<p>Does GT really have that low of 4 yr grad rate?</p>
<p>Glad to hear most of posters' children are doing well!</p>
<p>My sophomore daughter still loves her school but is going through, I think, the 'sophomore slump' I recall seeing spoken of previously on CC. Grades not as good as freshman year this semester (though classes did include orgo and micro, neither of which she loved). She is living off campus in an apartment with a friend which she much prefers to the dorm life. Broke up with her truly dreadful bad tempered control freak) b/f of 2 years Spring semester and had some issues with him at the start of the semester but seems to have finally got him out of her hair. Has some good friends that she seems to have fun with. She is happier in may ways yet, at the same time is recently exhausted and a little depressed, though does not know why. Had her have a full check up with the family Doc Thursday to see if there are physical reasons and Friday they called 3 times after reviewing her bloodwork wanting her to call them back to "discuss" it, but we had gone out of town so did not get the call. So we are fretting as it is unusual for them to have called back so often :( and now the office is closed till Monday.</p>
<p>Best wishes and prayers for your D, swimcatsmom! How distressing. Please do keep your CC friends :) updated.</p>
<p>Thank you - I almost hope it is something physical, though, of course, minor and easy to fix. I am thinking maybe she is anemic but that is a complete guess.</p>
<p>Sophomore son at Stanford is doing great; last year, he "had" to take humanities and writing classes (which he did not particularly enjoy) along with his math, science, and computer science classes, but this year he's very happy to have taken 20 units fall quarter of nothing but math, physics, and programming, and he will do the same next quarter, with the exception of one required writing class he still has to take. Despite B's in a couple of those not-so-enjoyable freshman humanities courses, he's still carrying a 3.9 and seems to still have time for some fun with friends (though not really any EC's at this point, unlike high school). However, he's certainly happy to have this vacation time to relax and play on his wii at home.</p>
<p>My daughter is a pre junior at University of Cincinnati at the school of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning. Other than working VERY hard and putting in long hours, she is doing very well and has great grades. Overall, I would say her GPA is just shy of 3.7.</p>
<p>UC has a five year program because coops are required every other quarter starting in the third year ( pre-junior). She loved her coop and they loved her since they offered her a full time job in Hollywood. In January she starts her second coop and is looking foward to it. Overall, she felt that she made the correct decision going to Cincinnati.</p>
<p>Even better, we were able to switch this year from non resident status to that of being an in-state resident (lowering the tuition by 50%),which made this dad very happy.</p>
<p>Our S a Sophomore at JHU just got home today. He is doing well this year, completed 19 credits his semester, so far has 3 B's and 1 C. As an engineering major he survived Orgo Chemistry, Statics, Diff Equations and 2 other eng classes this semester. My hat is off to him in being able to manage it all.
Socially, he is still as happy as he was freshman year. He likes the suite style of dorm life this year, since he got to chose his roommates. He still has maintained the life of study hard and party hard, and he has kept this in balance.
Academically, we tell him to do his best and we will support him. I have offically become the sounding board this year. S calls to vent, to share good and bad news and sometimes calls just to say hi. He has really matured these past 3 semesters.
We are thrilled to have him home for Christmas. He is thrilled to be home, to sleeping in, home cooked meals and mom doing his laundry.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I almost hope it is something physical, though, of course, minor and easy to fix
[/quote]
Familiar sentiment--I had a psych. professor who did lots of work with schizophrenics, and she said that it was hard not to "wish" for some underlying medical issue because the prognosis for sz is so often so grim. (Of course, you/your D's circumstances are completely different--what you said just reminded me of that.)</p>
<p>Taxguy,
Such a coincidence, my S and daughter-in-law graduated from DAAP. Both had jobs right away, since it is co-op and living in NYC currently. D-in-law has a great well paying job, S works from home for his own company. Further, my D currently is in combined bs/md program with University of Cinci College of Medicine and most likely will go there after UG. Congrats to your D on getting to very selective DAAP and the best wishes for her future! I know that kids in DAAP are very talented and interesting bunch.</p>
<p>question_quest asked about the Georgia Tech graduation rate.</p>
<p>Yes, the GT graduation rates really are that low. The Georgia Tech fact book shows a 31% graduation rate in 4 years, 70% in 5 years, and 78% in 6 years. </p>
<p>Of course, many students participate in the co-op program, in which they alternate semesters of taking classes and working full time, which necessarily delays graduation. But the failure rate (D or F) in many required freshman and sophomore level classes also pushes back graduation for many as they must repeat classes, sometimes more than once.</p>
<p>Ah, that's not too bad at all when compared to most other schools, and GT is notoriously tough as well!</p>
<p>I was at Georgia Tech for 7 years, but that included grad school as well as undergrad. The thing I learned there was that grades are not top priority. The distractions of Atlanta got to me, but also shaped me in a way that the "North Avenue Trade School" did not.</p>
<p>My son is a senior now and his choice of school was absolutely perfect for him. But the best thing that happened could have happened at many other schools as well: He fell into a group of very talented, very creative, very smart, very driven friends and - together - they were able to do some fantastic things.</p>
<p>Sometimes on this forum, we downplay larger universities, but a friend once told me something that turned out to be very true: that what makes the experience is the group of people that you surround yourself with, and that the size of the school makes no difference in this regard.</p>
<p>I'm in my 3rd year at the University of Maryland, College Park and really thriving. I just got back from a semester abroad in Spain, and I'm ready to get started with my last 3 semesters at Maryland. My GPA has gone up every semester, and I think it's possible that I'll eventually hit that 4.0. </p>
<p>I've had a wonderful past two years working with New Student Orientation (I was an Orientation Advisor and then Student Coordinator), and the experiences have helped me grow into a confident, capable student and (I think) young man in general. </p>
<p>I am loving my major (I switched from Engineering to English after a semester), and I think it's incredible that the English department at Maryland isn't better recognized--I have had some AMAZING professors during my time here.</p>
<p>I have loved my experience in the Honors Program at Maryland. It's been great--most of the students in the program could have gone anywhere with their talents, and it's great to see what they do at Maryland with all of its opportunities. I've taken classes about anything from novels, to Internet media, to disability and the criminal justice system, and this semester I'm taking "Images of Masculinity in 20th Century American Film and Literature" -- should be fun. </p>
<p>Going to a big school like Maryland has really given me the guts to try things I'd never done (like Argentine Tango) and put myself out there. There are so many opportunities here that I can't possibly list all the amazing things I've gotten to experience. </p>
<p>I remember when I was a high school senior applying to my schools. I had my heart set on California--Stanford, to be specific. I haven't looked back at my decision (which was relatively easy for me and my family when it came down to it...full-ride at Maryland vs. paying near full freight at Stanford). I probably would have loved Stanford (or Santa Clara), and I probably still would have learned a lot and grown a lot. But I can only speak for what I do know, and I know that I am very thankful for what Maryland has done for me and given to me.</p>
<p>My lesson from all of this: hit the ground running, and never stop. I came into Maryland knowing that at a big school, I'd have to reach out and take what's there, that as I school I hadn't wanted to attend, I would have to make my experience every day. And so I've tried to do that, and it's worked out pretty well.</p>
<p>I'm going to go against the grain a bit here, in a hypothetical way. I'm a junior, and so far (with a few bumps here and there), I've really enjoyed my school. I've made some very good friends, joined an awesome sorority, got involved in a lot of activities, gotten a lot of teaching experience, had good classes, etc.</p>
<p>HOWEVER...</p>
<p>Three of the five reasons I picked this school ended up being poor, and knowing what I know about myself now (in terms of my major and career goals, etc.), I probably would have picked a different school. In hindsight, I probably should have paid more attention to smaller schools when I was applying to colleges (I went to an extremely large HS, so I was wary of LACs) and looked at even cheaper schools (though my COA after merit aid is still below $10,000, so perhaps I shouldn't complain), including a few state schools (is and oos ) where my COA would be about half what it is now. In hindsight, I would have probably taken a closer look at the language offerings as well, as one of my "gotta haves" when I was looking at colleges was a Japanese department, something that this school might as well not have.</p>
<p>However, that's all in 20/20 hindsight, and I can say that my experiences here have obviously changed and shaped me, and that, so far, I don't regret going here. I've been exposed to research and people that have guided me in unexpected directions that I've truly enjoyed, grown from, and in some cases loved. Additionally, one nice--and rare--thing about my school is that we are allowed to take 25 credits per semester with no additional charges, which allowed me to switch my major after freshman year and still have a double major and minor, hopefully in four years.</p>
<p>I am very pleased that things are working out well for you.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Senior daughter loves Dartmouth (has since day one) and is already bemoaning graduation! It has been a perfect fit/ amazing experience for her. She's loved her profs, has had incredible internships, played club lacrosse, chaired a fundraiser, been abroad, joined a sorority, led a freshman DOC trip, to name a few experiences. Point is, she has taken advantage of the broad range of opportunities offered and has found the college very supportive. She feels a powerful allegiance to the school and to her fellow students. Hard to imagine her not being there next year..</p>
<p>Soph S, 20, who, although he always loved school, was so disorganized and lazy that he didn't get around to applying to college his senior year in h.s., and almost didn't graduate from h.s. due to grade problems, took a gap year with Americorps after h.s., then went to a LAC of his choice.</p>
<p>He has blossomed there. The self knowledge, maturity, and appreciation for college that he got during his gap year combined with his being in a LAC that's perfect for him has helped him do well in college. He has thoroughly enjoyed the academic offerings, and has a B+ A-average (amazing for someone who carried about a 2.6 unweighted at h.s. graduation). </p>
<p>He is active, including as a leader, in several clubs, including a couple that involve activities he hadn't tried before. He has wonderful friends. Even though he's a slow, perfectionistic writer, he also is so interested in a subject that he decided to minor in that he has signed up to take a course that will require him to write an 80-100 page paper next semester.</p>
<p>He got a role in an upcoming theater production. As a result of college, he also has dropped his couch potato ways and is very active in some activities involving physical fitness. </p>
<p>And partially as a result of sharing an on campus apartment with roomies who like to cook, he has learned how to bake delicious cookies from scratch. I had the pleasure of enjoying his new skill when he made several different kinds for a party we held over the weekend. </p>
<p>He is having the kind of dream college experience that I wish that I'd had, and he is a poster child for how bright students who have underperformed can flourish at LACs, including those that aren't first tier. While his college, Rollins, isn't in "Colleges that Change Lives," it certainly has helped change his life for the better.</p>
<p>LOL! I realize that my S's cumulative of 3.3 or so that my family is so proud of is probably the lowest cum listed here. Only on CC! If I hadn't taught college and seen what grades look like in the real world, and if older S hadn't flunked out of college, I'd fear younger S was a failure. </p>
<p>Pat on the back to all of our kids for whatever successes they've attained. Warmest holiday wishes to all.</p>
<p>"I realize that my S's cumulative of 3.3 or so that my family is so proud of is probably the lowest cum listed here."</p>
<p>Go over to the college life forum. There's a thread there with the topic of 'F'.</p>
<p>Ditto.
Check out the College Life Forum--there's plenty of posts from students with far less than 3.3's.</p>