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<p>I used the story of my aunt and the older cousin to illustrate a case of what serious pitfalls could befall parents who decide to send an immature academically marginal child directly off to a four-year university without any preparations to immediately deal with possible academic struggling/failure and more importantly…to not be in denial to the point it drags out to 5+ years with its associated costs and extended family drama. </p>
<p>That’s not to say that all academically marginal HS students should be denied a chance at a 4-year education. IMO, that status can be changed if the student in question decides he/she really wants it bad enough and knows him/herself well enough to reach out to get any support he/she needs. </p>
<p>However, there is a comparatively greater risk with such students…especially if they are extremely immature and each family needs to gauge whether that greater risk is worth taking. This could be done outright or with some hedging measures such as clearly communicated minimal academic expectations, mandating commuter school(cc or 4-year with option to transfer), ensuring student gets any necessary tutoring/counseling, periodic parental check-ins, and the willingness to consider the possible need for the student to be pulled out from school temporarily if academic performance deteriorates to unacceptable levels per communicated expectations.</p>
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<p>That’s probably because a critical mass of CC forumites tend to aspire to elite LACs/Universities…whether as students themselves and/or their parents. It’s a mentality I’m familiar with as it’s similar to what I’ve seen in high school classmates and their parents…except much worse. </p>
<p>The level of disdain I’ve seen given by some for cc’s here is similar to the disdain my high school classmates had for all but the few top state/city flagships or highly selective niche programs(i.e. Sophie Davis BA-MD combo program).</p>