This article explores beginner student and staff perspectives of study preparedness across higher education institutions and disciplines in Norway, focusing on writing, reading and academic working skills. Drawing on focus group interviews among academic staff and students, findings show a certain academic unpreparedness by beginner students. Students apparently are not used to working hard or independently enough, struggling to read large text amounts, showing a lack of academic writing and reading skills. For hard-working students, findings show differences between non-selective and selective study programmes. Selective programmes, for example, law, seem to be more structured and aligned with upper-secondary school. Students in these programmes are a positively selected group, expected to be better prepared than their counterparts in open programmes. The article contributes to a combined perspective by students and staff on study preparedness across disciplines and institutions, with implications for further research and quality in higher education.