Socially how different is college from highschool?

[sektor]

I wonder this. For example I go to a private international school and in the highschool there are no really cliques. People have their own different group of friends but still talk and don't really exclude each other. I wonder how different college and HS are socially

[Ennui.]

I've experienced something pretty similar to that in college. My high school actually had more cliques than my college does. Of course, people do have their own group of friends and I'm not saying everybody gets along, but there are more people who realize that there are better things to do with your time than worry about petty drama. But basically if you don't like something you do your thing and they do theirs.

I recommend joining clubs and social groups though, because that's the best way to meet people.

High school has cliques like Popular, geek, freak, emo, outcast stuff like that. College is so much different there are no cliques. You can be who you are and find friends. You can find friends from any social circle. There are clubs bur clubs help other clubs out. Like at my college rainbow alliance helps the feminist club and vise versa.

[Not_here]

There are cliques but I call it "sophisticated cliques" because although there IS a sense of rejection or acceptance to social circles, there's less drama and less bullying (I think?) There is a certain level of maturity and people are more open to talking to you/helping you out. As for making friends, my school is a city public college in which many of us commute. A lot of us have commitments outside of school. This means less time for socializing. But it's still possible to make friends in a big school, I just tend to be the loner. Not that people make fun of me on a regular basis like they did in grade school but there may be some upsetting event once in a while (in my personal experience).

[sektor]

If my school has no cliques, then how similar would it be to college?

[Lelola]

It's different. There are cliques. There are to some degree bullying but that isn't very common.


The major difference is the freedom. You don't have to go to class but they don't have to pass you. You can choose when you want to take a class. You may not be able to choose what classes you take though. You don't have to take classes 8-3.

[Celyn]

In my university, there was no cliques, and everyone got on with each other. In school, there were cliques and you were likely to get bullied if you tended to be on your own or were seen as a 'nerd'.

How different is it? Aside from freedom that the above user said, I think the next main difference is age. In school, your grouped together by age, but in university, there could be people a few years older than you, or even mature students.

[ladygodoftitsandwine]

Everyone is a lot more relaxed and not nearly as judgmental. The cliques and drama from high school are 95% gone. Though there is a lot of alcohol and drugs which I fully believe helps people to connect more in a way. It's hard to explain. Substances are "social lubricants." Another huge factor is the fact that everyone pretty much has gotten over the whole high school immaturity mindset. There comes a point when people finally realize that all of that bullshit drama and cliques and whatnot is completely pointless.
I'm speaking from my personal experiences.