Growing up, college was always the end goal in my mind. My parents and teachers would emphasize the importance of getting a great education through college. They talked about all the amazing opportunities that would come after receiving a post-secondary education, and many of my peers were told similar things. The discussion my family and I had was never about if I was going to attend college, but when.
When I started my first year of high school, I remember the orientation coordinator giving us that clichéd talk about secondary education and how high school was going to prepare us for the challenging road ahead of us. He said that success in high school would directly lead to success in college. Simple enough, and true in some aspects; however, when I reflected on this idea, it was mostly inaccurate.
After spending a year in college, I can say that high school didn’t properly prepare me for the challenges college had for me. That being said, my high school held itself and its students to a high standard, providing advanced and honors courses available to all students. Workshops were put in place to help students at all levels to make sure everyone was successful. Although it wasn’t the most perfect school, it really focused on the college preparatory aspect.
High school since its inception was always meant to harbor good work ethic and habits; however, in practice this doesn’t always play out the way it was meant to. In high school, you can go through the majority of your four-year experience without much effort and can still succeed. Coursework isn’t too intensive and teachers give out several opportunities if students miss their mark. This isn’t bad practice to guide students through their four-year journey; however, it can lead to a difficult transition during their freshman year of college.
College, in contrast, is a different animal; you go from having your hand held to being left alone to do whatever you want. You are completely set off-guard by how much freedom you have. Techniques that were fool proof in high school now seem to fail. In high school, you learn to cheat the system in different ways. You go the whole week without studying for a test, only to spend the night before reviewing a study guide and pass it without much trouble. In college, there’s very little room to take shortcuts. You have to put in the work to get the results you want. High school does foster that idea, however, it is lost due to its repetitive nature.
My argument is not to completely discredit the benefits of high school. Whether you loved it or hated it, you learn a lot about yourself and a lot about responsibility. You learn about what’s really important to you and by the end of your four-year journey, you start to become the person you’ll be for the rest of your life.
At the end of the day, the work and hours I spent in high school were the reason I was able to get accepted to the college of my choice. I don’t think high school could have ever prepared me for what college had to offer, but I’m glad I was able to have that experience to draw from.
