Challenges and Coping Strategies of a High School Honor Student Enrolled in Tertiary Education

Honors students are perceived as an individual that can tackle any school activities and written works, on the contrary they are also a normal human being with normal capabilities. Understanding these they must be an average individual that is handling each factors affecting them in college with efficiency. However, research shows that the transition from high school to college is a critical phase in a student’s academic journey, often accompanied by a host of academic, social, and emotional adjustments. For high school honor students, who have consistently demonstrated exceptional academic performance. This shift presents unique challenges. While their strong academic foundation and study habits may set them apart, the demands of tertiary education introduce new levels of rigor, independence, and competition that can test their resilience. Adapting to a more complex learning environment, managing increased workloads, and balancing social and personal responsibilities can be overwhelming, even for these high-achieving students. The main objective of this qualitative study was to explore the insights and perspective of an honor high school student currently in college in terms of the challenges they encountered and how they handle such challenge. The data were generated form in depth interviews and analyzed through a thematic analysis process. In performing this method in revealed that the honor students in high School felt a sense of pride upon achieving the reward of their hard work as one of the top performing individuals in their year level, but upon going to college they encountered academic stress due to the increase level of education thus they needed to give more effort. According to the data the challenges that the students encountered is made easier by having emotional support and inspiration mostly in the form of loved individuals which made them to suggest that incoming college students that in previously an honor student in high school must gain self-confidence and adaptability.