This is the fourth installment of my college planning tips. As I've been traveling, meeting with many Juniors, I've come across some students that have finished Algebra 2 (or are in it). Some of these students have disclosed to me that they are planning to have "an easy senior year." Meaning, lots of study halls, and not taking further academic electives beyond the minimums required by most colleges. I was one of those students and I learned the hard way when I got to college. So, as you look toward senior year, keep this post and the moral of the story below in mind...
Knowledge for College
#4: Academic Rigor – Just Do It.
Ouch. I know - I said “the r” word: “Rigor.”
…and, it had the word - “academic” - in front of it!
It’s ok, keep reading…
I admit, this may not be “a fun topic,” but what I’m about to say could save
you time and money… and I mean money honey!
Have you heard, (and I quote):
“The more academically prepared you are in high school, the greater probability
of success you will have in college.”
We've all heard that line from our guidance counselors,
teachers, parents, and folks like me (admission counselors). In fact, we’ve heard it so much, that we
really don’t pay attention to the weight of its importance, and how it could affect
our lives - and wallets.
Working in higher ed, I’ve seen the casualties who settled for “an easy senior
year,” “only took what I needed to get in,” etc. Many of those people are no longer in
college, (and it’s not because they graduated)!
Most colleges and universities, like UW-Parkside, require a
minimum of 3 high school units of math, with having completed or being in
Algebra 2 by senior year. If you finish
Algebra 2 before senior year, don’t settle! Go for a fourth year of a higher level college prep math! Same for the other (what I like to call),
“bread and butter academics” like: English, foreign language the
social and natural sciences – extra academic electives in these areas will take
you far and better prepare you for the rigor of college curriculum.
I know this is something you may not want to hear, but if
you (or if any parents reading this out there), want to see some cold hard
facts on this topic, ACT provides a study called "Crisis at the Core," which addresses the college readiness issue. It’s an insightful and eye-opening report on college
preparedness in our country, and it’s actually not a bad read.
If
you’re not one for reports, charts and graphs, then let me share a personal story with you about how I learned "the hard way."
Do you hate math? I do, and I take no shame in it. Let’s face it, some people aren’t “math people,”
and I’m one of them. I am more of a visual learner and creative person, so I loved my science labs and English writing courses. As early as
I could remember, my sister and I struggled in math. My parents desperate to help us,
would buy us toys – that held promises of helping us build our math skills, like
“Math Bingo”… sum fun, eh? (ok, bad pun).
That was just the beginning. My parents sent me for math summer school, math private tutoring, and math at Sylvan
Learning Center. I remember in middle school and junior high, I’d sit in tears trying to figure out my math homework. When I got to high school, I had it in my mind to only take the minimum math required for high school graduation and college entrance. When I found out that
I didn’t need to take Math senior year because I finished my minimum math of
Algebra 2 junior year, I rejoiced and considered my senior year as “my vacation
from math!”
That year of “vacation” came back to hurt me in
a big way. During that year off, my math skills were “on
vacation,” and never came back! When I had to be assessed for math placement for college, I started
in courses lower than I had expected. I was placed into academic skill math, or what is often known as remedial courses, my first two semesters of college.
Here's the kicker: Since I had to take these remedial courses in college, I had to pay
for these courses but the credits could not be applied toward graduation. Worse yet, this was the same curriculum I could have taken senior year of high school (for free), but I chose not too. BIG MISTAKE! It’s easy for me to blame the institution for placing me that low, but it
was not the institution’s fault – it was no other fault than my own, because I “settled”
for the minimum math and took a "vacation from math" my senior year.
Math kicked my “you-know-what” in high school, and because I
didn’t prepare as well as I could have, math kicked my “you-know-what,” even more
in college! I had to work 10 times
harder just to keep up. If it wasn’t for my professors helping me during their office hours and the
tutoring centers at College of Lake County and UW-Parkside, I wouldn’t have
survived!
What’s the moral of this story?
Don’t settle because you’ve met “the minimums.” Whether it’s a fourth year of academic courses beyond the minimum required
for admission to college, or having the opportunity to take honors or AP
classes, you’ll see that academic rigor in high school will better prepare you
to handle college. It’s a much more
affordable, efficient and logical way to prepare yourself academically.
See you on the road,
~ Nicole
In my 5th installment I thought I'd address a deadly plague that is known to infect seniors this time of year. Seniors, heed my warnings well...
The definition of what constitutes "a decline in academic performance," may vary depending upon the competitiveness of the schools you have been admitted to. With any college or university, not passing a required academic unit (or units), can put your college admission into serious jeopardy.
