In college you are less likely to be able to do "extra credit" to bring up your grade. You will not get extra credit for bringing your tools to class e.g. textbook, notebook, calculator, and so forth. It is unlikely that you will receive extra credit for appropriate classroom behavior e.g. coming to class on time, not leaving early, not using you cell phone in class, not reading the newspaper, not doing homework for other courses during class, or being respectful to your fellow students . In the private sector you get one chance to do your job, nobody cares how you get it done, just that you do it – on time and, preferably under budget. If you do what is expected of you; you will often not receive kudos, but you will keep your job.  In the private sector if you behave inappropriately you may  get a call from Human Resources, perhaps sued, maybe fired, and you will definitely not receive a recommendation in order to gain future employment.  

In college late work is often not accepted.  If it is accepted it is penalized. In college, teachers do not track you down in the halls at the end of the semester to make sure you submit the assignments you have not turned in during the course of the semester.  In the private sector time is money. If your work is late you can be fired, if your boss has to track you down in the halls for work, she or he will find someone who is responsible and can be trusted to do the work.

In college, teachers rarely give you time to do your assigned work in class, this is why it is called homework.   The average student at college will spend 15 hours a week in class and 15 hours a week doing assigned work.  An average effort most often yields an average grade which is a "C".   In the private sector people who exceed the mean, who do more than is expected GET AHEAD.

In college very rarely will you be shown feature films such as the "Arabian Nights" in order to better understand Middle Eastern history. In high school a math teacher might show five feature films during a five week summer school course in order to reward students for good work and good behavior. In college teachers are less likely to make education an amusing activity. In the private sector sometime work just ain't fun....

In college there are seldom "do overs." It is not likely that you will have an opportunity to retake an exam until you pass or be allowed to redo an assignment, at you convenience anytime during the semester simply because you got a low score on you initial effort.  Do not count on being permitted to retake an exam and average the two scores, or have the first score thrown out all together.   Unlike in many high schools, in college it is quite possible to earn an D or an F.   In the private sector if you want a raise you better do the work right the first time, all work counts - even poor work (which is remembered far more often than work that meets or exceeds expectations). In the private sector re-doing work is called "duplication of effort" and it costs money - remember the bottom line is what is important to employers, are you making money or costing money?  You are expendable - there are a dozen people lined up who can do your job - so you better do it right the first time.

In college it is unlikely that an instructor will not count a grade on an exam, paper, or assignment simply because you or the class did not do well on the assignment.  Nor is it likely that an instructor will curve grades simply because the class as a whole did poorly.    In the private sector whole teams of people are eliminated - you are an easily replaced commodity - have you seen the unemployment statistics lately?

In college it is unlikely that you will be given an exam and have the score count only if it improves your grade.  If you are failing a course in college, it is unlikely that you will be given the chance to do a "recovery assignment" (i.e. write a two page paper) at the end of the semester that automatically enable you to "earn a "C" or  pass the course. In college if you score below 50 percent on an exam, paper or assignment, it is highly unlikely that you will be given a score of 50% simply to keep you average up.  Hello!!!  In the private sector if you don't do your job consistently you will be fired.  If you expect to be "cut slack" you will be perceived as a slacker.  Get used to it - if you do poor work you certainly will not need to worry about consideration at raise time – it is quite likely you will not have a job.

In college it is less likely that an instructor will "throw out" your lowest quiz of test grade, or your three lowest grades at the end of the semester. In the private sector you will be lucky if you get away with one major error. Your one major error might be considered a learning experience, don't count on two being overlooked.

In college, it is unlikely that you will be able to submit a portfolio of all the work you have done during the course of the semester, and receive a substantial number of points for simply putting your work into a notebook. In the private sector this is called showing up.  You had better be able to recount your successes over the course of the prior fiscal year and measure the value of your contribution in dollars, before you request that raise, but don't think that simply showing up will guarantee you anything.  

In college there is no assignment notebook and teachers do not initial you assignment notebook to take home for verification by Mom and Dad. Do not expect assignments to be written on the board for the class to copy down in unison. Listen and pay attention, directions and assignments are usually only given once. In the private sector if you can't figure out what you are supposed to be doing, ask relevant questions, and then figure it out.  No one is going to hold your hand to insure that you complete your work.

In college it is unlikely that an instructor will furnish you with the exact test questions before the exam. Many instructors will not furnish a study guide and assume that determining what is important and what should be studied is your job.  In the private sector the correct answer is whatever the boss wants and that may be a moving target, better figure out now how to determine what is important – INDEPENDENTLY.

In college and the private sector you are granted more autonomy. You have the freedom to make excuses.  However, excuses such as "I overslept," "I had to leave campus early because of an anticipated flight attendants strike," I pulled a groin muscle helping my girlfriend move furniture", "I am not a test taker," "I do not do well on test because I am a visual learner" and so forth will be most often be considered events under human control and will not be acceptable justification to excuse failure to meet responsibilities.  In the private sector excuses are annoying; take responsibility for your actions.  People who are not responsible will eventually be fired - AND IT WILL BE THEIR FAULT....