Hi! I’m not sure how to make this request. Could we please have a thread for parents of current high school sophomores (2024s) who may not be aiming for Top 20 colleges, may not take AP/IB classes, or just have a lower GPA than the average CC student?
I have read through these threads for other years and found them very helpful. I am now ready to start this process with my S24, and would love to share the journey with others on CC. Thank you!
You just made one. This is now it.
I will pull up a seat here 
as this covers my D24. Thanks for starting!
Hi, I am here! I asked about this awhile ago but never made a thread. So, thank you! S24 can hardly think of next week, never mind 2 years. He does have some goals though and it will help with our search. We will either look at small state schools or LAC’s or flagships of neighboring states if he decides not to play his sport in college. Hoping to keep within driving distance.
As of today he is recovering from the dreaded Covid, which has set him back. He has one more final to make up. We are al looking forward to the spring!
I’m looking for good ideas for college choices if anyone has a thread I can look to or suggestions. Most of the colleges I hear about are top tier or difficult to get into.
I’ve read through the other 3.0-3.4 groups to get ideas. A lot depends on location, willing to travel, budget, etc. I feel there is a lot of opportunity for this group of students. Looking forward to sharing this journey!
Hello, everyone—I’m psyched about this thread! We have three kids. The first two are girls, and they are (mostly) typical, “average excellent” students. I went on their college journeys with the Parents of '19 and '21, and it was great to have support, ideas, and camaraderie. Both girls are off at college and (mostly) thriving, thank goodness.
Our third child is S24. He is a great kid—even keeled, gets along with everyone. But academically, he doesn’t fit in with the regular 2024 thread. He has moderate to severe dyslexia/dyscalculia, and despite a decade of speech therapy, still has trouble annunciating. Due to early intervention and pure luck, he likes school and has been able to grow out of all his SE services. (He still gets extra time and the use of a computer for long essays.)
He takes college prep level classes, but has yet to tackle anything honors, accelerated or AP. He failed out of Spanish twice in middle school, but is now passing his second (and last) year in high school. If the emphasis were on conversation, he would keep going because likes being able to communicate. But unfortunately, the emphasis is on grammar, reading/writing, and preparing for AP Spanish. S24’s favorite subject is history, followed by English. He likes earth science, but I think chemistry will be tough, and I don’t know if he’ll take physics.
He wants to go to college, and would prefer a four year residential experience. Careers he is thinking about: teacher, counselor, social worker, nurse, coach/trainer, physical therapist. It’s hard for me to imagine him getting there right now, but I know he’ll gain so much maturity and independence (I am expecting two steps forward and one step back).
Looking forward to learning about everyone’s kids, helping whenever we can, and celebrating their successes!
@Frogger73 I hope your son is feeling better! Making up missed work is an uphill battle for my S24. Last time he had to make up a test, he got confused about his schedule, missed another class while making up the test, and got in trouble with Admin for skipping 
My #2 son is a class of '24, his GPA right now is around a 3.1. He seems interested in engineering, but will not have the grades to go to a top school. We live in Wisconsin and he might be interested in UW Stout. At least he is starting to think about college, just a little bit. For now he is extremely attached to his high school friends, so when a friend said maybe Stout, it showed up on his list. I am working more with older brother, S23, and this is how it goes, oldest with some special needs gets more attention and then middle kid will kind of work it out more on his own. S24 seems to be college ready in all subjects on his tests and that is fantastic. I am so happy for him. He has NO extracurricular activities now except for games club and Scouts, and that might be OK. I would love for him to try an AP or dual enrollment class to try to save a little money for college costs. S27 and S24 will tag along with S23 on college visits so maybe this will help all three kids at the same time.
Ugh, it’s a struggle when admin won’t work with our kids. My d27 got in trouble for being late to class when she had to go take a Covid test due to being a close contact and in a positive pool. . I stepped up and emailed on that one!
Luckily DS has a true study block that he has been using to make up the final. It should be done tomorrow. My S24 also struggled with speech and had early intervention. I have asked him to make an appointment with his counselor to see if he can be done with Spanish after this year. He was failing in middle school also but they wouldn’t test him for any language disabilities even given his back ground, and his father has dyslexia. They will find their way though.
Welcome! Looking forward to this journey. Scouts is an excellent EC! S24 never had interests in it unfortunately. Definitely take them all on tours together!
Question for you all. Course selection for next year will be coming up. How many years of Foreign Language will your child be taking? I am leaning at stopping after this year. s24 feels pressure to take 1 more year. This year he will complete Spanish 3. Any advise from parents with older kids?
We are in the exact same boat. D24 is completing Spanish 3 this semester. She really does not enjoy Spanish and doesn’t have a natural affinity for it. Our district recommends four years of FL. In fact, we’re doing the online scheduling and I’m going to have to call the gc to get some sort of manual override, because it is just assumed D24 will take Sp4 next year. My D20 stopped after Spanish 3 (though, in her case, that was after junior year) and had no issues getting accepted to the colleges she wanted, so…I’m all for letting D24 stop after this year.
Four years, ugh?! Good luck to you and your dd. I would definitely call to override. I tried to do that with DS in middle school when he was failing but they said no. This why I am suggesting it again now. Our district requires only 2 years for graduation, and most of the college requirements are the same. I asked S24 to make an appointment with is guidance counselor to see what she says. I will support either decision, since I know it is a struggle.
yes, our district actually only requires 1 year for graduation, but recommends 4.
@Frogger73 I can tell you our reasoning. Spanish is S24’s most time consuming and least favorite subject. He failed out of it in middle school, so he is now in his second year and wants it to be the last. I figure that if he drops Spanish, he can use that time/energy to take something academic that he will like (maybe psychology).
My D21 did this with Physics. Everyone tells you colleges like to see physics, but she knew it would hit all her weaknesses, so she took Environmental Science instead (something she’s naturally interested in). She got into her first choice college, so it turned out okay!
With all the factors that colleges look at, I don’t think dropping language is going to make the difference in admission, especially if that time and effort can go towards something positive. Hope that helps!
My S24 likes French, and he wants to continue taking it. However, my S23 did not like Spanish and I think he dropped after 9th grade. He is taking more electives now, and that’s fine. S23 is not looking at super selective schools so it’s not a big deal, IMO.
That is a good perspective. DS is on a block schedule and just started Spanish 3. When he will have to pick classes in a few weeks It will still be too early to tell how he will be able to handle another year. I know he doesn’t want to take it another year yet I know he feels pressure (not from us!) to take it another year. We are at a competitive high school and most of his friends are AP students. However our district you can’t take AP without recommendations. I will let him make the decision and support him either way. He won’t be looking at selective schools either. I will keep you all posted with what he decides to do!
On another note, we are on break now. I wanted to go look at some schools for fun and he was up for it. However when the day came to, he didn’t want to. We had some fun doing other things though. Next year, he won’t have a choice whether to look or not. Back to the snow day….
Any parents have good ideas for a job our kiddos? Our high school is a charter where they are only in class two days a week. It worked well for S21 who filled his time with productive activities, but we are struggling with D24. looking for possible out of the box ideas to volunteer/work in a job that will keep her engaged and moving.
My D24 has been working for a catering company throughout the school year, as it only required weekend work (6-8 hours per week). Her summer job is at an ice cream concession stand at the beach and she works about 20-24 hrs per week there. Both are fast-paced and tiring (but in good ways).