college for average students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What was his tuition at that small (presumably private) liberal arts college? With enough money, the worst student can go to college. I am thrilled your nephew did well and that the school was a good fit. I was also an average student who blossomed in college. However, most people don't have the $100k to send their average kid to a school like that. Just because a kid is accepted, doesn't mean he should go there. Even if it's a great school it's a mistake to go into that much debt or allow your kid to go into deep debt to attend the expensive private school.

That's what we're struggling with now. Our DD has a 2.42 GPA after her freshman year. She's at a 2nd tier state school. After a year she has 18 credits because of what she dropped. I'm really having a hard time agreeing that that she should return in the fall. It's not that I don't think she should ever go to college, but right now, it doesn't seem to be the right place for her.

Before anyone asks, there are no SN, no learning disabilities. She's just a C student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP
I'm genuinely curious. Whad the name of the college?

The OP has respectfully declined that information (most likely there are nasty posters who would ridicule the school because it's not an Ivy or other).

You have asked enough times and been given the answer. Live with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a smart kid with a 3.5 GPA. In my book that's a very good GPA, all As and Bs. Don't listen to DCUMers who call that average.

You need to get an updated book!!

You need a better perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP
I'm genuinely curious. Whad the name of the college?

The OP has respectfully declined that information (most likely there are nasty posters who would ridicule the school because it's not an Ivy or other).

You have asked enough times and been given the answer. Live with it.

Different posters asked. What's the big secret? Might be helpful to know which small midwest LAC can have such a positive effect on an "average student." Many of us have kids like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was his tuition at that small (presumably private) liberal arts college? With enough money, the worst student can go to college. I am thrilled your nephew did well and that the school was a good fit. I was also an average student who blossomed in college. However, most people don't have the $100k to send their average kid to a school like that. Just because a kid is accepted, doesn't mean he should go there. Even if it's a great school it's a mistake to go into that much debt or allow your kid to go into deep debt to attend the expensive private school.

That's what we're struggling with now. Our DD has a 2.42 GPA after her freshman year. She's at a 2nd tier state school. After a year she has 18 credits because of what she dropped. I'm really having a hard time agreeing that that she should return in the fall. It's not that I don't think she should ever go to college, but right now, it doesn't seem to be the right place for her.

Before anyone asks, there are no SN, no learning disabilities. She's just a C student.

Why not? Only A and B students deserve to finish college? I would see how she does her sophomore year. Is she happy? Is she enjoying her classes? Did she take hard courses? Maybe she is just having too much fun & staying out late. Most students do their worst freshman year. For college, it's not so much your grades that count it's whether you finish and get a degree. If it was my child, I would do everything I could to keep her enrolled in college. Her future, depends entirely on it. She may have qualities that better students lack: is she enterprising? creative? resilient? curious and interested about world events? Don't sell her short.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was his tuition at that small (presumably private) liberal arts college? With enough money, the worst student can go to college. I am thrilled your nephew did well and that the school was a good fit. I was also an average student who blossomed in college. However, most people don't have the $100k to send their average kid to a school like that. Just because a kid is accepted, doesn't mean he should go there. Even if it's a great school it's a mistake to go into that much debt or allow your kid to go into deep debt to attend the expensive private school.

That's what we're struggling with now. Our DD has a 2.42 GPA after her freshman year. She's at a 2nd tier state school. After a year she has 18 credits because of what she dropped. I'm really having a hard time agreeing that that she should return in the fall. It's not that I don't think she should ever go to college, but right now, it doesn't seem to be the right place for her.

Before anyone asks, there are no SN, no learning disabilities. She's just a C student.

Why not? Only A and B students deserve to finish college? I would see how she does her sophomore year. Is she happy? Is she enjoying her classes? Did she take hard courses? Maybe she is just having too much fun & staying out late. Most students do their worst freshman year. For college, it's not so much your grades that count it's whether you finish and get a degree. If it was my child, I would do everything I could to keep her enrolled in college. Her future, depends entirely on it. She may have qualities that better students lack: is she enterprising? creative? resilient? curious and interested about world events? Don't sell her short.

What?? How do you figure??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the OP. Thanks for the interesting array of responses. I was expecting to get flamed and was heartened by many who seem to agree that being a B average kid in high school isn't the end of the world. I realize that not every kid can afford full freight for college, BTW. There are state colleges for low stats kids too. Think St. Mary's in MD, Frostburg or Christopher Newport. There are also private schools known to give a lot aid even to B students.

I applied to colleges a million years ago (1993) and even with a 3.3 from a top private HS, I was waitlisted at St. Mary's. I even had relatives who went there. I got into Towson, Frostburg and Salisbury though.

Was your GPA 3.3 weighted or unweighted? Do you remember what your ACT &/or SAT scores were?

I don't know what weighted/unweighted means. My SAT scores were around 1100. A classmate was also wait listed and I know she had a 3.5 GPA.

[Anonymous]

Seriously, in DCUM-land, average students don't deserve a chance at anything. They'd better march right down to Giant and get a job bagging groceries now because they'll never get into an Ivy -- or any decent college at all.

People here have very smart and (gasp) some average kids -- they are not all brilliant. Many of the smart (or even average) kids go on to lead happy and successful lives. Really, they do.

Try to remember that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was his tuition at that small (presumably private) liberal arts college? With enough money, the worst student can go to college. I am thrilled your nephew did well and that the school was a good fit. I was also an average student who blossomed in college. However, most people don't have the $100k to send their average kid to a school like that. Just because a kid is accepted, doesn't mean he should go there. Even if it's a great school it's a mistake to go into that much debt or allow your kid to go into deep debt to attend the expensive private school.

That's what we're struggling with now. Our DD has a 2.42 GPA after her freshman year. She's at a 2nd tier state school. After a year she has 18 credits because of what she dropped. I'm really having a hard time agreeing that that she should return in the fall. It's not that I don't think she should ever go to college, but right now, it doesn't seem to be the right place for her.

Before anyone asks, there are no SN, no learning disabilities. She's just a C student.

Why not? Only A and B students deserve to finish college? I would see how she does her sophomore year. Is she happy? Is she enjoying her classes? Did she take hard courses? Maybe she is just having too much fun & staying out late. Most students do their worst freshman year. For college, it's not so much your grades that count it's whether you finish and get a degree. If it was my child, I would do everything I could to keep her enrolled in college. Her future, depends entirely on it. She may have qualities that better students lack: is she enterprising? creative? resilient? curious and interested about world events? Don't sell her short.

+1000 7:10, listen to 11:26 and ignore all the nasties. Your daughter loses a lot of options if she doesn't have the diploma because it absolutely is about whether she finishes and gets a degree. A college degree is expected for many entry-level jobs these days. Having a degree already also puts her ahead of the game if further down the road she discovers a career in which she not only needs a BS or BA but she also needs a masters or some other graduate degree. If you can afford it AND if she isn't resistant, then I would highly encourage you to have her return in the fall and to keep her in college until she graduates. Like 11:26, I would do whatever it takes to keep her enrolled with a GPA sufficient for graduation. Don't close doors on her because she isn't meeting arbitrary GPA standards established by a bunch of people you wouldn't recognize on the street and whose opinion you wouldn't want if you knew who they really are. Honestly, how many jobs have you had where you were asked about GPA during the interview process? For most employers looking at entry-level positions, the GPA is not an issue but actually possessing a diploma is. You and your spouse have put a lot of time and effort into getting your daughter this far towards self-sufficiency and sustainability, get to the finish line. It is just a little bit further and it will make a world of difference in your daughter's future. Go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP
I'm genuinely curious. Whad the name of the college?

The OP has respectfully declined that information (most likely there are nasty posters who would ridicule the school because it's not an Ivy or other).

You have asked enough times and been given the answer. Live with it.

Different posters asked. What's the big secret? Might be helpful to know which small midwest LAC can have such a positive effect on an "average student." Many of us have kids like this.

I'm not going to answer, however just check out Colleges that Change Lives. There are many small LACs for average students listed in the book and on the CTCL website.

~OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP
I'm genuinely curious. Whad the name of the college?

The OP has respectfully declined that information (most likely there are nasty posters who would ridicule the school because it's not an Ivy or other).

You have asked enough times and been given the answer. Live with it.

Different posters asked. What's the big secret? Might be helpful to know which small midwest LAC can have such a positive effect on an "average student." Many of us have kids like this.

The OP is nicer than I am. Keep pushing and s[he] might say because it's none of your darn business, now move on!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP
I'm genuinely curious. Whad the name of the college?

The OP has respectfully declined that information (most likely there are nasty posters who would ridicule the school because it's not an Ivy or other).

You have asked enough times and been given the answer. Live with it.

Different posters asked. What's the big secret? Might be helpful to know which small midwest LAC can have such a positive effect on an "average student." Many of us have kids like this.

I'm not going to answer, however just check out Colleges that Change Lives. There are many small LACs for average students listed in the book and on the CTCL website.

~OP

You're such a nice lady!

[Anonymous]

For a struggling student, not everyone views a small private college as the best choice. At a large state school there can be more chances to retake a class with a different professor, arrange your class schedule for what works best (maybe no morning classes) easy to adjust your schedule by dropping or adding classes, transferring classes, switching majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a struggling student, not everyone views a small private college as the best choice. At a large state school there can be more chances to retake a class with a different professor, arrange your class schedule for what works best (maybe no morning classes) easy to adjust your schedule by dropping or adding classes, transferring classes, switching majors.

True. It really depends on the kid, their learning style, social preferences, etc. There are big schools that work for many kids too. My friend's daughter thrived at Rutgers after being a pretty lackluster student in high school. She ended up going to graduate school in psychology.

[Anonymous]

It depends on why she got those grades. At the end of my freshman year, my GPA was less than half of your DD's. I had ended up at my safety school and it turned out that I wasn't good at living away from home and was really terrible in big lecture classes where know one knew my name. I ended up taking classes part time from home and it was like night and day. But eventually I had to learn to both live away from home and deal with a big lecture and those semesters were like your daughter's. If she has always gotten those grades, it could be that she should just grind out the degree and move on to other things rather than delaying and hoping for a big change from out of the blue.

"That's what we're struggling with now. Our DD has a 2.42 GPA after her freshman year. She's at a 2nd tier state school. After a year she has 18 credits because of what she dropped. I'm really having a hard time agreeing that that she should return in the fall. It's not that I don't think she should ever go to college, but right now, it doesn't seem to be the right place for her. Before anyone asks, there are no SN, no learning disabilities. She's just a C student."