High schools in South Dakota can drastically differ in size, facilities, and funding. However, each high school is required to meet the same state standards. This study focuses on high school biology courses, which have standards designed to "ensure graduates of South Dakota's public schools have the knowledge, skills, and competencies essential to be college, career, and life ready" (South Dakota Department of Education, 2018). Analyzing the effects of high school biology preparation on postsecondary success is important because success in high school STEM courses is directly related to success in college science courses (Hinojosa et al., 2016). The goals of this study are to determine whether or not high school students in South Dakota feel they have been adequately prepared for introductory college biology courses and why they feel prepared or not.