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news
Only college can
prepare students
By Tina Dhamija
On-line Forty-Niner
Adjusting to college
life is a common experience among students. Although plenty
of programs help prepare for the transition, some students
are not always ready for the multitude of change that university
life can bring.
In a recent study, the National Commission on High School
Senior Year found that 70 percent of U.S. high school seniors
go on to higher education. The study has concluded that only
half of these students make it through and graduate.
Although the study's findings may seem discouraging, high
schools in Long Beach have maintained that there is more available
to help prepare students for college today than there was
five years ago.
"Our school is a classical magnet school, which means
every kid is enrolled in a college-based curriculum,"
said Dave Beard, head guidance counselor for Wilson High School
in Long Beach. "Each student must have four years of
science and math, and students are required to take honor
and Advanced Placement level classes," he said.
Harder classes may seem to be a logical answer for some in
preparing students for college classrooms, yet others may
wonder if standardized tests like the SAT and PSAT actually
help students going on to college.
"In my opinion, no, I don't think the SATs have much
to do with preparing a child for college," Beard said.
Despite his personal views on the irrelevancy of standardized
tests for college preparation, Beard maintains that Wilson
High School has many free or affordable programs to help students
study for the SATs and offers classroom advisement on how
to fill out college applications.
Schools like Wilson and Long Beach Poly Technic High School
have alliances with the California State University system
to help get students more college oriented. The "Upward
Bound" program, offered at Poly High School, grants the
opportunity for students to visit CSU campuses and even take
some college courses at a CSU over the summer to help get
a better feel for what college classrooms are like.
"We also work with the Princeton Review Board for SAT
preparation," said Erin Moland, supervisor of the Poly
High School career center. "And right now especially,
we are constantly giving classroom workshops on how to fill-out
college forms and apply for financial aid," she said.
Emotional preparedness and adjusting to the university as
an institution are held high on the list for currently-enrolled
college students on the subject.
"I moved here from San Diego to go to college, and I
was not prepared for how lonely the transition of becoming
an adult would be," said Beth Madden, a senior majoring
in social work.
"The work load didn't surprise me," said Aaron Gray,
a junior industrial design major said. "What I didn't
expect was for [college] to feel so lengthy. I discovered
the institution once I got here."
Perhaps students' most important point when discussing collegiate
readiness is that nothing can prepare one for the college
experience more than the college itself.
"I came from a junior college, so I had an understanding
[of college life], but coming here [to CSULB] was a different
experience, said Matthew Maddex, a junior political science
major. "It's a level of experience that you don't quite
have coming in, and that no one can give you until you get
here."
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