Teenager waiting on College Acceptance Letter It is agonizing!!!!!

My daughter is 17. She is bright. She is so very smart. SHe scored a 27 on the AcT test. However, she is a senior in high school and has a 2.42 grade point average (GPA) on a 4 pt scale.

That is issue #1. Her GPA. Why is it a 2.42? She will not do her homework. Period. The kid gets A's on her tests without even trying. Then doesnt turn in ANY homework. I have nagged for 4 years to no avail. I have grounded her taken away privelages, etc. She will do it for a while then stops. If you look at her grades all of her tests are 100's. Her homework grades are 0. She has taken honors classes since she started high school and advanced placement classes. But...she flunked Algebra 2 last year because homework was 80% of the grade and well...you see how that worked out for her. So this year she is taking Pre Calculus. I was shocked and went to the school and said why isnt she in Algebra 2 again to make up the credit and they told me she was way to smart for it. Her test scores prove it. So she takes Algebra 2 in night school to make up the credit and Pre CAl during the day. This year she finally has her act together and the first grading term she had 5 A'S AND 2 b'S. A 3.71 for the semester.

Issue #2...she applied to college after long thought and deliberation...she decided to apply to two. One she is holding off on until after Christmas break and her new grades are posted because they have a 50% declination rate. SO , she applied to her first choice, and found out this week her application is under review because she does not have the GPA for automatic admission (2.5). So now she has to wait until her transcript and test scored undergo acedemic review and see if she gets accepted.

THe wait is agonizing. I do not want to see her "left behind" and disappointed but I feel she has learned a valuable lesson in all of this and it is really breaking my heart. I hate seeing her so hurt and upset and mad at herself but if she gets into this college it will literally be by the skin of her teeth. I seriously doubt she will get accpeted to the other her GPA is just too low.

So please send some good vibes our way. She is a good kid. She is the editor of the yearbook, plays varsity soccer, is in the band, works a part time job, and is the wrestling team manager. SHe is a popular fun kid and she is never in trouble.

She is stubborn though and seems she has to always learn the lessons the hard way and it truly hurts as a mom to watch.

She wants to be a physical therapist for a childrens hospital and she has a heart of gold.

Please please pray for good news. This is truly agonizing. I know she did this to herself and she hasnt applied herself. I know she deserves to be waitlisted. But, as one parent to another...please send some positive energy our way.

Sounds like she is exceptionally intelligent and school bores her. Unfortunately, college entrance requirements are performance-based with grades weighted fairly heavily - for decent colleges anyway. She has also developed really bad study habits that will hamstring her in a college environment where her intellect might actually be challenged.

There's always community college where she can prove herself for a year or two before transferring into a reputable university. She's kinda paved her own road with her unwillingness to conform, by doing things the hard way. I was like that, too. I wish I had not been.

reply to post by AwakeinNM


That is what I told her. She can go to a community college for a year first then transfer. It just frustrates me because it could have been so easy for her had she done what she was supposed to do.

She has horrible study habits. Everything has came so easy to her she hasnt had to study. I know college is going to be a challenge for her.

TOnight at dinner she said "well, if I dont get into college I am joining the Marines". Yeah, buttercup, she is such a non conformist...that will never work. LOL

I wish her the best of luck.
Your plan of going to community then transferring would probably be the best option if she doesn't get accepted.
Tell her the marines is pretty much just homework 24/7.

Your quality of life goes up so much with a college degree. There are exceptions, but generally it's true.
Plus college is so much fun. Tell her she'll miss out on some great parties lol.

I hope I gave some good advice, it's no doubt a tricky situation.

reply to post by k21968


Take your daughter to the ghetto and show her where people live who won't accept authority or work on becoming a better person every day. That's what I did to my son, and he is 9 and 1 of like 4 on the honor roll. You have to show them what happens and where people work who don't get a good education. However, a blue collar life is for some, not for others, and the same with white collar jobs too.

Originally posted by samlf3rd
reply to post by k21968

 

Take your daughter to the ghetto and show her where people live who won't accept authority or work on becoming a better person every day. That's what I did to my son, and he is 9 and 1 of like 4 on the honor roll. You have to show them what happens and where people work who don't get a good education. However, a blue collar life is for some, not for others, and the same with white collar jobs too.

Bring her to my "hood" for a week. I wont lie, I made the same mistakes she is making now when in high school, and she sounds similar to me. I grew up in the projects though so I know all about how crappy life is in the ghetto. That's why when I quit high school I didn't delay in getting my GED. Unfortunately I was scared away from college because of student loans but I eventually realized that those are just something we have to suck up and deal with if we don't want to be dirt poor for our entire life. Now I am pursuing an engineering degree at my local University while raising two kids in the ghetto. My son is the top of his class, much like I was when his age.

I would have to agree with what most people are saying, you need to look into a community college. If she has a year of college most universities will not even look at the high school GPA.

The community college that I teach at has a ‘Clean Slate’ policy which allows anyone, even those without HS diplomas or GEDs to enroll for one semester. But since her GPA is above a 2.0 she could probably get into most community colleges anyways.

On a side note, there are benefits to attending a CC instead of a University for the first year or two of your education. As long as it is accredited you can take all of your Gen Ed classes at a fraction of what the University will cost and then transfer to one later. A lot of times, if you wait receive an Associates Degree from a CC, then the entire degree transfers as one unit instead of individual classes.

I hope this helps.

I have to say, from experience just waiting for the grades are agonizing enough, I can't imagine how agonizing an acceptance letter is.



Good Luck.

Originally posted by k21968
reply to post by AwakeinNM

 

That is what I told her. She can go to a community college for a year first then transfer. It just frustrates me because it could have been so easy for her had she done what she was supposed to do.

She has horrible study habits. Everything has came so easy to her she hasnt had to study. I know college is going to be a challenge for her.

TOnight at dinner she said "well, if I dont get into college I am joining the Marines". Yeah, buttercup, she is such a non conformist...that will never work. LOL

Depending on the area of study she chooses, there is no shame in going to a state university, either. If she is as smart as you say she is, she'll learn enough to point her in the right direction and she'll excel no matter what college she has gone to. Before she knows it, she'll have proven herself by her work history and that will be the criteria by which she is most regarded.

I spoke to the admissions counselor today at the unversity. Apparently they have 2 very different admissions processes. 1) First pass. You meet all requirements during early enrollment..you are auto accepted. 2) Normal admissions. You meet MOST of the requirements so you get to go through the more rigourous process of essay, recommendation letters, and interview for admission. According to him my daughter is not wait listed. She has to go through the normal process. He is more than sure once she turns in the rec letters an essay she will get accepted and last step would be an interview for her to plead her case.


This is a state school, University of Louisville. Wish her luck so she can be a CARD! GO CARDS!

It has been a while but I wanted to post an update. After being wait listed for 3 months, she was accepted and will be going to her school of choice in August. Thank you all so much for your words of encouragement and prayers!!