I know there’s not too many of us here, but if you are the parent of/ or a student with a GPA in that range, can we discuss what your college options are? Strategies for success?
I’ll start…
My son is at the beginning of his junior year with a 2.57 unweighted GPA. He has ADHD and attends a private college prep high school. He does not take honors or AP classes because he pours all his effort into doing well in the regular classes he takes. I am going to have him take a college composition class this summer at our local community college between his junior and senior year. It won’t reflect on his high school transcript, but I’m hoping colleges will see that he’s tried some advance coursework. I think he will do better if it’s just that one class he has to focus on, instead of handling an advanced class in the middle of his already full schedule.
He was tested in 1st grade for learning disabilities and at that time nothing other than ADHD was found, but I think I will have him tested again now. If we find something significant, it might help explain the low GPA to colleges.
He wants to be a physical education teacher and the colleges we’re looking at are Westfield State in Massachusetts (learning disabilities program, and reduced OOS tuition), SUNY Brockport and SUNY Cortland. I’m also looking into community colleges with dorms in New York as his safety schools.
Here are some colleges we ruled out but might work for other students in this GPA range:
Beacon College, FL
Landmark College, VT
Dean College, MA
Please chime in C students, share colleges you’ve found, strategies for acceptance, etc…
I’ve seen this done many times in my community. It always involves a very supportive Mom and a dedicated student willing to work. I dont know the colleges in your area but staying close to home seems important. Also important to understand transfer credit rules to work the system by transfering CC classes (for example) to bypass a killer hard class. Good luck!
@JoyG My son is currently a freshman at Rowan University. He was probably 2.7-2.9 range. He was also diagnosed with ADHD when he was younger, but as he got older we tended to think he was really more just disinterested! He is an elementary education/history major now, and thus far going into mid-terms has a 4.0 (it’s early, I know!). Rowan was a good fit for him because he decided he didn’t like the small LACs when we went to accepted student days. Rowan is pushing 20,000 students now, but no classes over 30.
He was accepted at every NJ state school (didn’t apply to Rutgers or TCNJ), Lycoming College in PA - a great small liberal arts school in PA. It’s pricey, but best I can tell if you get accepted you get a $19k merit award that says you need a 3.0 to get but both my son and a friend with a lower GPA got. Castleton is another small, gorgeous VT state school outside of Rutland - I had my heart set on it but it was too small for him (1800 students maybe?).
There are definitely options out there. Good luck!
@JoyG - I had never heard of Beacon College - nice to know that resource. Another FL school, if you are considering OOS is Lynn University in Boca Raton. I believe they cater to learning different students. Probably pricey… but has an excellent reputation and full “college experience” for students with athletics, housing, etc.
I forgot to mention, another strategy we’re going to try is to get him to pass a CLEP test for his hardest subject areas while he’s home and can study with his tutors. Math and Science are his hardest subjects and if he can skip taking a math or science while he’s away from home, that would be very helpful!
Before expending energy on preparation for CLEP exams in addition to his regular schoolwork, verify that those CLEP exams will indeed apply as credit for specific coursework. What science classes wiil he need for a phys ed teacher certification?
And definitely have all of the re-evaluations done now! That way he will have fully updated records to present to the disablity services office when he enrolls.