3 Skills I Learned in High School That (Actually) Prepared Me for College
College students all across the world will probably tell you high school doesn’t properly prepare any student for college. However, even though high school might lack a suitable curriculum, which would prepare a future college student for the rigors of university studies, high school does teach students some valuable skills that can be used in college and beyond. Throughout high school, these are the skills that actually prepared me for college:
Social Skills
Most former high school students will agree that the first day of ninth grade can be an intimidating time in the life of most students. A new school, and a lot of new people, can make it very hard for any student to gain friends of any kind. I would agree with most students that high school can be intimidating at first, but because of the nervousness associated with the first day of school I, like several others, was forced to make acquaintances that later evolved into strong friendships. The skills I, and many high school students, learn when making those friends are skills that we can use in college and for the rest of our lives. The same skills allowed me to make friends in college, and also allow me to continue to network in my everyday life.
Time Management
Like most college attendees, I now have less time in college than I did before I graduated high school. However, while I was in high school, I was on the lacrosse team, and also worked an average of 30 hours a week. At first, balancing school, sports, and work was a daunting task, but I soon learned several valuable skills in the form of time management. For example, I learned that it was a lot easier to manage your own time if you planned out your day beforehand. These plans can come in the form of charts, phone reminders, or even the occasional sticky note. The time management skills I learned in high school now allow me to complete 18-credit semesters and work two jobs. These same skills I will use for the rest of my life as I try to balance everything going on in my life.
Test-Taking
If there was one thing high school taught me, it was how to take tests. It seems like I took a test at least once every day in high school. Now, of course the tests in high school and college are very different on multiple levels, but the general idea still applies. This constant influx of exams allowed me to learn multiple test taking skills. These skills range from pacing to answer deletion, and have only been perfected and built upon in college, but the underlying skills are still the same ones I learned back in high school.
If you ask me, high school definitely does not prepare any student for all of the challenges they will face in college, but it does help provide some very valuable skills that students can use in college and for the rest of their lives.