Context:

The transition:
After graduating from high school, students transition to their university life. This transition
doesn’t only affect their academic career, but their whole life. It is more of a giant leap
towards maturity and becoming a full adult. Unlike the transition’s students have had in their
past; such as moving from primary school, to middle school, and then high school, this one
comes with more changing variables.
Academic Variable:
The name given to the ministry that is responsible for the university education is “ the
ministry of advanced education, and research “ the word “ advanced” is not a fashionable
term that characterizes this part of the student life, but it is meant as it is. The university
courses are very much detailed and specific, and to most students, are hard to grasp. Think of
high school as an introductory course which showcases the variety of fields. From which, the
student is supposed to select one to pursue in his university life.
This change of difficulty in courses dictates that the studying strategies or technics which the
students were relying on for their previous courses may become obsolete, and thus require an
upgrade. As Hansen (1990) reports, most university freshmen find difficulties applying their
old studying habits that consist of mostly on reading the courses multiple times, and trying to
memorize them, may work for high school where lessons are relatively short and close to the
exams. But stand helpless against university lessons that are very long, with a semester that is
about 5 months long (Gardner, Schroeder 200). This suggests that high school students should
be at least told, if not prepared, to how the things are going to be when they move to college.
But courses are not the only different thing, teachers are a different puzzle that the students
are supposed to crack. Most university teachers have a different teaching method than the
high school ones. (Campbell, 2018) makes the argument that the difference isn’t the teachers
themselves who are different, but the students. The teacher’s way adapts to the students age.
i.e. university teachers are no longer required to supervise every homework they give to a 20
years old grown man. Not because they wouldn’t care, but because the students don’t need
that anyway, because they know what is best for them. If we compare this to most high school
teachers who take the extra step to calling the students guardian when necessary. This sudden
of shift, which the students may perceive as a burden that was taken off them, may results in
an excessive feeling of freedom, that causes the students into slacking even more.
Financial Variable:
The saying “more money, more problems “isn’t entirely false. But a student would prefer the
problems that come with the money, rather than the ones caused by not having it. A study
conducted by (Lichtenstein, 2002) has concluded that the financial support student receives,
or are promised to receive, motivates them to achieving more. The other students who don’t
receive scholarships, or come from a mediocre family have to find other ways to make
money. Not only to buy schoolbooks, or studying materials, or just to feed themselves, but to
actually access the university in the first place. The average student around the world pays up
to 9,500£ per year, as a tuition to attend the university courses (Kentish,2017). If the student
isn’t able to do this, he would have to spend 21 years of his job career paying for his students’
loans. (Hess,2019)
Now, in Algeria, where education is fully backed up by the government, students don’t have
to pay more than 10$ a year. However, you can’t survive on a 20$ per two months either.
Therefore, many students have to either get a part-time job, which jeopardizes them attending
the courses. Or just live as cheap as possible.
Social variable:
To most college students, university life is a whole different thing. Mainly, it is the people
whom you have left behind ( parents, friends…etc) and the people you are about to meet. As a
child, you didn’t have to stress out when you met your parents, because you were a child, and
their child. As for the other people, you grew up together in the same neighbourhood, so it
was all easy. However, as a 20 years old student, things are very much different.