Figured I would start a thread as its truly time for our 2025 grads to really start looking!
I am the mom of 3 kids who fit into this category.
S19 has well documented learning disabilities and had an IEP from age 3 until graduation. He is a bit adhd vs. autistic. He started at a tech school then covid hit and he is struggling to get back into school mode and figuring out what he wants to do. For now he is working as an hourly manager at a restaurant. He lives 3 hours from home, pays his own bills, and I am proud of how far he has come! We weren’t sure if he would finish high school so we are thrilled for him.
S23 was “gifted” in middle school, then his own adhd and bad attitude formed by personal life pressures hit. He ended high school with a 3.3/3.4 gpa yet he got a 35 on his ACT first try no studying. He is head strong and stubborn but will do great things. He is a good worker but refuses to let work define him (doesn’t want to be his dad who works much too much). He is at Syracuse getting a degree in music.
Which leaves my baby. D25. I will soon be an empty nester! She is currently at a 3.1. She will likely go test optional as she scores pretty low on standardized tests. Her only EC has been dance. She is on the high school team and a competitive team which takes up so, so much time (poms, jazz, kick, lyrical, hip hop are most common styles). She also works when she can at a local pizza/sub shop. She says she wants to be a cop but you start talking to her and she just wants to help people. Personally I see her working with juveniles in some sort. So she is looking into maybe a criminal justice type degree or social work. She thinks she wants a dance minor but not to be on a dance team.
She will be applying to mostly Tuition Exchange schools through my employer benefit along with some MSEP schools. The current list is at about 20 schools so we have to deep dive after competition season is over.
That’s my intro novel. Let’s support our perfectly normal kids!
So glad you started this thread! I was planning to do so this week. The Class of 2022 and 2023 3.0-3.4 groups were very helpful to me when S23 was applying. I’m on my phone so cannot link my update in that thread, but the upshot is that he is an ADHD kid who was completely impulsive in elementary school, disorganized in early HS and very social and active.
Remote/Covid learning was not good. Homework was optional in his mind. He turned it around in junior year and started the application season with a 3.3 UW/3.7 W. A couple SAT tests to get 1410. 2 DE courses and 2AP courses. He pursued the New England Flagships for Animal Science and chose UMASS-Amherst. He achieved As with no meds! So just because our kids do not fit the typical high-stats College Confidential profile does not mean they will not have great options that help them succeed.
S25 is similarly afflicted with ADHD, but is also afflicted with Anxiety/OCD/Depression. Very bright when engaged. Like S23, S23 also thinks homework is optional and due dates are advisory. He is more rigid than his brother and can shut down if stuff is boring or he does not like the teacher. It can be hard to watch him shoot himself in the foot. This semester he got completely overwhelmed by a term paper, let other stuff go and had to try and make up everything at the end. Still waiting for final grades. He started the semester above 3.4 but may not stay there depending on his anxiety and other medical issues expected later this year. He will take SAT as he has done well on the PSATs in 9th and 10th grade (but not great on the new digital adaptive PSAT earlier this year).
This group really helps me accept him where he is at and understand our kids will all have opportunities to be successful. I look forward to connecting with all of you as we ramp up for the application season!
This 100% describes my S23. He is happy to work hard but it has to “matter” to him. He digs his feet in the sand if he thinks its useless busy work. He was just so done with high school! At college he sees more of the big picture and recognizes that every class is required so he has to make the best of it so he is viewed positively for internships, etc. He had a class or two his first semester in college that he didn’t do his best in but he has realized he is only hurting himself at this point.
D25 is my anxious child. If she isn’t 10 minutes early she feels late. She is much more vocal about what she wants for her future. She tries but I honestly don’t think she is studying in a way that suits her learning. She has always had a bit slower of a processing speed and we have only limited info about her birthparents (she was born in Guatemala). She is just a solid B kid no matter what she really does.
She has toured a few schools with her brother. Syracuse felt too big (although Im not to sure why). Gustavus Adolphus and Baldwin Wallace felt too small. She really liked Le Moyne though. She loves to bake and cook so food options at many of the smaller schools are a concern.
She is clear she does not want to stay instate. Diversity matters to her. She identifies as Christian (and is way more religious than I am as I am not baptized nor do I go to church) so schools with some religious requirements are okay but she does not want an all girls school. She prefers a defined campus and would like more suburban than urban but is open. For dance minor, she is more interested in choreography but does not want a ballet focused school or one with mostly ballet requirements.
We currently only pay room and board for S23 so hoping we can find a place for her under 25k all in cost total.
Her current long list…
Creighton U
Rider
Le Moyne
Dean
Butler
Florida Southern
Oklahoma City U
Mercyhurst
Shenandoah
Lindenwood
Adelphi
Hobart & William Smith
Jacksonville U.
Loyola Chicago
Sacred Heart
Moravian U
Minnesota State-Mankato
Southeast Missouri State-SEMO
University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
U of Southern Mississippi
GVSU
I know you already have a lot of schools to research but if your D is interested in a more Christian school has she looked into Messiah? I don’t think it’s on tuition exchange but I know someone going there for philosophy and statistics around your price point. He’s thriving there and it’s likely the younger brother will go there as well for music performance. It’s over 3,000 students so still small but not as small as some LAC’s.
Hello I’m so glad this thread was started, thank you @2plustrio! My D25 is very much a “B” student and does exactly enough to get that B. She has ADHD, ODD and anxiety that is fairly well managed from a few years of therapy and so long as she’s not too over scheduled with activities. Pandemic home school was rough but she kept up ok. Thank goodness we’re past that. She just had finals last week and calculated that she can get a 60 on both history and physics finals and keep her B she did well on history but not enough for it to get bumped up and got a 66 on physics which she’s thrilled about since it’s a B overall. She has ability but chooses to not use her powers for academics lol. If she gets a 98 in symphonic or jazz band she’s irritated they deducted so many points from her grade. Starting next week the new semester brings language arts, pre calculus and German. It’s block scheduling so she loses gym/health, history and physics. The music is year round on A day B day schedule.
She’s starting to show some interest in college and has toured Rowan and TCNJ. She’s scheduled to tour: Susquehanna, Elizabethtown, Ursinus and UofPuget Sound over the next few months. She’s truly undecided but knows music must be a big part of the equation. Plus budget is a concern, we’re a donut hole family for schools that meet need except the very most generous ones that she has no chance or desire to attend. So merit hunting is big. I look forward to hearing about all your students over the next months/years!
Great idea! My 2025 doesn’t have her 2023 sister’s grades/AP classes/ECs ect, but she is being recruited as a diver. So this is a whole different world for us! Her overall average is about a 90, but PE and electives are helping that…I’m not sure what that exactly translates to, but I’m thinking in the 3.2ish range? She has some honors, but no APs, and her ECs are pretty much just sports. Right now her #1 choice is LeMoyne, and I’d be thrilled with that if they can get it in the SUNY price range… I think SUNY Oswego, Cortland and Fredonia would be great options for her, and several other (mostly DIII) smallish schools have reached out to her so we’ll see!
My D25 plans to major in Studio Art or Art Education, but may not go directly to college. She has no interest in selective schools or expensive schools, which makes the whole process a lot less stressful. She is considering starting at the local community college, or maybe moving to Portland (where we have some extended family) and starting at Portland Community College. She is also considering an art college in our area, and some of the Wisconsin directionals (Stout? Milwaukee?) that have strong art.
Her only ECs are a part time job and babysitting. I don’t think she will even take the ACT or SAT; none of the schools she is considering require it or even seem to provide merit for it. She will graduate with 1 AP class (foreign language.)
The great thing about Portland is there are a handful of community colleges within driving distance depending on where you live. I grew up in SE and graduated from Mt. Hood cc but was looking into Clackamas cc where my sister ended up taking classes and PCC. PCC SE was a few blocks away. Just know that if she goes that route the cc are on a quarter system for classes that don’t transfer easily to the vast majority of universities on semester systems. It’s actually one of the biggest reasons I haven’t gotten a bachelor’s. There are transfer agreements though so it’s definitely possible. My AAS is in respiratory therapy so not an easy transfer even if it was on semester schedule.
Oh wow, thank you! I didn’t even consider the whole quarter/semester transfer issue. We will definitely keep that on our radar.
A family member of mine had a 2 year degree from a technical college, worked successfully in that field, but later needed a bachelors to move up (basically, the company required a bachelors, any bachelors.) My family member ended up doing a “completion degree” B.S. in Career and Technical Education from UW Stout. They were very generous with transfer credits, it was affordable and convenient (all online and asynchronous.) So if you are even in a position of needing that bachelors credential…
I feel this!!! With my older daughter, she was chasing a specific scholarship so senior year felt fairly stressful. My 2025 doesn’t want a rigorous senior year, and that’s ok. I am encouraging her to take college math and Spanish senior year to make freshman year of college a little easier, but I have made peace with the fact that it’s her choice. And she also has not taken SATs and may not. We’re in NY, so any school she has talked about so far is test optional. I think it would be a good idea to take them, but we’ll see.
I hate the way the whole process works. Last half of Junior year, first half of Senior year would be better spent exploring majors and careers rather than stressing about applications.
I agree! They are just starting to meet with their guidance counselors about senior year scheduling and there’s actually a program she’s going to ask her about. It’s called New Visions and it’s through BOCES. It’s a Criminal Justice program and I guess it’s fairly competitive to get into? They go to school half the day and the other half is off campus working with our local police ect. It would fulfill her senior year English and Social Studies requirements, so she’d literally only HAVE to take PE. Again, I am encouraging her to take Spanish V (IV and V get them SUNY Oswego credit) and I’d love her to take Stats or Calc (she’s taking pre-calc now, which gets her credit at our community college) too, but again, it’s ultimately her decision. I’d love her to take a science class too, but since she’s struggling in Chemistry right now…sigh…. She’s my super smart get that puts zero work in and still magically has an 89/90 average?! It’s maddening. Trying to keep it in perspective and trust that’s it’s all going to work out somehow… this child raising thing is HARD! Lol
I’d love for kids to finish their academics and have a year to explore and experience. As in, you couldn’t even apply anywhere but CC’s until you were out of school for a year. Wouldn’t it be so much more meaningful to apply after all of the senior classes and activities are done (S23 got some major awards that AO’s never got to hear about) and kids had a little real life experience under their belt? It would certainly keep seniors engaged, rather than stressed out, during their senior year.
Thanks for the recommendation! With credential creep in healthcare being a real concern I’ve looked into going back for many years now. It’s actually going to be the entry requirement for my field in the coming years as they phase out the AAS programs. Fortunately for me is the fact the pandemic really showed the glaring holes in the entire system and making it even harder to get qualified workers isn’t optimal. If I do take the plunge there’s a bunch of completion programs online that award a certain amount of credits based on credential. Rowan University just started a new one. So FYI for anyone with a kid thinking about health care like ultrasound, radiology, respiratory, nursing etc they will need a bachelors during their career.
D25 doesn’t do heavy rigor either as she isn’t chasing selective schools.
So far she is planning on taking classes that will make her happy and interest her.
Grade 12 Lit/Comp
Intermediate College Math
Advanced Culinary
Cultural Diversity
An online National Security Course
World of Children (because she loves the teacher)
Spanish in the Workplace
My D and I toured Susquehanna yesterday. We drove up late Sunday in the dark rainy weather - not a fun almost 4 hour drive. We grabbed Dairy Queen, her fav and checked into the cheap but adequate roadside hotel. The next morning we got to the beautiful admissions building and they immediately greeted her: you must be MistyJr, it’s so nice to meet you! Then went over her schedule for the visit. Offered us various drinks while we waited for the admission counselor and gave us a meal voucher for lunch. The counselor talked with D for about an hour going into detail about the school, clubs, study abroad and a bunch of majors etc. She also asked what D was interested in activities wise and what she does now. D asked if the cafeteria had an ice cream machine and YES it does with vanilla, chocolate and twist.
A really nice young lady gave us a very thorough tour all over campus, inside many buildings, dorm room and gym/pool. At the end of that cold long walk she delivered us to the music admission coordinator who chatted with D for about 15 minutes before the woodwind professor took D for a lesson. I waited in the lounge. After we went to the cafeteria and D found plenty of food she was satisfied with plus went back up for the twist ice cream. I got a latte from Starbucks on our way out of the building for the long drive home. Overall she really liked a lot about this school. It has many majors she’s interested in and can explore fairly easily. She liked the practice rooms better than the ones at Rowan and would be happy studying under the woodwind prof. She didn’t like how little the diversity is. She’s used to being one of only a few with Asian ethnicity but her school is very diverse otherwise. It was glaring but not a dealbreaker. The location isn’t great either but likes the campus. So she’ll definitely apply.
That’s great to hear! Do you know what she liked about it? We still have a few more schools to see but this one really hits most everything, well until she actually gets in and we see the financial package
I’ll ask her! She played field hockey there, so I know she loved a camaraderie of that. Ans we’re in upstate NY so it wasn’t too far. I’ll see if I can get some details!
she did well on history but not enough for it to get bumped up and got a 66 on physics which she’s thrilled about since it’s a B overall. She has ability but chooses to not use her powers for academics lol. If she gets a 98 in symphonic or jazz band she’s irritated they deducted so many points from her grade. Starting next week the new semester brings language arts, pre calculus and German. It’s block scheduling so she loses gym/health, history and physics. The music is year round on A day B day schedule.
).