Smaller East Coast college for a low-performing kid?

[Anonymous]

A friend's son has a 2.2 GPA (maybe lower) and SATs around 1560. He used to get low Bs and Cs, but then had a family tragedy and his grades sank to Ds and Fs. A few years later, his grades are slowly improving and he's getting back to (low) Bs and Cs. Any suggestions for colleges that might be willing to consider a kid like him, and which will provide support? I fear he will get lost in a big school. Thanks for any thoughts.

[Anonymous]

Emory& Henry (VA)
Presbyterian College(SC)
Wingate University (NC)
Gardner-Webb Univ.(NC)
Lenoir-Rhyne Univ. (NC)
High Point University (NC)
UNC Greensboro
UNC Pembroke

[Anonymous]

Mercyhurst University or High Point University

[Anonymous]

What year is in he school? When you say "support" do you mean financial in addition to emotional/academic?

[Anonymous]

CC first.

[Anonymous]

For a student like this, an apprenticeship with a trade may be better. I'm serious. I think we tend to discount those programs as being for kids who are less high-achieving or come from lower income/no college backgrounds, but I think they can turn a low to mid achiever into a successful tradesperson or entrepreneur with high incomes and great benefits.

[Anonymous]

agree with 1234. maybe community college is a good place to start and then transfer?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for these comments. He's a junior in HS. By support, I meant that he will get some individualized attention. I fear if he goes to a giant school, he'll get lost in the shuffle and there will be less pressure to show up for class, etc. At the moment, not worried about financial considerations.

I agree that community college + transfer sounds like a good idea in many respects, but at the moment he's motivated to continue to improve his chances to attend a four year college. I know his family would love for him to get some experience living on a college campus, and living out of the house. In light of the very difficult years he has had, I think that living on campus could be an important move for him.

I very much appreciate all the recommendations below. Any recs for schools in PA, NJ or farther north? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mercyhurst University or High Point University

Both of these offer individual support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CC first.

As a parent of a similar kid, I disagree. A kid who struggled to complete assignments, and needed support in the structured environment of high school, is going to find it even harder to do so in a relatively unstructured community college environment. Very few kids make the grades needed for a "guaranteed transfer", and the kids who do are generally kids who didn't have organizational or motivational issues going in.

If the feeling is that he needs a lot of structure, and there are documented learning disabilities, doing junior college at Landmark College could be a good idea. Otherwise, there are plenty of little LAC's on the East Coast that are willing to work with diverse learners. Some to look at:

Suffolk
Mount Ida
Colby-Sawyer
Dean

[Anonymous]

Longwood? (In Va.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CC first.

As a parent of a similar kid, I disagree. A kid who struggled to complete assignments, and needed support in the structured environment of high school, is going to find it even harder to do so in a relatively unstructured community college environment. Very few kids make the grades needed for a "guaranteed transfer", and the kids who do are generally kids who didn't have organizational or motivational issues going in.

If the feeling is that he needs a lot of structure, and there are documented learning disabilities, doing junior college at Landmark College could be a good idea. Otherwise, there are plenty of little LAC's on the East Coast that are willing to work with diverse learners. Some to look at:

Suffolk
Mount Ida
Colby-Sawyer
Dean

+1

[Anonymous]

Catholic
Stevenson
McDaniel
West Virginia Wesleyan College

http://www.ctcl.org/colleges/map

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a student like this, an apprenticeship with a trade may be better. I'm serious. I think we tend to discount those programs as being for kids who are less high-achieving or come from lower income/no college backgrounds, but I think they can turn a low to mid achiever into a successful tradesperson or entrepreneur with high incomes and great benefits.

Agree that exploring this option makes sense. I'd also see if the boy had any interest in serving in the military prior to college -- I know that suggestion will strike folks on this board as heresy, but it's a great long-term move for lots of kids with this profile.

[Anonymous]

Does he want to go to college? Those grades are pretty bad and maybe he is not academically inclined. Perhaps working part-time and going to CC part-time is a good balance. Lots of marginal students get a self-esteem boost out of the friendships and extracurriculars of high school. For those kids, those positives balance the negative academic experience. Plus, they don't really have a choice. Sounds like this kid needs a positive in his life and going to a school with lots of strangers and school may not be a good fit.