<p>You are right, tough lovers! absolutely. I’ll tell him it was his choice to play college sports, and get up at 6 am every morning to run up the side of a mountain, practice 3 hours a day, and to take ridiculously difficult pre-med courses while trying to play basketball and pay for his education on an athletic scholarship because his family couldn’t afford it. And furthermore, I’ll gently let him know that it was merely the consequences of his choices that he was born into a family that lost a parent during the course of the past year, and who’s remaining parent “lost” a job when the economy went into the tank. No, sorry: that was my choice for picking the wrong profession. Furthermore, he can learn a lesson from his 93year-old grandmother with whom he share a house, who can no longer care for herself and requires the both of us 24/7: why did you live so long and why are you now burdening us with your existence? The fact of the matter is that a college education is probably way over rated to begin with, but it would have been nice for him to have put a little of this behind him for a few years. I’m now sorry I entered this website. I wasn’t expecting an amateur version of the “Dr. Laura Show”.</p>
<p>I believe in this situation it is necessary for a parent to step in if it’s the right course to take (and I do). No school administrator is going to listen to a student. I hear a lot on CC - let the kid do it, let him deal with it. The truth is an adult is always going to listen to another adult more. I tried to let D1 to handle her housing problem, she got absolutely no where with them. I made a phone call and they changed her room while I was on the phone with them.</p>
<p>The flip side is, OP and the son knew about the son’s GPA. Instead of putting their heads in the sand, I would have called the admission office a lot earlier. The way I look at this type of thing is - who has more to lose, who should care more? Clearly it is not someone who punches clock from 9-5, therefore why would you depend on them to contact you about the most important thing in your son’s life.</p>
<p>I don’t belief this is a lost cause. I think with some finesse the situation could still be salvaged.</p>
<p>Those sound like extenuating circumstances, none of which you mentioned in your OP that I can recall. So calm down. No one is judging, but you were the one that bought up consequences and accountability - and gave his gpa has the only stalwart. There seems to be a lot on this kids plate and this family’s dinner table, and this mitigating circumstances should absolutely come into play. I would suggest you try to NOT use this information in a kicking and screaming way, as it is how your post reads. </p>
<p>And with all of this for them to consider, it is absolutely the parent’s place to be involved. </p>
<p>And no Laura show here, it’s just that you might have done better to start with a far more complete picture of the situation.</p>
<p>He needed a 2.9. Does it say 2.90 or 2.9? If he has a 2.86, this is in fact a 2.9 if you are looking at significant figures, right? I have to side with THIS IS RIDICULOUS for them to pull this at the last minute. </p>
<p>He needs to call and try to speak with teachers from his spring term PERSONALLY and tell them what is up. There may be a way to get a grade adjustment. He needs to look at the transcript carefully for any errors. He needs to figure out the GPA by hand and be sure that they did not recalculate and get a wrong number.</p>
<p>I would also call up the chain of command, and have him write out the story and FEDEX and email so his story is in writing and gets to those who matter. I would tell THE ENTIRE STORY, including his commitment to playing, the loss of a parent, the grandparent in the house. I would tell it all. I would call the congressman. Do what you can, and pray a little and hope for some Karma.</p>
<p>I have learned with the college process that if you have anything out of hte ordinary, you need to be very proactivie. If my kid was on the cusp of the gpa requirement, I would have had him call and verify. Learhing about problems early and dealing with them is something I have tried to drill into my kids head. Its an uphill battle. </p>
<p>I think both mom and son should deal with this. Son should get on the phone all day tomorrow, sending faxes (beter than email), going over his transcript, whatever he can do. He should show up at SDSU Monday.</p>
<p>I am one who thinks that most of the time, the student should try and figure stuff out, but I think it is okay and reasonable for another person to step in and help. I help my husband, I help my mom, she helps me.</p>
<p>I feel that if a person really thought they had done everything they could and maybe assumed something they shouldn’t have but really tried, there is no reason that they shouldn’t get some help. </p>
<p>My daughter needed to change dorms and was working two jobs at the time. I called the housing department and asked what arrangements could be made so she could get key, etc early. She asked, They told her no. I called, I had the tiime, and I was able to help her get the key. It was a small thinjg. She was capable. She tried. I was able to help. </p>
<p>The is a difference betwen enabling and assisting. THe OP is assisting and she shiould try everything she can. Its not like her son was in jail and she is giving him drug money. He was a good student who thought all was arranged. </p>
<p>Maybe he shouldn’t have assumed that someone would look at his transcript months later and go, oh nevermind. That when they were sending him bills and he was paying all was okay. Its not his fault SDSU took so long. </p>
<p>I give kudos to the mom for helping. Say this was her sister and mom thought she could do something, would you tell her to not bother?</p>
<p>SOmetimes it seems we are so concerned about teaching some sort of leason, that we lose sight of the goal.</p>
<p>The OPs son did everything he thought was right. He walked smack into a redtape nightmare. </p>
<p>I am all for lessons and consequences, but when someone, husband, son, aunt, friend, have really tried and did their best, but just needs a helping had, I think there is nothing wrong with trying to help another human being, child or not, if they are in a jam, a jam that they really don’t deserve to be in. I mean. .o4??</p>
<p>For me, living with the consequences or whatever are for someone who did something wrong, didn;t do what they were supposed to do, lied, cheated whatever.</p>
<p>But living with the consequences when something doesn’t go your way, when bueracrecy sets up road blocks, when someone is so close and they really have done their best…to suggest it wrong to help that person just seems cruel.</p>
<p>The OPs son isn’t perfect. He made some assumptions. But he did so much right, to tell mom she is wrong to try and do whatever she can to help him sounds strange to me.</p>
<p>If he had cheated and got kicked out of school and she was trying to get him in some wher that would be one thing. But in this case, her son worked hard, was transferring to be closer to home, had good grades, and was just a little bit shy of what shsu says they want.</p>
<p>I don’t understand the people that think the OP should not try to get her son into SDSU at this juncture. Its one adult helping another adult who caught a bad break.</p>
<p>[SDSU</a> Office of Admissions, GPA Requirements for the Major](<a href=“http://arweb.sdsu.edu/es/admissions/res_impactedgpa.html]SDSU”>http://arweb.sdsu.edu/es/admissions/res_impactedgpa.html)</p>
<p>Many majors don’t require 2.90. Only business majors require 2.90 and they mean 2.90, not 2.9. So 2.86 would not work. If SDSU people bend the rule for the OP’s son then they have to bend for other unqualified students.</p>
<p>May be he should request for a different major then try to switch major after the GPA goes up. This is more legitimate than the “shotgun” approach.
The SDSU basketball coach may be able to help too.</p>
<p>Go up the ladder and try to give your son a chance to make good. He sounds like he has had a tough year or two and could use some support. Have your son share his story with the coach at the old school (if he has any support there) and see if he can get a retroactive grade change from anyone. If that will not work, then he can tell his story to the Dean of Students at SDSU. Sounds like this 20 year old kid has lost a parent, his BB dreams are over, his family finances might be a wreck, and his admission is rescinded at the last second? if it were my kid I would do whatever I could to see that his college education went forward. For those suggesting a CC, it can be very difficult for a junior to find any transferable classes at a CC. By this time he has likely finished most of his general ed classes and needs to start on his major. If he gets readmitted and screws up next semester, bring in the tough love. For now, I think whatever Mom can do to provide this kid with a bit of stability and happiness is fine. This reminds me of a couple of years ago when San Jose State had too many kids so they combed the student’s paperwork for errors and rescinded enough people to make the numbers work.</p>
<p>I’m in the THIS IS INSANE camp. If all else fails, if a temporary switch in majors could smooth out the problem, may he should consider it. I do hope that after this past year full of challenges and sorrows, this young man will have a good junior year, without further incident, at SDSU. And the only “consequential” lessons I would want him to take from all this are that people will rally, assess the situation with compassion, and help him when he encounters this sort of problem. And that life doesn’t have to be as rocky as it’s been for him of late. Good luck!</p>
<p>^While I would look more closely into switching majors, I wonder about the viability of graduating within 2 or even 3 years if he’s done all his GEs and then is forced to bide his time taking electives until he can get in to the business major. Also, many majors at CSUs in general are impacted, and since SDSU’s business school has a good reputation, I would suspect that it is especially impacted, and transferring in from another major may or may not be logistically impossible.</p>
<p>Sorry to be kind of a downer. I sincerely wish the OP’s S the best of luck. The Aztecs are far from a sporting powerhouse, so it really needs all the athletic recruits it can get!</p>
<p>I’m so sorry. I have found the CSU’s in general to be very beaurocratic. <em>sigh</em> I think that they’re under a lot of pressure to cut enrollments so they’re looking for any excuse. I had a similar experience last January, when my CSU rescinded my admission on the grounds I would not have taken the Speech class a semester prior to attending. In my case, I had to prove I had applied as an Adult Exception Admit and literally fax them a copy of the rules to get them to reverse the decision. </p>
<p>I also know what you mean WRT Spring 2010. Many of the commenters probably won’t know what you and I do, that CSU’s cut off Spring apps, and that the system is designed so that by the time your admission is denied, it’s too late to apply. </p>
<p>Here’s my practical suggestion. Have your son go back to every instructor on his transcript and see if he can do any work to have a grade brought up. Find out if there’s anything he can test out of. If you can’t get SDSU to relax their requirement, see if there is any way you can get your son’s GPA in compliance with that requirement. Beg.</p>
<p>Yeah, from the little I know of the CA system, you’re much more likely to have luck contacting your son’s teachers and attempting a grade change. I wouldn’t be surprised if they change a grade or two, maybe in exchange for an essay.
This is infuriating, I can tell.</p>
<p>Many college professors will scrutinize a student’s grades under these circumstances, and perhaps discover a way to assist. Also, be sure the GPA calculations are correct, as they are often wrong!! In addition, keep making noise at the top of the college system, and make in person appointments, if possible, to present your case. Bring recommendations of character and potential from prior professors to show what your son will bring to the community…If all else fails, think about non-matriculated status, often colleges will allow this, and then allow a matriculation with proper grades into the program. Can he take a last minute summer course - several colleges offer intense courses even this late into the summer/fall to bring up the GPA!!! Perhaps even an on-line course at this point…Good luck, and don’t give up…!!!</p>
<p>these kind of consequences over 4/100ths of a point at the very last minute
I’d fight on</p>
<p>IMO, that is an issue with public u’s – they may be more rigid than private.</p>
<p>OP, I am sorry for your son, and thank you for sharing. This is a warning for all of us re transfers.</p>
<p>Given the situation, if I couldn’t manage to get some big guns to step up in my behalf and there was no resolution by about the 15th or so, I might be inclined to call my local paper to see if they were interested in the story… actually I might have someone else do that on my behalf as well. It’s a very compelling story and this kid has had enough unfortunate things happen that the thing practically writes itself! Falls under education, politics and the economy - that’s a solid audience.</p>
<p>More important – you never know who is reading and capable of fixing things or making alternative arrangements.</p>
<p>modadunn…good points…also involves collegiate athletics…and time demands on the student athlete. would be curious to know if his transfer is from a div. I school…</p>
<p>google and there’s some articles on the internet about ncaa academic reform</p>
<p>best wishes to the op and to his/her son for this to be resolved soon and for a good outcome.</p>
<p>To the OP: I think coolweather has given the best advice here–your son should see if he can enter SDSU with some other major–many of the majors have required GPA’s well below 2.90. Presumably the GPA cut-off is not for any transfer at all, but just for transfer into a specific major? Most universities will permit a student to change majors as late as the second semester of the junior year, and if his GPA meets the threshold after a semester (or quarter?) then it seems very likely that he could change majors at that point. If your son has been taking pre-med courses, the curves in those courses tend to be different (lower) from the curves in the introductory business courses . . . and that would explain why business can set a 2.90 cut-off.</p>
<p>If you think this is unfeeling and arbitrary wait until we get government healthcare. Public goods are now limited. I’d hate to be a prior prof asked to change a grade for this. That is very unfair to the prof. It’s not his/her fault. Drop back and make the best new plan possible. Calling all sorts of firepower down on SDSU is not in order. They followed the rules. That’s why they have them. If you can find another major and get in and that’s the best alternative do that.</p>
<p>Every once in a while, I agree with Barrons (but not about health care). Profs ought to alter grades only if there was a computational error, not out of compassion. Was the student aware of his GPA back in May or June? Was there any reason to believe that one or more of the grades were inaccurately computed or recorded? If not, I do not believe that the grade (s) should be changed. It is unfair to every one else is only one student’s grade is altered for reason of “compassion.” It opens the door to all sorts of corruption. </p>
<p>What seems to be wrong here is that the school pocketed the orientation money well after it received the transcript. It should refund the money that was paid, at the very least. Other than that, there may be some wiggle room for admitting a student who is just a hair shy of the cut off mark; or there may be some possibility of being admitted with a different major.</p>
<p>I think we average one agreement per week. Not bad. Better than being 100% predictable.</p>