Ready, set, college! What you need to know before you get there.

Did you know that 47% of today's college-bound high school students graduate with an A average; 88.1% graduate with at least a B average. Yet most teens earn such grades by studying fewer than five hours a week. Regardless of your grade level, you should really be studying at least 10 hours a week! But students sail through their high school courses by cramming for tests or studying the minimum hours for classes - just to get by. Students rely on the teachers to remind them about tests or papers. High schoolers view learning in the classroom as their 'study time' and any studying at home is just 'extra.' However, when students enter college, these approaches become their downfall. It's the major reason that 63% of students don't graduate in the traditional four years - and nearly 40% don't graduate at all or take longer than six years to graduate.


Need more proof that high school students aren't mentally and academically geared for college? Your First College Year gathered information from 50 four-year institutions to learn about the college freshman experience. And the news was not good. Here are some highlights:

• 40% felt overwhelmed by all they had to do
• 37% said that they studied fewer than 6 hours during a typical week
• 44% were bored in class
• 42% admitted turning in assignments that did not reflect their best work.

So what's the solution?
Are you really ready for college? is the guidebook that high school students have been missing. It gives teens a system - an easy way to manage their studies and their lives. Students learn about self-assessment, productivity, taking initiative, planning, adjusting to changes, time- and self-management, and practical goal setting. These are the skills that students will need to succeed as independent learners in college. As the numbers have shown from above, many students don't really know how to learn. While teachers have told students to do their homework, given some study techniques, like memorization tricks, no one has ever really taught them how to view, manage, and organize the larger effort of learning.
This guidebook gives students the savvy to succeed. Are you really ready for college? keeps the message positive. It talks about how to thrive in college and how to start practicing now. Dr. Bob's book really is a one-of-a-kind, written from thousands of hours talking with students for more than two decades. No other book shares these academic insights.
These strategies tackle the real-life daily challenges. In talking with more than 12,000 college students, Dr. Bob Neuman knows the help that students need: what works and what doesn't.
This information is solid. This is your playbook. It's packed with ways to help you take charge, stay organized, end stress, make good choices, and succeed!
The 12 Strategies in the book lock together to form a system. Like puzzle pieces, the strategies fit together to support and strengthen each other. Together, they form a powerful system to help you succeed.
They cover what to do inside and outside of class. How to take care of yourself, your days, and your schoolwork when you're on your own.
The book gets the timing right. Want to wait until you go to college to start using the strategies? It's too late and won't work. Adjusting to college life will take up your time. The skills have to be in place before you get to college.
Return to this blog to learn more about standardized tests!