<p>If you are not an individual who works at a college or university, and is not 100% sure that your answers you have given me are accurate, please don’t answer my threads.
Thank you.</p>
<p>If you dont want posters opinions, don’t start a thread. Dial back the attitude a bit. Maybe your dad is onto something after all…</p>
<p>cheshire cat,
I do think you are getting some bad advice here. Unfortunately, the level of CC is very high and sometimes forgets the average student. You have done an amazing thing…something hopefully you can convince your parents of: as a high schooler you had the motivation to go to college and earn 21 units. Many kids go to college with no idea of what they want and you have already shown great motivation for a 17year old. Tell you dad and mom you have already proven that you can handle college work. You will not get the “college experience” by going to Community College. Sit down with you parent and clearly and maturely speak w/ them about what you have done, what your goals are and flat out express that you understand their concerns, but you really are ready. In the end, they are paying the bills so they get the ultimate vote, but it is time to sit with them and have a real heart to heart with maturity.
Also, have you already applied to the colleges? That is the first step. Apply, and at least see if you are getting in. I have no idea if you can still apply for fall to these colleges, if not apply for Spring, and DO IT TODAY. All the talking in the world to your parents, means nothing if you don’t have an acceptance.
Good luck and let us know what happens</p>
<p>If you don’t mind saying, what grades did you earn in your college classes? Or if you know it, what is your current college GPA?</p>
<p>It’s understandable that you screwed yourself in high school, lots of people do that. But did you really get your stuff together later on? That’s why I ask about your college classes. If you’re making C’s or low B’s consistently, then I’d have to say that you probably should be questioning how much discipline you have. If you want to go to university, you should be making A’s and B’s (but not really that many B’s) without much effort. Of course, you were in high school and there were other factors… well, it’s only been a year later and you’ve taken classes in the summer. Did you get A’s in those? If not, you should really rethink your plans and how much you want to succeed in convincing your parents to fund your university education.</p>
<p>Also, everyone knows you’re about 17 or 18. The people here, generally speaking, are much older than you are. Personally, I think they deserve more respect, especially since they’re just trying to help you. Lashing back like that paints a pretty clear picture of what your parents likely see and doesn’t give others very good basis to have much confidence in your maturity and ability to handle reality, because the reality is that if your parents fund university education and you’re not adequately prepared, you’re going to be wasting their money and you’ll be very disappointed. At the moment, neither your academics nor your attitude really show that you’re ready for it.</p>
<p>Cheshire Cat, Based on your behavior in this thread and the other one, you have made a strong case that your parents are, in fact, being generous by continuing to make it possible for you to go to community college. </p>
<p>I hope you are wise enough to embrace the opportunity you do have and make the most of it.</p>
<p>I think one of the hardest things for students - and parents - to get a grip on is the relative significance, good or bad, of a given gpa/test score. If all of your friends think that a B is a wonderful grade, for an 18 year old that can become their highest aspiration - they think only the Ivy bound get A’s. On the other hand, if everyone you know is stressing about how to raise their SAT score from the “low” 700’s you lose sight of the fact that there are students who graduate from state schools with gpa’s in the 2.5 - 3.0 range.</p>
<p>OP - have you taken the ACT? If so, were your scores in the “college ready” range? If so, this could be convincing evidence for your father that you are ready. If not, it might be better for you to strengthen your skills at community college through the associates degree - which might allow for the maximum amount of transfer credit.</p>
<p>I’m also curious, the cc credits that won’t transfer - why don’t they transfer? Was this simply a poor course selection, or were some of those classes below college level?</p>
<p>OP: What are your actual plans for FALL 2010? Will you work full time? Go to the community college full time? Some of each?</p>
<p>The question on whether you can or should be planning on a Spring 2011 transfer is not completely unrelated to what you plan on doing between now and January 2011.</p>
<p>To bchan: I had to take a comp prerequisite and a math prerequisite that were not college level courses, so they won’t transfer. I have 15 transferable now, but I’m taking a summer session class now, so by next month I’ll have 18 transferable credits. </p>
<p>To robin: For the fall, I am taking classes at the community college and hopefully working part time.</p>
<p>hadsed:
In response to your question, here’s my post from one of her many other threads <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/966889-parents-dont-want-me-college.html:[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/966889-parents-dont-want-me-college.html:</a></p>
<p>Here is some of the confusion: <a href=“2.7 gpa? - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums”>2.7 gpa? - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/...365-post3.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/...365-post3.html</a>
Its a little hard to follow what your GPA is and what is on your transcript, but essentially it appears that your grades are currently still below a B. I agree with everyone who says that getting your grades solidly in the “B” zone should be a priority.</p>
<p>And as for this <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/...611-post3.html[/url][quote]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/parents-forum/...611-post3.html
that is evident</p>
<p>If you want your parents to have faith in you, first you must earn it. Get the GPA up, the attitude adjusted, and demonstrate achievement. Then, they may invest in your college education.</p>
<p>I read on another thread that your SAT scores are in the 1200’s (all three sections). You apparently feel you did well compared to those in the same small pond of your high school; if this is so congratulations, BUT in the bigger picture you simply don’t realize what you’re up against. </p>
<p>I live in a large city where many, many students begin community college classes in their teens beginning their sophomore year. These are not necessarily stellar students - many are considered “at risk” and are being given free college access to help them get a degree. My own children have college credits beginning junior year of high school because they attend the local cc duirng the summers. They have 4.0 cc gpa’s - they are not stellar students at their competitive school but above average. The universities that you’re contemplating taking on debt for will have many students from more competitive environments than what you describe.</p>
<p>I’m not saying this to depress or discourage you, merely to give you a perspective that I feel you lack. You seem to write on these threads you’ve started simply waiting to hear what you want to hear - a dangerously narrow view since you may be incurring significant student loan debt when you transfer to the university. Channel your anger into getting better grades where you are before you transfer; your continued posts have made your parents position very easy to understand.</p>
<p>I realize you are currently angry at everyone who gives you this advice and maybe that can work for you - prove to the world you’re as solidly prepared as you think you are and finish out your community college career with consistent semester grades in the 3.5 -4.0 range.</p>
<p>No matter where I go, I’ll never be able to get between a 3.5 and 4.0.</p>
<p>It is OK if you don’t get over 3.5. Right now, you have a 2.4. If you can get into the low 3’s, that would be really good. But to move to the next level of college, you have to show success at CC and that means getting over a 3.0.</p>
<p>In other words, if you can’t make a B average at CC, you are not ready for regular college because you might not be able to get C’s there. It is sort of like in high school…to get put into Honors or AP courses, usually you have to have Bs in regular track classes. You can’t move up to harder tracks without having some success at the lower track.</p>
<p>By the way, another reason you need a stronger academic record and OVER TIME (not just a semester), is because you do have very low test scores and so you need to have a strong academic record to get you into college. And you need this over two years of CC. If you were to apply this fall, they may want to see your high school transcript (which is not too great) and your test scores (which are very low). So, what you need is two strong years of academics at CC to apply to college and have a chance of getting in, let alone succeeding once you get there.</p>
<p>CC would also be a good transition for you in other respects. You can get remedial help and you can grow and mature and get on your adult feet, as you have had some challenges the last few years.</p>
<p>Cheshire Cat - just because you don’t have a 3.5 now doesn’t mean you can’t aspire to that level over time. A semester is not enough. Your test scores make me think that you have gaps in your fundamental skills; if you stay in community college where you have smaller class size and take advantage of all tutoring, office hours etc. I think you might be surprised by how much higher your semester gpa will be two years from now. </p>
<p>Right now you are focusing your ambition on getting away from home as much as on your education, be patient and take advantage of all the steps between where you are and where you want to be. Your ultimate goal is to graduate from a university, not just attend one.</p>
<p>At large state universities the average graduation rate is often in the 50th to 60th percentile. That means almost half of the people that go there don’t graduate. Why? Poor preparation and becoming academically and/or financially overwhelmed explains much of this failure. Keep your dreams alive by doing the hard work of preparing for long term success, not just lamenting that you haven’t got everything you want right away. </p>
<p>Students do overcome low expectations and educational disadvantages, but it isn’t an overnight process and it isn’t easy. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>You shouldn’t make any C’s at a community college. If you are, that means you aren’t ready for university. Make it your number one priority to avoid that at all costs. Your test scores say you’re at college level, so you must be reasonably intelligent, enough to at least do well in a university. I think what you’re lacking is proper study skills, time management skills, or something else academic related. You should reevaluate your skills in these areas and be honest with yourself. If you’re just going to dismiss this because you think you are doing well enough, well you’re only hurting yourself. Seriously, take a look at your habits and see what you can do to make them better. If you put in some effort, you’ll see your grades go up I promise you that.</p>
<p>Look, tons of people come to community colleges from all walks of life and actually have problems much worse than you’ll likely ever have. You are a lucky person in this world to be able to get an education. Don’t screw yourself over, go to community college and build a strong foundation. Once you get to university, you’ll find that it’s easy to blow it out of the water with the right skills and the right mindset to discipline yourself. That, I should say with a bit of caution, is part of growing up and maturing. You ought to realize that it’s no good to half-ass something as important as going to a four year college which will cost a lot of money. Most people who fail at it don’t go back, or they stay out for a very long time and it gets difficult for them to get back into it. You can do this, but you need to be reasonable and not overestimate your current abilities. That has nothing to do with your potential, but again you must be realistic.</p>
<p>Also, I know a lot of people here would be unhappy with me bashing on someone’s major like this, but I think you gotta think about reality here. I recall you mentioning in another thread in another forum that you want to be a social worker… as soon as I read this, it became very clear to me. Your father is doing you a favor by advising you to get an associates degree in something useful. Being a social worker, if you’ve done any meaningful research, is a tough life and is probably not what you expect. It’s difficult to repay huge debts with a social worker’s salary, and it gets tough to find a decent job. The responsible thing to do, if you really truly want to do social work anyway, is to get an associates degree in radiology or dental or something that will pay in case you can’t find your ‘dream’ job. It’s good to have a fallback plan, especially when you go into risky fields that don’t guarantee much return.</p>
<p>If it irritates you so much, forget about what your parents are saying. Look at what I just wrote and look at what other people have been telling you. Make a judgement on whether it is reasonable or not. Be realistic and face reality, failing to do so will cause more headaches for you in the long-run. Don’t do this to yourself. Sit down, take a deep breath, and figure your life out like a responsible adult.</p>
<p>EDIT: I don’t really know why we have two threads for the same thing but whatever I guess…</p>
<p>Learning about your test scores, I have to change my opinion on your abilities. Your education has clearly suffered from your problems or lack of motivation or whatever it was. Point is, you’ve got a big problem. You need to take some remedial classes to get solid foundations, that’s the only way you can take harder classes. If you don’t know algebra, there’s no way you can do calculus. If you go to university now, it will rip you to shreds. Your SAT scores are below average, and your grades are suffering because you aren’t ready. Don’t go to university, you are not ready and you cannot do it. That’s not to say that you’ll never be able to do it, but just don’t do it now. You’ll get very disappointed when you find out that you’re not adequately prepared and you’ll have to go back to your parents and seek help again. Not only is that embarrassing, but it doesn’t show a whole lot of maturity. Besides that, you’ll waste a ton of money. Don’t screw up your life to pursue some unrealistic ambitions. Fix the holes in your education and then go on to bigger things, that’s the only way.</p>
<p>Cheshire Cat - I read over previous posts and noticed that you “wanted to graduate from high school early”. Now you want to be away at university - but your latest posts indicate that you do realize some of your academic weaknesses; all of this makes me think that going to the university is some sort of escape from your surroundings. Not necessarily for academic purposes alone.</p>
<p>You may have other things than academics to sort out - but to the academic issues alone, test scores do give a snapshot of how you compare to other students in a broad spectrum of basic skills. If your critical reading and math skills combined were in the 1020-1060 range that would be an indication of academic readiness for the university, but since they don’t appear to be in that range, the smaller environment of the community college would be a much less expensive and perhaps more accessible arena in which to work out your educational gaps.</p>
<p>Your writing on previous posts makes me think math may be more of a problem for you. If that’s the case, really concentrate on getting the help you need day by day in those classes; you don’t need calculus to be a social worker but you do need a good understanding of statistics in the social sciences. You probably don’t need any more math classes after your associates degree, but you will need to be able to use those applied math skills.</p>
<p>If social work will make you happy then by all means follow your heart (as suggested before, I would test this out by shadowing a social worker) but do not incur a large amount of debt to realize this dream. Social work may be rewarding but it is not well paid, you may not need a lot of money to make you happy but you do need an adequate standard of living and large student loans will make that impossible on a social workers salary.</p>
<p>If you are in fact a “lopsided” student whose main weakness is mathematical (doing quite a bit of guessing here) then at the very least stay in the community college system until you’ve finished all the required math classes for your major - and make sure you take the correct math classes to transfer to the university program.</p>
<p>In most of the colleges in my state, if you have fewer than 24 credits, you need to send in your high school transcript and SAT scores.
I understand and know that I did not do well in high school, but I also have my college transcript to show for, and I’m going to write an essay on my struggles in high school, and what I’ve accomplished by going to community college.
I did not do well in high school, but I am showing improvement in community college.
I do have trouble with math. I always have, and always will. </p>
<p>And I know a guy in one of my colleges classes that is transferring to a state school in the fall with a 2.7 GPA. When I transfer, I’ll have a 2.8 or 2.9 GPA.</p>
<p>There are different kinds of transcripts (thus student) behind a 2.8 GPA. One can not simply say “My friend had a 2.8 and got in” – because the number doesn’t tell the whole picture.</p>
<p>Student #1 - Junior transfer with lots of credits, has taken challenging courses. Has a few semesters of terrible grades (Ds and Fs) followed by a sharp trend upward of 4.0. This student has a 2.8 and yet clearly shows by the sharp upward trend, sustained over several semesters, that they are not only university ready but clearly able to excel. The 2.8 is just the first few floundering semesters pulling the average down. </p>
<p>Student #2 - A student who always gets Bs - with a C here or there and a A here or there. This student also has a 2.8 GPA, but shows a very reliable <em>consistency</em> that has been maintained for two full years. The student has found his or her groove, and is working steadily toward a degree and won’t be easily shaken off course.</p>
<p>Student #3 - A student with a wild range of grades, with Ds and Fs that had to be retaken. Many classes that are pre-college or non-transferable. Student has taken too few classes to establish what the 2.8 is really going to mean long term. Hasn’t established or <em>maintained</em> the upward trend yet (too few credits). </p>
<p>I am not saying you will or will not get into your 4-year transfer college. I am saying that to compare your 2.8 to someone else’s 2.8 is problematic. Squeaking up to a 2.8 is a good first step. Taking more college level classes (vs non-trans or pre-coll) and maintaining or continuing to improve the 2.8 is key.</p>
<p>Maybe the college/s will take you as a transfer right away. If not, realize that your 2.8 is different than other kids’ 2.8.</p>
<p>Just listen to you heart.Examine yourself,and whatever dream framework you have for yourself.If anyone will live out you dreams,it is you,not your ma or pa,so in as much as you value them,value yourself just as much by honoring your decisions.They could still be right though,so you need to put in as much time as you can while thinking about it.Realize this too,your parents love you a lot,but may be,they do not realize that you are capable of loving and taking care of yourself as well(this is unconscious on their part though).Be yourself,and when you make the decision,be brave and never look back.Hope this helps('cause I’ve been in similar situations myself.)</p>