My son went from a 3.75 gpa in junior year to a 3.5 first quarter senior year. If he does way better second quarter (like a 3.75 or a 3.88), will that 3.5 hurt him very much in the college admissions process?
Did his overall gpa go down to 3.5, or is it just 3.5 for one quarter? 2 very different questions. If it is 3.5 for just one quarter, it shouldn’t effect overall gpa much
3.5 for just one quarter. Thank you for the help!
Where is he aspiring to go to college? This might not matter one bit.
What is his SAT or ACT score.
First semester senior year is a very very busy time. They often have the toughest classes they have ever taken, and they are perhaps in a leadership position in their club/activities, plus they are visiting colleges and getting their applications/essays together.
Is this the case for him? What classes did he take last year vs. this year?
Is he in marching band? Other time consuming activities?
And most HSs don’t report quarter grades, only semester or final grades.
That is minimal, he should be fine.
He is going to a tutor, he has had some terrible anxiety issues (we needed to bring him to a psychiatrist), age had way more responsibilities this year, and our superintendent just implemented a completely different grading system that didn’t give him enough time to adjust.
Thumper’s question is key-the answer will depend on the colleges that he is targeting.
If he’s got that much anxiety, may I gently suggest taking the pressure off of him?? He’s going to go to some college even if he messes up his entire senior year. Would you rather have a healthy happy child or a college that you can brag about on your car bumper?
Take off the pressure, mom and dad.
Think about allowing him to slow down, take time after high school, apply later to college. College is always out there waiting for him. There’s an entire track of college for older students. Schools like UPenn, Columbia, Yale, Reed, the womens colleges, all have special paths reserved for older students.
Give him and yourself a break. Let your helicopter land safely. Allow him to relax for a change. Until he gets of anxiety medications . . . for goodness sake. That should be a wake up. Health is more important than his grades at this point.
You will not regret allowing him to slow down and relax. Really, you won’t.
Add some safeties to the list and relax.
Has he had anxiety before this year? Is it specifically about senior year and colleges? Or pre-existing?
I have seen kids really develop some anxiety and/or depression in senior year. Some of it is related to the coming transition. School nurses will tell you the “seniors are a mess.”
I have seen kids virtually incapacitated, who went on to college the next year and thrived.
I have seen kids take a gap year to get a handle on it, go to college and thrive.
I have seen kids change their path, work for awhile, go back to school at 22, or 24, or whatever, and thrive.
Basic message is the “thrive.” I would focus on the anxiety, convey the message that life is longer then he thinks and there are more options for both timing and type of education, and it is likely everything will work out fine.
Also, and this is a little bit ahead, but if he has anxiety he can register with the office for disabilities and get accommodations, single room if needed, extensions on projects, reduced course load, excused absences etc. And you would want to pay for tuition refund insurance (everyone should).
No, it won’t unless he’s shooting for tippy top schools. Even top (but not tippy top) schools will be fine with this (I’m thinking of schools like UMich.
9 and #11 are worth re-reading.
Hopefully his psych visits will help him get back on track in his life, give him the coping skills he needs. It does not matter which colleges he applies to, once he goes there will be many adjustments. Good that you are having him get the help now so he will be able to make future transitions.
At first your son reminded me of mine- his senior grades lowered his gpa because he didn’t always do the work (he needed to move on to college). He will be applying based on his schooling through his junior year. Semester grades will be asked for, hopefully he will be able to do his usual work the rest of it. There is a reason for quarterly grades- to let students (and parents) know how they are doing while there is still time to improve. Sometimes the final semester grade will include a final exam along with the two quarters.
I would not alter his college applications or worry about disability needs at this point. This is something you may want to discuss with your son’s psych professionals. It could be that problems get resolved soon. Post # 11 has a lot to consider.
My DD has anxiety …It is vital that you get it under control in HS…College is a giant bowl of anxiety.
My DD has anxiety…she had always been more “clingy” but we didn’t really know until HS when she was doing things out side of her comfort zone. I could see instances where she just couldn’t join the choir when they were singing in front ofthe entire school or go to a football game and meet someone…she had to stay in the car until she could see them and then she could go. She got to a tipping point and then saw a psychiatrist and was put on meds. The next year she was voluntarily singing by herself over the intercom to the entire school.
One thing we did when choosing schools is to take anxiety into account…
When looking for a school, she limited herself to schools within two hours of home. She ended up an hour a way which is perfect…far enough to feel freedom, but near enough that we could help out or she could come home if necessary.
We also looked at the orientation program…the one she picked had a Welcome Week where you did activities with people on your floor, had a Community Advisor so you had a peer mentor if you need it, had a service that delivered prescriptions to the campus.
Great post from bopper. I think, again, the dual message is to take care of it now as much as possible, but also that the young person can thrive within a year.