High school was terrible. College was great.
Here's a nice overly extensive list for you...
High school
Pros:
We had a small class size and got individual attention/knew the teachers well.
It was in a nice safe town and had a good playground.
It was so hard and ridiculously strict that the rest of life seemed like a joke in comparison. They prided themselves on being one of the best/most rigorous schools in the country, so at least I can have it on my resume if needed (and not feel as bad about my Bs and Cs I guess lol).
It's over now.
Cons:
My classmates were so rambunctious and awful they made every teacher miserable, and I "suffered" the consequences of that. They even made 1 teacher quit.
The teachers taught us as if we were already experts. They failed to explain the basics of things. They basically gave us step by step instructions that I couldn't use on other problems because I didn't understand the why behind it.
Early mornings, almost 8 hours a day of pure learning, 5 days a week, barely a lunch break, minutes in between classes, and way too much homework to get done by the next day. Barely any time to go in and get help from the teachers. Brutal final exams. Overly strict rules and punishments.
I was an outcast and nobody liked me. They made fun of me of course, but luckily never bullied me.
I was very angsty and depressed the whole time.
College
Pros:
Thank goodness this didn't end up being as miserable as everyone made it sound.
The professors were way more laid back, happy, fair, and intelligent (in my opinion lol). They were able to explain things better, like I was a 5 year old. I understood everything complicated from high school the first time they explained it in college. They all liked me and actually showed appreciation/gave me recognition.
My particular college choice was very cheap, so no debt.
Had way more free time to actually do all the work and not get burnt out. Much more flexible schedule.
I could eat in class, woo!
The students were more mature, and the teachers seemed to enjoy their jobs. They went above and beyond to help students after class, even giving us their emails.
I actually didn't feel like I was going into spiraling depression and panic every day.
Cons:
It isn't a "difficult and prestigious" college so it's not that impressive.
Still had no friends but that was low on my priority list.
My degree is probably pretty pointless and I didn't learn many actual skills for my career, just knowledge in random subjects. Wish it was more specialized.
Still had to live at home.