<p>A second vote for investigating the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. It has great business programs, has a lovely campus, and is really a very nice school.</p>
<p>Lawrence University in Appleton, WI.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind a religious college, then check out Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. They have decent tutoring programs to help kids through the transition. Just in case your son needs a little extra help.</p>
<p>Kajon -</p>
<p>Do take a look at the thread mentioned in Post #20. And I used the Colleges That Change Lives book/website successfully for my son. He is going to one of those schools in the Fall with a significant scholarship. His stats were slightly higher than your son’s, also at a very tough public (non-magnet) high school. He has poor time management skills too.</p>
<p>One caution – I used to think “just let him get a degree, any degree” also. Then a good friend of mine ended up with a son who is about to graduate (needs summer school) from a less-competitive LAC with a 2.3 GPA in a humanities program. He’ll have the degree but has no job or grad school possibilities due to the low GPA and a major without a specific career path. I know not everyone on CC will agree, but we expect our son to have a way to earn a living when/if he graduates. Fortunately, he seems to agree.</p>
<p>Also, there is a book called Rugg’s Recommendations that our high school counseling department swears by. It lists suggested colleges for specific majors, by the selectivity of the college. It also shows school size. I found it helpful; you can order it online.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>“He’ll have the degree but has no job or grad school possibilities due to the low GPA and a major without a specific career path”</p>
<p>I wonder if someone could comment about, or start a separate thread about, 2 year degrees or “technical” certificates. I have no experience with this, but think it would be a great option for my son.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’ll comment. I employ a number of people with two-year technical degrees in a manufacturing setting. In many ways I envy then. They have well-defined jobs with above-average pay, they get to work with their hands—don’t underestimate how satisfying that can be—and have none of the worries of financial or people management. When the whistle blows, they go home. They see the tangible results of their work every day. If they get laid off, there are a dozen other companies waiting to hire them tomorrow.</p>
<p>Even though my son is very academically inclined, if he came home and told me that his true calling was engine repair, or electronics, or HVAC installation, I’d be happy for him and pay for community college in a heartbeat. I’m completely convinced of the value of a technical education for many people who are currently forced into academic settings that they are not very well-suited for.</p>
<p>I have even known people who got a four-year degree from a LAC, discovered they didn’t enjoy what they were doing for a living, went back for a technical degree, and are now perfectly satisfied. Such a path should not be frowned upon in the least.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses and great ideas. I very much appreciate your insight and will look into all of your suggestions. I guess I am just frustrated because I want my son to be able to feel the satisfaction of doing well in school and he is going to have to work twice as hard to keep up with the stronger students. </p>
<p>I also appreciate all the private messages I received!</p>
<p>The NY Times Sunday magazine had a story about 3 weeks ago on the pleasures of working with your hands. Lots of plumbers, electricians, mechanics, etc have very good incomes and enjoy what they do</p>
<p>Another way to put it is that there are many different kinds of genius. We tend of think of a genius as someone who unlocks the secrets of the universe and requires a Ph.D. in astrophysics, philosophy, quantum mechanics, or biochemistry to do so. But there are geniuses who are musicians, electricians, and so on. What matters is how well-suited one’s chosen profession is to one’s mental aptitudes.</p>
<p>Kajon, if that is how you feel, I think that you and your son should consider match and safety schools rather than a reach school. You seem to want him to be challenged, but want a place where he will thrive if he works hard.</p>
<p>So is there a resource somewhere, to learn about 2 or 4 year technical credentials? When would a “trade school” be better than a community college? My son seems to to have a talent for graphic design, and while he has bigger dreams, I think it could make a great “day job”. </p>
<p>I guess this should be a new thread…</p>
<p>My oldest had a 3.4 unweighted average at a school that does not give out a weighted average. The next one did not even have a 3.0. The one after that had a 3.0 unweighted in the same scenario as the first. Current son in high school will have about a 3.0 average as well. </p>
<p>I felt the way you do when we were with a public school in the midwest. I swear, more than half the kids there were on the honor roll. More 4.0+s than any other grade pt average, it seemed. But the kids there were not going to top schools as a rule. The problem is that it really inflated the gpa for the flagship state school that was most kids’ goal for college. I know that my kids would have had a tough time if they even had a chance, with their grades to get into that state U. </p>
<p>It seems to me that boys have lower gpas, and if you are looking at the smaller private colleges, particularly LACs and catholic colleges, they seem to cut the boys a bit of a break that way.</p>
<p>Shrinkrap -</p>
<p>Try the Occupational Outlook Handbook. Here is the link for graphic designers: [Graphic</a> Designers](<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos090.htm]Graphic”>http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos090.htm)</p>
<p>The OOH works best when you want to research a specific job, I believe.</p>
<p>^Thank you!</p>
<p>I would also look at Bentley, nice business school on the East coast. Good Fit</p>
<p>My son is a rising Junior. He came out of HS with less than stellar grades and SAT scores below 1000!! Believe me when I say there is a lid for every pot. His GC wanted him to go to the local CC but my husband and I knew that our son would consider that to be “13th” grade and his lack luster academics would continue. We found a school that was perfect for him. He is majoring in sociology with a minor in criminal justice. He has maintained a 3.0 GPA, was appointed secretary of his fraternity and was chosen for an RA position for this upcoming school year! In short, he has grown up. Is he setting the academic world on fire? No. He is however a well respected member of his college community.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Depends. LAC’s do have general requirements, but they are minor compared to the breadth of classes one has to take in High School. If Son does well in writing, and majors in a writing related area, then you might be pleasantly surprised. Most of his classes in college will be towards his strength.</p>
<p>If his aspiration is to be a scientist, then getting a C in chem and trig may indicate he will have a challenging time ahead.</p>
<p>hayze, My S2 sounds like yours. He was a B/C student in h.s. (we won’t talk about the F in Span.2). He made less than 1000 on the SAT and was not interested in re-taking.
Said he would go wherever it would take him. He applied to 2 directional state u’s and was accepted to both. </p>
<p>His first semester, he bombed out, made less tha 1.0! It was a major wake-up call. In the spring, he made a 2.57. He just finished first session of summer sch., made 3.0
He is majoring in Criminal Justice. </p>
<p>He will never be a Dean’s List student but that is OK with us. He has figured out what it takes to be successful and seems to be doing it. With 3 years to go, I’m sure there will be some bumps in the road but am so glad that he has turned himself and around and proven to himself (and us) that he can do it. There is hope for these “average guys”!</p>
<p>And then there are the kids who go to schools that don’t practice grade inflation, where no one has gotten a 4.0 in three years. They have to compete against the kids from schools where half the class gets As. Frustrating to say the least.</p>
<p>Lots of smart able kids from Preps and academically challenging schools are not getting into first or second tier colleges because their GPA is below a cutoff intended for folks from the grade inflation world - although they are taking mind-bendingly difficult classes.</p>
<p>Kajon,
As a native of Des Moines, I know dozens of Drake and Simpson graduates and am very impressed with both schools. Your son would have an excellent experience at either school and both are well respected. One of my favorite family members is a Drake grad, went on to medical school, trained at the Cleveland Clinic and is now chief of cardiology at a major teaching hospital in the midwest. He was not an academic superstar in HS either, just barely a B student. Drake professors gave him lots of encouragement and individual attention, he was able to shine there.</p>
<p>Mantori,</p>
<p>I agree and have recent personal experience. We had our roof evaluated for hurricane damage and the two guys who showed up both had college degrees (one in psychology and the other in social work). Neither enjoyed working in offices and said they greatly preferred the roofing business (bear in mind I live in Texas where it’s often 100 degrees - they must REALLY love it) :-).</p>