Does High School Really Prepare You For College?
Jacob Sickles
6/3/25
In America, high school is the end of required school and when people graduate, many have the question, “Does High School Prepare You For College”?
Back in 2021, Grand Canyon University asked 1500 people if they thought high school prepared them for college. Based on the thoughts that were shared, 80% of them said that they thought high school prepared them for college. 58% said that high school helped prepare them to develop the knowledge for college classes. And 54% said that high school really lacked preparation for day-to-day tasks that most people should know, like cooking, financing money, ect.
So with Grand Canyon’s study, I went and gathered thoughts from current high school students about the question. One high schooler said, “I think both because HS prepares you with some basic knowledge you will need to know for classes but it will also leave you confused in college because they won’t teach you certain things like cooking and maybe laundry that you may need to know for when you get into college.” While another student said no because, “I think they do a good job at letting us choose our classes for the career we want, but it doesn’t prepare us for what it’s gonna be like outside of classes and having to do everyday tasks. Like even for a basic everyday task we have to take it as an elective to learn it.” So with the thoughts of the high schoolers, they like how high school is preparing them for the education part of college but not the lifestyle.
Based on the thoughts of the high school students, I also gathered thoughts from former college students about the question. One said no because, “There are ways in which high school does prepare you for college and there are ways in which it does not. You typically go from the highly structured environment of high school to a much more autonomous experience in college. In high school, you have a set schedule, you typically have to ask permission to go anywhere (including the bathroom), you have guardians looking out for you and keeping you accountable to a set of rules that everyone must follow. College is different. There is no one but yourself (and maybe your parents) to keep you accountable. You no longer have to ask to go to the bathroom and you often have much more freedom in how you choose to schedule your classes.[…]Once you go to college, you are all of a sudden seen as an adult and have to pick a major that will impact your future career choices. I think some high schools do a good job at setting better expectations for college. However, I think overall due to significant differences between the high school and college experiences, high school does not usually prepare you for college.” While another college graduate disagrees by saying yes because, “Depending on what classes you choose to take, high school can definitely prepare you for college. If you are choosing challenging classes or college credit classes, those will for sure prepare you.” Former students also agree that high school prepares you for the classes but not the lifestyle.
So, do you think high school prepares you for college?
