The transition from high school to college can be a trying time for many students. The many unknowns that go along with this ascension into adulthood can be met with unwanted anxiety. At the ripe age of eighteen, students are expected to leave home and fend for themselves. This can mean applying for jobs, paying rent for the first time or simply just learning to budget money. It’s understandable that these things are learned with hands on experience but shouldn’t high school have better prepared us for adulthood?

Adulthood is a tricky thing to maneuver through, especially without any preparation. High school courses are made to prepare students academically for college but the material lacks any practical application. Elizabeth Orona, a third year at SSU, offered her thoughts on the topic, “I wish high school would have taught me about everyday/adulting things. For example learning about budgeting. I feel like the sooner I would have learned about managing money, the more comfortable and confident I would be with my funds and spending. Especially because as college students we have to put money aside for things like housing, textbooks, groceries and more.”

College life is different for everyone and there can be many different questions that arise regarding what it is really like. At times it also seems that high school teachers put unrealistic ideas of what to expect from college. There are these stereotypes of severely strict professors and mountains of homework that accompany each course. But the reality of attending a university is far from bleak. It is a space to expand your horizons and study topics you may genuinely enjoy. 

In an interview with the STAR, Hutchins liberal studies major Alyssa Samuli, discussed what it was like applying for college, “There was a lot of fear around it.” Samuli continued, “at times, my teachers and counselors were so negative about college admission I didn’t even think I would get in anywhere. If they had been more positive and supportive I think my classmates and I wouldn’t have been so stressed during senior year.” 

Students are not only stressing out about life after high school graduation but they may also have a negative perception of what it means to be an actual college student. All around, it seems that high school’s should alter their curriculum to ease looming anxiety about what the future may hold for their students. There are some programs, that are offered as electives, put in place to better prepare these teenagers for university life. For example, many schools offer AVID programs, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. 

Irania Guerrero Diaz, a post-grad student at Sonoma State, talked to the STAR about what AVID taught her, “During high school I participated in AVID and my then teacher taught my class and myself how to be successful in our college careers. I learned how to search for financial aid and how to start the college application process.”

Seeking a higher education should be a fruitful experience, one full of promise and overall excitement. If high schools attempted to teach practical skills like; balancing a checkbook, budgeting money, how to pay taxes, or even how to properly use a credit card, there would be less scary unknowns. High school teachers should also stay more in touch with the times and paint a happier picture of what college may look like. Adulthood wouldn’t be so scary if we had an accurate understanding of what’s to come.