Many studies and reports in recent years have argued that there's an important "expectations gap" between the skills students are typically bringing to college and what college teachers think students should be bringing with them to college. This article, presented in the form of an open letter to first-year high school students, is an attempt to state those expectations clearly, at least from the author's perspective. In this article, the author provides a checklist of specific goals that students can work toward over the next four years. These college-readiness skills include reading, writing, thinking, listening, "grit" (i.e., self-discipline, perseverance, and passion), and attitude toward college.