Galt's Gulch

I have a question for someone in academia?

Posted by coaldigger 4 years, 4 months ago to Education
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In the past I have posted about a granddaughter that was an excellent student and that in the 9th grade won an Ayn Rand essay contest. She graduated this spring from North Fort Myers HS and simultaneously completed two years towards a college degree at the local state university. She graduated Suma Cum Laude in all honors courses with a GPA of 5.something. She has a scholarship for any Florida state school and was also a Cambridge Scholar which covers all of Florida and applies to many other schools nationally. She did not like her visit at UF and did not want to be too far from home so she is set to enroll at FAU. It looks like the COVID situation is going to interfere with classes there and she is becoming discouraged. My daughter and son in law don't seem sufficiently disturbed by this and I don't want to create a problem not being sure of what I am doing. I don't know how smart she really is but she has always been in gifted and talented programs and whatever was the highest grade is what she has always gotten. She is a young 17 years old and has been protected yet she is very quiet and unassuming. I was not happy with FAU but she would only be there 2 years and if she is what I think she is she will seek and find the next steps properly. The pandemic is the wild card here and I would hate for her academic potential not to bloom because of it.
Is there anyone that has experience in this type of situation? If so, I would like to hear from you.

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  • Posted by stk2urgns 4 years ago
    I realized after I wrote my response that you posted your question 3 months ago, but I guess I'll submit this anyway. I'm in grad school currently, and I'd suggest avoiding online classes if possible. The online learning experience differs greatly from the in-person experience. Plus, a couple of my current teachers have decided that they won't go over our exams with us in class or during office hours, BECAUSE of the online format. I guess they're scared of us screenshotting the questions & answers? They tell us that not getting to see what questions we got right & wrong is "consistent with other online tests, like the CPA" (they reference the CPA because I'm in an accounting program). Personally, though, I think that's BS. How are we going to truly learn anything if we aren't told what we understood correctly and what we didn't? If you call up schools and ask around, some schools are adopting that practice, and some aren't. If your granddaughter is the kind of student who likes to learn from mistakes she makes on tests, then this could be somewhat important when picking a school (if that process isn't over yet, OR if you're rethinking your decision). If a school reviews exams with students after they're graded, AND they have a good program for her major, that would be a good place to be.

    Also, I took a year off between high school and undergrad (2015-2016), they call it a gap year. I applied to colleges in my senior year of high school, accepted a slot at a school, then "deferred" my acceptance. They let me start classes a year later, no problems. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made, and I'd recommend it to anyone, regardless of Corona. I got a full-time internship and a part-time job, and LOVED life. Now, if you and your granddaughter can find something productive for her to do during a gap year, this could be a good option too. But a gap year is a bad idea if it's likely that she won't do anything during that time. I'm sure Corona and govt restrictions are severely limiting what opportunities are available though :( but I thought I'd still throw that idea out there.
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