Critique of Articles on Success in Higher Education

Student’s Name

Institution Affiliation

Date
 Introduction

Many people make the jump from high school life to university life seeking to better

themselves and at least have a chance of achieving success in their lives. The size or stature

of the university an individual attends aside, the curriculum being taught is quite similar.

Therefore the factors that determine the success of a student in University are universally

shared across most of the universities. This paper will critique an article written by Reuben

Gentry, addressing challenges that students face when enrolling in colleges that lead to the

dropping out (Gentry, 2016). He also proposes ways in which a student can subdue these

challenges and successfully navigate college life.

Making College a Success by Assessing and Navigating Candidates’ Study Habits

The author begins by delving into why he believes that education, specifically college

education, is important to an individual. Gentry posits that college education natures an

individual, making him ready to enter a given profession (Gentry, 2016). College education is

not only beneficial to the recipient but also the rest of society. He argues that by successfully

navigating through college and individual will interact with members of society in one way or

another and improve them.

Many people are very excited to join higher education institutions because it almost

guarantees them that they will lead successful lives. The author believes that every individual

not with-withstanding their economic status shares the same dream of going to university.

Responsible parents will always haunt their children with stories of how they enjoyed their

college years and how it helped shaped their lives. However, the experience might be quite

shocking to a person attending college for the first time. The laxity, when it comes to what

you are allowed to do and how to manage your time within the school is very different

compared to the life a person was going through when they were in high school. There is
little supervision, and if students are not careful, absenteeism may creep in, affecting their

school work.

The author notes that the inequality present in society makes it very hard for everyone

to attend college (Gentry, 2016). Going to college is marred by numerous expenses that are

not within reach of a certain number of people in the United States. Gentry, points out that

individuals from affluent families will almost certainly get the chance to attend college.

However, for those with poor backgrounds, less than half of those who make it out of high

school will not get the chance to any higher education institution. They then miss out on the

numerous opportunities that follow an individual with a degree.

According to the author, attending college is one half of the journey to success,

completing college is the other half. He posits that almost half the number of those joining

such institutions never stay for the long run. They face numerous challenges, whether

financial or otherwise, that cause such students to drop out. The author notes that students are

more likely to drop out within their first year compared to other years. He believes the reason

for this turn of events lies in the cultural shock that they have to deal with. Previously they

existed in a controlled environment, where they had teachers and their parents always

dictating to them what they should do and what to avoid.

However, when they get to college, they soon realize that they have all the freedom.

Some of them are intoxicated with the freedom and lose themselves, and eventually, they lose

touch with academics and flunk out (Gentry, 2016). Sometimes the hardships they go through

are not intentional. Gentry acknowledges that such institutions are quite expansive, and new

students find it challenging to find their way around. They then are deprived of the chance to

effectively exploit the resources of the school.

After going through all the problems that students face when in school, Gentry

proposes some of the skills that a student must embrace if they are to be successful (Gentry,
2016). However, he acknowledges that there is no universal skill set that must be adopted,

which guarantees success. He argues that three factors separate good students and failing

students, how they manage their time, the methods they use when studying, and the

perception they have concerning their studies. The author then concedes that there are

different ways of managing your time when you're a student. Since everyone has their way of

doing things, we should not just blindly copy what others are doing.

I fully agree with the author that financial constraints are another challenge that

contributes to students dropping out. According to the research, he has undertaken, getting a

college degree sets back a person quite some money (Gentry, 2016). The other reason

concerns a student's conduct when in school. I concur with the sentiments of the author, that

once these negative habits get engraved into a student, shaking them off becomes

challenging, forcing the student to abandon their studies (Gentry, 2016). Gentry finally

argues that making sound financial decisions and embracing good study habits will curb this

issue and ensure that those who manage to get into college stay there and become successful.

I fully concur with the sentiments of Reuben Gentry. Surviving in college requires a

lot of effort, focus, and dedication, which is very tough to come by nowadays. If students are

to successfully navigate the rocky journey of higher education in the United States, they have

to get their finances in order. Peer pressure, the need to conform, and the numerous

temptations that exist in colleges are some of the reasons underpinning financial

irresponsibility. I believe students channels their money to other irrelevant causes when in

school, which then makes it hard for them to buy the requisite materials they need for school.

Most of them will prefer to buy trendy clothes and finance expensive parties when in school.

Disregarding these things is not easy; however, students need to find a way to

balance their school work and social escapades, which tend to be costly. Concentrating on

schoolwork becomes challenging when a person adopts poor reading habits. Some of these
habits include missing classes, failing to do assignments, or discipline issues. When these

become the norm, then such students miss a lot of classes and fall behind in their classwork.

When exams come, they will fail and get sent away. I believe that sound financial decision-

making, coupled with excellent study habits, guarantee a student's successful completion of

their higher education curriculum.

I also agree with the author that gender plays a role in the success levels of a student

in college. Female students are psychologically better at handling the pressure and anxiety

that comes with learning. Comparted to their counterparts of the opposite gender, they mostly

find positive ways of coping with such pressure, such as yoga or sharing with those close to

them their troubles. Male students, on the other hand, employ destructive coping mechanisms

such as drug use when dealing with similar issues. The resultant effect is that their academic

performance goes down while that of female students goes up.

Conclusion

The above article reveals how tough it is to navigate through America's higher

education institutions. Success is not a guarantee for anyone who steps foot into these

institutions. I agree with most of the sentiments and assertions put forward by the author. The

reason for this is that I can associate with what they are saying, having gone through them.

Should students embrace what they are advocating for then, the chances of them successfully

completing their higher degree programs significantly goes up.

 Reference

Gentry, R. (2016). Making College a Success by Assessing and Navigating Candidates’

Study Habits. Higher Education Journal, 35, 1-13.