Thoughts about College Admissions for High School class of 2023

Applying to College
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Hi. I have a son who is a sophomore in high school. Like everyone else, his schooling has been greatly affected by covid. In his case (not unique at all, I know), negatively in terms of performance, grades, and learning.

I was just reflecting a bit. Freshman year grades…ended up not great…that spring quarter when we went abruptly online was really, really hard for him. Luckily has school had a stopgap for grades but they weren’t great.

Sophomore year (now): His schooling is usually hybrid and sometimes remote. It’s way better than last spring but still…hybrid and remote are hard on the non-self motivated kids. So grades so far this year…again, not great, and at times, bad. I guess that hybrid will continue until at least spring so there isn’t a lot of hope for improvement here.

As someone with two older kids in college I know that EA applications are due in fall of senior year, which means this kid in class of 2023 at EA app time will have one “normal” year of high school on his transcript, junior year, and (in our experience) it’s the hardest year. Sigh.

I’m sure college admissions will take covid into account, but…it will almost amount to HALF of his transcript at application time. Maybe standardized tests will help his case, but obviously those are based on the subject learning, so if he’s just kind of…‘making it through’ with hybrid…I can’t imagine the test scores will be proportionally better. He is a bright kid; the issue is ‘academic maturity’ as one of his teachers called it…organization, study skills, time management, diligence…the things that when you are remote or hybrid, if you are weak in these things, it will take a big toll.

Does anyone have any encouraging thoughts for me? And FYI we are NOT thinking about top tier schools here or super selective admissions for him at all. Just hoping that he will be able to get into a 4 year college somewhere (our state flagship is very selective from our area, won’t be an option for him). My other two kids got mostly As and some B’s, so I don’t know what the landscape is for someone who is lower than that (his grades are so up and down, I can’t really say where he will end up…but it WON’T be with mostly As and some Bs).

Thank you! I certainly don’t mean to sound like I think his challenges are unique and can’t be overcome, and I understand that so many kids have such worse covid challenges. Just reflecting on the timing, and not sure that 1.5 years of bad grades can really be explained by just the general covid schooling situation, with no unique significant hardship from it. After all, there are many students out there who are keeping their grades up. I guess I am just realizing that this year’s high school sophomores and juniors will end up having the longest covid-time on their transcripts, when you are only looking at grades that will be reported on college applications.

Thanks for any encouragement!

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First and foremost, is he happy? (and I don’t mean about his grades, just life in general). I think mental + emotional health are really important (even more so than grades!), and remember, no one is expected to be operating at 100% during a pandemic.

About grades: I’ve read that if there’s anything colleges like to see, it’s an “upward” trend in grades. He has the rest of this year, junior year, and first semester of senior year to bring them up! There’s still time (around four semesters?) to bring up his GPA.

Another thing about grades: To be blunt, you write as if he cannot improve them during this hybrid learning situation. I don’t think that’s the case though! He’s not a lost cause, and there’s no time like the present to learn some organizational + study skills. Besides, even WHEN (not if!) he goes off to a four-year university, he’ll still have to learn these skills.

You also don’t mention anything about any of his extracurriculars or passions. Is he interested in anything outside of school? Even if it’s just video games, do you think he’d be interested in taking an online coding class? I know several that are free and even certify you afterwards. If he’s interested in something, now is the perfect time to start pursuing it! ECs are also an important factor in college admissions, and this is just food for a thought.

I know that you expect him to go to university, but there are also other options out there. In my area, most of the high schools offer dual-enrollment to juniors and seniors (High-school students can take their classes at a local community college. These credits count as AP in their GPA but don’t involve an AP exam, and are completely transferable to any state school, not just flagship. They bring up your GPA significantly, and I’ve heard classes aren’t tough). I’ve also heard of students using this system to even graduate high school with an Associate’s degree, but take it as you will.

Anyways, I realize this whole spiel probably reads like a ramble, but I hope it was remotely reassuring? I hope his mental health doing well, and best of luck with his grades. Not to be too cheesy, but everything ALWAYS works out, and this will too!

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There are thousands of schools in the US. If he wants to go to college, there will be a college for him.

Are there community supports you can tap into for the rest of the year? Zoom tutors?

I agree about not assuming the whole year is lost. He can figure this out and get organized now.

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Thank you @matchaaa for the thoughtful message. You are right that mental health is foremost now. He is doing OK with that, and the fact that his sports have been continuing has been a huge blessing for him (at times we have been like, why are we still letting him go to practice when he has Fs? But we realize that that physical activity and social connection is very important). The struggles between me and my son over schoolwork and performance are not pleasant, but we are working through them, and things are improving.

You and @momofboiler1 are right that I really am looking at it as a bit of a lost cause. We have tried a lot since spring and even before to try to address the problem, with incremental successes that often fade away. But yes, growth mindset! Have faith that he can meet these challenges although not overnight like I seem to expect sometimes! The school is being very helpful and he is getting extra support. I think deep down I do truly believe that he will find his way. I worry, though, that come application time he might have expectations (based on his older siblings) that will not be met, and he will regret that he didn’t work harder. That’s the crux of it for me, worrying about his disappointment in his choices and in himself, although we will support him and encourage him with whatever options are open. I’m not a “it must be a high ranked college or it’s a failure” type of person. I do fear him being disappointed and regretful down the road. But I do think I needed to hear a “it will all work out” message, and that there is a place for him where he fits. Thanks!

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Where he goes to school will not define him or his ability to succeed later in life.

That’s hard to remember on a board like this ; )

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Your son’s situation sounds like my daughter’s, but she is a Jr. Her grades have nosedived with online schooling and (more importantly) her mental wellness has suffered. I’m not sure how this is going to play out.

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Same for my rising senior. I am hoping that high schools let colleges know what the covid plan was for this past school year. In our district, school was a shortened schedule all year but regular curriculum was covered. We were full remote until mid January, and then just two days a week. A difficult way to learn (and teach) for sure.