According to common belief, many people believe that the college graduation rate is fairly high; however, according to David Leonhardt, in his New York Times Article, "[o]nly 33 percent of freshman who enter the University of Massachusetts, Boston, graduate within six years." The University of Massachusetts, Boston, through its website, claims to enroll "more than 14,000 students..." 33 percent of 14,000 is approximately, rounded down, 4,665. This means that only 4,665 students out of an assumed 14,000 students graduate within six years. So what is the problem?
Leonhardt believes the major reason for why students are not graduating in the commonly believed 4-5 years can be found in the lack of preparation. Most high schools do not prepare their students for college but is it all their fault? According to Leinhardt, some students can survive the move from high school to challenging college's and their life, but they choose the easy route and choose to undermine themselves and settle for a less challenging school.
For the remaining students who actually go to the college they wish to attend, they may not be prepared for the task. Personally, I felt how a young bird is taught to fly. Parent birds, ultimately, force their children out of the nest in order to teach their children to fly. The young birds do make some hard landings and hit the ground. But the young birds are taught to fly by basically jumping out of the nest and, by instinct, learning to fly. That is how I occasionally feel about how high school has prepared me for college. I feel as if it is just a leap of faith and hopefully I learn to fly. I am sure not everyone feels this way, but there are several who do; however, there are those who refute such claims. They claim that high schools prepare us very well and it is the students who are not attentive.
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