Over the past decade, higher education has made meaningful strides in access for neurodivergent students. Acceptance rates have increased, support programs have expanded, and conversations around inclusion are more visible than ever. Yet a concerning gap remains. While more students are getting into college, persistence and completion rates have not kept pace. This discrepancy has led colleges and secondary schools alike to rethink a critical question. What does it truly mean to be college ready today?
At Franklin Academy, we often distinguish between being college capable and being college ready. A student may be capable when they have the cognitive ability, academic knowledge, and learning experiences needed for college level work. Readiness, however, is different. College readiness requires a shift from adult guided learning that prioritizes engagement to self regulated learning that emphasizes performance, accountability, and sustained independence.
December Break offers a natural pause to reflect, recalibrate, and engage in honest conversations as a family. Below are five key discussion starters that help clarify the shift from capable to ready, along with practical strategies to begin building readiness now.
1. Reliance on School-Based Systems
Many students today grow up within highly scaffolded school environments. Learning management systems track assignments, send reminders, and centralize expectations. While these tools are helpful, they often replace the need to independently organize, prioritize, and anticipate deadlines. In college, systems like Canvas or Blackboard are used inconsistently. Faculty may post late, post differently, or not use reminders at all. Students are expected to monitor syllabi, manage shifting deadlines, and track performance without prompts.
Strategy:
During break, work with your student to externalize responsibility. Have them practice managing a weekly schedule without automated reminders. Use a single planner or digital calendar that they update themselves. The goal is not perfection, but ownership.
2. Recognizing the Difference Between Discomfort and Distress
New environments are uncomfortable by nature. Nervousness, hesitation, and uncertainty are expected parts of growth. At the same time, avoidance is a natural response to discomfort. In college, avoidance can quickly lead to serious consequences such as missed classes, dropped courses, or falling below full-time status, all of which can impact housing, financial aid, and scholarships. Students need language to differentiate between healthy discomfort and true distress.
Strategy:
Create a shared framework during break. Ask your student to list situations that make them uncomfortable but are manageable, and situations that would indicate real distress. Practice naming physical cues, thoughts, and behaviors associated with each. Normalize discomfort as part of learning while identifying clear thresholds for when support should be sought.
3. Awareness of Modifications vs. Accommodations
Transition conversations often focus on accommodations, yet modifications play an equally important role in high school success. Modifications remove or reduce barriers, but they do not carry over to college. If students are unaware of which supports have altered expectations or reduced demands, they may be unprepared for the full scope of college work. Understanding one’s educational programming is essential for realistic planning.
Strategy:
Review your student’s current support plans together. Identify which supports are accommodations that may transfer to college and which are modifications that will not. Discuss what skills those modifications were supporting and how those skills will need to be strengthened.
4. Time Away from Home
The first weeks of college are often highly unstructured. Students must manage a new living environment, increased freedom, and fewer built-in routines. For students who rely on structure, this transition can feel both exciting and destabilizing. Early habits formed during this period often set the tone for the semester. Practicing separation before college benefits students and parents alike.
Strategy:
Use break as a rehearsal period. Encourage short, planned separations from home through overnight stays, independent travel, or managing personal responsibilities without parental oversight. Focus on routines such as waking, meals, downtime, and sleep. Discuss what worked, what did not, and what routines felt grounding.
5. Self-Monitoring and Functional Awareness
There is an important difference between knowing a diagnosis and understanding personal functioning. Labels can offer insight, but they do not explain how a student performs, what supports success, or how progress is measured. In college, expectations are often unspoken and outcomes matter more than process. Self monitoring becomes the cornerstone of success.
Strategy:
Shift conversations from labels to patterns. Ask your student to reflect on when they perform best, what disrupts their focus, and how they know they are doing well. Practice setting personal metrics for success beyond grades, such as attendance consistency, assignment completion, or help seeking behaviors. This builds internal feedback loops that replace external monitoring.
Why This Matters at Franklin Academy
These conversations are at the heart of why Franklin Academy’s high school includes a four year college and career curriculum. Readiness is not developed in a single year or course. It is built intentionally through skill development, reflection, and increasing responsibility over time. It is also why Franklin College Connections has resonated so strongly with students and families. FCC bridges the gap between capable and ready by providing a supported transition that emphasizes self regulation, functional independence, and real world performance in a college aligned environment.
College readiness is not about doing more. It is about doing differently. December Break is not just time off. It is time to pause, reflect, and have the conversations that matter most for long term success.
