Attending college can be one of the best experiences for a student to take part in, or it can be the worst. According to research, 57% of college dropouts do so prior to a students second year in college while 40% of students who begin a college degree will in fact, not finish out the degree program (Thompson, Orr, Thompson, Grover, 2007).
Students are arriving on college campuses unprepared for what lies ahead. Students are unprepared in the areas of study skills, time management, goal setting, etc. Students are presented with many more options than existed 20 years ago. Multiple options that are confusing to an unprepared student, may lead to that student’s failure to make adequate grades. Students are more likely to drop out of college when confused (Thompson, Orr, Thompson, Grover, 2007). The high school-college transition period leaves students underprepared and unprepared for what is to follow in their collegiate years, which leads to remediation and attrition (Reindl, 2006).
While getting into college is an important aspect, it’s not the most important. Students need to know why they should go to college. If students do not realize the relevance of going to college and studying for a specific career they have “discovered”, then students will continue to struggle and the transition from high school to college will continue to be difficult (Dedmond, 2005).
According to Gordon & Elovitz (2002), educators and other professionals who work with students refer to a 10-year drift that many individuals between the ages of 18 and 28 experience. They change the direction of their education, try different training and occupations, and do not settle into a career pathway until their late 20s or later (Gordon & Elovitz, 2002). One reason for the drift is that students are graduating high school unaware of their skills, what type of work they can be passionate about, and what career fits their skills and passions best.
According to Lapan, Tucker, Kim, & Kosciulek (2003), the transition from high school to college is one of the most difficult developmental periods adolescents face. Students need to be proactive in developing an approach to their post-high school transition. Career development research and theory suggest that students need growth in academic achievement, efficacy expectations, outcome expectations, career related attributions, goal formation and exploratory actions, work readiness behaviors and social skills, exploration of the career related aspects that promote better person-environment fit, active engagement in the process of crystallizing and beginning to implement one’s vocational preferences (Lapan, Tucker, Kim, & Kosciulek, 2003).
It is vital that when students graduate high school they have an increased knowledge of what is available to them after high school, an understanding of what it is that they are passionate about, an understanding of how they are gifted, what they are talented at, where their strengths lie, and a clear picture of what direction they need to walk in after high school.
This is where Educational Consultant, Jennifer Bennett comes into play.
Contact Jennifer today for more information:
www.coachjenniferbennett.com
jen@coachjenniferbennett.com
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