Bellevue College versus high school? Not even a competition. There’s no way any high school could come close to competing with everything this college has going for it.
As a Running Start student, I have an excellent opportunity to compare and contrast my experiences at high school and college – there’s been a lot more contrasting than comparing. Doing both high school and BC at the same time has given me an excellent appreciation of exactly how much BC has to offer.
I think the greatest difference between high school and college is the quality and specificity of the classes. The college offers an amazingly wide variety of subjects, especially compared to the small private high school I’m attending. Here at BC, I can explore and expand my interests by taking college courses in those subjects. At the high school, I’m much more confined to set subjects; there’s almost no variety.
Of course, the classes here wouldn’t be amazing without amazing teachers. So far I haven’t had a single teacher I’ve disliked. My teachers have been incredibly inspirational; they’ve all carried such a passion for their subject. I’ve learned from personal experience how one amazing teacher can make me love a subject I previously thought boring or uninteresting- just being at BC has expanded my interests exponentially. Don’t get me wrong – I love my high school teachers very much, but with all the experience and high-level education the BC instructors have, there is no competition.
I go to a very small private school; there isn’t enough money to offer great opportunities. They even had to shut down the paper when I was the only one interested in writing it. Here, I’m constantly finding out that opportunities are endless. Even now I’m exploring the option of taking a trip to France later in the fall. Without BC, there’s no way I’d get to Europe.
And then, of course, there’s the Bellevue College paper. Of all my favorite things about BC, The JIbsheet is definitely in the top five. I’ve wanted to be a journalist for about five years, since I was twelve, and working The Jibsheet has been great. It’s a college paper, and so it’s way more well-done – and fun – than a high school paper. The people working on the paper are there because they want to be, not because they need a writing class, and that’s awesome.
The people I’ve met at BC are awesome, and their maturity levels are really refreshing. At my high school, the maturity levels are all over the place. Lots of the students still play football instead of going to class. It’s kind of irritating. That’s why I just love that most of the people at BC are here to learn and they’re willing to work to make that happen. Finally, I fit in!
Yet another quality that BC has and my high school lacks is diversity. There are people here from all over the world, and just talking to them about their homeland and culture can be an incredible learning experience all on its own.
The college setting is fabulous – It’s so much bigger than what I’m used to, and there are a million hidden places to study, if you know where to find them. The campus is beautiful and all the buildings are different, unlike the monotonous high school buildings. However, my favorite thing about the campus might be the coffee shops. At BC, there’s coffee in easy reach whenever I need it!
Attending high school and BC simueltaneously has given me the ability to compare the two different education styles – and BC is absolutely the clear winner.
