community college appointment

[Only me]

My almost 18 year old daughter is going to the community college next year. It is 5 minutes from our house. Neither of us have visited the college or gone to any of the buildings.

 

In order to take a college level math or english class you need to test high enough on the ACT. She did great on the english part but didn't have a high enough score on the math portion. She doesn't usually test well on math. She has the option of showing them her high school transcript (she went to private high school). She had all A's in algebra, geometry, algebra 2 and the first semester of stats/trig. This semester she is currently getting a B. I think that they will let her go on to the college level math but she needs to make an appointment with them. She will probably call today or tomorrow and will go next week.

 

She doesn't have her license yet. (She will hopefully get it before the end of this month). So I will have to drive her there. My question is whether I just drop her off and pick her up when she is done or whether I should go to the appointment with her or possibly just find the right office with her. A lot of adults attend the campus too so I probably wouldn't look too out of place but I'm not sure if it would be better if she just went alone. She is a little hesitant since she hasn't been on the campus before. She will possibly meet with the counselor at that time for course recommendations.

[Sandra in NC]

I went with my son on his first trip to the community college. He wanted his independence, so I waited in the lobby of one of the main buildings and told him I'd be there if he needed me. He found the place he needed to be and met me afterward. It gave him some security knowing I was there. I didn't accompany him again because he felt confident after that first visit.

 

My son needed a score above 500 on the SAT to place into college math, and he scored a 490. So, he had to take the Accuplacer test at the cc. After studying the Accuplacer materials and sample questions at CollegeBoard.com, he took the test and placed into college algebra.

 

If your daughter needs to take a placement test, I'd advise her not to take it right away. Study for it first!

[Brenda in MA]

She doesn't have her license yet. (She will hopefully get it before the end of this month). So I will have to drive her there. My question is whether I just drop her off and pick her up when she is done or whether I should go to the appointment with her or possibly just find the right office with her. A lot of adults attend the campus too so I probably wouldn't look too out of place but I'm not sure if it would be better if she just went alone. She is a little hesitant since she hasn't been on the campus before. She will possibly meet with the counselor at that time for course recommendations.

 

If she is going there to discuss her situation with a placement counselor, I would suggest that you go with her. Let her lead the conversation, but at least you'll hear what was said and be able to support her if she needs it.

 

If you really feel she is ready for college-level math, you can help her explain that to the counselor. They may want her to take their own math placement test just to check. They will have to approve whatever level she registers for. If she signs up for the college-level course, I would keep a close eye on things to make sure she's doing OK. If she has lots of trouble, you will want to catch that early so she can drop the course and switch to one that fits better.

 

When my older son went to the CC for the first time, I went with him to speak with the counselor. We also asked for a tour of the campus so he'd have a general sense of where to find things, and I went with him to the office that made the student ID cards. After he registered, we went back there the week before classes started, and I helped him find the classrooms. After that, he was on his own. He drove himself there, and once he got a sense of the campus, he had no trouble finding his classrooms the second semester. He's done wonderfully this year away at college, too. The CC was a great stepping stone for him. I hope it goes well for your dd, too.

 

Brenda

[FloridaLisa]

I think it's fine for you to go with her. I went with both my ds and dd when they went to their first appointment at the CC to sign up for classes. And I'm really glad I did, as I didn't always agree with the advice and could counter-counsel. ;) You probably will not feel out of place at all. THere were lots of parents at the CC when dd registered last week.

 

HTH,

Lisa

[Yolanda in Mass]

I wouldn't hesitate to go with your dd. I sat down with my son and together we put together his schedule, then he went to the appointment on his own. But, if that's not possible, by all means, go with her. Before classes started, my son and I did a dry run of where his classes were, caf, library, etc., so he would feel more comfortable. He's not great with directions.

 

Also, I would encourage your daughter to take advantage of the math and writing labs. CC's are extremely good at helping students in these areas. Even though my son is a good writer, he discovered that the tutors at the writing lab helped him tremendously and it's FREE!

 

Lastly, my son just finished 3 semesters at cc and is now moving onto a 4-yr college with possible admittance to the honors college. CC gave him the confidence and time to mature and to focus, not to mention he knocked off lots of gen ed requirements at a very low cost. CC is an excellent stepping stone, and it's not just for kids who are not academically ready. Good luck!

 

Yolanda

[Only me]

Thanks. I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn't be too much of a helicopter parent if I went with the first time.

 

She was going to go to a 4 year university. She got accepted at both schools that she wanted to and got a pretty nice scholarship at one but we still can't afford it this year. This was a last minute decision so we feel a bit rushed trying to get her set up at the community college.

[Tullia]

I agree with what the others have posted. I went to the campus with ds during between-term registration and counseling. We also visited the bookstore, got a student ID, parking sticker and such. I let ds do most of the talking, but briefed him in advance on likely scenarios. Things have changed a lot since my undergad days, such as having so many things done via Internet. Still, he did plenty of standing in lines and filling out forms by hand. And, the parking sticker process was a hoot. Different student, different college, different state...similar procedures...same hassles. Some things DON'T change!

 

Our CC is very safety conscious, but we did a walking tour with that in mind while we were locating classrooms, the library and the tutoring center. This will vary a LOT depending on your particular campus demographics, but ds does see some students who seem to have come from a rough background and who clearly don't bring quite the same assumptions and expectations to campus if you kwim. Ds hasn't had any problems, but we did talk about how to avoid instigating an uncomfortable situation through heedless behavior.

 

I don't think you are in danger of being a helicopter parent. We saw lots of other parents with new students doing the same thing. My father went to orientation weekend with me decades ago where we were led around by the hand in a fairly structured process. One other thing; ds did an online orientation that gave us a good idea of what we needed to see, where to go for different tasks, documents needed, and most important how to ask the right questions. By mid-term ds was reasonably comfortable with commuting and dealing with administrative issues on his own.

[Nan in Mass]

I went with my son to the first appointments. Nobody raised an eyebrow and I was able to be helpful. There was a young man there with his mother, his wife, and his two small children in tow. Once we got all the paperwork, testing, id, and paying taken care of, they scheduled a tour for him with other students. I walked him to where the tour began but let him take it on his own. When he was done, we walked around together. We found the location of all his classes, advisor's office, computers, and the library, got a parking sticker, and I showed him how to go through the cafeteria line (things like how to work the bagel toaster and the milk cow). We located a few comfortable places to study or wait, also. There were plenty of other families there. People didn't know if I was the student or if he was. For some of it, we had my baby nephew in tow as well as my son's younger brother, and some people assumed the nephew belonged to my son and I was along as babysitter, possibly because given a choice between carrying the baby or the diaper bag, my children always choose the baby GRIN. For about half a semester, I was involved in any interaction with the administration. After that, he managed on his own. I drove him and went in, but by then I had found my own favourite waiting places.

-Nan