<p>My best friend is experiencing a business failure, is from a lower income family, and really wants to elevate himself intellectually and financially. His dream school is UCSD but his GPA is less than a 3.5 so he may not get in. He's been in community college around 5 years (used to work full time and earned low grades). His major is Philosophy but now he questions it because he needs to be able to get a job after college. I won't be around to help him through his college years, but he needs help. He's not the most motivated but I want to get him through his pain. What advice can you give someone with these circumstances? He needs some direction.</p>
<p>bump10char</p>
<p>If he can retake the classes he did poorly in when he first enrolled, he should. It will help his GPA, which will help in when application time comes around. The only advice you can give to someone who isn’t motivated is to get motivated. When it comes to education, you have to help yourself, and he won’t do well until he wants to do well and is willing to put in the time and effort.</p>
<p>He should start by working toward a degree in CC. Setting smaller goals can help build his confidence, and then even if he doesn’t transfer, he will have something to show for all his years of schooling. Also, a student with an associate’s degree is appealing for college admissions officials. It shows dedication and focus and usually means he/she has taken transferable courses (instead of an assortment of classes that may not fit in a degree program).</p>
<p>If he does transfer, he should look at schools based on where his GPA is and what his work situation is like. He will probably want a school that offers night or online classes, and one that may let him attend part time in order to balance school with work. They’re out there, just do some research!</p>
<p>Good luck! :)</p>
<p>Thanks brishe, he likely won’t have formal work hours during his undergrad, but it’s good advice to consider other schools too. If he doesn’t get in to SD he will attend Irvine. And he was going to take only 2 classes this Fall but now he has a full load. When I posted this he was very mopey and lethargic (hurt) but he’s coming around gradually. </p>
<p>Great advice about getting the degree at CC. Very sound for a lot of us here :)</p>