All but the handful of uber-students at each college will get a gut check during their undergraduate experience. The ones that know that they can survive (through personal experience) really do have an advantage.
I agree @momocarly I get a bit worked up too when people dismiss schools without thought. In my book, if there are good professors/teachers in the classes/depts you’re going to take, so many colleges can meet your needs. I’m very glad to have gone through this period of discovery thanks to my S. I feel so much more free
@mstomper I think the key is to find the school that is right for you! And that is not always an easy task. Some kids need the pressure to keep moving, others, feel it is oppressive. It sure helps the information that we gleen on CC even though sometimes it is not directly related to our own experience!
DS has applied to flagships and directional schools. We are waiting for October SAT exam results to be sent to some, while we sent existing scores to schools where his score met or exceeded minimum standards. As we start hearing, I will definitely keep posting to this thread. I hope it will be helpful to other B/C students. .
My D09 was a very indifferent HS student. Her UW GPA was 2.8 and she didn’t have a weighted GPA because she outright refused to take any honors or AP classes. She was in gifted and talented until 6th grade when a horrible teacher broke her spirit, which I didn’t learn until years later. She had a 1260 SAT achieved without opening any of the books I bought her or doing the work assigned at the expensive prep course I signed her up for. She wound up at SUNY Plattsburgh (a school mentioned upthread), where she thrived. She did so well she was invited to join the honors program her second semester and ultimately graduated magna cum laude. Her private cello lessons, for which she earned B+'s, brought her GPA down below summa level. She received scholarships while at school and became an RA, which brought the cost down even more. People told me to send her to CC. We had actually compromised and she was going to attend a CUNY school and dorm there (15 minutes from home) but she received a large scholarship based on her community volunteer work which allowed us to send her upstate.
Another Fairfax Co VA resident here with a 3.4 GPA kid but a decent test score. It is kind of shocking and depressing how difficult it is to get into so many of VA public schools. My kid is only interested in William & Mary, JMU and VCU. I’d be shocked if he got into W&M, JMU is almost a reach and VCU is so big-but he could probably get in. He said no to Mary Washington and Christopher Newport, which seem like a better size and I think he’d have a good chance of getting in. I haven’t heard anything good about Radford or Longwood and they’re also in the sticks, which he doesn’t want. Maybe he should apply to ODU as a safety??
Also looking for small-medium urban or suburban private schools in Mid-Atlantic/Northeast that he could get into. They are all so expensive though. I don’t see any point in looking at large OOS publics.
^ what’s your budget and what major (or general academic area/field) is your child thinking of?
What’s the exact SAT/act (above average as in 23 or 27?..)
We are not in Fairfax, we are in ROVA (Rest of Virginia). There are dozens of college reps that come to our school in the fall, and the students were told that if you don’t have at least a 3.5 GPA, don’t even bother going to the presentations for JMU and CNU. ODU is an easy school to get into, many kids with a 2.5 can go there.
@MYOS1634 Er, budget, not entirely clear. Won’t get need-based aid. ACT is 30. Based on scattergrams for his school, he’s on the cusp with JMU and better for CNU.
A barely B student is a different animal than a barely C student. I agree that there are many, many attractive options for the former, fewer for the latter, especially with no or low test scores. I understand what the OP is saying about the unmotivated CC student. Agree with that. Often hard to become independently motivated in that environment, depending upon peers, quality of the CC, engagement of the faculty, etc. A student who struggled in h.s. may struggle just as much or more in a CC.
However, I am still amazed at how much ignorance there is among overall-educated parents, about the college process. What were they thinking? They approach me now, when the student has just started senior year, clueless that senior year grades cannot be included in apps due Nov. 30 because those classes are not yet complete. Hello. Their time frame for understanding seems to be 30 years ago.
Their argument is, ‘But he’s [finally] performing better.’ My point exactly. Apply next year, when his senior grades can be included, and he has truly become a 3.0 student. But they don’t want that, either.
Just thought I would post a quick update. DS is 8/8 in college acceptances! He took the SAT in October and improved his score slightly. So his stats are 2.9 GPA, 1040 RSAT.
Acceptances
University of Mississippi
University of Southern MIssissippi
University of Alabama
University of South Alabama
Eastern Kentucky University
East Carolina University
Kent State
SCAD
Still waiting to hear from University of Kentucky and LSU. Both are reach schools. Hope everyone else is getting good news!
^THat’s awesome, congratulations!!! Did he get into the Honors college at Southern Miss or Eastern Kentucky? (Depending on course rigor, he might have a shot, especially if he writes to explain his motivation).
@bjkmom So sorry that she didn’t get into her favorite school. That’s such a heartbreaking moment and I’m sorry she is going through that. I hope she gets a few more acceptances soon so she can bounce back fast. Meanwhile, it may be time for a Ben & Jerry’s run
