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Colleges??

My three (20 yr old triplets) knew they had one year to make college a success or back at home. Two of them are boys who got by in high school (sports took a lot of their time) but do not play sports in college. They both suprised me and earned good enough grades to get the Hope scholarship (free tuition payed by GA since they had a B average). Did not have the grades going in. Being away has made them grow up, learn to cook on their own and all those things.

My daughter is at a smaller 2 years school on a softball scholarship. She will graduate with her AA degree this year after two years of college. Softball is not as competitive as some other sports but her grades are not the best they could be. She was able to graduate on time by taking two summer course and an intersession course.

The boys have also taken summer courses. This allowed several semesters for them to take a lighter load with some of the harder courses.

The first two years are core courses and very little courses in the their major are taken. The first two years can easily be done living at home at a smaller two year college and then transfering to a larger school. My kids are 3 1/2 and 5 hours away which makes weekend visits difficult. They did come home more the first year and their sophomore years I dont see them except for the breaks.

I agree that sending kids to college forces them to grow up, live to learn with roomates, and just to make life decisions. Every kid is different but I would highly advise sending him to live away at college with the understanding if he does not go to class, flunks out etc then it is time to come home.
 
Lotsacoups said:
I have known quite a few families who have sent boys away to play sports and they have had to stay in school 5 or more years because sports took up so much of their time that they couldn't get their classes in.Now maybe wrestling isn't that way but with other sports the dream is making the big leagues so more time is devoted to the sport than studies. My nephew played soccer for St Ambrose and after 5 1/2 years finally settled for a degree in History-and he isn't nor ever wanted to be a teacher. And as someone else mentioned, 4 years away doesn't guarantee a job.
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on teh flip side to that--well sorta :)

My kids LOVE to play soccer and have played year round since they were 8 years old --last winter was the first time since he was 8 that my then 19 year old wasnt playing indoor/winter soccer--he didn't know what to do with all that time--seriously he needed the sport to balance his work load
 
As a high school guidance counselor....college is my specialty! Choosing the "right" college is a family decision based on a variety of different factors (cost, distance, programs of study, location, size, etc.). Just because a school is right for one student, does not mean that it will be the right fit for all students. I recommend that all students take tours of their favorite colleges (talk with students at the school, eat at the student union, etc. )before making their final decision.

Anyway, collegeboard.com is a good site to perform college searches, http://www.unigo.com/wsj/ is through the Wall Street Journal and they have some good articles, but my favorite place to fins college information is through Naviance. Not all high school's have Naviance, check your child's high school's website....if it's not there, follow this link https://connection.naviance.com/fc/signin.php?page=guest password is wildcat. There is a wealth of information at your fingertips….but click on the college tab toward the top of the page for the best part. Under the college tab, you will find national scholarship searches (name of scholarship, maximum award, deadlines, merit based, essay required, etc.), college acceptance history, scattergrams (compare your child's test scores and GPA to see if they would be accepted into a college based). The data from the scattergrams is based on information from LHS student's that have actually applied to those schools with their GPA and test scores listed. It's a fabulous site!!!!

I love talking about college and helping students with the process. If you want to ask me more questions or want me to explain anything, feel free to send me a pm. I would be more than happy to help :)
 
Chickie said:
Don't even know where to begin. My ds is a Junior in HS. Average to below average in grades. Plays Football and Wrestles. Has a IEP. He has mentioned possibly being a teacher/Gym teacher and coaching football and wrestling.

Thinking a smaller school that will accommodate all of the above mentioned.

Any suggestions?
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IEP's can be enforced throughout the college years (23 I believe). This is especially true in state supported schools. Junior colleges are an excellent place to act as a transition to college and must abide but an enforced accommodation from high school if deemed necessary to the child's education
 
Iowa Central is located in Fort Dodge, IA. It is a community college that has about 6500 students. They have housing for 1080. The school is located about 6.5 hours away. They offer everything for the most part that a 4 year university offers. Very Competive sport programs. Football and Wrestling included. The housing is about $5075 and includes 19 meals a week. The tuition for 12 cr hours is about 1900.00 per semester. They are having a Junior tour in April. We are thinking about taking the drive out there to check it out. I was curious if anyone knew about the town/community. It sounds ok now just to check it out.

boyzrus said:
Am I the only person that thinks community college isn't always a good idea? I think sometimes the kids has to go out on his/her own and stand on their feet. While the tuition price is much cheaper for the community college, the kid misses out on the experience of having to do things on their own.

I'm not saying anything bad against people who choose community college. I am just looking at my 16 year old DS and worrying that he will end up living in my basement!

This kid seems to be clueless on many fronts despite my efforts to teach him how to do his laundry, cook a meal, etc. So with him I wonder if community college would be a bad move since he would still be here acting like he doesn't know how to cook, do laundry, change the sheets on this bed, etc.

For your situation, a smaller college will cost more, but it might be well worth it. I went to Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. I went to a small grade school and a small high school, so Mizzou was just too huge for me. While Missouri State is big, they have lots of commuters, so there wasn't tons of kids living on campus. That's something you might want to consider commuter vs. people who live on campus.

Sorry if I rambled too much!
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Chickie said:
Don't even know where to begin. My ds is a Junior in HS. Average to below average in grades. Plays Football and Wrestles. Has a IEP. He has mentioned possibly being a teacher/Gym teacher and coaching football and wrestling.

Thinking a smaller school that will accomodate all of the aboved mentioned.

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

freyguy50 said:
IEP's can be enforced throughout the college years (23 I believe). This is especially true in state supported schools. Junior colleges are an excellent place to act as a transition to college and must abide but an enforced accommodation from high school if deemed necessary to the child's education
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I guess this is the place where I let you know that due to distance and a small baby, I quit my job as a high school guidance counselor and have been working in the Office for Students with Disabilities at CLC since December :) So, I might be able to provide you with even more info....

All colleges are different in what documentation they accept (some are liberal and some are not). Just because you have an IEP, does not guarantee that you will receive accommodations (HUGE MYTH).

There must be substance in the IEP (not just goals, benchmarks, strengths, weaknesses, functional performance, etc.) But the key to getting accommodations is to have current (less than 5 years old), specific test scores! I know that schools do not give IQ tests anymore bc of RTI (uggh!) But if your son has taken the WISC, Woodcock Johnson, WAIS, etc within the past 5 years, give that documentation to OSD. Test scores can be found on the IEP, Psychological exam or MDC (eligibility review every 5 years).

If your son's current IEP does not have test scores....check to see what accommodations are listed. I do not know what his disability(and I don't need to know either) is but some helpful accommodations include: Extended time on tests and quizzes, extended time on in class writing assignments, priority seating, use of alternative testing location, note taker, computer audio visual testing, alternate format textbooks and the use of a 4 function calculator. Now, in order to qualify for any of these accommodations...there must be documentation that he has used these in the past and/or look at test scores.

*I am almost 100% positive that NIU will only take current test scores-meaning, if you don't have them, you will have to pay oop for a psychological exam. Double check with NIU and see if they would accept an IEP and/or a doctor's note (explaining the disability, how it affects him within the classroom and what accommodations would be helpful. :)
 
Chickie said:
Iowa Central is located in Fort Dodge, IA. It is a community college that has about 6500 students. They have housing for 1080. The school is located about 6.5 hours away. They offer everything for the most part that a 4 year university offers. Very Competive sport programs. Football and Wrestling included. The housing is about $5075 and includes 19 meals a week. The tuition for 12 cr hours is about 1900.00 per semester. They are having a Junior tour in April. We are thinking about taking the drive out there to check it out. I was curious if anyone knew about the town/community. It sounds ok now just to check it out.
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When you go....check out the Office for Studnets with Disabilities and see what paperwork they need to grant accomodations and ask about the process in general.
 
You really need to research and see which school is best for his education/gym teacher major--and for special needs
From what I have been told Western and Southern are the best at helping with IEP and 504 plans--they go the extra mile
I too have heard that Northern is good for physical education--and well as National Lewis University-
Good luck (some of the smaller private schools are not aware how to follow IEP's-so I would make sure to check that out)
A lot of colleges do early acceptance as soon as October--then after that by April of Senior year--if not sooner. It is a great idea to check things out now--and visit the colleges
 
lizible said:
I guess this is the place where I let you know that due to distance and a small baby, I quit my job as a high school guidance counselor and have been working in the Office for Students with Disabilities at CLC since December :) So, I might be able to provide you with even more info....

All colleges are different in what documentation they accept (some are liberal and some are not). Just because you have an IEP, does not guarantee that you will receive accommodations (HUGE MYTH).

There must be substance in the IEP (not just goals, benchmarks, strengths, weaknesses, functional performance, etc.) But the key to getting accommodations is to have current (less than 5 years old), specific test scores! I know that schools do not give IQ tests anymore bc of RTI (uggh!) But if your son has taken the WISC, Woodcock Johnson, WAIS, etc within the past 5 years, give that documentation to OSD. Test scores can be found on the IEP, Psychological exam or MDC (eligibility review every 5 years).

If your son's current IEP does not have test scores....check to see what accommodations are listed. I do not know what his disability(and I don't need to know either) is but some helpful accommodations include: Extended time on tests and quizzes, extended time on in class writing assignments, priority seating, use of alternative testing location, note taker, computer audio visual testing, alternate format textbooks and the use of a 4 function calculator. Now, in order to qualify for any of these accommodations...there must be documentation that he has used these in the past and/or look at test scores.

*I am almost 100% positive that NIU will only take current test scores-meaning, if you don't have them, you will have to pay oop for a psychological exam. Double check with NIU and see if they would accept an IEP and/or a doctor's note (explaining the disability, how it affects him within the classroom and what accommodations would be helpful. :)
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You are correct--we found out the hard way--my dd has an IEP--and it is up to the school--yes they will follow state guidelines--but we went to a junior college--to find out with the way they word the legal mumbo jumbo-it is up to each department--etc--and yes, they all require an up to date WISC--so if you don't have it--have your high school do one now--so you are not paying out of pocket---again--lesson learned the hard way
 
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