• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Which period was better for you: High school or College?

Status
Not open for further replies.
College. Did worse academically but everything else was better. Closer social circle, had a job doing comics for the paper, better town for retro collecting, etc.
 
College. I'd say one of my biggest regrets in life was coasting through College. In hindsight I wish I had applied myself more because it was a great experience all around. High School sucked a fat one.
 
I hate teachers
I hate school
I hate the cheerleaders
And anyone who's cool, yeah
I hate the office
I hate the quad
Don't wanna learn anything
I wanna be a slob
 
I have a semester of college left but...

High school. And i fucking hated high school. At least i wasn't going thousands into debt to be miserable back then though.
 
College. I made friends and was accepted for who I am, I got my perspective on a great many things changed, worked hard, partied hard, got laid lots.

It was great for me in my late teens/early 20's. Shortly after I graduated, I met the woman of my dreams in a peer-education course I was helping out. We're married and have two kids, so it didn't turn out too bad.

If I could go back and do one thing it'd be exercise. Two things and it'd be to change my major. English has served me, but not much :-/
 
Ugh, High School... A couple people that used to pick on me are still confused on why I don't go to reunions.

College was much better, though I did the art school thing for a short while before venturing on to other majors but all in all it was a great experience for what it was. Still had the pretentious cynical hipster to deal with, but they weren't bad if you don't talk to them.
 
I enjoyed HS more from an activities standpoint as I had time to be involved in more things, but I vastly preferred my overall college experience. Only have classes two days a week and working full time while attending school was actually a fantastic experience for me. Also gave me the experience I need from a job standpoint to get my into ideal career field, HR.
 
High school for me. I went to a large public university with huge classes, and I'm really introverted so the only way I make friends is when I see the same people over and over, which happened in high school.
 
High school and college were equally crap because I was in a committed relationship. Now I'm single and making money and having fun. I missed out on a lot.
 
High school taught me that the world doesn't care about you.

College taught me that individuals do.
 
Neither were good or bad. But I guess college was better. I gained some direction during those times.
 
High School was the worst years of my life. I've been in college forever, but I'm still much happier than I was.
 
College is pretty terrible to make friends. Most people in college are really young and they seem to be coping the only way they know how which usually means just being off in their own little world doing whatever. And a lot of college kids usually have to work so there's no time to do anything fun between school and work. College is usually a terribly depressing place.

Highschool was probably worse except you could be that kid off in their own world doing whatever and you can usually still enjoy a lot of things. Plus you usually didn't have to work.

Both are pretty terrible and could use a major reform. I usually find myself meeting way cooler people by going on adventures and going to places that other people will be doing something at. I seriously do not understand how anyone could praise college (unless it was the only thing they had) as an outlet for meeting people and doing fun things. But HS is a joke as well. I really don't understand either.
 
Both for different reasons. High school was fun because I was playing several sports and had little responsibility. College was fun because there was more partying and social activities. I never had to stay up for 30 hours straight to finish a project in high school though and then go to work work for 8 hours. Its a bit of a wash for me.
 
High School was hit and miss. I had a high school sweetheart, but fuck everything else.

Now College I actually had a better time, because I found myself and was around a bunch of people that shared the same interests as I did. It was awesome.
 
Once I got to boarding school I loved high school, but I loved college. Both were too expensive.
 
High School over College. I'm 42, married with kids, so with some perspective, I'd say:

Now > Single post-college > Elementary School > High School > Middle School > College

And I say that as someone who sees how college could be an awesome experience for some people. And could have been better for me if I had a better attitude at the time.
 
Hmm...difficult to say.

I vaguely remember the first two years of High School at this point.
Last two weren't TOO bad, but they were probably looked upon better since I had a lot more interaction with people and everything.
(Of course, I also had to put up with quite a few assholes and dumbasses.)

For College, I commuted, so my first year or two of that weren't terribly significant (I had much easier days for sure, having early morning classes then chilling/working the rest of the day).
Wasn't until the last two when I got deep into my degree that I actually started making some friends and all.
Of course, part of that was because there was a decent group of us all taking similar classes and whatnot.
College did kinda murder any sort of social life I had the last year or two because of constant projects and shit.

Granted, as far any friendships went there, it's been pretty moot. I barely talk to anyone from HS anymore (maybe 2-3 people), and nobody from college really made an effort to contact me apart from 1-2 people.
One guy contacted me just to get me to manage my financials...which was unnecessary, and another tried to get me involved in some silly pyramid scheme.
The only other guy I talk to from college, I was always the one trying to contact him and I haven't talked to him in prolly a year or so.

College was prolly better overall, though I admit I could've had a better experience.
 
I was a late bloomer so didn't feel comfortable in HS till my senior year but I still have some fond memories. A lot of my peers grew up to be pretty cool people, even ones who I thought were assholes at the time lol.

I went to an urban school where the student body was a lot older. No real dorm/greek presence so I had some friends but we all parted ways after. At the same time I was going out and experiencing the city and making friends that way. I have no regrets except for maybe going to college at all.
 
High school. I was popular, had a million friends, dated regularly, etc. College was like "time to grow up and lose touch with 90% of your friends".
 
College, and it's not even close. Living on my own, always around good friends, parties/sports/other stuff to go to...it was all great. Worst part was fall semester senior year but that's just because I scheduled too many classes and overloaded myself a bit. Got through it fine though and spring was a cakewalk.
 
College is pretty terrible to make friends. Most people in college are really young and they seem to be coping the only way they know how which usually means just being off in their own little world doing whatever. And a lot of college kids usually have to work so there's no time to do anything fun between school and work. College is usually a terribly depressing place.
Nah, that's just you not knowing how to make friends and/or being the type of person who other people don't want to be around.

I usually find myself meeting way cooler people by going on adventures and going to places that other people will be doing something at. I seriously do not understand how anyone could praise college (unless it was the only thing they had) as an outlet for meeting people and doing fun things.
This makes no sense whatsoever. You seem to be projecting your own failings on the institution.
 
High school. Subjects were piss easy, I went out almost every weekend (specially during grades 10 and 11), and overall was really happy with life.

University sucked by comparison, and the last half of my degree was pure agony. Never again.
 
College is pretty terrible to make friends. Most people in college are really young and they seem to be coping the only way they know how which usually means just being off in their own little world doing whatever. And a lot of college kids usually have to work so there's no time to do anything fun between school and work. College is usually a terribly depressing place.

Highschool was probably worse except you could be that kid off in their own world doing whatever and you can usually still enjoy a lot of things. Plus you usually didn't have to work.

Both are pretty terrible and could use a major reform. I usually find myself meeting way cooler people by going on adventures and going to places that other people will be doing something at. I seriously do not understand how anyone could praise college (unless it was the only thing they had) as an outlet for meeting people and doing fun things. But HS is a joke as well. I really don't understand either.

Hmm? Being on sports teams or even just meeting with folks for pick up games on campus is an excellent way to make friends. If you're not into sports then just dorm life is a fun way to make friends. Everyone is living in an equally shitty place so you make it fun. We had parties once a week in our dorm (it was one of those shared dorms with two rooms and four people plus a middle kitchen and living room for us to share). We invited everyone on our floor and it was a blast! Met a lot of cool folks doing this, as they'd bring friends from other dorms or off campus. And no, we didn't get shitty trashed. Sure there were drinks, but it was mainly just listening to music and watching whatever big college football/basketball game that was on.

Several friends I still consider extremely close came from these meet ups, and I left undergrad over five years ago.

Edit: hell even just talking to people before or after class or in labs you could meet friends, or in the cafeteria. Did you happen to go to a really small university/college? Maybe just a smaller pool of people made it seem that way to you. My university was only maybe 5-6000 but it was a great experience.
 
I've been in college for three years. High School was alright compared to the rest of my life, college has been extremely depressing and easily the low point of my life thus far. I haven't made any long-term close friends in college, I'm studying something I dislike, and I just feel so woefully inadequate in college. No matter how many hours a day I study I still do poorly on exams, and my days basically consist of going to class and then just studying and browsing the internet in between. I've never done any extracurriculars or partied or anything. I just want to be back with my parents all of the time.
 
High school was an absolute fucking shithole.

First year of college was amazing and second year was even better. After that it went back downhill from getting classed with someone who apparently never grew up.
 
College and it's not even close even thought I still have two years to go. So far, I met and made better friends, have more fun attending classes since I'm actually learning stuff I like, and there's a lot more clubs and after class activities going on. The only negative is that there's more work so you have less time for fun, but that's fine if you keep a schedule.
 
Graduate school, immediately after college. High school was ok, college largely forgetable. But grad school was a real challenge and a time where I learned who I really was. I also met my wife there, so it was all good.
 
I spent 1 year in university and 5 years in high school so...
High school was pretty fun. See all your friends every day, don't have to study or do school work, parties all the time, and when you're in your last year you feel like you are on top of your game, or at least I did.
 
You are asking different questions here. Life fucking sucks if either of them is supposed to be the best.

College sucks less than HS because you don't need to hang out with people you don't care about all day long. The rest of it is just as boring of a grind as HS.
 
College by a country mile, but it had much more to do with my personal situation in each period of time. In high school I was a mess, coming out of my parents fucked up divorce, which had messed me up pretty badly. I barely got through high school alive (literally) and hated every moment of it. In hindsight, I had some good friends whom I miss, but otherwise I was a nervous, stressed, depressed wreak. I barely remember large swaths of time.

By the time I got to college, I had several years of working a stable job, I'd figured myself out, had gotten married, and generally matured and healed. As such it was a period of stability and focus, which led directly to the job I still have today, 11 years later. I think back on my college years somewhat fondly.

I will note that high school in general does an absolute shit job at preparing you for the world after it. College at least helped me get ready for what I would face when I entered the workforce, though I only use a small fraction of what I learned there.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom