My son tried to transfer to a harder school and failed out.

Parents Forum
1

<p>I am at a total loss as to what to do.</p>

<p>My son is 19 and a smart kid. Just not school smart. I am an Engineer and so is my sons grandfather. My son wants to be an Engineer and has always been good at computers and cars.</p>

<p>Any how my son went to his safe school a 4 year North Carolina University.<br>
He went his entire freshman year and finished 2nd semester with honor role. He lived away from home and in a dorm. He did not like the party scene and missed his girlfriend.</p>

<p>He was convinced he could transfer to NC State, The school took forever to analyze his application and told him his grades were good enough but only 25 credits would transfer. He needed 30 to transfer in. He was mistakenly advised that he could take 6 credits as non-degree seeking student and he would be accepted 2nd semester this year.</p>

<p>He did not sign up for school at his previous University.
He took Engineering Calculus and Physics as as a non-degree seeking student.
He lived at home all semester and drove to school. All the way through finals he was convinced he would get a B in physics and a C in Calculus.</p>

<p>He ended up with a C- minus in Physics and a D in Calculus.</p>

<p>To my horror, I find out that he needed at least a 2.0 at the University to transfer in and his current GPA is only a 1.3. Plus his overall GPA has to be above a 2.5.</p>

<p>Anyhow his previous University said he must re-apply and would be treated as a transfer student. But they will not take students who are not in good standing from his previous school. They count NC State as his previous school even though he was never admitted as a degree seeking student.</p>

<p>Now he is stuck and has no where to go this spring. He could go back to NC state as a non-degree seeking student, but he will not be able to get the 1.3 above a 2.0 and get his overall GPA above a 2.5.</p>

<p>He would need an A and a B. Since he received a C and a D, that would be highly unlikely and he would only dig his hole deeper.</p>

<p>At this point his dreams of NC State are are totally out. </p>

<p>I believe he should go to community college for at least a semester.</p>

<p>At a minimum now, he only has slight possibility getting into Spring 2012. Registration ends Tuesday Jan 3. In all likelihood he is out of school this semester. That means Fall and Spring next year at community college. And in all likelihood not returning to a 4 year University until Fall 2013.</p>

<p>What a huge penalty for trying to upgrade schools pre-maturely. </p>

<p>Any suggestions or similiar experiences? I am afraid this will turn him off school altogether.</p>

2

<p>There are at least 2 things to consider here: 1. Why did he do badly at NC State? 2. Which college does he intend to attend after community college in Spring 2012?</p>

3

<p>What a cautionary tale. He’ll definitely need to get his GPA up and it looks like the community college route is the best way to do it. Agree with coolweather that he needs to figure out why he did so poorly at College No. 2. </p>

<p>Definitely take that Calculus class again. It may be easier the second time through.</p>

4

<p>Your son’s problem started when he tried to transfer to NCState. Why would they “reguire” 30 credits to transfer in? Never heard of this. Usually schools want to transfer as little as possible (with a max of 60 credits) so you’re worth more to them.</p>

<p>Then your son took only two courses and as a non-degree student. Why only two? Why non-degree status? Who advised him to do that? Unfortunately it also sounds as if the courses were quite difficult, and he was “surprised” by the end result. Why did he not know how he was doing? (And getting back to the ‘only two courses’ question, was the commute to school difficult? was he distracted by his GF? what he working as well as taking classes?) Seems to me you should set up a meeting with an advisor at both schools speak to find out what they suggest. </p>

<p>What does your son think he should do? He’s the one making these decisions and moves. It is not likely that your son went from an honor student to a student with a 1.3 gpa without some explanation.</p>

5

<p>

</p>

<p>You may be thinking of private schools looking for more tuition dollars from students who have to take extra semesters due to limitations on transfer credit. Public schools typically have the opposite incentive – they don’t want to take a junior level transfer with less than 60 credits or a sophomore level transfer with less than 30 credits because such a transfer student will likely graduate late, consuming an extra semester of in-state tuition subsidy.</p>

6

<p>In our state, as well, the big publics prefer more hours, not less, for transfers.</p>

<p>Is your local community college open this week? If so, have him find out if he starts the process of applying, seeking transcripts, etc, if he can enroll.</p>

<p>Also, he should be able to start in the summer, not have to wait until the Fall…</p>

<p>I agree that your son needs to meet with someone at NC State to see what the next step is. </p>

<p>NC Community Collegees have an automatic articulation process, <a href=“http://www.northcarolina.edu/aa/articulation/CAA_Brochure_Final_03.2006-1.pdf[/url]”>http://www.northcarolina.edu/aa/articulation/CAA_Brochure_Final_03.2006-1.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
which while, not guaranteeing admission to the university of your choice, guarantees admission to at least some 4 year schools.</p>

7

<p>If he retakes both the Calc and Physics class, will they drop the two low grades so only the two higher grades would be on his transcript and count towards his GPA? If so, I would recommend that he retake those courses at NC State to replace the two courses that he did not do well in. If not, and he chooses to go the route of CC, make sure that the courses he takes will transfer.</p>

8

<p>Hi Joe,</p>

<p>Welcome to CC and the parents forum.</p>

<p>Me me it sounds like you/your son did not do their due diligence before taking on this endeavor. From what you wrote, it looks like son did not go through any formal process to leave school one (either requesting a leave of absence or a permit to take courses at another school). </p>

<p>By your son not returning to school the first school, he withdrew his enrollment from the school. If he had taken a leave of absence or requested a permit to attend classes at NC state, if things had not worked out, he could have returned to school # 1 (with just the loss of credits as neither grade is transferable). </p>

<p>I agree with Vlines, that he needs to talk to NC state to see if they have a grade replacement policy so that he can retake these 2 courses. He needs to do this because no matter where he ends up, he will have to submit transcripts from all schools that he attended, and he should not want the C- and the D to remain on his record. </p>

<p>Once he does that, he would be in a better position to either attempt a transfer to NC state or apply to return to first school for fall 2012. If possible perhaps he can balance out the retake with 2 “easy” classes (even it it is health, gym, art, etc.) that will help him raise his overall GPA.</p>

<p>I think you need to also take a good hard look at what was going on while he was home this past term. Freshman year he had a full course load. Even though he did not like the party scene and missed his GF, he made the honor roll. </p>

<p>Year 2 he is back home, going part time, with the GF and perhaps even a party scene and messed up. So, what did we learn from this; son does not have the maturity/discipline to live at home, hang with friends and take care of his business.</p>

<p>If he is going go back to school at home, then you need to have the “Come to Jesus talk” and let him know what your expectations are if you are going to continue paying for college (which will not be a repeat of the fall term). </p>

<p>If he is only going to attend school part time and take 2 classes, then he also needs to get a job to repay the money that he “wasted” by not taking care of his business (if he does not want to put the work into going to school, he can do so on his dime). Your son also looks like he has too much time on his hands, then he will have to balance the school and the job as his priority leaving less time for the GF and the social life.</p>

9

<p>Maybe its time to look at something other than the family tradition of studying engineering. You say Son is

and

.</p>

<p>There are plenty of honest careers working in those fields that do not require an engineering degree.</p>

10

<p>I would be more concerned about the grades while taking ONLY two courses. I would suggest that this student attend a community college, get stellar grades for at least a full year, and THEN try to transfer to a four year university. You might want to talk to the community colleges…many have articulation agreements with four year schools whereby IF the student does well at the cc, they will be accepted to the four year school with courses transferring as well.</p>

<p>If financial aid is a consideration, however, you will need to determine if your son has met Satisfactory Academic Progress (sap), if he hasn’t he might not be eligible for aid.</p>

11

<p>I think stradmom has a good point. There are a number of schools at which people can obtain excellent training in auto-related technical areas, leading to good jobs and satisfying careers. There was an engine/mechanics-enthusiast kid in my S’s class whose goal was to have a motor sports-related career, for example.</p>

12

<p>Maybe he spent too much time with his GF while he was living at home?</p>

13

<p>How about UNC-Charlotte? Charlotte has a motorsports engineering program - [UNC</a> Charlotte Motorsports Engineering | UNC Charlotte Motorsports Engineering | UNC Charlotte](<a href=“http://motorsports.uncc.edu/]UNC”>http://motorsports.uncc.edu/)</p>

14

<p>Oh, so sorry, OP. Perhaps he can find out what classes he can take at a local CC that would transfer and then reapply.</p>

15

<p>Thank you for all of the replies. They are all excellent. I need to digest them. His freshman school was ECU. East Carolina.
Some answers.
Non-degree seeking students are limitted to 8 credits.<br>
Since my son is not enrolled in either school, he has no advisor.</p>

<p>If there is one lesson than I have learned is that parents have to get involved and do the due diligence for themselves. This really is a case where you need to look before you leap.</p>

<p>In hind site, a mediocre student stepping into Engineering Calculus at a State University is a disaster.
This probably is a case where I had an unrealistic set of expectations for my son. But, he could have applied himself more.</p>

<p>Math is like building a brick building. If the foundation is not straight and solid, the harder it gets as the building goes up.</p>

16

<p>

</p>

<p>He ShOULD be able to speak to someone at the college(s) regarding his situation. He will have to ferret out who that might be. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Please don’t take this as a criticism…it’s not meant to be one. Did he take these courses because HE wanted to or because YOU wanted him too? My suggestion is that he look to see what courses he actually enjoyed and did well in…and go from there. Many schools have core course requirements so that students WILL be forced to try areas of study that might pique their interest. </p>

<p>If your son REALLY wants to be an engineer, he probably can make it happen. But it will take a lot of work and commitment on his part to do so. If he really doesn’t want to do this, there are plenty of other very worthwhile fields of study he could pursue with his interests.</p>

17

<p>Just because he is not a full time student does not mean that he can not access the advisors or find someone in the counselling/advising office to obtain information from related to the school policies. If he does want to continue engineering, he is going to have to retake thouse courses at some point. If NC State will replace the low grades when a course is repeated, then retaking those couses, with close oversight and possibly tutoring, may be the most beneficial in the long run.
If he was on the honor roll at ECU, he is “smart enough” to do what ever he wants to (no insult intended what-so-ever, just not a better phrase I could come up with). If he was struggling at ECU, and then struggling at a college considered less rigorous, then it may be concerning.</p>

18

<p>I would suggest a careful assessment of what courses he was taking when he got on the honor role; were there engineering specific classes in the mix or was he getting his feet wet taking gen ed reqs that were easier classes? Was he putting in his best effort when he got the 1.3 - you don’t seem to think so, but was he working at 90% or 50%? If he could have done more (as most kids could always do a little bit more if they gave up sleep or had no social lives at all - be realistic about when enough is enough) how much more effort could he realistically do? Would that have been enough to get the kind of grades he needs to progress in an engineering major?</p>

<p>Perhaps a more applied engineering program (which he may have been in at school #1) would be doable while a more theoretical approach is not a good fit?</p>

<p>I would caution that going to community college may give him good grades but not a realistic picture of what engineering classes at the 4 year school will require before he can graduate with a bachelor’s degree. I hope you can find someone at the university your son wants to attend who will sit down with him and help him make good, realistic decisions regarding his options. It is in everyone’s best interest that his next decision be well and thoroughly informed - he’s had enough DIY advising, time to get onto a solid path forward that will lead to a solid education and career preparation without running up unnecessary debts.</p>

19

<p>Joe, was your S in the engineering program at ECU? I have a S (not engineering major) who is a senior at ECU. On the sch. website it shows engineering calculus as a course to be taken during the freshman year. Did your S take calc. freshman yr. at ECU?<br>
My other S is an NCSU grad. I know that his roommate made a D in Calc. II freshman year and retook it to get a grade replacement.</p>

20

<p>

</p>

<p>My husband is a career design and power engineer. He eventually found success at a community college and subsequently completed his courses there and then successfully transferred to and graduated from a four year school in engineering. Like the OPs son, he had a “less than successful” first two years in college. He frequently says that had it not been for the community college, he would NOT be in the career he is in. I will say, he says he had outstanding professors at the CC he attended, and felt very well prepared for his final years at the four year school.</p>