What a university options other than community college for C students? PA, NJ, MD / North East

DS is an 11th grader in basic, core-requirement classes. Best estimate for his GPA and ACT when time to start applying is a 3.0 and ACT of 20 / 21. His writing skills are the worst so that is also a challenge. He is most interested in technology but has his mind set on a University / College experience. We are well aware of alternative IT programs.

Any information on Temple University, West Chester University, Towson University - MD regarding this?

If he is interested in technology, have you looked at Penn College of Tech in Williamsport?

If you are a PA resident, Penn College is affiliated with Penn State and has lower tuition for PA residents.

Temple is becoming more competitive. I’m not sure if those stats would get a student in.

West Chester is also becoming more competitive.

Has your son been tested recently? My son is in his 4th year of college. His University required testing not older than 30 months prior to enrollment in order for him to have accommodations in college. You may want to look into testing now.

@dspflyer I’m pretty sure that none of the universities you mentioned are likely possibilities for your son. My daughter (90 GPA, 1160 SAT, 23 ACT) is applying to both Temple and West Chester. We and her guidance counselor are considering them match to low reach schools. The other PASSHE schools are less competitive. My daughter’s friend, with a GPA of 85, ACT of 20, and SAT of 1000, was recently accepted to East Stroudsburg. East Stroudsburg no longer requires SAT or ACT scores for most majors, though an ACT of 20/21 would be in the middle 50% for that school and most other PASSHE universities.

What is a 90 GPA ?

Longhaul - My son received approval for extended time for the Dec ACT. Not sure if that extended time approval is only for the Dec ACT test or if we have to re apply for each ACT he takes.

Longhaul - PA College of Tech is not of interest - mostly because it is rural and it’s a commuter environment.

@dspflyer Our school district, as with most districts in our area, gives only numerical grades (out of 100), with 90-100 in our school district considered an A, 80-89 a B, etc.; they do not convert each individual grade to the A-F scale and then convert that to the 4.0 scale. A 90 would be considered a low A (A minus) average. How that is “translated” or adjusted by colleges to the 4.0 scale (if done at all) would vary by individual colleges.

It did appear to me to be a numeric grade. I assume when you say Temple is a low reaching school for your daughter that means Temple is what we used to call a safety school ? Are you in PA ?

Yes, we live in PA. No, neither Temple nor West Chester are even close to being a safety school for my daughter. I meant low reach in terms of a school where, in my opinion and based on average grades and scores for recently admitted students, she has perhaps less than 50% but at least 25% chance of being admitted.

That has been our concern for while about Temple and even West Chester. They have become more selective in recent years. It reminds me of Pitt - now very difficult to gain admission. When I was accepted to Pitt almost 30 years ago it was not as hard. Also many more people are cost conscious and these schools fit that bill too.

@kidzncatz have you applied to West Chester and heard back? My D has very similar stats, so I am interested. PM me if you’d rather discuss offline. We applied about a week ago. Thanks!

Have you looked at Champlain College in Burlington VT?

  • Tech-oriented school
  • Nice small city, downtown area
  • He seems to have the stats for them.

@Portercat I just saw your post. Yes, my daughter was accepted to West Chester. She received her acceptance letter Nov. 5, about a month after she applied.