There is a plethora of students who are worried and stressed by the thought of going to college or the process of college preparations; there are also others who do almost nothing to prepare themself for college. There’s another group of students who take the GED, allowing them to drop out of high school. It is known how the process looks nationally, but what does it look like for kids here at Baruch?
Baruch has a wide range of resources given in the curriculum like AP classes and honors classes to stimulate the work given in college classes, allowing them to be set in a more challenging setting.
Junior David Nolasco emphasizes the importance of AP classes for students. “The work especially I think is a big part of the preparation of the college process and I think classes like AP classes help us fully prepare for college because they are challenging and they are more advanced than the normal classes given at Baruch,” said Nolasco.
If these courses get challenging, teachers are often there to support students to keep them up to pace, with most offering help once a week after school.
Junior Jose Alverez Pena believes that teachers offer lots of help to students for both school work and in getting students prepared for the college process. “I believe that our teachers are really supportive of our college process and throughout high school they tell us how to do our work,” he said.
However, many students at Baruch are unaware of resources to prepare themselves on their own. Students are often unsure of where to look, but it’s much more simpler than they might think. There are many resources to assist students on their college journey posted right on the BCCHS website.
Additionally, the college office at BCCHS hosts an annual College Kickoff, allowing students to be informed about the college process and steps they should be taking.
“Before the assembly, I had no clue where to find things to prepare me for college and I didn’t even know who the college counselors were until then,” said junior Isaiah Stewart.
Even though all of these resources are on the table for students, it is often seen that students aren’t fully prepared for college. This can create problems for students during their freshman year of college, possibly resulting in them dropping out of college altogether, with many students finding college pointless altogether due to the availability of relatively stable jobs that do not require a college degree.
For college preparation, 47 percent of schools overall rated themselves as doing a very good or excellent job, whereas the percentage was lower for schools in high-poverty neighborhoods with schools with fewer than 300 students and it being higher for schools that enroll 1,000 or more students.
There could be many reasons for this, for example, schools could be teaching students subjects that aren’t necessarily relevant to what many students are learning in college which could possibly cause students to be unmotivated and quit when they see that the content they have learned previously won’t help them move forward.
Knowing where and how to access the resources for college could be challenging, so here are some possible resources to help prepare:
- Talk to one of the guidance counselors
- Seek help from anyone that works to help with the college process (Ms. Phillips, Ms. Epstein, Ms. Ougheltree)
- Join AP classes, sign up for college courses
