The Huffington Post released an article yesterday showing that as few as 25% of high school graduates are adequately prepared for success in college or the workforce. The good folks at HuffPo came to this conclusion after evaluating the SAT scores of students taking the test in 2013. About half of all high school students took the ACT last year, and of those, only a quarter were deemed ready for the challenges awaiting students post-high school based on their performance on the test in four categories: English, reading, science and math.
Those are scary numbers! So the big question you might be concerned with is, "How do I know if I'm really ready for college?" Depending on whom you ask, you will get different responses to this question. As a former high school English teacher, I may be biased in my answer, but I would argue that the best way to prepare yourself for what is takes in college is to make sure your writing skills are up to snuff. No matter what the course, you will have to write. Writing effectively is a different and more sophisticated skill than mathematics, reading, or science. You can go to the math center for help with functions and leave in an hour with a better understanding. But good writing takes time to develop and you should start the process now. Additionally, your writing skills will carry you great distances in your endeavors in your pursuits of career success.
You might be sitting there thinking, "Psh, I am taking seven AP classes, I'm on the honor roll, and my high school English teacher loves me." Yup. I was that kid, too. News flash: what you think you know about writing may not really be anything special. Here's my story:
When I first joined the ranks of the college-bound, I thought my greatest strength was my writing. Freshman Lit? That course was going to be a breeze, I was quite sure.
Oh man, did I get a wake up call: I spent hours on my first paper. I wanted to impress my professor with my superior essay-crafting skills and set the tone for the semester. The paper comes back to me a week after I turned it in with a big old C written in red ink. I'm not proud to admit that I went back to my dorm room and cried in defeat!
I found out later that my professor had done this to nearly every student in the class. He was sending us a message: what you think you know about writing is crap. Humble thyself and start reading Strunk and White. Well, I received that message loud and clear and set about transforming my writing into that of someone who actually knew what they were doing (more or less) instead of someone trying to pass an AP test by authoritatively using the term parallel structure a few times.
So focus on your writing now. It's so true that the writing you are doing in high school is probably very different from that which your professors will want to see, much less be impressed by. Be concise. Have a point in mind before you sit down to write, and waste no time getting to that point.
And really, reading Strunk and White will put you light years ahead of your college-bound peers.
Those are scary numbers! So the big question you might be concerned with is, "How do I know if I'm really ready for college?" Depending on whom you ask, you will get different responses to this question. As a former high school English teacher, I may be biased in my answer, but I would argue that the best way to prepare yourself for what is takes in college is to make sure your writing skills are up to snuff. No matter what the course, you will have to write. Writing effectively is a different and more sophisticated skill than mathematics, reading, or science. You can go to the math center for help with functions and leave in an hour with a better understanding. But good writing takes time to develop and you should start the process now. Additionally, your writing skills will carry you great distances in your endeavors in your pursuits of career success.
You might be sitting there thinking, "Psh, I am taking seven AP classes, I'm on the honor roll, and my high school English teacher loves me." Yup. I was that kid, too. News flash: what you think you know about writing may not really be anything special. Here's my story:
When I first joined the ranks of the college-bound, I thought my greatest strength was my writing. Freshman Lit? That course was going to be a breeze, I was quite sure.
Oh man, did I get a wake up call: I spent hours on my first paper. I wanted to impress my professor with my superior essay-crafting skills and set the tone for the semester. The paper comes back to me a week after I turned it in with a big old C written in red ink. I'm not proud to admit that I went back to my dorm room and cried in defeat!
I found out later that my professor had done this to nearly every student in the class. He was sending us a message: what you think you know about writing is crap. Humble thyself and start reading Strunk and White. Well, I received that message loud and clear and set about transforming my writing into that of someone who actually knew what they were doing (more or less) instead of someone trying to pass an AP test by authoritatively using the term parallel structure a few times.
So focus on your writing now. It's so true that the writing you are doing in high school is probably very different from that which your professors will want to see, much less be impressed by. Be concise. Have a point in mind before you sit down to write, and waste no time getting to that point.
And really, reading Strunk and White will put you light years ahead of your college-bound peers.
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