<p>Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1 Suspended from college </p>
<hr>
<p>My son (age 19) graduated HS with 3.4 GPA & headed for university with stars in his eyes! School always came easy for him. Studying? Rare! After 1st semester, probation for only passing 1 of 5 classes, then 2nd semester he was suspended for 2 terms after only passing 1 of 4 classes. He hated his chosen major and had decided to change majors for upcoming fall semester.</p>
<p>Now he wants to go to CC and get his gen ed credits and an AS degree then transfer back to university. Good idea I'm thinking. So he applies for CC admission and because he is on suspension at university he has to appear before an appeals board for a hearing to see if they will accept him. </p>
<p>What does that entail? What should he be prepared to say? Does he just say "I was stupid and didn't study but I am going to correct that because I know I can"?? </p>
<p>He lives at home, doesn't drink or smoke, but he is a game-head!</p>
<p>Are you paying for all of this? If so, you might need to negotiate with your son how often he’s going to play video games. Also, does he have a part-time job? If so, he may need to get one.</p>
<p>I posted the below on your other thread…</p>
<p>Well, I’d have a little sit-down with my son. It’s one thing not to realize before the first test that you need to study in college, it’s quite another to score badly on test after test and then continue the bad habits into the second semester and not learn from it.</p>
<p>Where has he demonstrated any evidence that he will now study?</p>
<p>He has a part-time job right now which covers his expenses with exception of gas and insurance which I agreed to pay for as long as he is living at home.</p>
<p>I’d just caution that a very old professor I chatted with back when DS#1 was going through his freshman orientation told me that they tended to lose one or two kids a year who just plain bombed out. It was always either drinking or video games. Always. I believe the video games can become an addiction, just like alcohol or gambling. You might want to broach this subject with him (apart from the decision re: college).</p>
<p>We have had several talks concerning the video games. He has just started hanging around with a friend who is 25 and just got out of the military. This friend has a 3.4 GPA after this semester and I think will be a good influence on him because he has told him that “games will always be there” after homework. I’m hoping he listens to him. Kids seem to listen to other people more than parents anyway. </p>
<p>Does anyone know what the CC appeals board will ask him? I figure things like
what were you thinking…2) have you made the decision to make changes</p>
<p>Sounds like a low risk time to help the kid be real with the appeal board: he should tell them exactly what happened and why, and tell them why he wants to be admitted to the CC.</p>
<p>Reality is bracing for everyone, and if the truth of the matter is that he isn’t really sure about going to CC or that he doesn’t have a personally-generated well-enough articulated reason to go, then chances are he’s not ready.</p>
<p>You could coach his answers, and maybe he gets in due to the coaching . . .</p>
<p>The board is going to ask him how his year at the CC will be any different than at his prior university. They’re going to want to hear specific goals and self-limitations that he has put in place.</p>
<p>More to the point, he needs to commit to you the same things that he’s going to commit to the appeals board…</p>
<p>1) I will take my classes more seriously. I made the continued mistake of letting non-academic activities take priority over my studies.</p>
<p>2) I will delay my non-academic activities until AFTER all my studying/homework is completed. I will not procrastinate.</p>
<p>3) I will dedicate at least 2 hours a day to homework/studying.</p>
<p>4) I am changing my major to XXXXX because that is more interesting to me. </p>
<p>and…whatever else you think fits the situation.</p>
<p>However, I’m not suggesting that you are to become the taskmaster. The goals and self-limitations will still be his responsibility. But, promising them to you is also important if you are paying for any of his education.</p>
<p>I would also set a reasonable minimum GPA that he must maintain otherwise the checkbook closes.</p>
<p>I would also make sure he sets up his schedule in a reasonable fashion. It can be overwhelming if he tries to schedule too much on a few days or if he takes 8am classes when he’s not a natural morning person. </p>
<p>It can also help to schedule some breaks during the school day because those breaks become built-in homework/study times.</p>
<p>Not enough. That would add up to 14 hours a week. If your son is planning a full schedule, he should be allocating at least two hours out of class for every hour in class, so at least 30 hours of studying per week. If he is not prepared to do that, he shouldn’t be wasting his time taking classes that he will fail.</p>
<p>That is sort of the things I figured and we will be having several talks over the next few days before the hearing to be sure he is comfortable with his answers. He has always been very mannerly and respectful so he doesn’t have a problem with “yes sir” “yes ma’am” etc.<br>
I will go over these things with him during the week and on our 1.5 hour drive to the hearing.
Thanks!</p>
<p>*3) I will dedicate at least 2 hours a day to homework/studying.</p>
<p>Not enough. That would add up to 14 hours a week. If your son is planning a full schedule, he should be allocating at least two hours out of class for every hour in class, so at least 30 hours of studying per week. If he is not prepared to do that, he shouldn’t be wasting his time taking classes that he will fail. *</p>
<p>I put “at least” because I know from my own sons there are days that they don’t put in more than 2 hours of homework/studying. Certainly there will be days that will require more hours, however, most kids do not “level load” their studying to an even amount everyday. I have yet to meet a college student that spends hours and hours studying on a Friday.</p>
<p>I don’t think promising to study 4+ hours every day is a reasonable promise/expectation.</p>
<p>BTW…assuming he takes a full 15-17 credit load next semester, advise him to mix easier with harder courses. He may be overwhelming himself by taking too many hard classes at once.</p>
<p>What is his new major? Does he have any AP credits?</p>
<p>I disagree. If this student is taking a FULL time course load, he will need to AVERAGE this amount of study per day or he likely won’t be able to complete all assignments and readings…and papers assigned.</p>
<p>Perhaps this student should start off taking a less than full time load if the ability to study is not going to be a reality.</p>
<p>Can he just register for courses without matriculating at the community college? I think that most community colleges will allow students to just sign up and take courses, as long as they have met prereqs or pass their placement tests like AccuPlacer. If he does well, then he might be able to declare a major without a hearing as he has a good track record at the CC.</p>
<p>“Not enough. That would add up to 14 hours a week. If your son is planning a full schedule, he should be allocating at least two hours out of class for every hour in class, so at least 30 hours of studying per week. If he is not prepared to do that, he shouldn’t be wasting his time taking classes that he will fail.”</p>
<p>That’s what’s always said, but it really seems that for the majority of classes that’s more than necessary. Maybe the most time consuming classes but not the average class. And then for a naturally bright student at a community college, no way.</p>
<p>I’d like to say, I’ve met a lot of kids who’ve transferred from community colleges (upwards of 15 or 20 or so, literally), more than a few went to a university right out of high school and failed out. One of the reasons community colleges exist is for people like this. So long as there’s any indication at all that he wants to do well, there’s not going to be a problem.</p>
<p>And, if he wasn’t in the AP/honors track in high school then his classes weren’t probably very difficult.</p>
<p>Also, in high school, teachers often remind, remind, remind when upcoming tests are coming or when homework is due. Profs don’t do that. They say it once and that’s it.</p>
<p>The community colleges in my area teach math starting at the elementary school level. Yes, you can take grades 1-6 math in community college. They go up through calculus 3 and teach a few other esoteric math courses. I do not know the background of your son but he was accepted to a four-year university so I assume that he has at least covered high-school math to Algebra 2 or Precalculus. It doesn’t sound like he should have much trouble getting in.</p>
<p>^Out of curiosity, does it teach things like simple arithmetic? I think the one at the community college here assumes an ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers in it’s lowest level math class.</p>
<p>“This is a course for students who have difficulty with basic mathematics or who need a good review in basic arithmetic computation skills. The course begins with the arithmetic of whole numbers and then goes into fractions, decimals, percent, word problems, unit conversions, and finally introductory algebra.”</p>
<p>I recall seeing a student studying at a community college. He had a calculator in his hand as if it was an appendage. He asked me to show him how to add two simple fractions because he didn’t know how to do it on his calculator. I think that he was in a precalc course. I assume that he passed the MCAS (Massachusetts’ high-stakes testing required for a high-school diploma and reportedly one of the toughest exit exams in the country) but I really wondered as to how he did it.</p>
<p>He can just tell the truth, yes. I’m sure they have heard this many times before. Many times community and local colleges require students to take courses as a non matriculated student before “accepting” them formally. That way they can see if the student has truly reformed. Unfortunately, kids do tend to go on a streak of academic self destruction once they start, and many are truly not ready to go back to school immediately.
Community college is not a walk in the park. For many reasons, it can be more difficult than a private college.</p>
<p>He was in Honors classes in HS including precal, english & science. </p>
<p>His advisor at university told him to go ahead into calculus because his major was computer science. He completely bombed that and spring semester he dropped back to precal, but the bombed that. </p>
<p>He will be taking 9-12 hours if accepted. He has changed his major to computer information systems. </p>
<p>He has the ability to succeed he just needs to apply himself to his work.</p>
<p>A lot of College Confidential posters have a contemptuous attitude toward community colleges, but they might want to investigate what is actually happening at their local community colleges. I have a degree from an Ivy, so most people would say I’m naturally bright. I have taken a couple of handfuls of academic classes at my local community college, in areas that I’m generally good at, math and languages. I found that I had to put in at least two hours of homework at home for every hour in class.</p>
<p>Anyone can take a community college class, but not everyone can pass a community college class. The OP’s son’s community college no doubt offers remedial courses, but it doesn’t matter how easy they’d be for him-- he won’t be taking them. He’ll be taking normal lower division courses, and if he doesn’t study, he won’t pass them.</p>