Montana6
Post 11/09/2015 11:24     Subject: I think my kid is failing this semester
Several good points posted. OP - keep talking to your kid. Offer all the support you can. Schools have no interest in seeing their own students fail. I am surprised w what you said he is doing, there are still no results. I sort of agree w some; is he really telling you all the facts? We have told our kids they have minimum grades they must maintain, or, hello county college. harsh, but, it costs a ton, and, they are in the middle of having their shot at starting life.
Anonymous
Post 11/08/2015 20:46     Subject: I think my kid is failing this semester
My DD is finding this semester much harder than previous ones. She has dropped two classes that were nightmares and is failing a one credit pass/fail class. Why? Because she signed up for senior level honors classes that she just wasn't ready for on top of the senior level classes she is passing. She is also third semester btw not a senior. Her one credit class is way beyond her and is an enormous time sink that is endangering all of her other classes. These kids think they can do it all because HS insisted they could. My DD is leader of a club, performer in another club, a high level math tutor, and a member of a research team. She thinks anything under a senior class level is beneath her abilities. She's in one class that has a special super late drop period (days before final) that allows you to get out without penalty because it's so notoriously hard. What these kids are willing to subject themselves to is wrong. Just wrong. Look carefully at your son and try to find the real picture of what's going on. It might be him but it might be all of them and he's just on par with expectations. If there is a Reddit thread for his school try searching for his classes and see what the rumors are about their difficulty.
Anonymous
Post 11/08/2015 18:49     Subject: I think my kid is failing this semester
Completely disagree with PPs that if you show up, do homework and go to office hours you get a C. Not at my college. Most of the grade was midterm and final and quite easy to fail. You just need to hunker down and study more. No magic bullet. I fell bad you you. OP but just keep encouraging you DC to keep working as hard as he can. Hopefully it will get better when he gets into all classes in major and is more interesting.....
Anonymous
Post 11/08/2015 10:39     Subject: Re:I think my kid is failing this semester
Looks like I'll be the first DCUM parent to have ever experienced a kid struggling in college. Our science-based major DS also had a very difficult first 3 semesters. He dropped a few classes, switched to an easier major, took a summer class to catch up. He went on to graduate on time and got a good job in his major directly after graduation. It was a painful process (for him and us). We just sweat it out. Don't really know what else to do but to stay in touch and offer support. GL.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2015 09:32     Subject: I think my kid is failing this semester
My Freshman year was a disaster. Failed a class is Western Civilization up to the 1600s (who cares!) - then lost my scholarship when I couldn't maintain the GPA needed for the scholarship by .10 of a point. Your DC needs to cut back on the partying and discuss with each Prof. how he/she could improve. Every Prof. would make time for that conversation.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2015 08:39     Subject: Re:I think my kid is failing this semester
I majored in engineering in a no name college and did not get above a 2.5 for the first 3 or 4 semesters of college. After those 2 weed out years, last two years were much more interesting and I did much better. Then went on to a top 25 law school where I graduated 2nd in my class and went on to have a successful career. Interesting that so many pps did so super in college.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2015 08:22     Subject: I think my kid is failing this semester
Anonymous wrote:Um your kid is lying. If you show up and make a half decent attempt, you get a c. He is partying like a rock star and not even setting foot in class. Sorry, but you need to clue in. [/quot Not necssisarily. If he is in the wrong major--one heis ill suited--iti s entirely possible.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2015 08:16     Subject: I think my kid is failing this semester
Um your kid is lying. If you show up and make a half decent attempt, you get a c. He is partying like a rock star and not even setting foot in class. Sorry, but you need to clue in.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2015 06:20     Subject: I think my kid is failing this semester
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Probably he went to an inadequate high school. did your older kids go to the same or a similar college?

The high school really matters. The average grade for a graduate from PG highschools in freshman math at UMD is D. He may need some community college to catch up.

That's quite interesting if it's true. How did you find this information?
I am also interested in those stats. Please provide a link or your source, PP. That's quite an accusation to make without backup.
Anonymous
Post 11/06/2015 22:46     Subject: I think my kid is failing this semester
Op, let the university decide. If his grades are bad enough - for long enough - he will be dismissed. Chances are he's no where near that scenario. Unless he is asked to leave, he's in good standing. Let him manage/learn.
Anonymous
Post 11/06/2015 22:32     Subject: I think my kid is failing this semester
I almost flunked out of college. I had decent grades my first year (~3.0) but terrible grades my sophomore year (sub 1.0). I withdrew from college for a semester, changed my major to something I liked (computer science) and got good to great grades after that. Got a full ride to a very good grad school as well. For me it was a lack of maturity and a major I couldn't stand. It might be the same for him.
Anonymous
Post 11/06/2015 18:44     Subject: I think my kid is failing this semester
Anonymous wrote:Not talking a B or C, I think he's in danger of getting a D or F in 3 of 4 classes and no hope of getting higher than a C in any course (he's in his 3rd semester). He's already dropped his hardest class this semester. We've always taken a more hands-off approach to kids' coursework and grades (definitely compared to some of the parents I see around here) and that approach worked well for our 2 older kids (now 20 somethings) and seemed to be working fine for this one as well. But college just hasn't "clicked" for him (he was a solid B+ high school student). From what I can tell he attends lectures, goes to regular tutoring and doesn't seem to have outstanding assignments. When we talk to him, he seems genuinely frustrated with his grades (for example, he'll go to lecture, office hours, tutor, etc, feels like he does ok and the test and when he gets it back it's a 69 or 73). He's no doubt been having fun in college and seems happy with his life outside of the classroom. The fun seems to be limited to Friday nights and Saturdays. Anytime I talk to him on a Sunday he's been sleeping or studying. Overall, he feels he is where he should be (meaning he wants a career that requires a college degree and he likes his college and college location).

Anyway, it feels like we're watching a train wreck in slow motion. I don't know what, if anything, I could do. Or should do.


Most of school just finished mid-term. He still has final in little more than a month. In some or most of colleges, professor curves the grade. You maybe surprise 69 or 73 may be a B. I remembered I got 49 out of 100 and I had the second highest score in the whole class. It was an A with a curve.
Anonymous
Post 11/06/2015 17:33     Subject: I think my kid is failing this semester
Anonymous wrote:Probably he went to an inadequate high school. did your older kids go to the same or a similar college?

The high school really matters. The average grade for a graduate from PG highschools in freshman math at UMD is D. He may need some community college to catch up.

That's quite interesting if it's true. How did you find this information?