Seniors Ready for College?

Via UCLA Newsroom

At the School, there are conflicting thoughts regarding seniors going to college next year. Some feel excitement and happiness, while others several nervousness and other complex feelings. 

According to Businesswire, 75% of high school graduates do not feel prepared for college and their future after high school. However, the majority of seniors at the School feel prepared academically. Although, most are more nervous about the social challenges of adult life that come with college.

Senior Lea McKenna says that she feels the rigor of the courses at the School is very helpful in preparation for the workload and difficulty level of a college class. For McKenna, her junior year English class developed her writing skills to a new level, which her sister, an alum of the School, says will come in handy in college when writing her papers. The amount of work assigned at the School gave her a taste test of how to manage her time properly, learning the important skills of time management. 

For many seniors, the thought of starting fresh and having to create new connections and friendships at their new campus is nerve-racking, after having been at the school with the same people for as long as elementary or middle school. Many lifers might have a harder time adjusting to their new school than those who came in middle school or high school, as they have never experienced adjusting to a new environment with entirely new peers. 

Out of 20 seniors surveyed, 95% believe that the education they have received from the School has prepared them for college, while the other 5% are undecided. Some students additionally added that the rigor of the curriculum makes them feel less nervous about their ability to handle the coursework given in college. 

Some students are confused as to why the School makes the junior year so hard, while the senior year curriculum almost feels like a breeze. In a sense, it feels to some seniors that their last year of high school gets them unadjusted to the workload that is to come, setting them back for future classes in college. 

Socially, some students feel as though it would have been helpful to have a life skills class all throughout high school to help them feel more prepared for their upcoming adult life in college. 

Based on the responses from the Class of 2024, it seems as though this year’s group of seniors are well prepared and excited for the new chapter in their lives they are about to embark on called college.