<p><a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/01/26/freshmen[/url]”>http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/01/26/freshmen</a></p>
<p>Another factor to plug into the graduation rate matrix.</p>
<p>Well, this is sort of a no brainer, I cannot imagine why it takes a study to know this. </p>
<p>I don’t think it’s the foundation of preparation so much as it is the pure lack of experience. In our case, I earn more than enough money, and D had the high school records/grades/stats, the mentors, the community leaders, etc. Most of this is because I invested in the best possible private schools from kindergarten forward, in an attempt to overcompensate for what I could already see was going to be a significant disadvantage. So she had great teachers, coaches, college counselors, etc. Discussions about “when you go to college” vs. “IF you go to college”. </p>
<p>Where it started to unravel is the lack of parental knowledge about anything whatsoever having to do with college. So daughter had to go off into uncharted territory alone, with no guidance from me at all, because I was clueless. (I’m still pretty clueless actually.) She’d come home over breaks freshman and sophomore years especially, asking my advice on tons of stuff, and I couldn’t offer even one single useful suggestion. </p>
<p>A solution is probably more along the lines of reaching back to the 8th and 9th graders, and starting preparation then. But of course, 99% of schools cannot handle even one more burden.</p>
<p>So maybe corrective action should start with uneducated parents. But how?</p>