NEW DELHI : Marks are an important indicator of academic ability, but they are only one part of college readiness. As online education becomes a mainstream route to a degree, students should begin building self-discipline, time management, curiosity and the ability to learn independently before they enter college, because in an online setting, ownership of progress rests firmly with the learner.
“The flexibility of online learning allows students to study from anywhere while collaborating with peers and faculty across industries and geographies. This makes communication, teamwork and digital collaboration as valuable as academic knowledge, and students who arrive comfortable with digital tools adapt to it far more easily.
The ability to analyse information, question assumptions and apply knowledge to real world problems. As AI becomes part of everyday learning, students must use it responsibly as a tool for research, creativity and problem-solving rather than a shortcut.
Students should be prepared for a digital world
Basic financial and professional awareness, along with a healthy, disciplined routine, eases the transition into adult life. Online learners, who often balance study with other commitments, benefit most from these habits,” says Dr N V H Krishnan, Advisor JAIN Online & Member, Chancellor’s Advisory Board, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University)
Dr Krishnan reveals, “Ultimately, college is not just the next academic milestone. It calls for continuous learning, adaptability and confidence, and students who build these habits early, whether they study on campus or online, are better prepared for an increasingly digital world.”
Students who excel academically, yet hesitate to ask questions
Swetha Balakrishnan, Senior Director, Regions and Recruitment, Teach for India, says, “I remember walking into some of India’s strongest engineering and humanities institutions and meeting students who were excelling academically, yet hesitated to ask questions, make eye contact, speak about their strengths, or acknowledge where they needed to grow. In group discussions, some focused more on holding the floor than on listening or building on another person’s idea.
It made me wonder: Are we preparing students for what comes next, or primarily preparing them to score well?
Marks matter. Knowledge matters. But our current assessment systems often reward remembering and reproducing knowledge more than applying it. In a world where information is increasingly accessible, what matters is what we do with it.
College is an incredible bridge between the sheltered world of school and adulthood. Students are suddenly making choices: What do I want to study? What interests me? Which clubs will I explore? What risks will I take? What kind of career and life might I want to build? Just as importantly, how do I become an active citizen who notices problems around me, takes ownership, and acts to solve them?”
8 skills students need to build before entering college
“Skills such as curiosity, critical thinking, compassion, creativity, courage, communication, collaboration, and consciousness, often described through the 8 Cs framework, can help prepare students for lifelong learning and growth. They enable students to navigate choices, engage with diverse people, ask questions, take risks, learn from mistakes, and keep growing,” Swetha reveals.
Schools can build these skills through project-based learning, meaningful co-curricular experiences, internships, and real-world problem-solving, with reflection built into each experience. Marks may prepare students to enter college. These skills prepare them to make the most of it, and of the life beyond it.
Nikhar Arora, Founder & CEO, Mentoria, says, “A good marksheet opens the college gate. It does very little once a student is inside, because almost nothing that decides how college actually goes is the kind of thing a board exam measures.
The first gap is more basic than most skilling conversations admit, and it is about application rather than knowledge. ASER’s 2023 study of rural 14 to 18 year olds found that among students who could already subtract, only about 37 percent could work out a discount on a price. The method had been learned. Using it when the problem did not look like the one in the textbook was the part that broke down.”
“That is the ability college tests first, and tests constantly. No one hands a first year student the syllabus for the rest of their life. They pick electives, projects and internships, and eventually a direction, usually with no one grading the choice or telling them whether it was right. Students who have never practised making a decision they own tend to freeze, copy a friend, or let a deadline decide for them.
This is the skill worth building before college, and it is built the way any skill is, through reps. A student who has tried a short internship, sat in on the real work of a field they were curious about, or followed one interest far enough to discover they disliked it has already practised choosing and course correcting. The exposure matters more than the outcome. Yet structured chances to do this are rare. The Periodic Labour Force Survey for 2025 found that only about 4 percent of Indians aged 15 to 59 have had any formal vocational or technical training, which means most students reach their first real career decision having never been near the work itself,” Nikhar reveals.
There is a timing reason this matters more now. As AI makes information and first drafts close to free, the part of any career that holds its value is judgment: knowing which problem is worth solving and being willing to commit to an answer. That is learned by practising on small choices long before the stakes are high. The goal before college is not a plan for the next five years. It is the confidence to make a call of your own, and the habit of adjusting it when you turn out to be wrong.
