What to do with a "smart slacker"?

College Search & Selection
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<p>My son, who will be a HS senior this year, is a "smart slacker." He gets really high test scores, aces tests in his AP and honors, classes but never does the homework. He can get away with this in his math and science classes, where his test scores keep him at the B/C level (he gets As easily when he actually tries), but he failed the last three semesters of his English classes because the grades are 100% based on homework. </p>

<p>He's taking "credit recovery" for the three failed classes, but he can't do a grade replacement, so the Fs will stay on his transcript. I'm worried he has killed his chances for college.</p>

<p>He needs to go to a decent college to make something of that brilliant mind of his, but with those three Fs (and a semester D in AP physics, which brought up to a C+ at the end of the year).</p>

<p>He has been active in sports, the arts and theater, so those can go on an app to help his cause.</p>

<p>He transferred schools when we moved last year. At his old school he had a 3.4 GPA (freshman/sophomore), at his new school he has a (weighted) GPA of 3.15 (junior).</p>

<p>If he goes to a community college I'm afraid he would get bored with the lower-level those classes are taught at and quit school forever. But even with high exam scores, what can he do to help him get into a decent college? </p>

<p>He wants to be a lawyer or engineer, and he has the talents for either, but high school has been so easy he has never bothered to put any effort into it.</p>

<p>The schools he's most interested in are U Colorado, Boulder, most U California or Cal State university, or <em>maybe</em> U Oregon or Oregon State.</p>

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<p>What are his test scores?</p>

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<p>He hasn’t taken the SAT or ACT yet. We live in a freakishly rural area, they don’t offer testing until the beginning of his senior year. The first exams will be available on October 10. </p>

<p>He took the PSAT last year, without study, he got CR 57 (80th percentile), Math 61 (83rd percentile) and WS 52 (68th percentile). He didn’t think the test was worth much, so he put little effort into it.</p>

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<p>A low GPA is the kiss of death at all the UCs and quite possibly many of the CSUs. </p>

<p>His test scores are on the low side, even if he didn’t put full effort into them. If he doesn’t get them up, he may want to look into some of the test-optional schools.</p>

<p>[Optional</a> List | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional]Optional”>ACT/SAT Optional List for Fall 2025 - Fairtest)</p>

<p>I would also recommend looking into the CTCL colleges and the “A+ options for B students.”</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/[/url]”>http://www.ctcl.org/&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/a-plus[/url]”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/a-plus&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>To be perfectly honest, I think he seriously needs to reevaluate his goals and willingness to work towards them. College is a wake-up call for many slackers – brains only take you so far, and it’s important to start forming good study skills in high school. A high GPA is essential for admission to a reputable law school.</p>

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<p>I don’t think he has the GPA for any of the UCs, except Riverside or Santa Cruz.</p>

<p>I’ve heard about lots of intelligent people who say they felt like they’re getting a good education in community college. I don’t think it’s as easy as it looks. Also, it will probably be his best chance for getting into those colleges.</p>

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<p>I attended three community colleges (I started school in my 30s and my HS GPA was only 1.8 so CC was my only choice), and found them to be ridiculously easy and very condescending. The classes are designed for students who need remedial work to work up to college level coursework. My son could have handled college level coursework (I was at the U of Colorado and he sometimes accompanied me to class sometimes) at age 14. </p>

<p>CC coursework is not at university level, no way. Sending him there would be educational suicide, he would quit out of boredom and frustration.</p>

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<p>I think the UC’s would be hard for him to get into, but CSU’s might be a good option. I’m pretty sure he would also be able to get into Oregon and Oregon State too. Good luck.</p>

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<p>His PSAT scores are not “really high test scores.” And to be honest, AP scores don’t hold that much weight for admissions, rather they are considered once admitted for credit or placement. You have a dilemma, and he is the key to solving it. Until he takes his classes seriously, or actually takes the SAT or ACT, it is really hard to advise.</p>

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<p>LadyArwyn, Your son’s grades and test scores are unfortunately low. You may need to reevaluate your goals for him, particularly for a field like engineering. “Slackers” (your term) would have a very difficult time with such a demanding major.</p>

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<p>Your son is not a “smart slacker.” Smart slackers might do B work when they could apply themselves and get As, but slackers aren’t “smart” when they get Fs.</p>

<p>Your son appears to feel high school course work is beneath him, and you are convinced community college coursework is beneath him, and I suspect four year schools will find his work habits beneath them, so I don’t see a viable college option for your son. On the other hand, if he and you are willing to reconsider your positions, and your son is willing to apply himself to boring work for a couple of years, he might be able to transfer into a decent university. All work, whether in school or employment, has boring and frustrating elements. It is an important life skill to learn to work through boredom and frustration, something decent universities will expect him to have mastered before they consider him for admission.</p>

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<p>I was a smart slacker, and then I went to community college and hardened up. I had a 3.3/3.48 in high school and now have a 3.47 in college which might not sound like a lot but you only need a 3.0 or higher to go to most UCs and a 3.5 will get you into most majors at UCLA.</p>

<p>Yeah, F’s aren’t really “smart slacker”-ish. I would have had A’s and B’s in high school but I skipped the homework and got B’s and C’s. Community college classes often have mandatory homework to weed out slackers.</p>

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<p>Another factor, he’s only 16 going into his senior year. He’ll turn 17 just before starting college. Would they take his age into consideration?</p>

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<p>Not if he has a high-school diploma. California community colleges are great, they often steal quality professors from the UCs and CSUs by offering higher salaries (often 6 figures)</p>

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<p>Colleges don’t care about age, just maturity, ability to handle the coursework, and willingness to work hard.</p>

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<p>I think you need a 3.3 UC GPA to apply to a UC out of state. I also think only AP’s (not honors) are weighted out of state.</p>

<p>My son has similar grades ( mostly B’s, no D’s, or Fs, but no weighted classes) and PSAT’s, in state, as a rising junior. I like to think his “smart”, but he’s not brilliant. Just not the academic type and I don’t expect that to change a lot. Gets sports md journalism cudos. Thinks engineering is a good “back-up” plan… LOL…I am HOPING he can get into a “good enough” CSU’s, definitely a good idea in state, but do they make sense to you financially? My son’s got an upward trend, and another two years to go, but I have pretty much given up on UC’s. University of Colorado sounds good to us too ( my son loves snowboarding; yours?), but this might be a reach.</p>

<p>Have you checked out the " 3.0- 3.3" thread?</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/707436-new-3-0-3-3-gpa-parents-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/707436-new-3-0-3-3-gpa-parents-thread.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I agree that being 16 is not a positive point here; they would consider him immature and not ready to hand the responsibility of college.</p>

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<p>The reality of most jobs in law or engineering is that they are full of boring busy work, which your son does not sound like he would be willing to do.</p>

<p>Also, not all community college work is remedial. Most community colleges will let you skip the remedial courses through placement tests.</p>

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<p>He’s not interested in CU for snowboarding (or partying, sports, etc, he’s a math/science geek) but because we, as a family, lived on campus (student family housing) there until last year, when I graduated. He’s very comfortable on the campus, has been to many of the classes with me and likes the offerings there. </p>

<p>The kid breathes calculus and physics like it’s air and thinks they are “fun, lightweight classes” - the way I thought water polo class was fun.</p>

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<p>Ooops! My bad! When you said “active in sports and theater”, it seemed like a good fit… It might not help to put it on the application if he’s not interested, but some schools WILL look at the “big picture”.</p>

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<p>But he got a D for a semester in AP physics. If he really wanted options, he really needed to have thought about a D in AP Physics and 3 F’s in English for 3 consecutive semesters.</p>