Making sure high school seniors are ready for college is a top priority for parents today. The motivation for parents to go the extra mile to increase their child's chances of being accepted to college is to get financial assistance to pay for college tuition. The best way to do this is for a high schooler to score high on the ACT college entrance exam, which is what schools look at when deciding to award scholarships to students and is usually the determining factor for most of four-year universities when deciding which students receive acceptance. Colleges also look for high school seniors who maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher. According to USA Today, only 32 percent of graduating seniors in the class of 2001 were close to being ready for college, according to a study by the Manhattan Institute (Toppo). , USA Today, 9D). This article doesn't seem to support the idea that students are being prepared well enough by educators and parents, but that was eight years ago. The statistics have changed since 2001. The Wall Street Journal reports during the 2008 and 2009 school year that only about a quarter of American high school students graduating in 2009 who took the ACT admissions test had the skills to succeed in college (Tomsho, The Wall Street Journal). Students are encouraged at a young age by parents and educators to plan well in advance for college and are pushed to do great things on a daily basis in school. Some high school students don't put enough effort into college planning until their senior year. Some high school seniors think that by getting good grades they won't have to worry about getting into college, while others plan and prepare as if it's the only thing that matters... middle of paper... unfair to of students who are actively trying to get into an accredited university or college and who are hindered in their goals by something as simple as nerves and the ability to manage standardized tests in a stressful environment. If schools compromised with each other and combined their efforts to improve school systems, it could have a huge effect on students' confidence and ability when testing for college entrance exams and on their ability to handle the workload expected of them once they finish. get to college. Works Cited Tomsho, Robert. (2009, August 19). Reporting college admissions test scores. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 14, 2009, from the Internet: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125065253283242295.html.Toppo, Greg. (2003, September 17). Education: Most high school graduates don't have what it takes for college. USA Today, p. 9D.