Son had a very rough junior year and I am trying to understand what his chances are.

[Anonymous]

I would tell him that what he went through are reasons, not excuses, for his grades. Teens like to appear tough and cool, but he has been through a lot. The admissions people will understand, and be impressed at his recovery. Share the truth with them. It does not have to be in the essay, it could be in the open-ended section at the end of the common app, where you get to explain things that look out of place.

Best of luck to you both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:U of Vermont, Pitt, if he brings his ACT up a bit. DD had a similar struggle, 30 act got her in at those 2

There is no time to bring up the ACT. Kid is a senior and it is December.

Pitt has rolling admission. There is time to retake ACT.

[Anonymous]

Are you in VA? My understanding is that if you do well at NOVA you're guaranteeed admission to any VA state schools. This seems like a no brainer. I live in MD and my kids are young but I'm planning for them to start at MC, its about a mile from us and looks pretty solid.

When you have a college degree, nobody asks how you got there. And when you're not asss-deep in debt, life is better

[Anonymous]

Who forced the adhd meds on him junior year? Was it your idea because you thought he needed a boost to go to an Ivy?
Smart..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This kid is in big trouble on the admissions front. All of the folks pushing VCU are clueless -- admissions is strictly numbers-based and with that record his chances are very slim. If I were the OP, I strongly consider the community college route.

Yeah, there is NOTHING wrong with this. It is smart, saves dollars, and sets him up for a good degree from ANY in state school that he's much more likely to be successful at then.

[Anonymous]

If he does not do as well as you had hoped this application season, I strongly recommend the junior college + transfer route. You can get an excellent education at the DMV community colleges, and if he does well, those grades plus his personal story would add up to a really compelling application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who forced the adhd meds on him junior year? Was it your idea because you thought he needed a boost to go to an Ivy?
Smart..

OP here... are you making up stories in your mind? I can’t even address this without insulting you.

To everyone else, thank you again. As mentioned in OP, we are looking at NOVA as a possibility as well.

[Anonymous]

Having grown up in NoVa, I can tell you that I knew a ton of kids who went to the less prestigious in-state schools like Radford, Longwood and ODU. The ones I keep in touch with all seem to have gone on to become perfectly functional adults with jobs and families.

The great thing about this country is there are so many second chances for success and late bloomers or people who hit a rough patch aren't doomed forever. Good luck to him, and ignore that PP jerk.

[Anonymous]

Are you worried about getting into college in general?

Frostburg, MD is a small school and would likely take him.

I had awful grades, but went to this school, the smaller setting was good and they had really great teachers who were invested in the students.

I’m sure DCUM will crap all over it. Just a suggestion.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP (if you are still reading here)

I was wondering how your son is doing and what he will be doing in the fall? I'm the OP of a thread I started last night about JMU with a 3.2 and 30 ACT, 1310 SAT.
My son also had a rough junior year due to ADHD.

[Anonymous]

OP, my son had some complications from mono freshman year and had grades more than a full point below his usual.

Granted, it is freshman year, not junior year, but the rest of my advice still holds.

There is a place on the common ap for describing special circumstances. One paragraph is the minimum and the maximum he should write to describe the health issues and their impact. If there is ever a time to help a kid with the application, this is it.

Also, make sure the counselor has the paragraph, or a similar one that is tailored for her so she can speak of it in the reference letter.

I'm sorry your kid had such a rough year.

As far as the main essay goes, I think he should talk about who he is more generally (and write a nice essay that doesn't hide the issue but doesn't focus on it either). Save the gpa defense for the spot where it belongs. He is more than his bad year.

If your kid is a 3.5 student for 2.5 out of 3.5 years (no one has the last semester), there will be room for some accomodation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, my son had some complications from mono freshman year and had grades more than a full point below his usual.

Granted, it is freshman year, not junior year, but the rest of my advice still holds.

There is a place on the common ap for describing special circumstances. One paragraph is the minimum and the maximum he should write to describe the health issues and their impact. If there is ever a time to help a kid with the application, this is it.

Also, make sure the counselor has the paragraph, or a similar one that is tailored for her so she can speak of it in the reference letter.

I'm sorry your kid had such a rough year.

As far as the main essay goes, I think he should talk about who he is more generally (and write a nice essay that doesn't hide the issue but doesn't focus on it either). Save the gpa defense for the spot where it belongs. He is more than his bad year.

If your kid is a 3.5 student for 2.5 out of 3.5 years (no one has the last semester), there will be room for some accomodation.

me again... I should add, your son isn't the first kid who had a crisis in high school that affected grades. It happens. If your son doesn't get in where he wants or feels he belongs due to this, kick ass senior spring, kick ass freshman year and transfer. Again, he won't be the first nor the last with that story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - my son used the spot on his applications to talk about his medical issues. It worked out.

I'm sorry he struggled so much and glad he's doing so well right now.

Thank you. That is good to hear. He wrote on essay addressing the issues and another that avoided them. He is debating which to use. He is concerned with “making excuses.”

I don't know much, but I think the main essay should be about something else, and he can use the "special concerns" part for the excuses one.

Or, do a gap year and apply next fall with that shiny solid good year in place.

This person's advice is consistent with our counselor's advice when dealing with something similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:U of Vermont, Pitt, if he brings his ACT up a bit. DD had a similar struggle, 30 act got her in at those 2

Same here 4 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - my son used the spot on his applications to talk about his medical issues. It worked out.

I'm sorry he struggled so much and glad he's doing so well right now.

Thank you. That is good to hear. He wrote on essay addressing the issues and another that avoided them. He is debating which to use. He is concerned with “making excuses.”

There's an "additional information" section on the Common App that would be a good fit for this information. Also, your HS counselor letter might address.