Issues For College And Finding Success
It almost never fails. When I speak with a group of high school students and their parents, there is at least one person who wants “professional advice” about how to get in to a specific college. Somewhere along the way they have adopted the belief that there is some kind of formula for getting in …
Over the years I’ve been asked many questions about college, and a common one is “can I re-apply as a freshman?” I’m asked this by both students and parents, often with the hope that after a student does poorly or even fails at one college they can transfer to another for a fresh start. There …
Things have been very busy in my work, not just with students, but with other things as well. I finished drafting my second book, which is a cross section of “true stories” that covers students I’ve heard from work or worked with at two-year and four-year colleges (even some from international student stories). I plan …
Trying to help failing college students is not always successful, and I’m always a the mercy of the choices of students and families. While conscious choices can often put a student on the path to improving, they may not always choose to do so, and the situation can just repeat itself, like with this young …
One of the first steps for any student in improving their grades is to identify exactly what the problems are. Parents often find themselves at a loss because they aren’t exactly sure what they issues are, especially if the student has been away for college. There are so many potential problems, like issues with academics, …
It is completely possible for a student to turn their initial college problems or even class failures in to a successful college career. I’ve seen it happen many times: The student does poorly or is even academically dismissed, but then things change and they resume their their pathway, this time with positive results that see …
One of the surprise occurrences for college students is when they suddenly discover that they have a hold placed on their student account. I’ve had many students who felt that they could wait until the last minute to register for classes only to find that they couldn’t, because of various reasons, they had to do …
Students can encounter problems at various points in their college careers, often for many reasons. But, there is usually a clear progression of events or a pathway that these issues can lead to in terms of academic status and whether or not the student can stay at their college. For many students and parents, these …
Students who find themselves doing poorly in college often feel that they might do better at a different school. But once they examine the requirements to transfer, they realize that their low GPA and bad grades keep them trapped at their current school. I think of this phenomenon as the Transfer Trap: Unable to transfer …
The summer following freshman year is one where many parents are trying to unravel exactly why their bright and promising student, who may have even done exceptionally well in high school, couldn’t replicate their strong performance during college. In so many cases it’s attributed to “first year adjustment,” or other factors and there are many …