are also followed by the intensive Parents/Teachers feedback sessions 2-3 times a year. Contrastingly, you will rarely get so many chances in university to score well. Any kind of assignment usually counts towards your degree, meaning your life is constantly on the line. There are no dress rehearsals.
As for the feedback, your professors will not kindly host meetings for you like in high school. Did bad on your essay? Stop lying around and march yourself down to their office rooms.
Plagiarism is real
When I was preparing for high school exams, there was this strange child who use to memorize the sample answers given to us by teachers every day before he went to bed. Then, he just had to write that answer in the actual exam slightly adjusted to suit the question. Reproducing sample answers is normal in most Lankan high schools. Sadly, in university that’s called plagiarism. Prepare to go through endless tutorials on referencing because colleges have world class technology to detect any copying. Let me help you out. Try : https://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm. Yup, there are so many commas and full stops. Good news is, you will eventually get the hang of it….. in your final year 😛
Bye bye Tuition
Ah Sri Lanka and its tuition classes. Most of my friends and I went to a tutor for every subject. Then there was even that really competitive student who had TWO tutors per subject (Don’t look at me!). However, college life is a bit different. Particularly for those of you heading to universities abroad, it is very unlikely that you will be able to depend on a tutor. Most institutions do make seminars and workshops available in addition to lectures. However, it won’t be a cosy one-on-one sessions at home like you are used to. So get ready to be extremely self-motivated. Pay attention at your lectures because your tuition teacher won’t be around anymore to explain what you missed.
Since you now know what to expect, here is hoping you won’t be too overwhelmed with the obstacles you face. On a more positive note, these challenges will invariably mould you into a more resilient and determined person. After all, what does not kill you makes you stronger right?
Finally, everyone let us just take a moment and give it up to the teachers and tutors who always had ours backs and the wonderful privileges of high school that were taken for granted. Cheers!
