Hi I would like some insight about my son. He is 16 years old a Senior, his GPA is bad 3.0 unweighted, his SAT is 2200 / ACT 33. He does not have EC or anything to show off. He has taken one AP class, calculus this year he has A+, also great recommendation from teachers. I cannot afford to pay for college, 29K at our state Uni. Now some teachers have put in his mind the idea that he must apply for MIT, but honestly he cannot get in with those credentials, on top of that I make 115K at year so colleges will give us no $ based on the Fasfa thing. He is also thinking states universities but those are the very same ones that will give us zero help. My daughter will go to college in 2 years!!
Why I have not saved $ for them you may ask? I came to US 12 years ago and started from the bottom until 6 years ago I was making pennies. 5 of those 12 years I was illegal with poor English. We are Hispanics and I am single.
Am I doing the right thing sending him to CC? will he be discouraged? He dreams to be a mechanical engineer the best engineer he can be … he told me “Mom I will succeed anywhere, don’t you worry” …
I would take a chance and apply to some state schools. He might get some merit money, you never know unless you try. There are also many scholarships for Hispanic students that you might investigate.
Also check out this thread about students with 3-3.3 GPAs.
And get a copy of Loren Pope’s Colleges that Change Lives. Depending on where you live, some of these colleges might be an option. Many practice holistic admissions and have a commitment to diversity. If he is a first generation college student and Hispanic, that will be taken into account. Also standardized test results are generally higher for white, affluent people. Those scores are very good for any student, all the more so for underrepresented groups.
Finally, if he ends up at CC and does well, he might be able to transfer to state uni after two years.
A 3.0 GPA is hardly terrible! It sounds like he has done well under trying circumstances and is young to be graduating from high school. Good luck!
Thanks mamadefamilia, that threat is great I found so much information, I think my son is not in such a horrible situation as I though. No more crying and pity party for me… He may even be able to go school for almost free due to some merit high SAT and ACTs and ethnicity in some schools (out of MA of course). On top of that some schools don’t even count his first year of HS (when his grades were terrible) so his GPA calculated by the Uni. will be higher. I am so hopeful now. Thank you !!
He definitely has options, and it sounds like he has the potential to be a very strong student.
Here in Florida, two years at a community college and obtaining an A.A. basically fulfills your Gen Ed requirements and guarantees you a spot at a state university, though not necessarily the university of your choice (but if you have high GPA you have good odds of going where you want to). Since many of these classes are the same course numbers at CC or State U., there’s no real harm done going to CC and sometimes it’s a better option, depending on the student and the situation.
But before you go the CC route I would definitely look at options where he might get merit $$ for that ACT. Generally speaking, he’s more “valuable” as a first-time-in-college student than a transfer (but there are exceptions to this too).
he’s got a 2200 SAT? if he can maintain at least a 3.0 he can get full tuition to U of Mississippi though an Academic Excellence Scholarship http://finaid.olemiss.edu/scholarships/
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