Admitted Students Days and orientations are great, but they're not enough.
For decades, we've accepted that the shift from high school to college comes with growing pains. New expectations, new freedoms, new responsibilities... We anticipate even the hardiest of students will have to adjust a bit.
But "a bit" no longer describes what students are experiencing today.
Increasingly, the gap between high school preparation and college demands has widened into something students cannot realistically bridge on their own. More and more students are stepping onto campus without the academic and cognitive tools they need to meet the expectations placed on them. Instead of a manageable period of transition, they're facing an often painful process that breeds confusion, discouragement, and overwhelm.
In a climate where families and students are already questioning the effectiveness of a college education, this extra pressure is a major problem.
A Preparation Gap Students Didn't Create
Many students arrive at college assuming they have what they need because the systems around them have signaled that they do. These students have been told through grades, feedback, and experience that they're performing well.
But once they reach the new environment of college, they realize there are skills they're expected to have mastered that they never even knew existed.
The toolboxes that kept them afloat academically in high school suddenly feel uncomfortably empty. Techniques that helped in earlier years don't translate well to more complex assignments, more independent study, or higher-level expectations.
What's more, the gap isn't from lack of trying; most students want to do well. But, increasingly, preparation of these soft skills in high school isn't keeping pace with what students are asked to do in college. As a result, students are blindsided, finding out they weren't actually set up for success despite report cards full of As and Bs that they thought suggested otherwise.
Inside the College Classroom
Faculty across campuses are seeing firsthand how this gap shows up. Their students are struggling because their foundational skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, and reading comprehension and analysis are underdeveloped compared to what professors assume most incoming students already have down pat.
And this isn't just an isolated or sometimes problem, either. 75% -- yes, really, 75% -- of professors surveyed stated they had seen a noticeable decline in student readiness among their college freshmen.
When students encounter this mismatch, they begin to question their own abilities. With their confidence shaken, they question if they even belong on campus.
What a disservice that we've created a system that leads to this outcome for so many.
In reality, the issue lies not with the students but with the size of the transition we're asking them to make without the support to make it successful.
The Bigger Picture
It's tempting to try to pinpoint a single cause for this phenomenon, but no single person or group created this gap. It's the result of several shifts in educational environments, expectations, learning opportunities, happening simultaneously. And let's not forget or overlook the glaring multi-year disruption students faced with the pandemic.
The important step now is to recognize the effects of these shifts and begin adapting our approaches.
Students are stepping into college with fewer chances to practice the skills that higher education assumes they already have. And because no one told them these skills might be missing or showed how they could be built up, they arrive confused about why their usual strategies stopped working.
Why This Matters
When students fail unprepared, their struggles reach beyond academics and invade their self-perceptions and emotions as well. They interpret skill gaps as personal failings. They hesitate to ask for help. Some withdraw from participation altogether because they don't know how or where to begin.
Understanding the gap is the first step toward closing it.
Students deserve a transition that challenges them without breaking them. That requires acknowledging where preparation and the signals we send students are falling short and building intentional skill development long before college even begins.
In future newsletters, I'll explore additional pieces of this story and what families and educators can do to support students more effectively.
If this resonates with your mission and you want to stay connected, I'd love to have you along for the ride.