Over the years, the importance of a college education has become more and more recognized by young people of a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds.  With the current economic situation, the importance of having lasting and pertinent skills is something that is on the minds of many as they begin to map out their futures.  Knowing the importance of a college education is the first step; these young people must be prepared for college, however, before they go off to school. 

Many entering freshmen are completely unprepared for the rigors of academic life beyond public schooling.  While the reasons for this can be quite complicated, the fact of the matter is that college preparation needs to be taught in schools, especially when students are encouraged to go to college to earn a degree.  Something is being lost along the way—kids are being told to go, but they are not taught what to do once they arrive.

Study Skills

One of the biggest problems many students face once they set foot on campus is a lack of good study skills.  This problem adversely affects many aspects of the college experience and puts these students at a disadvantage.  In high school, teachers often spend a great deal of time explaining what will be on tests, handing out review sheets, etc., but spend little time explaining that this kind of thing won’t be given out by most college professors.

A good idea for rectifying this situation would be for students to be gradually weaned off of these study guides and unambiguous study sessions.  Learning how to figure out what is going to be important and how to take notes and personally develop study skills is something that shouldn’t have to be learned by being thrown to the wolves in college.  Rather, students should be given opportunities to learn and develop these skills over time in an environment with fewer consequences and more chances for remediation.

Time Management

Another area where public schools fall far behind is teaching students how to manage their time wisely.  We live in a world that values results and productivity very highly.  Advances in technology have made many jobs obsolete and the expectations for employees continue to increase as a result.  Time management in college is something that can make or break a student’s career if they are not careful.

Teaching students to take responsibility for projects and reinforcing the importance of timelines and setting up achievable goals would truly help students to learn how to effectively manage their time.  In most cases, high school students are actually taking more courses per semester than they ultimately will in college.  Showing them how to effectively manage tasks such as reading large amounts of material, studying on a schedule, and preparing papers and projects so that they don’t end up being done at the last minute could mean the difference between success and failure.