History Main / CollegeIsHighSchoolPart2

Perhaps the biggest mistake of this trope is mistaking the level of intimacy in a university. Most universities are bigger than your average high school, meaning it's nearly impossible for everyone to know everyone else, and furthermore it's much easier to just avoid dealing with drama. The local {{Jerk Jock}}s aren't going to be [[StuffedIntoALocker stuffing the nerds into lockers]] (not that colleges ''have'' lockers outside maybe the gym, and only athletes are going to the see the inside of those) without someone totally unrelated to either of them stepping in, but that's the kind of thing you might see with this trope.

Perhaps the biggest mistake of this trope is mistaking the level of intimacy in a university. Most universities are bigger than your average high school, meaning it's nearly impossible for everyone to know everyone else, and furthermore it's much easier to just avoid dealing with drama. The local {{Jerk Jock}}s aren't going to be [[StuffedIntoALocker stuffing the nerds into lockers]] (not that colleges ''have'' lockers outside maybe the gym) without someone totally unrelated to either of them stepping in, but that's the kind of thing you might see with this trope.

* In ''{{ComicStrip/Luann}}'', [[http://www.gocomics.com/luann/2014/06/15 Luann's father invokes this trope with regard to Luann's future in junior college]].

* Many American community colleges can be effectively called "High School Part 2" and are sometimes derisively referred to as the "13th grade". They often offer high school-level courses like math and English to adults who otherwise lack college-level academic skills, and many will offer [=GEDs=] or other high school equivalency testing for adults who never finished high school. This leads to a lot of structural similarities, including keeping track of attendance and the "feel" of the instruction. On the other hand, there's no dress code, no set schedule, and the instructors aren't usually ''as'' insistent on showing up as they would be in high school; stereotypes aside, students at community college typically want to make ''some'' effort to learn something.

-->-- [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]], ''[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S03E17VikingWomenAndTheSeaSerpent The Home Economics Story]].

* An old Dell ad shows the "Dell Guy" in a college lecture hall, plugging the latest product, and eventually angering the professor. The bell soon rings and the professor has the Dell Guy stay after class to [[WritingLines write sentences on the chalkboard]], a punishment fitting middle school more than even high school.

* It's true in some sense in the UsefulNotes/BritishEducationSystem, but only [[SeparatedByACommonLanguage semantically]], as "college" in Britain is effectively a form of high school. What Americans call "college" is what Britons would call "university".

* The University of Grimsborough, in the Facebook hidden-object game ''VideoGame/CriminalCase'', contains several features one would normally associate with high schools, such as a parent-teacher association and a prom.

The transition from high school to college is typically one of the '''biggest''' transitions you'll make in your entire life.

Exact details of college life obviously differ by institution, but on the whole, college grants far more independence and anonymity. You are typically not required to attend classes (although some professors do grade based on attendance, and since you pay by credit, there is no reason to not do so regularly), personal freedom is greatly expanded (after all, you are legally an adult now), the administrative faculty tend to be mostly invisible unless one seeks them out (non-academic rule breaking would be taken up with campus security or law enforcement, not the dean), professors are far more distant and busy (although they do not have to be if you work hard and get to know them), and most people keep to themselves with their busy schedules and social circles. While there are many universities where sports and jocks are idolized (ESPECIALLY in the American South and Midwest), the student body is typically far too big for any immature squabbles to be worth anyone's time.

Not here.

Here, the dean is exactly like your last principal with the nasally voice and stickler for the rules, but with fancy glasses. The resident {{Jerk Jock}}s, who've now picked up a scholarship, are still trying to stuff you in a locker (which these colleges have for some reason, while in real life the only place you'll see them is in the gym). The preppy girls still talk about the latest fashions and "like" and "oh my god" in their small circle while side-eyeing your poor fashion choices. That frat you've joined [[WackyFratboyHijinx isn't too different from the crowd you were in, spending their time drinking forbidden liquor and pranking everyone in sight.]] The professors will make you stay for detention for having your phone out in college.

It's ''just'' like high school... without your mom and dad.

This trope occurs in college-themed comedies a lot. Also, expect to see this trope in television shows starring a group of high schoolers that go off to college mid-series, which often results in the related trope CaliforniaUniversity -- in which the same students who went to high school together also attend the same college. A SubTrope of ArtisticLicenseEducation, where education in general is portrayed inaccurately.

* In an old Dell ad, the "Dell Guy" was in a college lecture hall, plugging the latest product and eventually angering the professor. The bell soon rings and the professor has the Dell Guy stay after class to write sentences on the chalkboard (a punishment fitting middle school more than even high school).

* ''Film/AnimalHouse''. College professors don't typically grumble about students not handing in papers. An extension can sometimes be granted, depending on the circumstances and the professor, but in college, no one hounds you for not doing your homework.
* ''Film/RevengeOfTheNerds''. Despite having all the standard college stuff (fraternities, dorms, etc.), it feels more like a high school movie with its depiction of students and how they behave. Realistically, in a college setting, the nerds should actually be ''looked up to'' for their intellect rather than ridiculed for it.
** Though, this is inverted in the third film with the nerds in control at the beginning of the film until an alumnus of the [[JerkJock Alpha Beta fraternity]] sees what's happened to the college and wants to bring it back to the way it used to be.
* The 2008 sex-comedy ''Film/{{College}}'', which depicts college students as doing nothing more than non-stop drinking and partying (ie. having little concern for their studies, etc.). An attitude that might ''just barely'' get you by in high school but will definitely get you nowhere in college, and while hard partying does exist, it usually comes after five weekdays of grueling schoolwork and jobs.
* ''Film/{{Accepted}}'': Actually Justified and enforced, as it is a fake college for people who couldn't get into any real college due to a variety of reasons, mostly personality disorders, and are acting like immature people because that's what they believe college to be like.

* Nearly literally in ''Film/OrangeCounty'', shown by carbon-copy characters doing exactly the same things he hated about high school.
* It's basically Part 3 for Elle Woods in ''Film/LegallyBlonde'' since she's in ''graduate'' school. Elle's LimitedSocialCircle is confined to maybe six people (two aren't even students) even though there are about 560 students in each incoming Harvard Law class, and Elle's particular section would have had ~80 of those. In that social circle, we see every typical high school personality type (jock, bitch, princess, nerd, go-getter...) When Callahan [[spoiler:makes a pass at Elle]] it's almost like a VerySpecialEpisode of a teen show.
* In ''Film/IllBeHomeForChristmas'', the lead goes to a California university, yet everyone still uses hallway lockers to hold their belongings and jocks still stuff the nerds in said lockers.

* ''Film/CandyMan'' focuses on grad students doing a thesis on the titular Candyman. The few scenes that take place at a university feature lockers, a bell, and a professor telling students it's time for lunch.

* Both averted and lampshaded in Creator/StephenKing 's ''Literature/HeartsInAtlantis'': The first-person narrator of one story comments that he and his friend were wishing college were more like high school without even realizing it. Also, the narrator's sentiment that it is much more difficult to catch up in college once you've fallen behind is a lesson many a freshman has learned the hard way.
* ''I Am Charlotte Simmons'' by TomWolfe. The students at the fictional Dupont University are part of a rigid pecking order with jocks at the top and brains at the bottom. Even the graduate students obsess over their place in these high school style cliques.

* ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'', which even went so far as to have school teacher Mr. Feeny follow Cory and his friends to college.

* ''[[Series/SavedByTheBell Saved By The Bell: The College Years]]'': the main characters usually shared the exact same classes and still found the time to remain as close-knit as ever.
** Also, things like romantic relationships seem to be a much bigger focus for them than their studies.
* ''Series/BeverlyHills90210'', for the exact same reasons as SBTB.
* ''Series/{{Undeclared}}'' did a pretty decent job averting many of these conventions. However, the show's main characters seem unusually carefree and unambitious for college students.
** On the other hand, we've all known at least one or two students like that in college. So, in a sense, that may be TruthInTelevision.
** One oddity about Undeclared: There are no teaching assistants on the show. Given that UNEC is clearly a large scale university with both Bachelor's and Master's degree programs, it's strange that we never see any TA's teaching some of the classes on the show.
* On ''Series/{{Friends}}'', when Ross delivers Girl Scout Cookies to the NYU dorms, they refer to him as "Cookie Dude!"
** Also, most of the students at NYU (where Ross eventually works as a college professor) seem unusually immature for college students, let alone students at a school as prestigious and selective as NYU.
* ''Series/ThatsMyBush'': The episode "A Poorly Executed Plan" has George's old college buddies come over for a visit. Let alone 50-year-olds, these guys act immature even by HIGH SCHOOL standards!
* Played completely straight on ''Series/{{Community}}'', though this is likely just a byproduct of all the ''other'' weirdness on the campus (and in fact, the fact that Greendale has high school style lockers is frequently mentioned as evidence that it's a strange school).
* On ''Series/{{Glee}}'', the fictional NYADA (New York Academy of Dramatic Arts) is this trope to the letter. We see {{Alpha Bitch}}es picking on Rachel, and Kurt feeling just as alienated as before. He even flat-out calls college "High School Part 2." Coupled with the extremely unrealistic admission processes, it makes you wonder if anyone on the creative staff has ever ''been'' to college.

* The play ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}''. Glinda and Elphaba are in college, despite Glinda singing about the Pop U LAAAR and Fiyero being the big man on campus.
** However, going by the book, they were actually all about 17 years old when they got to Shiz - so it makes sense that a college filled with high school-aged students would be high school-ish.

* The University of Grimsborough, in the Facebook hidden-object game ''VideoGame/CriminalCase'', contained several features one would normally associate with high schools, such as a parent-teacher association and a prom, among others.
* In ''VisualNovel/MonsterProm'' it's left ''very'' vague whether the school is a high school or college: the prom event, the look of the classrooms and cafeteria, and general social situation are reminiscent of high school, but most of the love interests are in their early 20s, there's barely any mention of parents, and everyone freely goes around drinking, doing drugs and screwing each other in a way that seems much more like college.

* Homer had this opinion in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E3HomerGoesToCollege Homer Goes to College]]". He's proven [[SubvertedTrope dead wrong]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'': In "Rebel Without a Glove", Daffy ends up teaching a political science course at the local college. Bells ring to mark the start of classes and Porky acts likes a typical high school teacher's pet.

* Can be literally true for community colleges in the U.S., as many of them offer [=GED=] or other kinds of high school equivalency testing for dropouts who want to go back to school. They also offer high school-level courses in subjects like mathematics and English for people who otherwise lack college-level academic skills. Community colleges are sometimes derisively called "13th grade", not to be confused with the actual "grade 13" that was formerly a part of [[CanadaEh Ontario]] high schools. Also, the structure is similar. Aside from having fewer rules usually about attendance (students aren't required to actually attend classes as they're usually legal adults but instructors may deduct points from participation or drop a student for repeated unexcused absences), no dress code and no set schedule, community college classes feel a lot like high school classes.
* With the UsefulNotes/BritishEducationSystem, college is literally this trope, but InNameOnly, because what many in the world call "college" is what British kids refer to as university. Think of college as another few years of high school in a different building.
* In terms of being expected for high school graduates, colleges didn't become a common part of life until after WWII, where the GI bill gave returning soldiers free tuition and numbers skyrocketed. For about 20 years colleges were seen as the caretakers of these kids arriving fresh from their parents' home, with great attention being paid to their well-being in all forms with honor codes and other rules set in place such as curfew, travel, class attendance, etc., as the legal age of majority at the time was 21. The counterculture protests of the '60s were concentrated around colleges and a "fight the system" mentality, which had the result of many colleges relinquishing the control they had over the personal lives of the students (private universities, particularly with a religious charter like Notre Dame and BYU, have remnants of this). This meant that much of the "parenting" universities did for their students was gone, and they were left to their own devices beyond the specific standards of education.

Here, the dean is exactly like your last principal with the nasally voice and stickler for the rules, but with fancy glasses. The resident {{Jerk Jock}}s, who've now picked up a scholarship, are still trying to stuff you in a locker (which these colleges have for some reason, while in real life the only place you'll see them is in the gym). The preppy girls still talk about the latest fashions and "like" and "oh my god" in their small circle while side-eying your poor fashion choices. That frat you've joined [[WackyFratboyHijinx isn't too different from the crowd you were in, spending their time drinking forbidden liquor and pranking everyone in sight.]] The professors will make you stay for detention for having your phone out in college.

This trope occurs in college-themed comedies a lot. Also, expect to see this trope in television shows starring a group of high schoolers that go off to [[CaliforniaUniversity college]] mid-series. A SubTrope of ArtisticLicenseEducation, where education in general is portrayed inaccurately.

* In terms of being expected for high school graduates colleges didn't become a common part of life until after WWII, where the GI bill gave returning soldiers free tuition and numbers skyrocketed. For about 20 years colleges were seen as the caretakers of these kids arriving fresh from their parents' home, with great attention being paid to their well-being in all forms with honor codes and other rules set in place such as curfew, travel, class attendance, etc., as the legal age of majority at the time was 21. The counterculture protests of the '60s were concentrated around colleges and a "fight the system" mentality, which had the result of many colleges relinquishing the control they had over the personal lives of the students (private universities, particularly with a religious charter like Notre Dame and BYU, have remnants of this). This meant that much of the "parenting" universities did for their students was gone, and they were left to their own devices beyond the specific standards of education.

* ''Film/AnimalHouse''. College professors don't typically grumble about students not handing in papers. An extension can sometimes be granted, depending on the circumstances and the professor, but in college, no one hounds you for not doing your homework. You just fail.

The transition from high school to college is typically one of the biggest transitions you'll make in your entire life.

The transition from high school to college is typically one of the biggest transitions you'll make in your entire life [[note]]although arguably not as momentous as transitioning from middle school to high, if only because [[NothingIsTheSameAnymore the change seems a lot scarier]] when you're four years younger[[/note]].

* Blackwell Academy from ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'' does its best to blend both college and high school tropes:
** On the college side: there are dorms, even used by people who come from the town where the academy is; Max is effectively taking a major in the niche subject of photography; she is taught by a world-famous photographer, who you'd expect would want to teach at the university level.
** On the high school side: Max's age (turned 18 just at the start of the school year) corresponds to the last year of high school; there's a popular clique which dominates most social events; the corridors are lined with lockers.

Here, the dean is exactly like your last principal with the nasally voice and stickler for the rules, but with fancy glasses. The resident {{Jerk Jock}}s, who've now picked up a scholarship, are still trying to stuff you in a locker (which these colleges have for some reason, while in real life the only place you'll see them is ''maybe'' in the gym). The preppy girls still talk about the latest fashions and "like" and "oh my god" in their small circle while side-eying your poor fashion choices. That frat you've joined [[WackyFratboyHijinx isn't too different from the crowd you were in, spending their time drinking forbidden liquor and pranking everyone in sight.]] The professors will make you stay for detention for having your phone out in college.

Here, the dean is exactly like your last principal with the nasally voice and stickler for the rules, but with fancy glasses. The resident {{Jerk Jock}}s, who've now picked up a scholarship, are still trying to stuff you in a locker (which these colleges have for some reason). The preppy girls still talk about the latest fashions and "like" and "oh my god" in their small circle while side-eying your poor fashion choices. That frat you've joined [[WackyFratboyHijinx isn't too different from the crowd you were in, spending their time drinking forbidden liquor and pranking everyone in sight.]] The professors will make you stay for detention for having your phone out in college.

Here, the dean is exactly like your last principal with the nasally voice and stickler for the rules, but with fancy glasses. The resident {{Jerk Jock}}s, who've now picked up a scholarship, are still trying to stuff you in a locker. The preppy girls still talk about the latest fashions and "like" and "oh my god" in their small circle while side-eying your poor fashion choices. That frat you've joined [[WackyFratboyHijinx isn't too different from the crowd you were in, spending their time drinking forbidden liquor and pranking everyone in sight.]] The professors will make you stay for detention for having your phone out in college.

* With the UsefulNotes/BritishEducationSystem, college is literally this trope, because what many in the world call "college" is what British kids refer to as university. Think of college as another few years of high school in a different building.
* In terms of being expected for high school graduates colleges didn't become a common part of life until after WWII, where the GI bill gave returning soldiers free tuition and numbers skyrocketed. For about 20 years colleges were seen as the caretakers of these kids arriving fresh from their parents' home, with great attention being paid to their well-being in all forms with honor codes and other rules set in place such as curfew, travel, class attendance, etc., as the legal age of majority at the time was 21. The counterculture protests of the '60s were concentrated around colleges and a "fight the system" mentality, which had the result of many colleges relinquishing the control they had over the personal lives of the students (private universities, particularly with a religious charter like Notre Dame and BYU, have remnants of this). This meant that much of the "parenting" universities did for their students was gone, and they were left to their own devices beyond the specific standards of education.

This trope occurs in college-themed comedies a lot. Also, expect to see this trope in television shows starring a group of high schoolers that go off to [[CaliforniaUniversity college]] mid-series. A sub trope of ArtisticLicenseEducation, where education in general is portrayed inaccurately.

This trope occurs in college-themed comedies a lot. Also, expect to see this trope in television shows starring a group of high schoolers that go off to [[CaliforniaUniversity college]] mid-series.

* In terms of being expected for high school graduates colleges didn't become a common part of life until after WWII, where the GI bill gave returning soldiers free tuition and numbers skyrocketed. For about 20 years colleges were seen as the caretakers of these kids arriving fresh from their parents' home, with great attention being paid to their well-being in all forms with honor codes and other rules set in place such as curfew, travel, class attendance, etc. The counterculture protests of the '60s were concentrated around colleges and a "fight the system" mentality, which had the result of many colleges relinquishing the control they had over the personal lives of the students (private universities, particularly with a religious charter like Notre Dame and BYU, have remnants of this). This meant that much of the "parenting" universities did for their students was gone, and they were left to their own devices beyond the specific standards of education.

* In terms of being expected for high school graduates colleges didn't become a common part of life until after WWII, where the GI bill gave returning soldiers free tuition and numbers skyrocketed. For about 20 years colleges were seen as the caretakers of these kids arriving fresh from their parents home, with great attention being paid to their well-being in all forms with honor codes and other rules set in place such as curfew, travel, class attendance, etc. The counterculture protests of the '60s were concentrated around colleges and a "fight the system" mentality, which had the result of many colleges relinquishing the control they had over the personal lives of the students (private universities, particularly with a religious charter like Notre Dame and BYU, have remnants of this). This meant that much of the "parenting" universities did for their students was gone, and they were left to their own devices beyond the specific standards of education.

* Can be literally true for community colleges in the U.S., as many of them offer [=GED=] or other kinds of high school equivalency testing for dropouts who want to go back to school. They also offer high school-level courses in subjects like mathematics and English for people who otherwise lack college-level academic skills. Community colleges are sometimes derisively called "13th grade", not to be confused with the actual "grade 13" that was formerly a part of [[CanadaEh Ontario]] high schools. Also, the structure is similar. Aside from having fewer rules usually about attendance (students aren't required to actually attend classes but instructors may deduct points from participation or drop a student for repeated unexcused absences), no dress code and no set schedule, community college classes feel a lot like high school classes.

* Can be literally true for community colleges in the U.S., as many of them offer [=GED=] or other kinds of high school equivalency testing for dropouts who want to go back to school. They also offer high school-level courses in subjects like mathematics and English for people who otherwise lack college-level academic skills. Community colleges are sometimes derisively called "13th grade", not to be confused with the actual "grade 13" that was formerly a part of [[CanadaEh Ontario]] high schools. Also, the structure is similar. Aside from having fewer rules usually about attendance (students aren't required by any laws to actually attend classes but instructors may deduct points from participation or drop a student for repeated unexcused absences), no dress code and no set schedule, community college classes feel a lot like high school classes.

* Can be literally true for community colleges in the U.S., as many of them offer [=GED=] or other kinds of high school equivalency testing for dropouts who want to go back to school. They also offer high school-level courses in subjects like mathematics and English for people who otherwise lack college-level academic skills. Community colleges are sometimes derisively called "13th grade", not to be confused with the actual "grade 13" that was formerly a part of [[CanadaEh Ontario]] high schools. Also, the structure is similar. Aside from having fewer rules usually about attendance (students aren't required by any rules to actually attend classes but instructors may deduct points from participation or drop a student for repeated unexcused absences), no dress code and no set schedule, community college classes feel a lot like high school classes.

* Averted in ''Film/GoodWillHunting''. Gus Van Sant took great care in making sure the mathematics used in the movie was both accurate and sufficiently advanced for MIT students.

* Implied to be averted in ''Film/BadTeacher''. The titular bad teacher Elizabeth tells the socially awkward geek Garrett that while he has trouble in middle school and will probably still have trouble in high school, he will be fine in college.

* Averted in ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch''. When Sabrina moved on to college, the show introduced an entirely new supporting cast and wrote the new characters more like college students than high schoolers. Also, Sabrina had been something of a TeachersPet in high school and had some difficulty adjusting to the higher standards and indifferent professors.

* Averted on the ''Series/FreaksAndGeeks'' episode "Noshing And Moshing." Neal's brother briefly comes home and discusses at the dinner table how different college is from high school (in a good way).

* Averted in one episode of ''Series/{{FamilyTies}}''. Alex is given an F on a college term paper because the professor felt he was just regurgitating the arguments of well know historical figures instead of coming up with an argument of his own and backing it up with facts.
** On the other hand, Alex is of the opinion that Grant College, where his sister Mallory attends, is High School Part 2.
* Averted in the spin-off of ''Literature/TheWorstWitch'' ''Weirdsister College'', which relocated Mildred to college. Only two cast members from the parent show carry on with Mildred, and she has to deal with realistic student problems like learning to keep her dorm room clean, adjusting to the new environment and doing much better than Ethel - who had been the AcademicAlphaBitch and TeachersPet back in Cackle's.