College: Definitely By: Preetika Chaudhary

There are a lot of students at THS who have are capable of going to college, but just don’t know it. It just isn’t part of their identity. Many students at THS will be the first ones in their family to go to college. For that reason, going to college may not be part of their mindset.

67.2% of high school graduates from the class of 2007 are enrolled in college or universities, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This shows that there is a slight majority of students who attend college after high school.

There are many reasons why students may not think they are fit for college, and one is their personal background. “ For certain students who come from a bad background, they might believe that they can’t make it,” said junior Juan Bardwell. “ Just because your family didn’t take the chance of going to college doesn’t mean you don’t go to college.”

“Many of our students’ parents haven’t had the opportunity to go to college and this builds a barrier,” said history teacher Ms. Navarro. “ As teachers, we have the power of building a college going culture in our classrooms as well as supporting students through all the doubts and fears.”

Harmandeep Singh, a senior at THS has a lot to say about this issue. “ I think it’s students who are too lazy or they do not believe going to college will help. They look at the past, not the future.” With many other things going on in senior year, people forget to fill out applications and other required things for college.

“Grades are a measure of a student’s abilities and students believe that they are not good enough for college,” Harmandeep added. “Especially since colleges look at grades and standardized testing scores.”
Numerous students’ parents affect their views on whether or not to go to college. “I think parents do influence the decisions of their children since their parents are their role model,” said Harmandeep. Some parents might not know as much as others and because of that their kids may suffer.

The rush of meeting the deadline for college applications may be stressful but that doesn’t mean that you cannot make it. With the help of THS staff, such as teachers, you can make it to college with less stress.