Rowan select or PG year

Parents Forum
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I have posted on Rowan forum to find out more about Rowan select and have not gotten an answer, will be contacting Rowan soon… Here is the link for Rowan select https://www.rowan.edu/home/undergraduate-admissions/applications/alternative-paths-admission/rowan-select/rowan-select-faqs

My question is whether I should send my kid to Rowan select or send her for another year of high school…
Kid is classified, has an IEP, has 117 IQ…but difficulty in reading critically,i.e. she can summarize, but has difficulty in understanding the underlying message, writing is not good…her GPA is around 3.1 unweighted and with 20 ACT…( I think the problem was not because she can’t learn, but that wasn’t taught appropriately)

She was accepted to Rowan select, the program seems to be helpful.(we are in-state)…but my concern is her to drop out, hence I am thinking to send her for a PG year and focus on reading and writing. (Assuming financial is not the issue between the two options)…I am wondering whether I am doing it right by keeping her for another year and when most of her friends are in college (she is open to either options)… Any suggestions or other options? Does anyone know more about the Rowan Select program? what is the success rate?

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i dont know anything about the Select program, but when we toured there they kept talking about some weird path of living on campus and attending the local community college campus (i think they said it was 8 miles away by shuttle).
it was kind of odd, but intriguing-i’ve never heard of such a thing. i got the impression it was a different program than Select.

it may be another route if your child is ready to move on.

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I am not personally familiar with the program, but sounds like a great transition program for a kid with learning challenges. What would be different about a PG year and where would she do it? Is the PG program designed to help her specifically with her specific LD? If there is a program that can teach her strategies for learning, that may be a good option. But just a PG year with extra classes in reading and writing may not be all that much help. Good luck!

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@kac425 you are right. The community college campus is a different program… I think it is called Rowan Choice http://www.rowan.edu/choice/

@mom2and The reason I initially thought about the PG program is due to its smaller class size which the kid needs. There are more interaction rather than a lecture style such as a college…I am concerned that she drops out if she were to attend the college…

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I am professor at another NJ regional U. I looked at the Rowan Select website. It is very likely that your child may test into developmental (non-credit) courses the first semester. If she tests into developmental reading and dev. math (worst case scenario), what credit-bearing classes, if any could she take the first semester? I would definitely ask that question. Also, ask about the placement test itself and what it covers and if she can prep for it.

Will she be at the dorm at Rowan? How far is Rowan from your house? The reason I ask is that students starting out in these types of programs are going to need extra support and there simply isn’t the manpower at any university to provide support at that level. Also, many non-credit (and many first-year) courses are taught by adjunct faculty who are not available for office hours.

What is nearest community college? Is it possible for her to take her remedial courses there first, and can you hire a tutor who can target instruction to her needs (will be pricey, but still better than wasted dollars if she drops out). You can PM me for more info, if you wish.

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@mathprof63 thanks very much for the comments…I am also concerned with the developmental courses…which will put her graduation time to at least 5 years, this will be on top of the extra year for PG…You brought up this dilemma…She will be staying in dorm, as we are two hours away… part of me wants her to be independent as I have been trying to provide her help throughout high school…another part will be as you said, she still needs the extra help…Given it is in a college setting, I am just concerned that I will have to find someone who “attends” classes along side of her to tutor her…We are in Union County, I look into UCC’s graduation rate and it is 10%…given she is already in high risk, I am not sure whether I want to take the chance…In addition, I suspect most of the county college professors are adjunct anyway… as far as hiring tutor to target instruction…My concern will be similar to getting someone to attends the classes with her… this is in addition to the difficulty of hiring the right person…

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BTW, my other option is FDU. it has a learning center…but I doubt the help is sufficient…

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I am not sure how feasible it would be to hire someone to attend classes with her. The college may not even permit that. Anyone in a classroom has to be registered for the class or be a support person through the disabilities services (sign language interpreter etc.)

Grad rates from community colleges don’t mean anything because many students transfer. The reason for suggesting a CC was to better enable to get her up to speed on the reading issues. But I understand your difficulty in finding right person for tutoring etc. UCC can be hit or miss.

FDU is pricey, and may not have the support you are looking for. Check to make sure. Does Montclair state offer anything similar?

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I would go with a PG year that targets her LD issues and makes Rowan Select un-necessary. it’s better for her to be in a more supportive/structured environment than Rowan Select, and a targeted PG year definitely would help more.
Now the issue is finding the right PG year.

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There are several colleges with specific programs to support students with learning disabilities. I was pleased to see such U’s as American U and Northeastern among them.
Have you discussed your current 2 options with her case manager or guidance counselor?
The benefit of a PG year could be a new list of applications and more comfort letting her go knowing the appropriate supports are in place.

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Perhaps take a look at Stockton University in New Jersey also…
I have a friend who has LD son and he attends special program at Stockton (I think its through their wellness center and called learning access program or something like that?) she says it is fantastic!! They have a special brand new DORM that they house students w needs and it has a 24 hour help desk so they can get any kind of help they need… lots of coordinated group activities for them to she raves about all of the extra help he is getting allowing him to thrive there… she said they are really trying to make this a specialty niche

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I don’t know if it’s commutable for your D, but Morris County College is known for its LD and general learning support. I know people from Essex Co. who sent kids there who weren’t ready for four-year college, and thrived at Morris.

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@mathprof63, thanks for bringing up the developmental course, I check with Rowan, thank God, she does not have to take the placement test. I didn’t mean to literally finding someone to take the class along side with her, but I saw the help she will need may need to come from someone who is familiar with the course. Incidentally, she attended Williams Paterson for a day and was told that the students could do take home test, she felt that she would have no problem, because I “can help her”. I told her, I won’t be repeating college with her.

I am concerned with CC as a number of the faculty are adjuncts, I am not sure how good they can help her with her reading. Hence, I am thinking of a PG year, as there is a guaranteed structured environment. But it is heart breaking to see her friends going to college and she stays behind.
She is not interested in Montclair.

@MYOS1634 you are right, the difficulty has always been finding the right school, the right tutor.

@bhmomma I am thinking the same, but it is hard for her to see her friends going to college and she is staying in high school. I am hoping to make the most out of the PG year, but she told me she will only be interested in Rowan and TCNJ, hence I am thinking if she were to go to Rowan even she enrolls in PG, why not get her started at Rowan?

@runswimyoga – I think the special program may not be considered as part of the regular college program. I think TCNJ has something similar.

@garland – I have not considered Morris, but I heard good things about Brookdale Community College, but technically we are out of county…

I called Rowan, it seems that they put 1/4 of the accepted students in Rowan Select…My initial concern is that she wants to go to Rowan even after a year in PG, hence I was concerned she will not get into Rowan Select, but given a large number of students are in Rowan Select, I hope she still has the chance a year later… I also think why not send her to Rowan now if she plans to go to Rowan a year from now? Is there any down side? a better college experience a year later?

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I think the pg year is likely to improve and solidify skills she’ll need for college. A pg year is an adventure if she goes to a different school and if it means not failing first semester in college. Would a boarding school pg year be within your means ?

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@MYOS1634 PG with boarding is manageable for 1 year as we do not pay most of the cost, but we will likely not put her for boarding… One problem I saw the private school is that they do not operate for 180 days, school begins in mid September with the last day of school before end of May, then there are many holidays…I check into a number of them and it seems to be normal…

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Yes, of course. Boarding schools are just like public schools with breaks and holidays.
Look into boarding schools that specialize in kids with LD 's.

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OP: Does Rowan release any data as to the success rates of just Rowan Select students? That is, what percent return for following year? What is the graduation rate for that cohort? What is the mid-50% score ranges of Rowan Select admits? etc.

Many not-too-selective universities run these types of programs so that they do not have to report those kids’ stats the same way as for regular admits, making SAT/ACT score distributions look better than they are. In Rowan’s case, the program covers an entire quartile.

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@mathprof63 great questions. I am going to ask them later.

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My son attends a boarding school that has a PG program. Just be wary though, most of the PGs are athletes who attend an extra year to strengthen their chances of being recruited for college.

There is no special curriculum for PGs at my son’s boarding school. The PGs just take upper level courses from the catalog. The upper level courses are not easy by any means, and would be similar to 100 and 200 level college courses. By the time students reach 11-12th grade, they are expected to be able to write at a high level of proficiency. PGs would be expected to have the same level of writing ability.

Focus on finding a boarding school that has a special program for kids with Learning Disabilities. Just be careful with going to a PG program that doesn’t have a learning center or resources for kids with disabilities.

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@mathprof63 I checked with Rowan admission, they claimed it is 100% success rate. I have a feeling that she just wanted to get me off the phone.
@sgopal2 i didn’t realize most students are athletes, I do not think it is the same for her boarding school. She will have daily 1:1 with a learning consultant.