More people than ever are going to college, however, authors Andrea Venezia and Laura Jaeger argue that many high school students enter college without the basic knowledge, skills, or habits of mind to get through college. Venezia and Jaeger look at the college readiness of high school students, the programs in place to help with the transition, and the efforts to improve those transitions. One of the main social problems the authors’ mention is the disparity between students in poverty, and students that are more privileged. Another problem that the authors note is the peer influences and parental expectations for their child. Finally, they mention the differences between how high schools educate and what colleges expect. “Undermatching” is a term used for students who meet the admissions requirements for high-ranked schools, but instead they attend either a low-ranked four-year college, two-year community colleges, or do not attend college at all. The authors mention that this is more of a problem for low-income families and of students of color. This major social problem has helped develop programs that will help high school students prepare for college. Intervention was one of the strategies used to boost college readiness. TRIO programs that include a talent search for disconnected students, dual enrollment, and early assessment …show more content…
Schools have an effect on whether or not a student is ready for college. The article mentions that high schools tend to teach memorization tricks rather than problem solving and critical writing exercises. Family variables and peer influences outside of school are another reason many students are unable to attend or get through college; this is part of the non-academic factor. The authors indicate that students whose parents have gone to college are more likely to go to college
Throughout high school, students are prepped for college. Almost the entire curriculum revolves around getting into or being prepared for college. Many of these students are independent and intelligent individuals. College may be the perfect place for them. Linda Lee contemplates the fact that even though statistics show that college graduates make the most money, the statistics also point out that these students were “the brightest and hardest-working” students. There are also students that fall between the cracks of these statistics. Some students may be skilled in certain areas, but do not make the test scores to apply for a university. Others may be on the
Growing up, parents, teachers, and elders always emphasize the importance of an education to the younger generations. High school students are pushed and encouraged towards college for the next big step in their life. By the time kids step into high school it’s drilled into their heads that to make something of oneself they need to pursue a college education. In reality, are high school graduates even prepared for the challenges that they will soon face? High schools are not preparing their kids for the “college experience” that in turns leaves them lacking the know-how they will need for the workforce.
The standard way of thinking about college has often given the impression that education will open doors. College is foretold to be the wisest choice a student can make to better their future with a successful, high-paying job. Yet Charles Murray, author of the article “Too Many People Are Going To College,” introduces a controversial side to the argument, believing that the decision for students to attend college is one of great importance, but the choice may be made too soon. Murray emphasizes the reasons why this situation exists and continues to be proven true in today’s society with factors such as the misleading statements to students about college and the high academic standards students must conform to.
“Who Gets to Graduate’ by Paul Tough, publish May, 2015 in the New York Times discusses. The story of a young girl’s mindset on college. It begins with her starting in college and first failure on a test. It highlighted the doubts she had in her abilities. This opening introduces the article’s man discussion, which involves low income students who want to earn a four year degree but experience “troubles” along the way. It then discusses statistics that show dropout rates are highest with low-income students. The author included ability versus economics status.
Being admitted into college is a difficult process, one that requires students to be diligent in their studies, engage in a number of extracurricular activities, and overcome the everyday pressures and challenges that high-schoolers face across the country. Admittedly, not everyone in the United States is born with the same opportunities as socioeconomic factors as well as historic injustices have contributed to a society in which some people are far more likely to achieve upward mobility – of which, obtaining a college degree is a necessary part – than others. While there is need to rectify this reality,
Marty Nemko, in the article, “We Send Too Many Students To College,” acknowledges that colleges have become obscenely expensive and that it is possible to be successful without going to college. Arguing that too many students are sent to college without realizing that it is not imperative, Nemko targets parents in his claims that colleges focus on educating in the cheapest way possible and most importantly, that the advantage of past college graduates in the job market is declining. One of his main reasons is that even though the average college graduate makes more money, hundreds of thousands of students in the bottom half of their high school class do not succeed in higher education. Nemko’s article is the most persuasive article on whether college education still has value as he argues that college is not beneficial to everyone through demonstrations of hyperbole, and figurative language.
Students from low-income and first generation backgrounds often struggle in different academic subjects. Subsequently, students have lower expectations for themselves when it comes to academic achievement. The majority of first generation students come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Seeing that, families work countless hours in factories and other places where they are underpaid because of the lack of educational opportunity they experienced themselves. According to Blackwell and Pinder (2014) in the United States higher education is becoming the outlet to different avenues of opportunity whether it is through social mobility or economic progress. While screening out possible topics of interest for a research proposal, one of the challenges I encountered in my field experience was the lack of college access education and funding for the families in the urban high schools. The first generation student family typically is unaware of the college process because the student’s parents have not attended an institution of higher education. Therefore, the students cannot count on their knowledge of the process. Eventually, when students reach the financial aid process it becomes difficult because parents usually cannot afford full tuition expenses and at the same time do not understand the process. In these situations, schools with a college going culture can prepare staff to provide extra support to students by developing professional training in college access, mentorship
“In fall 2016, some 20.5 million students are expected to attend American colleges and universities, constituting an increase of about 5.2 million since fall 2000” (National Center for Education Statistics). That number seems to be rising each and ever year, and it almost seems as students feel like they have to go to college directly after high school. Maybe it is because they feel that they have to fit in, even if college is not for them. Although some students attend college for academics, sports, and other reasons, some students attend college for no apparent reason; with that in mind, students should take into consideration the time and money that is put into going to college.
Andrew Simmons, author of the article “The Danger of Telling Poor Kids That College is the Key to Social Mobility,” argues that educators have utilized one tool in the toolbox to inspire minority students into believing that their upward social mobility is dependent on four years of college education. These educators only considered the difference in earning power of college graduates versus high school graduates to buttress their argument. With so much emphasis on going to college, Simmons also contends that the educators miss the boat and end up causing harm to the poor students. There is no denying that poor students start from disadvantaged position compared to their white counterparts in high school, their career parts seem to via in two different directions. Many of the poor students gravitate towards the liberal arts colleges while the privileged kids dream of medical or law schools and becoming future doctors and lawyers. Simmons offers the study conducted by Jean Anyon as another example of how schools teaching poor students from low-income families emphasize “keeping students busy and managing behavior,” while a middle –class school “deemphasizes individual expression and in-depth analysis and reward the dutiful completion of specific rote tasks.” Because the educators have stressed so much on attending college, thirty-two percent of students end up with a major they never intended to, or
“Kids who are the first in their families to brave the world of higher education come on campus with little academic know-how and are much more likely than their peers to drop out before graduation” (1). Many people believe that school isn’t for everyone, and whoever goes is privileged for doing so. Countless people in the world today do not attend college, and this is mainly due to an influence of those in their family. Perhaps they are unsupportive of higher education, their parents and family members may view their entry into college as a break in the family system rather than a continuation of their schooling and higher learning. Most of the first-generation students decide to apply to colleges, because they aspire to jobs which require degrees. However, unlike some students whose parents have earned a degree, they often seek out college to bring honor to their families, and to ensure they make a decent amount of money for their future.
Many high school students succeed with a little leniency through their four years. The transfer from high school to college becomes overwhelming and a struggle for some. For students do not comprehend the importance of changing more than their location during the transition. A student must be psychologically, physically, and emotionally mature to pursue college and not venture into a point of no return. Dropping out of college makes the outlook of the conversion difficult to acquire. Individuals should take their time on deciding which college and/or university is the best match for them. There are various reasons that cause persons not to prosper. Issues that individuals may come upon might leave a lifelong scar. Matters such as these
It is a well known fact but there are many people including counselors, parents, teachers, and friends who resist saying it out loud for fear it will sound like discouragement and negativity: college is definitely not for everyone. The pressure on high schools students, especially those that excel, to attend a college or university is enormous. And in the case of a bright, industrious and motivated high school student, attending a college or university is an obvious career choice. For those students, it's only a matter of what university to attend, whether one's SAT score is high enough, and the availability of the money. Then there are the millions of high school students who are not really personally motivated but are being pressured by their counselors, teachers and parents should they attend college if they really don't care? This paper examines those issues.
College is not for everyone because some students cannot confront the academic or financial challenges college brings. Students should apply to as many grants, scholarships or financial aid to be capable to pay off materials and charges for their college classes. There are many ways college is not for everyone. Many young adults don’t comprehend the expenses that is necessary between books and other living investment. Financial obstacles such as food, rent, attire, and other things influence college students who are not adapted to making payments for these types of things on their own. Pharinet states “It is estimated that in the U.S., 50% of students who begin college never graduate because they are not are ready for the academic and financial challenges of college or do not have the desire to learn” (635. Practical Argument: A Text and Anthology). In
The transition from high school to college is not only an exciting and challenging time, but also a great milestone in one’s life. There are several differences between the lives of high school and college students. Some individuals will be able to jump right in and adjust to this change seamlessly, while others may take years to adapt, or never even grab hold of the whole college experience at all. High school and College are both educational grounds for a student to grow and enrich their lives with knowledge. Both are like puzzle pieces: on one side they fit together, but on the other side they are something completely
The article also discusses how the country’s highest achievers are increasing their performance in reading while the country’s lowest achievers are preforming at record lows. A survey produced by US News showed that only thirty-seven percent of high school seniors are scoring proficient or higher in reading. However, just twenty-five percent of the students score high enough in math. The survey also showed that the students in the lower performing percentile dropped four points in math and six points in reading when compared to the previous year. This survey and this article as a whole stand to prove that most high school students are becoming lesser prepared as the years’ tack on. As the survey supported, high school seniors are not performing proficiently enough to keep up with college coursework. If high school seniors are not performing proficiently enough, then they will not be able to make the transition from high school to college. Over time, this could possibly eliminate the high school students who do not perform efficiently from furthering their education at all. This can all be related to the high schools not preparing students for college. This is a very good argument and article because it proves that most high school seniors are not capable of succeeding in college because they are not adequately