Anonymous wrote:To the OP. Our DS had almost the exact same SAT and grade situation as yours. I was worried about how many options he would have. As it turned out, he had plenty! There are lots of schools out there where he will be able to get a great, valuable education. The good news is his grades have been going up, not down and his SATs are above average. Now he might not get into the top 100 or so colleges in the US, that everyone around here is obsessed with, but there are 3400 colleges in the United States. Most colleges accept most applicants. What you need to focus on is what is going to be best for him.

As for party schools, every school is a party school. I think the term is used by some who get into more selective schools to put down any school ranked lower than theirs (for a funny portrayal of this, see the Wharton guy in the I Went to Princeton, B* YouTube video). Name brands are overrated. The alumni network might help with that first job, but once you start working its about what you can do, not where you went to school. You can get the basic skills you'll need at most colleges.

Bottom line: if he wants to go to college, he will have a lot to choose from (and btw once you have multiple acceptance letters in hand, the power dynamic changes!)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apologies. I'm the PP who posted the initial suggestion re Richard Bland. I meant no offense whatsoever. The Bland-WM program isn't universally known, and it could easily have been perceived as one of perhaps several helpful options for the OP to consider. I also thought the post was consistent with the quoted thread, re VAs other CC-to-College plans. I'd be grateful if someone would tell me exactly where my post crosed a line, as it seems to have?

I'd suggest that, if the kid muddles through at CC, but still picks up an associate's degree in a marketable area, it's not a waste of time, even if he doesn't do well enough to get admitted to W&M.

There are kids with liberal arts degrees from W&M who don't have a job, and kids who skip college entirely, get various IT certifications and make a decent living.

But this makes her point. If you can do just as well not even going to CC, then you've *wasted* two whole years of time.

Well, no, it doesn't. An associate's degree, by itself, may still be useful for some individuals.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apologies. I'm the PP who posted the initial suggestion re Richard Bland. I meant no offense whatsoever. The Bland-WM program isn't universally known, and it could easily have been perceived as one of perhaps several helpful options for the OP to consider. I also thought the post was consistent with the quoted thread, re VAs other CC-to-College plans. I'd be grateful if someone would tell me exactly where my post crosed a line, as it seems to have?

I'd suggest that, if the kid muddles through at CC, but still picks up an associate's degree in a marketable area, it's not a waste of time, even if he doesn't do well enough to get admitted to W&M.

There are kids with liberal arts degrees from W&M who don't have a job, and kids who skip college entirely, get various IT certifications and make a decent living.

But this makes her point. If you can do just as well not even going to CC, then you've *wasted* two whole years of time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apologies. I'm the PP who posted the initial suggestion re Richard Bland. I meant no offense whatsoever. The Bland-WM program isn't universally known, and it could easily have been perceived as one of perhaps several helpful options for the OP to consider. I also thought the post was consistent with the quoted thread, re VAs other CC-to-College plans. I'd be grateful if someone would tell me exactly where my post crosed a line, as it seems to have?

I'd suggest that, if the kid muddles through at CC, but still picks up an associate's degree in a marketable area, it's not a waste of time, even if he doesn't do well enough to get admitted to W&M.

There are kids with liberal arts degrees from W&M who don't have a job, and kids who skip college entirely, get various IT certifications and make a decent living.

But this makes her point. If you can do just as well not even going to CC, then you've *wasted* two whole years of time.

Doesn't that vary by individual? Some kids may become plumbers or electricians and maybe 2 years of CC is not worthwhile for them. But for others, who aren't interested in trades, then CC can be a path to something they are interested in either in terms of a career or further education. It's not one size fits all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apologies. I'm the PP who posted the initial suggestion re Richard Bland. I meant no offense whatsoever. The Bland-WM program isn't universally known, and it could easily have been perceived as one of perhaps several helpful options for the OP to consider. I also thought the post was consistent with the quoted thread, re VAs other CC-to-College plans. I'd be grateful if someone would tell me exactly where my post crosed a line, as it seems to have?

I'd suggest that, if the kid muddles through at CC, but still picks up an associate's degree in a marketable area, it's not a waste of time, even if he doesn't do well enough to get admitted to W&M.

There are kids with liberal arts degrees from W&M who don't have a job, and kids who skip college entirely, get various IT certifications and make a decent living.

But this makes her point. If you can do just as well not even going to CC, then you've *wasted* two whole years of time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apologies. I'm the PP who posted the initial suggestion re Richard Bland. I meant no offense whatsoever. The Bland-WM program isn't universally known, and it could easily have been perceived as one of perhaps several helpful options for the OP to consider. I also thought the post was consistent with the quoted thread, re VAs other CC-to-College plans. I'd be grateful if someone would tell me exactly where my post crosed a line, as it seems to have?

I'd suggest that, if the kid muddles through at CC, but still picks up an associate's degree in a marketable area, it's not a waste of time, even if he doesn't do well enough to get admitted to W&M.

There are kids with liberal arts degrees from W&M who don't have a job, and kids who skip college entirely, get various IT certifications and make a decent living.

Anonymous wrote:Apologies. I'm the PP who posted the initial suggestion re Richard Bland. I meant no offense whatsoever. The Bland-WM program isn't universally known, and it could easily have been perceived as one of perhaps several helpful options for the OP to consider. I also thought the post was consistent with the quoted thread, re VAs other CC-to-College plans. I'd be grateful if someone would tell me exactly where my post crosed a line, as it seems to have?

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Anonymous wrote:Would he consider going to community college for a year or two, prove himself serious and changed and then apply to transfer to any school "worth going to"? Virginia has a guaranteed admissions program to the state schools from NVCC depending on NVCC GPA. Don't know how it works elsewhere. But generally, it's much easier to transfer into a college than it is to be accepted as a freshman. GL.

Richard Bland College, in VA, is a community college owned and operated by William & Mary. Bland doesn't have its own trustees/visitors; it's part of W&M proper. Certain classes of Bland students -- IF they make moderately decent grades (like above a B average) -- are automatically entitled to transfer into William & Mary at the two-year point. I'd look at this if your son is truly, highly motivated, and can and will really do well. This is important, because if he isn't/doesn't, you and he have wated the whole two years, so there is a real risk on this.

This is so offensive on so many levels - it's as if everything rises or falls depending upon whether the kid eventually ends up at W&M.

News flash - W&M has a lot of graduates who are now waiting tables.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This is so offensive on so many levels - it's as if everything rises or falls depending upon whether the kid eventually ends up at W&M.

News flash - W&M has a lot of graduates who are now waiting tables.

Not that PP, but this seems like a total overreaction. The 1st PP's point was not that W&M is the be all and end all of college admissions. The point was: here's a community college program that feeds into a 4-year college (happens to be W&M, but could have been another college).

Bullshit. The poster said attending the CC would be a "total waste" if the kid didn't get into W&M after two years.