Secondary education-university transition and the incorporation to university. The first year students' experience

This article aims at analyzing the process of transition from secondary education to higher education and the reception given by universities to first year students. The study is carried out in Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and gathers information about the opinions and perceptions that first year students, secondary students, students associations, and vice-deans and institutional managers have about the process. In addition, a documental analysis of the promotion and reception actions undertaken by the 15 most prestigious international universities is considered. Results reveal different types of actions focused on the students' recruitment but only a few related with the processes of students' orientation and guidance. Wherever they exist, they are considered structural measures which do not always meet the students' needs or their implicit concerns (basically perceptions and expectations).