DR. WALLACE: My daughter is already making preparations for her next school year, which will begin in late August. She's quite concerned about her high school academics because she wants to get into a good college.

She's getting mixed messages from some of her friends and even a few teachers she knows from her high school. Do you feel she would be better served by taking regular high school classes, ones she could definitely get superior grades in, or by taking more challenging college preparation courses? She'll still get good grades, but maybe not quite at the same level that she would in the regular classes.

I lean towards taking the more challenging, college-preparatory type classes, but she's worried that her GPA may not be as sparkling as it would be otherwise. Your thoughts? - Mother of a Serious Student, via email

MOTHER OF A SERIOUS STUDENT: I agree with you that taking the most challenging courses is the best preparation for a college career, which includes both your daughter's eventual academic pursuits and her valid interest in getting into the best possible school.

One way to resolve this issue in your local area would be to have your daughter contact the college she's interested in attending, if she has planned that far. Her target college or colleges can provide specific answers in this regard. It may also vary slightly from department to department, depending on what your daughter's major field of study is going to be.

HE TOOK OFF AND NOW SHOWED UP OVER A YEAR LATER

DR. WALLACE: I was a second-year college student who was engaged to be married in about six months when I found out I was pregnant. My fiance, who did not attend college, at first reacted as if this was the greatest news ever, but within two weeks, he started acting withdrawn and distant. Within a month he made himself scarce and stopped communicating with me entirely.

I was mentally traumatized by his departure, but fortunately, I have a good network of friends and family who guided me through my pregnancy. I gave birth to a happy, healthy son, and he has been the joy of my life ever since.

To my utter shock, over a full year after my then-boyfriend abandoned me, he called me and told me he had had a change of heart and wanted to come and meet his child and see if we could reconcile. It's funny, because looking back, when this all happened, I thought I was deeply in love with him, but now I don't have any interest in him at all because I know I can't trust him ever again. What should I do in this situation? I'd prefer it if he would just stay out of my life entirely at this point. - A Single Mother and Proud of It, via email

A PROUD SINGLE MOTHER: You should tell him the truth but spare him the specific details. Simply tell him that you understand he has a right to see his child, but that you want to tell him upfront that you're no longer interested in a romantic relationship with him.

Do some studying in your local area to find out what your parental rights are, and what his rights will be as well. He may or may not stick around for the long run once he finds out you're no longer interested in marrying him, but let that play out. What you can control is the fact that you will not be dating him at all anymore, ever, and that you will communicate that to him tactfully, but definitively.

I can understand where you're coming from. To go through pregnancy and childbirth all by yourself, only to have him show up over a year later, completely justifies the mindset you have.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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