Suggestions for ADHD girl with C grades determined to go to 4-year school in CA?

<p>Azusa Pacific is a very small school with a lot of hand holding- we have friends who have a daughter with special needs who is there and flourishing. It is a Christian based program which may or may not be something that appeals to you.</p>

<p>Along that line, I know kids at Pacific Lutheran, and Cal Baptist.</p>

<p>Marymount College in Palos Verdes now grants 4 year degrees. I would look carefully at its programs.</p>

<p>I would be wary of trying to send your daughter to school right now. It seems that she’s struggling in high school even with your support and in college, it will definitely be harder for her to make passing grades. I think you need to have a talk with your daughter about reconsidering her goals. Although she may have grand plans in mind, neither of you would like it if she had to drop out after the first year, despite the amount of hand-holding the college gave. Keep in mind that going to college California can be very expensive, and I would think that due to the budget shortfalls, even going to a CSU would be rather pricey and you guys would not qualify for financial aid there being OOS. Unless your daughter is going to make a resolution to change her work habits, I think she would probably risk the chance of dropping out in such an environment, and even so, I’m not sure how much she would be held back by her disability. I also have no idea why FIDM isn’t good enough for her. In fact, if she really wants to go into fashion, that school seems much better than most schools could be.</p>

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<p>If she has taken the CSU a-g courses and is a California resident, and has a 2.5 in those, then she is (barely) CSU eligible, according to this chart: [CSUMentor</a> - Plan for College - High School Students - Eligibility Index - California Residents](<a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>GPA Calculator | CSU)</p>

<p>This means that she should be able to get into an unimpacted CSU like Bakersfield, Channel Islands, Dominguez Hills, Monterey Bay, or Stanislaus, or unimpacted majors at some other CSU campuses, but probably not into a CSU campus and major that is impacted.</p>

<p>If she is not a California resident, then she would not meet the minimum requirements listed here: [CSUMentor</a> - Plan for College - High School Students - Eligibility Index - Nonresidents Residents](<a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU)</p>

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<p>But does she realize that she is not (currently) a high achieving A/B student? Also she may resent the idea of going to CSU Bakersfield or Dominguez Hills (or other unimpacted CSU, or similarly selective private school) when her friends are going to more well known and more selective schools.</p>

<p>Plenty of students with mediocre high school records “redeem themselves” at community college, transfer to four year schools (including Berkeley, Cal Poly SLO, etc.) and graduate with bachelor’s degrees. Some even go on to PhD programs. Yes, this includes those in engineering or CS.</p>

<p>Indeed, from your description of her, it seems that she is just barely staying afloat in high school with your support; going away on her own to a four year university might not produce good results.</p>

<p>Even straight A HS kids have to make huge adjustments to keep up with college work. Having C’s in college is unacceptable. What college graduate is going to do after, who is going to hire her with her C’s. So, the only way is to go to college and get much better GPA than mostly C’s. So, suggestion is while it is extremely hard to adjust even for valedictorians from private prep. HS’s, it is possible to adjust upwards for HS “C” student? Maybe, but highly unlikely. I would start with CC and see how this will go. If kid is up to it, she will get her 4 year degree eventually, if not, then maybe she will have a better chance at some future career after CC. I myself went to CC, got a job in my field and various employers have paid my education all thru MBA. Do not see anything wrong with it. But I was “A” student, not “C” student and graduated with BS Magna Cum Laude, while working full time. Do not think that there is some “easier” college to match a “C” student. There are none, all are very challenging even for the very top caliber kids who know how to sweat over their assignments.</p>

<p>She is young yet. Does she have the ability to get good/better grades if she chose to buckle down? If so, then I would get her to a summer program or even tour of the kind of school she thinks she wants and let THEM tell her what she will need to do (GPA, ECs, etc.).
If you really do not think she can make it at a bigger/harder school then I would not address it much now. Keep having her do as well as she can and then in junior year she might have the maturity to look at her grades, ADHD, and needs and realize that she has to set out for a different path.</p>

<p>By the way, we have one wtih ADHD who is super social. My husband made some clear rules for high school:

  1. No laptop in the room Sun-Thursday. It must be on the dining room table and no ichat, etc. after 7pm. Period. Also, no other ‘screens’ (tv) at all S-Th.
  2. Tutoring in Math and organizaiton was non negotiable. It started the 2nd week of school. The days would be increased if he was turning in work late or not at all.
  3. One physical activity of his choice: Fencing, football, golf…whatever he wanted. But he had to do something (to have an EC and to get some fresh air).
    Reasoning: High school is here. Time to see, with support and structure, what he is capable of. The benefit? he can game it up Friday night and Saturday, go to school events, have sleepovers, etc. Just do the above fully and with a good attitude and regular family chores and he gets a pretty good teen life with a cell phone and friends.
    It is working fairly well. At least as of now he rarely has late work and his GPA is hitting 2.5 which for him is GOOD.
    If you have not yet done so, I would FORCE an EC. Let her pick…but if she does non, maybe no computer time.
    Hope this helps.
    T</p>

<p>I think this particular student is already a senior and trying to figure out where to apply.
What about Parsons in New York? Glamorous setting and yet she’d be studying what she’s actually interested in.</p>

<p>Landmark, Mitchell, Curry–all are in the Northeast though.</p>

<p>I know the OP and her D. Yes, she is a senior and mom is struggling to figure out how to give D some direction, despite D’s resistance to the ideas that are probably best for her. Gap year or non-traditional post-secondary education seem like the obvious choices, but D is very resistant to these ideas and accuses parents of being non-supportive of her. D attends a very good private school and has lots of friends who will go on to good colleges. Not sure that D could make it by herself in NY–she probably needs to be closer to home in case things don’t work out academically, no matter what she ends up doing. D can be very self-sufficient and mature when she wants to be and is motivated to be. She is bright and very personable (with people other than mom). But, if she loses interest or is distracted by things other than schoolwork, things could get ugly.</p>

<p>And, btw, there’s no forcing D to do anything. Stubborn doesn’t even begin to describe what the OP is dealing with.</p>

<p>if you don’t mind Catholic, you might consider Marymount in RPV, which is primarily a two-year private college that also offers campus housing; Marymount just recently started offering a BA. Attending a Cal State for a student who admits that partying/socializing beats homework every time is probably not a good option.</p>

<p>[Tuition</a> and Fees at Marymount College Rancho Palos Verdes, California](<a href=“http://www.marymountpv.edu/tuition]Tuition”>http://www.marymountpv.edu/tuition)</p>

<p>What if they let her go ahead an apply to 3 schools of her choice and pay the application fees if she also will apply to 3 of their choice? Then, if she does not get into any of her 3 she might just be left with the option of doing one of the 3 mom picked or staying home and doing community college.
Stubborn kids are VERY tough to deal with. Strong willed kids with ADHD and unrealistic plans will drive you crazy. I feel for OP, but sounds like she is getting good plans of actions in place.
T</p>

<p>I would recommend Goucher in Maryland. They are SAT optional but they do like to see a student show interest in the school. If she decides she likes what she sees than request information, make a visit and ask for an interview.</p>

<p>The University of Arizona has been suggested by a number of people but the college counselors don’t think she can get in there, which is really discouraging because it sounds great even though it is out of state.</p>

<p>[MAST</a> - Mariner Academic Strategies and Techniques Program at Marymount College Rancho Palos Verdes, California](<a href=“http://www.marymountpv.edu/academics/learning-center/mast]MAST”>http://www.marymountpv.edu/academics/learning-center/mast)</p>

<p>You may want to look for programs like this at a college.</p>

<p>A stubborn ADHD kid with unrealistic plans who will blame everything on Mom and Dad (even if she knows in her heart it isn’t true) – that exactly describes my D. </p>

<p>I think all of you posting advice are right in suggesting that it may be best to try to give her some choice about her future but limit the choices until she starts proving herself… The number 1 thing MY therapist thinks I need to make sure of is that my D gets to leave home next year one way or another or she will destroy the family with her unhappiness about having to continue living at home after high school. Yet as much as my D wants to go out and be on her own, she doesn’t really know how to make it happen (by buckling down and studying or making plans that match her abilities). A real Catch-22 for all involved.</p>

<p>There is a great back door into UC Santa Barbara. CC students can live in a private dorm, participate in a lot of what is offered at UCSB and then smoothly transfer into UCSB. This is described in this CC thread:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/468098-backdoor-way-get-into-ucsb.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/468098-backdoor-way-get-into-ucsb.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The live-in CC options to transfer to UC or CalPolySLO are excellent choices for some students but maybe not for one that is going to need a strong guiding hand to get a good start. Tough situation. OP, you are doing a good job of thinking down the road and exploring options.</p>

<p>I do like the idea of a couple parent choices as a compromise…she picks a couple you all pick a couple. Hopefully she would have an acceptance or two or more at the end of the day then it’s hers to lose if you can afford the gamble. Back in 2007 I was helping someone with about the same stats and Colby-Sawyer and New England College were on that list. Carthage College is Kenosha, WI and Lake Forest outside Chicago might take a chance on a C student. Maybe Rollins in Winter Park, FL. Can’t remember did the GCs calculate her CSU eligibility? Westminster in Salt Lake City maybe?? How close to home do you ‘want’ her?</p>

<p>Do any of the smaller private LACs in Calif have Fashion majors? Anyone know? maybe some that are near the LA area? </p>

<p>Are you certain that she’s going to major in fashion or is that just a hobby/interest? </p>

<p>If she’s open to other majors, then many of the small Catholic or other private colleges might work…USF, Dominican, Redlands, Whittier, Azusa Pacific, etc.</p>