Colleges for smart, creative underachievers?

intparent
Sun, 21 Apr 2013 13:41:43 +0000

Mmm, my D had quite a few of those qualities as a freshman. One suggestion I would have is to take her on a couple of college visits early. Once my D saw the difference in where she could go if she DID do the busywork/conjugate the verbs, she got it in gear a bit more. Her GPA was never fantastic (ended up with a 3.7 UW, upward trend near the end – in fact, headed for her first 4.0 this last semester of high school – go figure), but she got into some very good schools because of great test scores and more “multidimensional” application than some kids (a few unusual, although just local, ECs). She also has a learning disability and terrible executive functioning. I despaired of her getting into any good colleges in freshman year of high school. She did start using accommodations that year (extra time on math tests, extra white space on tests), and it helped her grades. Her teachers and I just gave her a lot of support in the EF areas, and ever so gradually she picked up the pace on that as well. Honestly, we just did EF for her freshman & sophomore year. She started picking up more in junior year, and is pretty decent at it in senior year. I do have some sleepless nights sometimes worrying about how college will go for her. But when she is motivated, she usually finds a way to get something done. And… in spite of all of my worries, she got in everyplace she applied.

Another thing that might help is a summer program or two that helps her find some academic passion or direction. If she is like my D, she sees the point IF it is something she is really interested in. And one held on a college campus might help her get a flavor for that.

We did not deal with anxiety, at least not to the level you are. My D is very introverted, but that is not the same.

Good luck!