Where to aim for college search?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you know why he did badly? If you don't, you should find out because it could be a sign of substance abuse, depression, etc . . . Or, it could just be that the course load was too much for him. But you should know because that is quite a drop off.

Thank you. This is a really important issue to focus on. I'm not sure he knows. I think it was a combination of lots of stress, tough course load, depression, not great study skills and using his laptop to procrastinate. It's hard to know how much to try to help him manage his schoolwork and how much to let go. He is 17 so I should be letting go, but I hate to see him blow his chances at a decent college, if he hasn't already.

This is a dilemma for many parents - let go, or help him not blow his chances? Sorry, I don't have any answers. I'm thinking that in your situation, though, you coach him heavily through his first semester senior year. Does he want to improve? Focus on skills, ending the procrastination, maybe set rules about working in the kitchen not his bedroom, et cetera.

[Anonymous]

I disagree about a 31 being "respectable." It's fantastic. My son also got a 31, and his score was in the 98% nationally and the 95% for the state of Maryland.

My son is an entering freshman this year, and we found that schools looked more at his test scores than his GPA, both for admissions and merit. My son is also a smart slacker and he got into all 5 schools he applied to, including VA Tech and the U of MD limited enrollment business program. This was with mostly A's and B's in freshman and sophomore years and a pretty dismal junior year (he got a D in AP Lang, his GPA went from a 4.2 weighted to a 3.9 weighted that one year.) He also got a significant scholarship at each and every school he applied to. He was on the VERY low end GPA wise to get into U of MD, and not only did he get in, he got into a signature program, with a scholarship. The test score is the MOST important piece of the puzzle.

I am the pp who asked what his weighted GPA is. I would say if his weighted GPA is at least 3.2 you have a good shot at MANY schools.

I would say have him NOT focus his essays on the downward trend- don't mention depression or the poor junior year grades- but have him focus on his talents, like a love of music, diversity of friends, etc. Many colleges want REAL people- not the cookie cutter 4.0 perfect little Pollyanna.

Last summer was hell for us. This year has been a breeze- AFTER the applications were in. I am keeping fingers crossed and hoping the same for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd probably go the community college route for a year or two and transfer. Doing well senior year can't hurt of course, but probably won't make up for a bad junior year.

It also matters what his course load looked like and where he goes to school. If he got Cs but all AP classes that might be better than Cs in on level classes. Cs in public school would be more problematic than Cs in private school.

31 is a respectable ACT but not knocking it out of the park (my DC got a 31).

There are probably some schools that he can get into, but you have to decide if they are the right fit and worth the money.

Do you have any suggestions about places where he might be able to get in? He got Cs in mostly AP classes.

St Marys of MD, WVU, University of Central FL, Salisbury, Towson, Shippensburg, York College, Frostburg State, etc. Maybe Delaware. What do the various search engines pop up? What does his college counselor say?

I feel like this student could be me. I had a good Freshman and Sophomore year, followed by a Junior year that was mostly C's, with a D and a B. I had very good SAT scores and ACT scores ~1400/33 or so (this was before the re-centering in the 90's, so add a ~100 or so to the SAT to compare to scores now). I ended up going to WVU where I continued with the same work/study habits. I came an inch away from flunking out. It's important to find out _why_ someone who is smart is having so much trouble in school. I was simply apathetic in school, and couldn't find any classes that really interested me. The solution for me it was finding the right major. Once I found that I became interested in learning, got very good grades and ended up getting a full ride to a really good graduate school. Your child clearly has the ability to do well; you just need to find what motivates him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you know why he did badly? If you don't, you should find out because it could be a sign of substance abuse, depression, etc . . . Or, it could just be that the course load was too much for him. But you should know because that is quite a drop off.

Thank you. This is a really important issue to focus on. I'm not sure he knows. I think it was a combination of lots of stress, tough course load, depression, not great study skills and using his laptop to procrastinate. It's hard to know how much to try to help him manage his schoolwork and how much to let go. He is 17 so I should be letting go, but I hate to see him blow his chances at a decent college, if he hasn't already.

Whoa, this changes things, i think. You need to address the possible mood issues ASAP. This matters far more than figuring out how to get into what school. He will be away from home for school and if you don't address it now, it could spiral out of control and you won't be there to help. Address the possible depression (and maybe anxiety?) and I suspect everything else will fall into place. Ignore it and the situation will only get worse. I'm surprised no one else has said this.

[Anonymous]

There's one other option. HAve him repeat his junior year at another school, boarding or local private. Then when he applies to college at the end of THAT junior year, he has better grades and more depth to his coursework. Sounds like he also might benefit from a gap year at same private insitution. More and more the private boarding schools are offering gap years for those just not ready for college.