Dear 9th Graders Summary

Starting college as a Freshman is exciting; it is also unnerving. The comfort of everything I know is going to disappear and it will be time to grow up and face reality. However, reality isn’t doomed to be negative if I prepare for my future and

Starting in high school, students are not given equal opportunities to excel because of family background. Furthermore, the admissions process itself has its flaws—legacies, minorities, and athletes are being chosen over exceptionally gifted valedictorians. Even after college, the problems do not end; possible joblessness and student debt are unavoidable. On top of these major problems, educators and parents continue to convince kids everywhere that college is the only option to become successful, and choosing another path is heavily looked down upon. The newest generation’s life is centered around the climax of college while at the same time, more and more students are unable to attend universities because of cost or rejection, but this is a paradox. The more high schoolers work hard, the more high schoolers will get turned down to their dream schools, and the more the college admissions process effectively become a lottery, leading to “many highly talented, brilliant, creative people thinking they’re not” (Robinson). The widespread college problem has no easy fix, nor does it have a single solution. Rather than working to fix the unfixable, adults must stop putting such emphasis on the college pathway, and instead stress that there are other options. The future of the job world is unknown; there is no way to know if an expensive college education is the right choice. College, with all of its flaws, is just one option in preparing for the future; it is not necessarily the best. Therefore, the single word, “college,” should stop dividing the academic from the non-academic or the successful from the unsuccessful, and instead be considered a single path in an array of worthy

After graduating high school, no one prepares you for college. Most kids when they are finished with high school don’t even fantasize about going back to school. I have always wanted to go to college ever since I was a young kid. I also had dreams of myself going to college, but in my dreams, everything was picture perfect. In reality, college has been very challenging for me. No one tells you about the adjustments and complications that you would have to face to become a successful college student.

College used to be a young person's game. The average person would graduate high school and college meant it was time to get serious. However times have changed and the

There is a certain myth going around that college is extremely difficult to get into and you shouldn't expect it to be any easier for yourself. This myth discourages young, bright high school seniors and makes them feel like they do not have a chance at getting into college. It is statements from Ivy league schools like Harvard that say they only accept 5 percent of freshmen that applied that ruins the outlook of college for seniors but i'm here to debunk this. According to a recent study by UCLA, in 2015, they said that 76 percent of students that applied to their first choice of college were accepted and didn’t have to go and apply to tens of other of schools. Of course that leaves the other 24 percent left to struggle to get into a different

Often times high-school seniors think of college as a scary experience, when in reality it is a great one! Meeting new people and learning about new and different world views and ideas are just some of the many unexpected positives of going. There is no better feeling than going and

An Open Letter to Ninth Graders explains what skills are needed for college. These skills include: reading, writing, listening, grit and attitude. The author thoroughly explains how each of these skills are vital to a student’s college readiness. In addition, he also gives a few examples of how the lack of these abilities can affect the student’s college life. The author also encourages the strengthening and polishing of these skills throughout the next four years of a student’s high school life. In other words, you need to work hard on just these skills in order to be ready for college. The general argument of this author is that all you need to worry about when you go to college, is your college readiness and the commitment of this step

The idea of college has evolved beyond being simply a vehicle for higher education. In today’s society, it is a rite-of-passage necessary to successfully transition into adulthood. Furthermore, America’s educational system uses college as a focal point around which a student’s future revolves. Without a college education, young adults are told that they are gambling their aspirations. For some, the pressure to go to college stems from both external and internal sources. Parents, societal expectations, and personal goals motivate students across the country to pour themselves into college applications. Alternatively, for others, college life offers freedom from these pressures as well as a myriad of opportunities to find one’s self. The media feeds this by providing images of the “college experience” that are heavy with partying and socializing. These conflicting accounts can confuse incoming freshmen as they struggle to navigate this new environment on their own. For the homeschooled student, this is doubly so. I was not coming from a conventional high school background. Moving from

When looking at are futures many of us have a plan of what are life might be. For many young people, college is something that can be a key part of that future. However, right now in our society, a college education is no longer an option or privilege, but rather is seen as a necessity. Young people today are practically raised and conditioned to believe that higher education is the best path in order to succeed in life. Going to college has become a social status with many people going to college to simply be a college student while hoping that their time will be worth it by getting an amazing job in the end. However, it turns out that college is not always worth it because of how expensive college can be, how unreliable some of the

“An Open Letter to Ninth Graders”, was a speech by Patrick Sullivan that serves as a guide for preparing high school freshman into college freshman. This speech provides tips in how to get ready for college in a span of four years. Sullivan recommends that high school freshman start off by reading, writing, thinking, listening, “gritting”, and developing an attitude towards college. It is a known fact that developing these traits is not dome overnight, but since these freshman’s have four years, they can work at it day after day until they master it. In order to become college material, students have to embrace reading/ writing and be able to do it at any given time. Once the basics (reading/writing) are taken care of, thinking and listening

During the junior year of a student’s high school career, they begin preparation for the future. Preparing, in this case, includes thinking about a lifetime career, taking the SAT and ACT standardized tests, choosing which college(s) they are interested in attending, and submitting various applications for scholarships and for colleges themselves. In addition, many juniors are taking their most stressful and challenging classes since colleges tend to look at junior year grade point averages to aid in the acceptance process. Getting accepted into college and graduating from college is part of the so called “American Dream” and yet it is becoming more difficult to achieve due to student debt rates increasing and income rates coming to a halt. On average, the tuition cost for public universities has risen to $21,000 and the cost for private universities has reached over $40,000 and is continuing to rise (Hart). Due to college tuitions many students are forced into attending community colleges, end up

It seems as if all I did in high school was fantasize about what college would be like. College in the movies looks like a dream full of fun, partying, and freedom. Let me be the first to tell you, college is not what it seems to be. Many future college students have a false idea of what college is like due to untrustworthy sources, such as movies like Pitch Perfect or Legally Blonde, TV shows such as Zoey 101, and public narratives that make students feel obligated to attend college. The extravagant lifestyles of college students that is portrayed creates unrealistic expectations, which oncoming college students fall victim to. First generation college students have no exterior references to the college environment, so they ultimately rely on the media to create an idea.

Going to college will be the best time of people’s lives, but getting into college just might be the worst. These topics being discussed are good to talk about for upcoming college kids to help them get through this troubling time and inform them that they have options. Getting into college is so difficult due to the high costs of tuition, selectiveness of the college, and also just finding the best fit college for incoming freshmen.

Your senior year of high school is undoubtedly filled with every question you could possibly imagine about college. Where are you going to college? What are you majoring in? Where will you live? Who will you room with? And everyone you come into contact with will have college advice to give you. The tough part is that we have to pick and choose what advice we use and what advice we don't use. After surviving for approximately half of the semester, I can say I at least have an idea of the truths and lies about college that you hear during high school.

One of the most talked about topics as a high school student is attending college and how to properly prepare yourself for your entry into higher education. When I was a senior in high school, I had many alternative routes to think of instead of going to college. I could have joined the military with a few of my friends, went to a technical institute to do more hands on activities, or I could’ve taken the traditional route and went to college to further my education. As school was finishing up and it was time to graduate I realized I waited too long to apply to most of the universities I desired to attend. As a result, my only choice left was going to a two year community college.