Should my kid attend these schools over community college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD who was a reasonably strong student but not gunning for top schools liked Washington and Jefferson. She went elsewhere but she liked the small size and they offered a lot of merit. I think you should check it out. DS who struggles academically but works incredibly hard is seriously considering Farliegh Dickinson. I don’t think anybody can really provide guidance without a sense of the courses your child has taken and his grades. DS takes a mix of honors and on level classes and will probably graduate with 4 APs if he sticks with his plan. He is very weak in math and science but stronger in English and history. He has a cumulative GPA of 3.6 uw and just above 4.0 w. He will be test optional. We discussed community college but he really wants a 4 year school so I’m supporting his wishes. I think a smaller school will offer him better support and hand holding but he wants big so FD seems a good compromise. Maybe have your son try a dual enrollment class at the community college to see how he does.

I think you are confusing this with Washington & Lee, which has an acceptance rate under 20% whereas Wasington and Jefferson accepts close to 90% of students that apply. Not a top school at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD who was a reasonably strong student but not gunning for top schools liked Washington and Jefferson. She went elsewhere but she liked the small size and they offered a lot of merit. I think you should check it out. DS who struggles academically but works incredibly hard is seriously considering Farliegh Dickinson. I don’t think anybody can really provide guidance without a sense of the courses your child has taken and his grades. DS takes a mix of honors and on level classes and will probably graduate with 4 APs if he sticks with his plan. He is very weak in math and science but stronger in English and history. He has a cumulative GPA of 3.6 uw and just above 4.0 w. He will be test optional. We discussed community college but he really wants a 4 year school so I’m supporting his wishes. I think a smaller school will offer him better support and hand holding but he wants big so FD seems a good compromise. Maybe have your son try a dual enrollment class at the community college to see how he does.

Currently a sophomore with a 3.1. He takes a mix of honors and standard. He will not likely take any AP's, maybe 1 senior year. He has entered into an intensive tutoring program and has brought up his grades significantly this past semester. In terms of Math, he's taking geometry currently, I don't see him taking math beyond what's required to graduate. He's been working really hard lately, but the motivation is external, not intrinsic.

My husband and I both value a 4 year because of the experience, growth, maturity, independence, community, diversity etc. We just don't think he will walk away with any additional motivation from a CC and will be rather narrow minded. In the same breath, we don't want to set him up for failure at a 4 year or waste our money if the outcome is inconsequential.

Jeez, OP, I thought you were talking about a Sr. You are thinking about this too granularly at this point. Kids change a lot between 10th and 12th grade and some kids don't find their footing until later.

+1 kids (especially boys IME) can change a lot from 10-12 grade. Somewhere in there my son found his motivation and went from taking a couple honors classes and more Bs than As to senior year nearly all APs with straight As. Now doing great in a quant major at VT

Since he's expressing an interest on engineering I would sign him up for a short pre college program this summer so he can get a taste of it. Susquehanna has a good 1-week program. If it sparks the interest further he may be motivated to put in more work on the math.
https://www.susqu.edu/academics/summer-pre-college-programs/i-engineer/

[Anonymous]

Also
Allegheny
Juniata
Chatham
Point Park

I do know kids who have thrived at all of those, plus W&J.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would try to get into one of the lesser known four year programs.

CC is a great option for a hard-working, but middling student. They will put it the time, get the grades and have transfer options. I've known a few kids like you describe your own. Middling students that are not particularly focused on education. I've seen 3 kids that I knew that went to CC, for a couple of years, then dropped out and got low-paying jobs and never got the degree. One went to work in a Target warehouse and got a better than minimum wage job, so he was doing okay, but he ended up a boomerang child and is now 30 and still living at home and working at Target. Another did some sort of medical technician vocational school and is working in a doctor's office.

I think if he can get into a 4 year program, then he should. He doesn't sound like the type that will drop out and will drive himself to go back to CC later and get that degree. Better a less recognized degree than no degree.

+1

Both of my husband's nephews went to CC at NOVA. One got a few Ds and Fs before quitting and getting a job at the Amazon warehouse. That job lasted about a year. He's over 30 now and lives at home and gets cash back on his mother's debit card when grocery shopping for her for cash, and she never brings it up. There have been no other jobs. It's pretty pathetic. The other nephew did the OTA program, a 2yr occupational therapy assistant program at NOVA, and there was much talk of how doing that program meant automatic acceptance to Shenandoah University and the the actual occupational therapist program. Shocker, he never made it to Shenandoah and works in a nursing home as an OTA making barely above minimum wage. He at least has an apt in DC (well, he lives in a basement that isn't his mother's).

I say send your DC to a four year college if you can.

[Anonymous]

Look at Mary Washington.

[Anonymous]

He can still do engineering. Pre-Calc next year and Calculus senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD who was a reasonably strong student but not gunning for top schools liked Washington and Jefferson. She went elsewhere but she liked the small size and they offered a lot of merit. I think you should check it out. DS who struggles academically but works incredibly hard is seriously considering Farliegh Dickinson. I don’t think anybody can really provide guidance without a sense of the courses your child has taken and his grades. DS takes a mix of honors and on level classes and will probably graduate with 4 APs if he sticks with his plan. He is very weak in math and science but stronger in English and history. He has a cumulative GPA of 3.6 uw and just above 4.0 w. He will be test optional. We discussed community college but he really wants a 4 year school so I’m supporting his wishes. I think a smaller school will offer him better support and hand holding but he wants big so FD seems a good compromise. Maybe have your son try a dual enrollment class at the community college to see how he does.

Currently a sophomore with a 3.1. He takes a mix of honors and standard. He will not likely take any AP's, maybe 1 senior year. He has entered into an intensive tutoring program and has brought up his grades significantly this past semester. In terms of Math, he's taking geometry currently, I don't see him taking math beyond what's required to graduate. He's been working really hard lately, but the motivation is external, not intrinsic.

My husband and I both value a 4 year because of the experience, growth, maturity, independence, community, diversity etc. We just don't think he will walk away with any additional motivation from a CC and will be rather narrow minded. In the same breath, we don't want to set him up for failure at a 4 year or waste our money if the outcome is inconsequential.

Jeez, OP, I thought you were talking about a Sr. You are thinking about this too granularly at this point. Kids change a lot between 10th and 12th grade and some kids don't find their footing until later.

Disagree. I have a similar student (with a slightly higher GPA but grades vary widely). Sophomore year is almost over and they are rising juniors. It’s certainly not too early to start pondering college options and considering possible paths.

Personally, I think any kid with at least a 3.0 should consider a four-year college and only go the CC route if they have a particular barrier. There are definitely colleges out there for these kids!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He can still do engineering. Pre-Calc next year and Calculus senior year.

He needs algebra 2 before pre-calc.

[Anonymous]

If he can get in and you can afford it, any 4 year university is better than community college.

[Anonymous]

College is as much about becoming an adult as it is your academic work. If your kid is mature enough to be a responsible university student, I would go that way. They get the full college experience and learn to be more independent. On the other hand, if you're concerned about the kid's maturity level (keeping up with classwork, making good decisions) then CC is a safer bet to start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ain't a got dam thing wrong with Marshall.

My friend just spent twenty five years as the Director of Track and Field at Marshall. He had plenty of kids with great academic outcomes. I suggested the school to some athletes who were not particularly great students, but who could (and did) thrive with increased maturity. I reached out to the mother of an African American young woman who I suggested look at Marshall (a good 400 meter runner) when she finished with a pharmacy degree (along with a major in chemistry), and amidst all of the prestige concern on DCUM, I haven't run across a prouder parent, and rightfully so. As my friend the Marshall coach says (a Chicago Heights Bloom grad), she is good people.

My issue with community college is not with the college or the path chosen. The young person has to be willing to mature and focus. There are all kinds of students at CC, so you have to be dedicated. If students do the work, they will be likely be more successful than they can imagine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD who was a reasonably strong student but not gunning for top schools liked Washington and Jefferson. She went elsewhere but she liked the small size and they offered a lot of merit. I think you should check it out. DS who struggles academically but works incredibly hard is seriously considering Farliegh Dickinson. I don’t think anybody can really provide guidance without a sense of the courses your child has taken and his grades. DS takes a mix of honors and on level classes and will probably graduate with 4 APs if he sticks with his plan. He is very weak in math and science but stronger in English and history. He has a cumulative GPA of 3.6 uw and just above 4.0 w. He will be test optional. We discussed community college but he really wants a 4 year school so I’m supporting his wishes. I think a smaller school will offer him better support and hand holding but he wants big so FD seems a good compromise. Maybe have your son try a dual enrollment class at the community college to see how he does.

Currently a sophomore with a 3.1. He takes a mix of honors and standard. He will not likely take any AP's, maybe 1 senior year. He has entered into an intensive tutoring program and has brought up his grades significantly this past semester. In terms of Math, he's taking geometry currently, I don't see him taking math beyond what's required to graduate. He's been working really hard lately, but the motivation is external, not intrinsic.

My husband and I both value a 4 year because of the experience, growth, maturity, independence, community, diversity etc. We just don't think he will walk away with any additional motivation from a CC and will be rather narrow minded. In the same breath, we don't want to set him up for failure at a 4 year or waste our money if the outcome is inconsequential.

Jeez, OP, I thought you were talking about a Sr. You are thinking about this too granularly at this point. Kids change a lot between 10th and 12th grade and some kids don't find their footing until later.

Disagree. I have a similar student (with a slightly higher GPA but grades vary widely). Sophomore year is almost over and they are rising juniors. It’s certainly not too early to start pondering college options and considering possible paths.

Personally, I think any kid with at least a 3.0 should consider a four-year college and only go the CC route if they have a particular barrier. There are definitely colleges out there for these kids!

Pondering and listing schools as if the acceptances are in hand and this is the choice to be made aren’t the same thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD who was a reasonably strong student but not gunning for top schools liked Washington and Jefferson. She went elsewhere but she liked the small size and they offered a lot of merit. I think you should check it out. DS who struggles academically but works incredibly hard is seriously considering Farliegh Dickinson. I don’t think anybody can really provide guidance without a sense of the courses your child has taken and his grades. DS takes a mix of honors and on level classes and will probably graduate with 4 APs if he sticks with his plan. He is very weak in math and science but stronger in English and history. He has a cumulative GPA of 3.6 uw and just above 4.0 w. He will be test optional. We discussed community college but he really wants a 4 year school so I’m supporting his wishes. I think a smaller school will offer him better support and hand holding but he wants big so FD seems a good compromise. Maybe have your son try a dual enrollment class at the community college to see how he does.

I think you are confusing this with Washington & Lee, which has an acceptance rate under 20% whereas Wasington and Jefferson accepts close to 90% of students that apply. Not a top school at all.

I wasn’t confused. I meant to say Washington & Jefferson. She didn’t apply to W&L. Maybe my wording was confusing. I was saying my daughter wasn’t looking to attend a top school. She intentionally chose safeties that offered merit aid and Washington & Jefferson was one such school. She also liked that it was very small (though ironically she landed at a big state school). I had never heard of it when she said she was applying but she liked the rep she met at a college fair and had positive interactions throughout the process.

[Anonymous]

OP, I just want to reiterate that a lot can happen between 10th and 12th grades. When DC was a sophomore I truly couldn’t imagine college as a path for them. And then something clicked. Kids don’t all mature at the same rate. Stay open.