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Why college students fail
Why college students fail
The causes of failures in college
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Making sure high school seniors are ready for college is a top priority for parents today. The motivation behind parents putting the extra effort to increase their child’s chances of college acceptance is to gain financial assistance to pay for college tuition. The best way to go about this is for a high school senior to score high on the ACT college entrance exam, which is what schools look at when deciding to award scholarships to students and is usually the determining factor for most four-year universities when deciding which students receive acceptance. Colleges also look for high school seniors who maintain cumulative grade point averages of 3.5 or better. According to USA Today only 32 percent of seniors who graduated from the class of 2001 were anywhere close to being college ready in a study by the Manhattan Institute (Toppo, The USA Today, 9D). This article seems not to support the idea that students are being prepared well enough by educators and parents, but that was eight years ago. The statistics have changed since 2001. The Wall Street Journal reports during the 2008 and 2009 school academic year that only about a quarter of America’s 2009 graduating high school seniors who took the ACT admissions test had the skills to succeed in college (Tomsho, The Wall Street Journal). Students are encouraged at a young age by parents and educators to plan well in advance for college and pressured to do great on a daily basis in school. Some high school students do not put forth enough effort to plan for college until their senior year. Some high school seniors think by making great grades they do not have to worry about getting into college, while others plan and prep as if it is the only thing that is important... ... middle of paper ... ...nfair to students who actively try to get into an accredited university or college who are thwarted in their goals by a simple thing as nerves and the ability to handle standardized testing in a stressful environment. If schools would compromise with one another and combine their efforts to improve the school systems, they could have a massive effect on students’ confidence and ability when testing for college entrance exams and their capacity to handle the work load that is expected of them once they reach college. Works Cited Tomsho, Robert. (2009, August 19). College-Entrance Test Scores Flagging. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 14, 2009 from the Internet: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125065253283242295.html. Toppo, Greg. (2003, September 17). Study: Most high school grads don’t have what it takes for college. USA Today, p. 9D.
Caroline Bird writes the statement in her 1975 article “The Case Against College (Bird 15-18)” that not every high school graduate is ready to attend college. It is 2010 and this article is still valid today. Some of the college students I have been around were not mature enough for obedience school let alone college. A few of the points she makes in the article are: College has never worked its magic for everyone. Does it make you a better person? Are colleges responsible for your children? Are my children living in a country club? I will use some of my own experiences as an example of college life, as well as examples from my daughter’s college experience, along with my nephews as well. All to find the answer to the big question: Are you ready for a college education?
Secondary education rises faster in price than auto insurance. Yet, secondary education is almost required in the United States to succeed. Yes, there are hundreds of people in the United States that have been successful without a college degree, but they are outliers. Students should choose not to go to college based on outliers, but go to college based on the fact thousands have succeeded because of their college degrees. It is more important then ever to know what makes a college great if students are going to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars over four
As the economy evolves and the job market continues to get more competitive, it’s becoming harder to have a successful career without some kind of college degree. This creates a belief in many young students that college actually is a commodity, something they must have in order to have a good life. There’s many different factors that influence this mindset, high schools must push the importance of the student’s willingness and drive to further their education. College isn’t just a gateway to jobs, but it is an opportunity to increase knowledge and stretch and challenge the student which in return makes them a more rounded adult and provides them with skills they might lack prior to
Throughout the length of schooling, students go through various changes. In their first year of school, children are required to make the transition from being at home for the entire day to being in school for a number of hours a day. These transition periods happen many times through the schooling years, but the most drastic changes occur during the transition from high school to college, where students weather numerous lifestyle changes. While each individual student goes on their own journey, certain themes remain common between different students. Studies are done to look at these themes identifying the numerous differences and similarities.
In our undergraduate admission system, fully 110 points out of 150 are given for academic factors including grades, test scores, and curriculum. We only count 12 points for test scores, but that is because we value high school grades to a much greater extent--- they can earn up to 80 points. We consider many other factors as well. Race is one of those, but a student who is socioeconomically disadvantaged also can earn 20 points (students cannot earn 20 points for both factors, however). Geographic diversity is also important, and a student from Michigan’s upper peninsula, for example, earns 16 points.
My Senior year in High School has officially begun, only one more year at Corona High. I know that Senior year is supposed to be fun, but I believe every year is an opportunity to improve. I have already set my goals for this school year. I believe I can achieve a GPA of 4.0 or above. However, there are some personal goals that I need to complete first. I need to stop my terrible habit of procrastinating. Another goal of mine is to pass my AP tests so I can earn college credit. I also want to learn new things, so I started to learn the basics of Coding, now I need to finish this course. These are some things I look to accomplish this year.
It seems as though the majority of college students these days aren’t looking to further their education because it’s what they really want, they do it to please their parents, to be accepted by society, or because there’s nothing else for them to do (Bird, 372). These expectations have led to students being unhappy and stressed, and have pushed them into a school or a job that they don’t particularly care for.
Getting into college requires students to make an assured grade on a standardized test called the American College Test. High school students begin in kindergarten preparing for tests; to make it to the next level you have to score a certain score. Pressure is forced upon many students when they begin sophomore year and begin to ponder the thoughts of college and life after high school. Once they have planned out their school, major, and work life after college, the school counselor plans a meeting to discuss the ACT. Students begin to be worried and anxious about grades and tests; all of these stressed students do not realize they have been passing test after test to score a good enough grade to get into college, where they will begin to take test after test to graduate college and even after college, these students will still be tested within their workforce.
Students entering college for the first time become concern with their college life. The students are on their own once they enter college. There are no parents or guardians telling them when to do homework, when to go to bed, or how to eat healthy. These student are now responsible on how they are going to succeed in school and meet their own needs. From the beginning, these students wonder what their experience is going to be like and are they going to handle the demands from college. Students are becoming more stressful due to academic demands, social life, and work. First-year college students should receive more help from school to learn how to help themselves and become independent.
“SAT I: A Faulty Instrument for Predicting College Success.” Standardized Testing. Ed. Cynthia A. Bily. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2011. 106-11. Print.
to about 83 percent of high school graduates enroll in some form of postsecondary education, but only about 52 percent of students complete their degrees. Further, a very small proportion of students complete a degree in four years—“among students starting at ‘four-year’ institutions, only 34 percent finish a B.A. in four years, 64 percent within six years, and 69 percent within eight and a half years.” Colleges always want students to graduate and support their alma mater. However this begins with deciding what student are mentally readiness and determination for the task that lies ahead, college. In today’s society we struggle trying to find a proper definition for college readiness. This is the main reason statistics and graduation rates suffer in the way that they do. Just because a high school student reaches the age of 18, obtains a high school diploma, and has functional literacy, does that really make students college ready?
Imagine walking down the hall of a crowded high school. Most of the students there do not envision how well school prepares them for college. Teenagers have few cares in the world! A vast majority takes the bare minimum amount of courses needed to fulfill school requirements. These graduation prerequisites usually do not come close to adequate, and rarely exceed sufficiency. Should high schools change current curriculum to better prepare students for college? The answer is simply, "yes." Consideration of why and how holds the key to solving America's problem.
William Hiss, Bates College former dean of admissions explains through a study that those college applicants who did not submit their standardized test scores had marginally smaller average GPAs graduation rates than those who did submit their test scores. Hiss states that “the nonsubmitters are doing fine in terms of their graduation rates and GPAs, and significantly outperforming their standardized testing” (Westervelt). Thomas Rochon, the president of Ithaca College and a former executive director of the GRE testing program confirms this observation, adding, “Our first realization was that test scores add relatively little to our ability to predict the success of our students” (Strauss). In becoming conscious of this reality, Ithaca admissions officers decided to also opt out of requiring standardized test scores in applications. More and more schools are following the footsteps of Bates and Ithaca in doing away with obligatory standardized test scores because they feel the tests do not truly depict the academic potential of college-bound
It is often said, that high school, prepares a student for college. For certain, a student is being prepared, but only for what the world has to offer, and that is making choices on what to pursue. Certainly, most people would concur with this statement. But, the fact to consider is, that high school does not prepare a student for the major difference in the challenge.
Are the new standards and expectations the world has for teenagers really creating monsters? The amount of stress that is put on students these days between trying to balance school, homework, extra curricular activities, social lives, sleep and a healthy lifestyle is being considered a health epidemic (Palmer, 2005). Students are obsessing over getting the grades that are expected of them to please those that push them, and in return, lose sleep and give up other aspects of their lives that are important to them, such as time with friends and family, as well as activities that they enjoy. The stress that they endure from the pressures of parents, teachers, colleges, and peers has many physical as well as mental effects on every student, some more harmful than others. The extreme pressure on students to get perfect grades so that they will be accepted into a college has diminished the concept of actually learning and has left the art of “financing the system” in order to succeed in its place (Palmer, 2005).