preview

Pipeline To College Essay

Decent Essays

Precollege Programs There are five sequential steps in the typical pipeline to college (Choy, Horn, Nunez, & Chen, 2000). Students need to aspire to attain a bachelor’s degree early; prepare educationally to ensure qualification; undertake admission examinations; submit applications to a four year college; and receive response confirming acceptance. Students need current, realistic information about the array of postsecondary options and their individual likelihood for success in particular fields (Valadez, 1998). The readiness of students academically, socially, and emotionally in high school increases the chance for a successful transition to college (Conley, 2008).
Pre-collegiate academic preparation is an essential focus for first-generation …show more content…

Cultural under-preparation is a common factor for first-generation students and implies a situation of coming from a low-income family - a family that places a low value on education or believes it is unattainable, or perhaps from a family that represents a minority culture. Transitioning from high school to college makes students learn that they are now on an expectation spectrum (Conley, 2007). While completing coursework, they encounter a disparity between the extent of teacher leniency, as well as required independent assignments and thinking skills for reading, report writing, projects, presentations, and studying. High school course titles may have been completed with good grades, satisfying admissions requirements; yet the rigor may not imply readiness for the general education courses in which they will be enrolled during their first year in college – courses such as biology, algebra, or literature. Conley’s (2007, p. 10) review of research also concluded “a ‘B’ average in high school now may reflect knowledge and skills equivalent to something more like a ‘C’ average thirty years ago.” “The phenomenon of giving increasing percentages of students credit for courses whose content they have not learned may be labeled ‘course credit inflation’ by analogy with the concept of grade inflation” (Dougherty et al.,

Get Access