The Importance Of College Readiness

Did you know that the education performance is so bad in the U.S.A that it can take over a decade to recover if we start now? (“The Higher Education Academic Readiness of Students in the United States”) The problem is that the U.S.A society isn’t improving nearly as fast as countries like Japan, China, or even Taiwan. If the United States’ education status doesn’t improve eventually nobody will know how to do anything. Higher education is extremely critical for our society. College education is essential to better inventions and becoming a world leader in education. College is important because our society will become more advanced, students will have a better future, and people will be smarter and have the upperhand on others.

The transition from high school to college is a dynamic time in one’s life that parallels the change from childhood to adulthood. Both of these changes are dramatic and, as a result, feelings are difficult to put down into words. A messy combination of emotions fills the heart, surfacing in strange ways. Confident high school seniors go right back to the bottom of the chain when entering college as freshmen. These students start all over, just like entering grade school or high school for the first time. The move up from high school to college signals the switch from dependence to self-sufficiency. From a personal point of view, going through the experience of graduating high school and transferring to a residential college campus at STLCOP, made me realize I was no longer a kid and capable of making my own decisions.

Introduction Entering college can be an overwhelming experience. For some entering college, the greatest fear is fear of the unknown. For others, the thought of adjusting to a world where you are forced to be an adult can be a terrifying reality. During this time, students adjust to balancing the demands of life while striving to find their place in the world. With this comes the prospect of both gains and losses.

College students represent a unique culture that have a multitude of needs that differ from other populations. College for many individuals is an opportunity to express their individualism and experience personal freedom. For many, this is the first time they are away from a structured home life and they are now able to make their own decisions. Now autonomous, they are free from punishment and reprimand from their parents because they are away from home and their actions are hidden by distance. This is an exciting time for the student as they are confronted with many new scenarios. Students are faced with finding new groups to be a part of and discovering ones’ identity becomes a new

“College readiness is not an ISD problem. It’s not an HCC problem. It’s our problem as a community,” stated Catherine O’Brien, HCC’s Assistant Vice Chancellor for College Readiness.

For most, growing up is an exciting time. The feeling of moving along from childhood to adulthood is often indescribable. Graduating appears to be one of the most wonderful and scary paths on the road to adulthood. According to most graduates, the best time of your life comes after high school. We are given the chance to discover and learn more about who we are in the world. For students enrolled at the abundance of universities and colleges spread across the nation, campus life marks an era of extraordinary opportunities. Unfortunately, this also creates a gap for unique risk. Almost all people are away from home for the first time and are adjusting to the to life away from the protection of their parent’s home. Often times, this could be

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

The CRI results are split into four key areas called Dimensions of College Readiness. They are Learning skills, Transition Knowledge, Key Cognitive Strategies, and Key Content Knowledge. Furthermore, from each of these dimensions of college readiness, you will be rated from 0 to 5. Which determines if you are not ready, somewhat ready, and ready in each dimension.

How can one discern if they are “college ready”? GPAs and challenging high school coursework can predict academic potential (Garton, Dyer, & King, 2000; Komarraju, Ramsey, & Rinella, 2013; Schmitt et al., 2009), but there are growing concerns that scores cannot reveal nonacademic factors in college success (citation). One problem with the college readiness research is that is that it “appears to exist in pockets of largely independent conversations under a number of labels” (Arnold, Lu, & Armstrong, 2012, p. 3). The many stakeholders and researchers are not communicating and collaborating much. High school teachers and college professors operate in relative isolation, and the standards for college readiness can be understood very differently.

“I cannot wait to go to college” is a phrase so often said by every high school senior. I was one of those seniors who had made this phrase their daily mantra. I attended a boarding school in Piney Woods, Mississippi for three years’. Since it was a boarding school, the rules were unbearably strict. I did not have the privilege of enjoying my high school years’ like any other high school student. I did not have the freedom nor the resources nor the location to explore and grow. Hence, I expect my college experience to be an adventurous journey filled with freedom and growth. Also, I expect college to change who I am and carve me into a responsible self- sufficient individual. Nevertheless; in my first week experience, I envision my college

College for many young adults is a time of growth. Kids become adults, teenagers learn how to live on their own, and students pave their own path for the future by gaining precious knowledge. However, college for me has been not only a new chapter in my life but a new book, altogether. Before I was in college, I was wasting away at a part-time job, depressed and suicidal. College has given me a purpose and a future. At first, I was extremely nervous and ridged when I attended my first semester of college. Now, I look forward to attending class and working on assignments. Because of college, I’ve become aware of what I’ve been missing out on, what I can accomplish if I put my mind to it, and meeting new people.

What are the factors that contribute to a student's success in college? Many people would say that it is up to them how well they do on college, because they are already young adults who already know their own responsibilities. But these answers are not factors that help student’s success and their attitude are one of the circumstances that are missing from a student life, the support from their family members and close friends are a lack of confidence and motivation that can be given. In history, there has been cases in which one thing lead to another, meaning there are an infinity of things that can help or get it worst. Its time to change the world and give the opportunity to have some positive thoughts and stay away from all the negativity of other people, leading students to a new path that will end in a successful college experience. Even though students have challenging times because of diversity after decades they have many education opportunities, students should regulate their style of living because of the health issues that could came eventually, time management will help students survive throughout the courses, and character strengths will increase positive achievements on life.

Throughout my duration of time at Maggie Walker High School, I've been primed with college readiness skills. I have been exposed to and prepared for rigorous courses. I've acquired the ability to maintain school work, have a job, and participate in sports. I also have the aptitude to be self dependent to accurately and precisely complete my work, no matter the time urgency.

College readiness is important for upcoming college freshmen’s. During high school, the students worries are; what college they want to go to, how to get there, what are the requirements of going to their favorite college. Sometimes it’s a struggle to find what college would be great to fit in. If you want to go to college, you have to be dedicated to the work you have to do in college if you want to be successful in the future. Education and going to college should be the main priority to everybody. Education is a once in a life time thing and must be taken seriously.

College and freedom goes hand-in-hand: freedom of expression, of choice, of speech. I took advantage of this freedom. I didn’t show up to my classes; I didn’t do my homework. I laid in bed, watched TV, listened to music, and wallowed in my depression. Then I learned that if I wanted to become a better version of myself, I needed to work hard at it. For the next few semesters, I still struggled with showing up to class and turning my homework in on time; learned that online classes aren’t ideal for me, learned that some classes required participation. However, I fought – I fought my self-doubt, my mental illness, my anxieties, my personal issues. I enrolled in a required class that I aimed to avoid, because I was too anxious about talking in front of the class; passed that class with an A and receiving satisfactory grades for all my speeches.