Stages of Life

Keep in mind that your personal values and interests can and will change as you get older. This fact has been shown in research conducted by a number of contemporary social scientists, like Erik Erikson and Daniel Levinson. Their studies show how our values affect our choices and how our choices can characterize the life stage we’re in.

For example, people ages 18–26, tend to make choices that are tentative (more short range) and support a desire for autonomy. For example, a high school student applying for colleges might not base their choice of school on where they plan to be living post graduation. A young professional might decide to move cities for a job opportunity, without giving additional thought to where they’re going to live long term or what their plan is beyond the next two or three years.

Later, during ages 27–31, young adults may rethink decisions and lean toward more permanent choices. A father might start making choices about where he lives based on the schools that will be available to his young children once they are school aged. In ages 32–42, adults tend to have a greater sense of commitment and stability, as shown by their choices. Perhaps they have committed to a home purchase, requiring them to make regular payments on a 15- or 30-year home loan, or maybe they are now rooted in their career path, committed to continuing with the work they are currently doing and unlikely to make a sudden pivot. Our personal identity and values change over time. They continue to affect our choices and can illuminate the stage of life ^[1].

Keeping in mind that there are many phases of life, you can expect to see changes in your values and choices as you get older. You may experience a significant change in perspective while you are in college! To better understand your relationship with your values, you can continually revisit what is important to you to see how it changes or stays the same, year after year. Make a commitment to examine your thinking, actions, and choices, and keep taking self-assessment tests. This commitment will put you in a stronger position to manage changes in your educational goals, your career, living situation, hobbies, friends, and other aspects of your life. Changes are part of normal life transitions.

Student Responsibilities

Now that you have transitioned into college, you will have new responsibilities. You are probably familiar with what it means to have responsibilities. As a high school student, you were probably expected to complete your homework assignments and turn them in on time. When you lived at home, you may have had household responsibilities like washing the dishes or cleaning the bathroom. As a parent, you are likely responsible for meeting many of your child’s basic needs for food, shelter, and comfort. As an employee, your responsibilities are likely outlined in your job description and communicated to you by your supervisor.

What are your new student responsibilities? Are they financial? For example, are you responsible for sticking to a budget to manage your spending while you’re in school? Do you have course-specific responsibilities? For example, did your professor set a maximum number of unexcused absences allowed from class before you lose course points? Are your responsibilities social? Did you commit to being part of a club or a student group? Maybe you have health-related responsibilities and need to manage your blood sugar levels throughout long days of back-to-back classes. Maybe you have new ethical responsibilities as part of your role in student government or as a peer educator.

Take some time to reflect on what exactly is expected of you.

Expectations of Student Behavior on Campus

Expectations for student behavior vary from campus to campus. Students are generally expected to at least act consistently with the values of the institution and to obey local, state, and federal laws. It may also be expected that you actively participate in your career decision-making process, respond to advisement, and plan to graduate.You may have even been required to take this course.

Institutions provide additional details about student responsibilities. These details may be formal or informal. They may fall under academic expectations or a code of conduct. They may also include resources and recommendations. The University of South Carolina site “What Every Student Needs to Know,” for example, outlines a formula of responsibilities for student success.

Consult your college handbook or website for details about your rights and responsibilities as a student. Overall, you demonstrate that you are a responsible student when you do the following:

• Uphold the values of honesty and academic integrity.
• Arrive on time and prepared for all classes, meetings, academic activities, and special events.
• Give attention to quality and excellence in completing assignments.
• Allot sufficient time to fulfill responsibilities outside of class.
• Observe etiquette in all communications, giving respect to instructors, fellow students, staff, and the larger college community.
• Take full advantage of college resources available to you.
• Respect diversity in people, ideas, and opinions.
• Achieve educational goals in an organized, committed, and proactive manner.
• Take full responsibility for personal behavior.
• Comply with all college policies.

By allowing these overarching principles to be your guide, you are embracing responsibility and make choices that lead to college success.

College vs. High School

If you know others who attend or have attended college, then you have a head start on knowing what to expect during this journey. Still, the transition from high school to college is striking. College life differs in many ways. The following video clip is a brief, informal student discussion about the challenges you may face as a student and provides examples of issues students face in transitioning from high school to college. Click on the “cc” box underneath the video to activate the closed captioning.

You can view the transcript for “Seminar discussion: problems of the transition from school to university” here (opens in new window).

The two main problems identified in the video are time management and working in groups. Multiple strategies and solutions are shared by the students.

For more information about high school versus college, refer to this detailed set of comparisons from Southern Methodist University: “How Is College Different from High School.” The site provides an extensive list of the ways high school and college differ, including

• following the rules in high school versus choosing responsibly in college.
• going to high school classes versus succeeding in college classes.
• understanding high school teachers versus college professors.
• preparing for tests in high school versus tests in college.
• interpreting grades in high school versus grades in college.

The site also provides recommendations for successfully transitioning from high school to college.