Having an underachieving student start at community college

[Anonymous]

So every kid at a 4 year university was an A+++ student taking all AP classes and excelling in a nice assortment of extracurricular activities?

Bwahahahah. Nope.

[Anonymous]

My very bright son who has ADHD and some other issues will definitely be going to community college for at least the first year. Here's why.

1. I can't afford to waste money.

2. He has been successful through school because each year we work together to develop strategies to address his weaknesses and the weaknesses change each year because the expectations change. This is part of his learning process, not a punishment by any means.

3. I would rather have a bored child (which I don't expect I will have because he will be working too) than a child who fails because I did not pay enough attention to helping him develop the skills he needs to be successful in a new environment that has very little structure and a lot of responsibilities.

4. My son has the impulsivity issues that come with ADHD. I have found that the best way to keep him out of trouble is to make sure he is prepared for the situations he is in. When he goes to college, he will be 18 and any trouble he gets in to will be handled as though he were an adult - which is perfectly appropriate. Thing is, I'm not going to risk his future to avoid some boredom.

I am all about teaching my son to be responsible and letting him fail so that he can figure out a better plan. But, at least for my son, I intend to teach him how to handle the responsibility and freedom that young adulthood brings.

[Anonymous]

^Those are all very good reasons to choose community college. It's sounds as though your son has a very good, very well thought out, plan in place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would encourage that kid to pick a smaller school with a stronger special needs support system. I've heard amazing things about Mary Washington, for example.

What does your child want to do professionally? That should help drive the discussion. If they want to teach, I've heard great things about Longwood. If they want to get into nursing, I've heard nice things about Radford.

This. I would also be worried that this student would lose motivation at a CC. They sound like a solid student who would be OK at most small state colleges / universities. I would be afraid they would just stay in the same rut if they go to school at home.

[Anonymous]

The student has "earned" the right to go to a four year college.

What do they want to do? Re: CC vs 4 yr, I don't think you should impede or promote

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So every kid at a 4 year university was an A+++ student taking all AP classes and excelling in a nice assortment of extracurricular activities?

Bwahahahah. Nope.

Thank you for posting this. In what other area is a B+ student written off as underachieving and pointed to Community College?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A 97-percentile kid does not belong at a community college. It'll make them hate higher-education.

Yeah, yeah we hear about the success stories, but community colleges are full of dumb strippers, waiters, druggies, petty criminals, financial aid scammers, and terminally unmotivated losers.

You have no idea what you are talking about.

It's common for intelligent working and middle class students to go to community college for their first two years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A 97-percentile kid does not belong at a community college. It'll make them hate higher-education.

Yeah, yeah we hear about the success stories, but community colleges are full of dumb strippers, waiters, druggies, petty criminals, financial aid scammers, and terminally unmotivated losers.

This is so not true. I've been taking classes at Montgomery college for three years now and I haven't bumped into ANY of the people you mention above. All have been hard working, polite, dedicated students. I think they appreciate it even more because they have to work and travel far to get there. All of my professors have been amazing. The one I had in 2D told us that our work was better than where she taught previously in a college in California.

Montgomery college has the diversity: people from all over the world and also

And it is very inexpensive! Win-win. Love it!

[Anonymous]

People in this area, and northeast in general, have a terrible attitude about community colleges, and state schools. People would rather spend $60K/year to send their child to Mediocre But Good Enough Private College than just to avoid the "embarrassment" of sending them to a community college for peanuts.

Most states have a program where people who graduate from a community college can transfer to one of the senior schools. The smart (but not rich) kids use this to get a degree from the state flagship for a fraction of the cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People in this area, and northeast in general, have a terrible attitude about community colleges, and state schools. People would rather spend $60K/year to send their child to Mediocre But Good Enough Private College than just to avoid the "embarrassment" of sending them to a community college for peanuts.

Most states have a program where people who graduate from a community college can transfer to one of the senior schools. The smart (but not rich) kids use this to get a degree from the state flagship for a fraction of the cost.

It makes a lot of sense to do it that way.

[Anonymous]

What are your thoughts on having a kid who is intelligent but has definite executive functioning issues or is otherwise underachieving attend community college for a year before transferring to a four year school? The student I have in mind has ADD and scored in the top 97th percentile on the PSAT (no discrepancies by section) with extended time but is a B+ student in a moderately difficult schedule. These grades are also currently slipping and to be honest aren't super impressive for the school they are coming from (current GPA is probably ~top quarter of the class). Said student is also minimally involved in extracurricular activities and spends a lot of time on the internet. I was also told that the student's guidance counselor doesn't think they'd get into the majority of colleges they originally wanted to attend (think top 30 or so USNWR level). I think the student's difficulties lie with either not studying enough or knowing their learning style, along with having poor time management skills.

There are different levels of "underachieving" and this kid is only underachieving if you compare him to the typical applicant to the Top 30 USNWR schools. It is unclear why you think that the alternative to attending one of these schools would be community college. Community college is great for a number of different types of students - those with actual marginal grades (not B+), those who can't afford four years of tuition at a four-year school, those who feel they aren't ready to move out of the house, etc. Community college doesn't really make a lot of sense for a kid who is maybe not driven to have straight As in every subject even though they could achieve those grades.

This kid sounds like my DC, who is a sophomore with ADD, 99% PSAT scores, does one EC, spends a lot of time on the Internet, and gets mostly A-/B+ grades without doing much work most of the time, especially in classes he doesn't like. The thought that he would have to go to CC has never even occurred to me. My older DC had her own issues (anxiety, discipline problems), is not as bright, had worse grades, maybe 95% ACT scores, and went off to a 4 year school 2000 miles away where she is very happy, studying hard and doing well. I'm sure the guidance counselor would have recommended community college for her, but the GC is basically a complete stranger and I place little value on her opinion.

[Anonymous]

I would look into a gap year program that involved something physical away from the Internet.

[Anonymous]

The attitudes here towards community colleges are nothing short of appalling. Talk about elitist attitudes...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The attitudes here towards community colleges are nothing short of appalling. Talk about elitist attitudes...

The attitudes toward B+ slackers are also appalling.

Nothing wrong with being a B+ slacker.

--B+, PhD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would look into a gap year program that involved something physical away from the Internet.

Why? Wouldn't they get rusty being away from school for a year?