Is a high school student ready for college math?

A high school student may be taking all the classes required in math to get admission to a state university. The same student, when the time comes, passes the high school exit examination set by the state. But does this mean that the student is ready to tackle college level math? Surveys prove that the most likely answer is no. Of all the students who took the ACT for admission in college, only about 50% have the ability to earn a C grade or higher in college algebra. The rest of the 50 are not prepared for that level of math. These statistics have been proven by a study done in 2006.
It was supported by college professors and instructors who believe half of high school students are incapable of understanding college level mathematics. The individual who do end up in a course that requires math, need to take remedial math classes to come up to speed. These classes add to the cost of graduating from a college and the time taken to earn the degree. Additionally, the chances of such persons dropping out of college is extremely high.
The end line is that not every high school student is ready to face the vicissitudes of advanced mathematics.

What Does College Mathematics Entail?

The answer to the question has to be divided based on the course a student opts.
· For those who go to college to get a degree in non-STEM major, college math will be eerily similar to that of high school. It will include all that a high school student learns in an upper level AP class like integral calculus
· For those individuals who choose an engineering major in college, the math will be slightly advanced. Along with the pre-calculus course learned in high school you will integral calculus, differential calculus and multi-variate calculus. Differential equations may also be part of the course.
· For those who want to be a math major or some thing like aerospace engineering, college math can be quite advanced. Some of the topic you will have to study will include abstract algebra (group, ring, field, etc), multi-variable calculus, Greens/Stokes theorems, analysis which are complex, real analysis and Lebesgue measure, differential equations, algebraic topology and infinite dimensional vector space (Hilbert space).
The actual syllabus taught will also vary as per the university or institute the students gets admitted to, but at an overall level the topics remains largely similar to what have been listed above.