From my experience so far, college classes have a lot of independence in how you go about the process. I am a bit pleasantly surprised by the ways in which help through the classes are offered (for instance, Guided Study Sessions and also virtual Professor-led practice sessions in Organic Chemistry). Still, the effort is up to the student to ask questions and seek out the resources you need generally.
The experience of the academic work is variable; it's hard to tell if I'm doing well or doing poorly much of the time, as the format is so different. You can feel successful and positive about the work you're doing and the education experience and then receive a soul-crushing exam grade the very next day. Overall, I've had 4 major exams, a few papers, and a few quizzes leading up to this point, but a lot of it comes down to finals being worth a major percentage, which is indubitably scary. This emphasis on fewer but more heavily weighted grading events isn't surprising, but is definitely a new reality to adapt to.
I also find it interesting comparing the styles of different classes. For my Chemistry class, it is 50 minutes of direct focus on the material, though there is interaction between the professor and students to some degree; an opportunity to ask questions and also respond to prompts from the professor (though the idea of answering in front of a 300-person lecture hall is a bit daunting compared to responding in a small class). Regardless, the materials and path through the course are decidedly set. On the other hand, in my Comparative Literature class, the feeling is similar to that of a liberal arts college experience with an emphasis on discussion and hearing out different sources of ideas about the literature; with the class often going off on tangents about history, public health, and anecdotes from the professor, all of which works to contextualize our reading. Further, while there are assignments for every class, there is not regulated homework (a teacher collecting it physically or going over the homework) unlike how things might be in highschool. The expectation is that you get out what you put into the effort; you can do whatever you want, but if you wish to get an A in the course, you'll need to put the work in legitimately to actually take something away from it.
The introduction of the scientific method and logical fallacies, and then the readings and presentations about pseudoscience and conspiracy theories (shoutout to the pre-Thanksgiving lecture) were all aspects that I didn't expect or immediately think of when it comes to "Science and Global Change". And this seems to be the point; noting that as we take on these big ideas about the world such as with climate change and global warming, we want to be equipped to understand not just the claims of science but also the methodology behind its development. In these topics which people feel strongly about and have certain narratives towards, both factual and infactual and sometimes somewhere in development, it is a key skill to be able to analyze this.
I greatly enjoyed the two Scholars events that I participated in (Service Day and the Metro Scavenger Hunt) and they connected me to the University and the goals of this program. It gave me the opportunity to get involved in activities in my area that I might never have participated in otherwise. Coming into college, I hadn't really thought of the idea of off-campus activities, and I'm quite happy to be a part of a University Program that involves such events.
Compared to high-school in which you get to know other people to some degree just by being in school together, in college, you can do whatever you want but this also means that everybody now operates on their own time and the social experience is different. In high school, we had classes with a comparatively small group of people over the course of a full year and had to interact being essentially trapped within the bounds of the school all day. College offers a wide expanse of experiences, but this freedom also presents the possibility for disconnection. This also reflects in getting to know professors and faculty, something that I know I need to improve upon going forward as the experience has been different from college to high school.
My non-academic life at UMD this semester has revolved around my participation in the Quizbowl Team. My most surreal memory was being cheered on by fellow Maryland club leaders and UMD Alumni while my team (Maryland A) played in the Finals of a collegiate novice tournament at Rutgers in October. It's been so much fun getting to know my teammates and working to improve my skills and knowledge the past few months. Attending 3 tournaments at Rutgers, UPenn, and Johns Hopkins this semester has also been a blast; getting to experience what other colleges are like.
I would advise future SGC students to take their time in the adjustment process and to find whatever works for them or interests them best; since the experience will be different for everyone. At the point of college, where everyone is an adult, you are able to be free in how you choose to navigate things. For me, my operations are generally pretty similar to highschool in how I choose to live, the activities I do, and how I intend to organize my schoolwork. But, there are definitely places where adaptation is necessary and understandable, and students should expect to embrace this aspect of college.