Help! College issues with Ivy league son

amNotarobot
Thu, 12 Jul 2018 04:13:29 +0000

Don’t think the AO pick the wrong kid here. Be able to complete 15 APs in high school with high marks was a great accomplishment. Maybe being overconfidence by skipping prerequisite courses and went straight to advanced courses were the key to the downfall of OP’s son. Or maybe study habit changed from his HS days due to distraction/addiction to TV, gaming, and other fun activities, as OP said, now no one is watching/nagging him to put on the due effort in study.

We had similar experience as the OP’s with our own D last year. D was a high achiever in HS with 13 APs and accepted in a top tier school. She did bad in one class in her 1st semester (got a C). The 2nd semester, her CS class slid from B to C and toward D after mid-term. In the spring break, I diagnosed with her by going through her past tests and projects. It was her study habit had deviated from her HS routine — pre-read class material,start projects early, do extra assignments, look outside class for extra practice… So her projects were missing part here and there, and her tests had some blank and parts could not complete in time. We told her a grade C and below from now on meant repeat the class, and after repeating twice the same class, you need to go home to start from CC.

D made a quick U turn after the spring break and got her final grade in B. She actually was so happy when she got her grade because her confidence came back and knowing she could compete with her peers without problem if she put in her due effort. It is all about good study habit/routine and time management.