I would appreciate advice on what’s typical and what are options (other than complete failure): pre-freshman advising had my son sign up for engineering classes but accelerated him in computer programming (because of his hs programming classes) and also encouraged him to take an upper level (3500) film class as an elective. I warned him about the film class but he reassured me that it was on the list his advisor had given him so was ok (?!). Despite As snd Bs, he got a B- in calc which put his gpa below a 3 (B- are worth 2.7). Still, for my Aspie son, this was a huge accomplishment, as everything about college was a huge challenge for him. BUT cutoff for admission into his CS program is a hard and fast 3.0. Still, his advisor had him sign up for 17 hours in the Spring, including two sophomore level (IN the program) CS classes. Now, because he needs to get more As than Bs (and no B- ), and he’s taking more calculus on top of English (a challenge for him), there’s a good chance he won’t get into the program. The advising office said basically “too bad so sad” about not bring able to use the two extra programming classes if he doesn’t get the 3.0. Any advice? He had an IEP in hs but wouldn’t get a 504 to provide supports in college that could’ve helped with this transition. It’s too late to argue about the 3000 level class (but seriously, what was the advisor thinking? Me, I think the school was trying to populate under filled courses at the expense of naive students), and it’s too late to tell him to just take the same classes his peers were taking in order to get into the program :(. He could’ve gotten easy As had he taken intro programmjng. And it’s most too late to get him any supports for his academic/social anxiety. Any thoughts on what he can do at this point? It’s a very large Uni so the downside us they don’t need to care about one student.
really the only thing he could do is withdraw from a class and study hard and try his best to get all A’s in the other classes.
I went to a large state school, and in my experience, it was fairly typical for advisors to recommend students not to retake courses. Students are generally recommend to take the more advanced course, if they are qualified to do so. If his high school programming class was considered the equivalent to the intro programming class, then it’s not a surprise to me at all that it was recommended he take the more advanced class. They are (at least in my experience) recommendations, not requirements. Students are allowed to accept and reject them as they see fit, and it’s really up to the student to figure out what are the best classes for themselves. Advisors really aren’t able to know your son well enough to be able to recommend classes based on what he may or may not be able to do in the future. All they know about him (most likely) is the classes that he’s coming in with. They likely won’t know that he has Asperger’s syndrome or that he adjusting to college may be a particular struggle for him, unless your son vocalized that to them. It’s unfortunate that many freshman may rush into classes that they aren’t ready for, but at the end of the day, it’s really up to the students, not the advisors.
For the film class, it’s hard to say. It’s possible that this is a class that is commonly taken as an elective for lower level students (at my school, this was not uncommon for lower division students to take upper level courses for electives). It’s possible your son expressed interest in film, or the advisor thought it would be a fun class that could balance out his major courses. Or your son didn’t want to take other elective courses or maybe other elective courses were full. It’s possible the advisor has seen other freshman succeed in this course so he didn’t think it was a big deal. Advisors typically only have the academic record to go on, and he likely doesn’t know what support your son had in high school (and what support he wouldn’t get in college). He might have thought your son would be able to handle the class based on his record from high school, without knowing (or taking into account) the very different environment he was in and the extra support he received.
What were your son’s actual grades? All Bs and one B- will put him below a 3.0, but one A, all B’s, and one B- should still put him above a 3.0. How did he do in his other courses? Was it just Calculus that he struggled in? Was he pushed forward in Calculus too or was he taking the first course in the Calculus sequence?
For engineering majors, it’s not uncommon to take high courseloads, and it’s possible that taking a higher courseload is needed to stay on track for graduation. At my school, there were some quarters where students were recommended to take a high number of units (18+ units) in order to stay on track for graduation. Also, sometimes, taking a larger number of units is good if you’re trying to raise your GPA, BUT that only works if your taking a good number of easier classes. Has your son really looked into what the requirements are to get into his intended major and graduate on time. He should be able to look up the requirements to his major and GE requirements and map out a four year (or five year or whatever) plan. He may find that he needs to take higher courseloads to stay on track for graduation. To be honest, I never spoke to my major after the required meeting before freshman year because they didn’t tell me anything that I couldn’t find on the website. I took a higher or lower amount of units depending on what I thought was best. Your son should be able to say no to a higher courseload if he doesn’t want to take it. Is there a unit requirement for admission to the major? That might also be something to consider in addition to the GPA requirement. Can he get into the major in a later year if he doesn’t meet the GPA requirement after this year?
Try to run calculations for what he needs to meet the 3.0 requirement. Could he drop his Calculus class (or whatever class he is doing to worst in) and still get a 3.0 by getting some mixtures of A’s and B’s? Are there other requirements to get into the program (such as taking certain prerequisite courses or have a certain number of units)?
Well, I mean, what do you want them to say? It happens quite often that students take classes that they end up technically not needing for their degree. Students change majors or decide their not cut out for their original major. Some students take classes just for fun or to learn other skills. I took quite a bit of classes that weren’t required for my major or for GEs. Most schools require students to complete a minimum number of required courses, so these courses will still count as units towards graduation, even if his major doesn’t require them.
Why? I understand that it likely won’t help that much in terms of getting into the CS program, but presumably, he has 3+ years of school left and getting support would be much more helpful for later. What types of support did he get in high school? Could he register with the disability services office? What type of support do you think he needs to be successful?
I think at this point, he needs to put some thought into what he needs to do to get a 3.0. Should he drop a difficult class? Could he still add an easy one? What grades does he need to get and what does he need to do to get those grades? Is he going to office hours, the tutoring center, etc? Where is he losing points in his grades–tests, homework, projects, papers? Is it that he doesn’t understand the material or does he just test poorly? Is he missing assignments?
He should also become more in charge of what classes he takes and when. Considering his advisor’s suggestions is great, but when your one among many, he can’t assume that his advisor is making the best decisions for his specific situation (as this situation clearly shows).
He may need to come up with a plan B as well, since it may be difficult to get into the CS program. Other majors that are similar or other options he can have. The good about computer science is it’s much more skills-based than degree-based in terms of jobs. It’s a harder road if you don’t have the degree to back it up, but if you can demonstrate that you have taken the courses and have the skills to do the work, then you can still get the job. He may be able to take some CS courses as a non-major, and nothing’s stopping him from still getting more experience in CS (through coding projects or other short-term work). He may be able to get jobs or internships in the field related to what he wants to do in the future.