can someone please explain naviance

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't want to make any assumptions, but elite college admissions may not be what you're looking for here. If this is an average kid, here are some factors to consider:

1) NO FOR-PROFIT OR ONLINE COLLEGES. They are awful and will steal his money and leave him in debt.

2) The random links that people post here for information may actually be lead generation sites for for-profit colleges, so be careful.

3) As a rule, you want to look at public colleges. They provide the best value. Unless this student is academically advanced, he is unlikely to find an affordable private college that is worth the investment.

3.5) The most important factor to look for is: how does this school do at GRADUATING students with this student's background?

4) Students coming from a non-traditional background do better the more support they have in school, and they more they are able to focus on schooling. So look for schools that have a great record in supporting kids, and minimize the amount of hours he works during the week.

5) Montgomery Community College has a relatively solid reputation as a community college. It's worth considering. They have a special program to support first generation college students. http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/EDU/Department.aspx?id=8654

6) Ask the school counselor for resources for first generation college students.

As a highly educated foreigner in this country, I find this presuming and insulting.
Just because this young man's mother is not used to colloquial American, it does not mean she is not highly educated, and it does not mean her children have less chances than others of graduating from a good university. When I came here with my British English and my native language, it was really difficult to understand normal speech.

I'm in Bethesda - many of my friends are foreigners like myself, from all around the world. They may not speak perfect American, but my goodness they're intelligent and ambitious for their kids!

OP, good for you for helping them.

Read the OP again, dude. It says the mom did not go to college and has no understanding of the US college system, and speaks English as a second language. This strongly implies to me a low-income family with a language barrier, not a globe-trotting global elite family. Obviously low-income students can be just as bright and just as deserving, but the fact is that many are not prepared to go to Harvard, and many perils exist in the form of fraudulent for-profit colleges just waiting to take advantage of kids like this. In between Harvard and ITT Tech, there are many options that need to be sussed out. Of course this kid should go to the best school that is appropriate for him, but his concerns may be much different from an NCS senior. Or maybe he is qualified for the Ivy League, who knows. The point is, good college counseling will look at his grades and aptitude and realistic opportunities that give him the best chance to graduate without overwhelming debt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't want to make any assumptions, but elite college admissions may not be what you're looking for here. If this is an average kid, here are some factors to consider:

1) NO FOR-PROFIT OR ONLINE COLLEGES. They are awful and will steal his money and leave him in debt.

2) The random links that people post here for information may actually be lead generation sites for for-profit colleges, so be careful.

3) As a rule, you want to look at public colleges. They provide the best value. Unless this student is academically advanced, he is unlikely to find an affordable private college that is worth the investment.

3.5) The most important factor to look for is: how does this school do at GRADUATING students with this student's background?

4) Students coming from a non-traditional background do better the more support they have in school, and they more they are able to focus on schooling. So look for schools that have a great record in supporting kids, and minimize the amount of hours he works during the week.

5) Montgomery Community College has a relatively solid reputation as a community college. It's worth considering. They have a special program to support first generation college students. http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/EDU/Department.aspx?id=8654

6) Ask the school counselor for resources for first generation college students.

Classic. The poster says to beware random links and then proceeds to post one. SMH.

So much bad info in this post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't want to make any assumptions, but elite college admissions may not be what you're looking for here. If this is an average kid, here are some factors to consider:

1) NO FOR-PROFIT OR ONLINE COLLEGES. They are awful and will steal his money and leave him in debt.

2) The random links that people post here for information may actually be lead generation sites for for-profit colleges, so be careful.

3) As a rule, you want to look at public colleges. They provide the best value. Unless this student is academically advanced, he is unlikely to find an affordable private college that is worth the investment.

3.5) The most important factor to look for is: how does this school do at GRADUATING students with this student's background?

4) Students coming from a non-traditional background do better the more support they have in school, and they more they are able to focus on schooling. So look for schools that have a great record in supporting kids, and minimize the amount of hours he works during the week.

5) Montgomery Community College has a relatively solid reputation as a community college. It's worth considering. They have a special program to support first generation college students. http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/EDU/Department.aspx?id=8654

6) Ask the school counselor for resources for first generation college students.

Classic. The poster says to beware This post is very useful for families who may be considering spending $$$ on private schools that offer less than what OP's kid could find at UMD or UVA. Also, PP, itnore the whingy European poster who pops on here occasionally to slam everybody else--she's annoying but almost never helpful.random links and then proceeds to post one. SMH.

So much bad info in this post.

I thought this post had some great and useful info. In particular, OP should think carefully, iff a 3rd-tier private does happen to be an option, about paying for a 3rd-tier private school that may offer less than what her kid could get at UMD or UVA or many other state schools. I'm the PP who explained the Naviance scattergrams, also my kid goes to an Ivy, so we have lots of experienc and the 1st PP is spot on. IF DC#2 can't get into a college worth $65k/year, we will steer him towards a state school.

PP offered the proper caveats about making assumptions about OP and her friend, so I don't see the problem there. (I also wish that whingy European PP would get lost. She pops up here occasionally to slam everybody else and almost never offers any helpful advice.)