As students prepare to begin another school year we are once again faced with a challenge where so many students believe they will be ready to go to college but in reality they lack several of the critical attitudes and behaviors that are necessary to become successful. What’s more, the time to gain these skills is now, when the students are in high school and even middle school.
A special report by Louisville based IQS Research outlines several of the inaccurate beliefs that are held by students today and what can be done to address these concerns. This report is titled Preparing Students To Transition from High School to College – A review of the perceptions surrounding college and the challenges students face as they prepare for their collegiate experience.
Some of the findings from the report include:
- Some 98% of students intend to go to college but in reality only 68% of them will enroll in college within 1 year of graduating.
- Of the students who do enroll in college 42% will not complete their degree in six years.
- Of those students seeking an associate’s degree, a surprising 71% will not complete their degree in 3 years.
- While math and science skills are mandatory for success in college only 53% of parents believe math is important and only 26% of parents believe science is important for college success.
- Even though high school counselors can be a great source of college information many students are apprehensive about using this resource.
- High performing students are almost 50% more likely to reach out to their teachers than low performing students.
- Students who hear about college earlier in their lives are more inclined to believe it is important.
- Many students believe college will be just a continuation of their high school experience.
“There is work to be done to change the college success rate. However, contrary to popular belief, those changes need to occur earlier than originally thought and need to extend beyond academic preparedness” said Shawn Herbig, president of IQS Research.
The report is available now on the IQS Research website or by clicking here.
