Having an underachieving student start at community college

[Anonymous]

I'm very, very proud of my own B+/1500 SAT kid. I think unless finances were a MAJOR consideration, CC would not be motivating enough a start for college. I am torn between my kid attending a smaller, more nurturing 4-year school, or pushing himself at a highly competitive school. I see benefits to both.

A 1500 on the SAT is a great score.

[Anonymous]

Another proud mom here with a "1500 and B plus kid" - great kid, but very social and did not but forth a lot of effort in HS. B plus coupled with a good SAT score gets you into many expensive schools so college choice was not a problem. DC selected a larger VA public over smaller out of state LACs because it just felt right. So far it has been a fantastic experience - DC had a 3.8 first semester and applied and was accepted into the honors college for next year. Very motivated to get good grades now and is loving college which has been a huge relief. I just think he had to mature a bit. There are many paths that fall between top 30 schools and community college - perhaps engage the student about what is best for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents were going through a divorce and screwed me with tuition, so I had to begin at a CC. Ended up transferring to a solid university after. CC is a miserable experience and I missed out on a real freshman year. Still not over it.

If it was so important to you, why didn't you just grow up and pay for it yourself?

How does a 17yo earn from June to August 25K?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

+1

[Anonymous]

If the kid has executive function issues and another year of HS, why not encourage family/school to address those issues now and kid to apply to a range of schools but in each category help him find colleges with good support for kids with LDs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

These profiles match my son. He is at a private high school, not the most rigorous one, but a good school where he can't fall through the cracks the way he would at our local huge public. I was disappointed he wasn't accepted into a more demanding high school, because in my opinion, a kid like this is always going to be a B or B= student. So better a B+ at a great school than a B+ at a so-so school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Some of you community college bashers are not very intelligent. If a child can spend the first 2 years at community college taking prerequisites, then transfer to UVA,

why not do it?

The diploma will still read "UVA" and you will have saved many thousands of dollars. Who's the dummy?

Happiness
It's not as happy an experience.
We make decisions every day: money vs happiness
The car we drive - it gets us there. Why choose a nicer car?
If you have the money (and I said IF), parents often value providing a happier experience.

Missing out on two years of college because my parents made me live at home and commute to a school full of junkies and waitresses? Good time. For the next 50 years whenever people talk about freshman year, dorms, college life... your kid can talk about trying to find a parking spot at the local junior college and mom making him BLTs for lunch.

If you are still talking about your freshman year of college "for the next 50 years," you need to get a life.

Also, your parents didn't "make" you go to a community college. The assumption that your parents owe you some kind of fantasy college lifestyle, where they pay ~$50k/year to send you off to a ranked private school/out of state flagship, when you can go to a community college for 1/10th of that amount, is self-indulgent.

Someone who works their way through a community college, and then finishes a four year degree at a decent state school, has my respect. I don't know why people who do this are often insulted by their more privileged peers.

[Anonymous]

My son is 99th percentile PSAT and is lazy. No extracurriculars, grades are meh. He wants to go to CC. He claims he'll transfer after two years. I wish he would consider a second or third rate college away from home, but he insists this is what he wants. I'm disappointed.

[Anonymous]

A CC is probably better for him. If he's lazy, at least you'll be able to keep an eye on him at home.

Going off to a mediocre state school is risky unless you are highly-motivated and stay out of trouble. Limited staffing makes it easy to flunk out, or fall through the cracks, in a place like that.

[Anonymous]

A CC is probably better for him. If he's lazy, at least you'll be able to keep an eye on him at home.

Going off to a mediocre state school is risky unless you are highly-motivated and stay out of trouble. Limited staffing makes it easy to flunk out, or fall through the cracks, in a place like that.

One of my kids goes to what DCUM would consider a "mediocre state school." She's in the smallest college in the school, has had two classes taught by her academic advisor her first year, lives in a residential learning community where the students have similar majors and take classes and some weekend trips together. She was not exactly an academic superstar in HS and didn't really do EC. I think she would have been bored and unmotivated in community college because most of the course offerings are so generic - her first two years at a 4-year school will include several classes in her major that would not have been available at a CC.

[Anonymous]

A shout-out to large state universities. Lots of choices of majors to accommodate student strength/weaknesses. Easy to drop or add classes, change class sections, change professors finding a teaching style that fits. Credits transfer. Night classes, early classes, wide variety of class times so the student can built a schedule that works for them.

[Anonymous]

The best thing we ever did for our somewhat unmotivated kid was send him to a small residential college instead of a community college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

It is "physical" therapy. Reality check.
As a mom with ADHD kids addicted to computer games (that are banned in house), I think working and CC are best suggestions.
I have 2e kid, who is really gifted and can be brilliant scientist or engineer. However, until child understands that life is hard, and work is necessary, child would spend half of life on the internet and do everything at the last moment.
4 years college without support for ADHD kid is a disaster. Too much influence and distractions.
I would say - Work Therapy (i.e. send kid for really physical job for summer), then CC for subjects that are difficult for child (no need to get AA), then local 4 year college while living at home with good grades. Then sky is the limit. ADHD kid can continue with masters, PhD etc.
Sending child with ADHD into big place far away with a lot of demands, is like setting child for failure.
Do not forget that ADHD kids are usually several years behind in maturity compare to general population.
Let child to get mature. By 30s he can be your manager.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A shout-out to large state universities. Lots of choices of majors to accommodate student strength/weaknesses. Easy to drop or add classes, change class sections, change professors finding a teaching style that fits. Credits transfer. Night classes, early classes, wide variety of class times so the student can built a schedule that works for them.

Big, state schools are good for motivated students -- but they tend to have low graduation rates. Disinterested students often don't do well once they are a little fish in a big pond.

[Anonymous]

Maybe work for a year?