Examining Self-Efficacy and Preparedness to Succeed in Post-Secondary Education: A Survey of Recent High School Graduates

Professional school counselors are charged with preparing students to be college and career ready and students may depend on their school counselor to provide them with a comprehensive plan for post-secondary options. Unfortunately, even with adequate access to academic knowledge and skills, not all students may be career and college ready due to the lack of confidence in their ability to succeed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the self-efficacy of high school graduates regarding their preparedness to succeed in a post-secondary education. Using a univariate of analysis of variance, the data collected from a sample of 154 college students were analyzed. Results indicated that when it comes to positive personal characteristics, Asian American students had statistically lower scores. Additional analysis also revealed that students from rural schools had lower academic competence regarding their self-efficacy. The article presents implications for school counselors, school counselors in-training, and counseling programs.