<p>Where does one start a circle? For college search purposes, we just grabbed what ever came around for starters. My boys were/are a bit slow about all of this. We did look at some school "types". City, no campus vs out in the boonies, all campus. Big state U vs small LAC. Also, spent a little extra time at colleges when we happened to be at one for other purposes such as swim meets, basketball games, etc. That way they could begin to have some frame of reference when visualizing a school. The older ones had specific criteria that they wanted met, so that narrowed the range somewhat. This one is going to be a challenge as he has no limiting factors at this point and has no idea what he wants or doesn't want.</p>
<p>Thank you all <em>so much</em> for the thoughtful, nuanced and experienced replies! (tried to post a thank you earlier, but it was lost!).</p>
<p>Very much appreciate the time each of you took to contribute and share your perspectives and tips! Had to chuckle at the 'pre-testosterone fog'---there's been a bit of that floating around our house!!</p>
<p>One quick, related question (to college search) if I might. Just wondered if anyone thought it worthwhile to explore a bit into the 'end result' (career) as a part of the college investigation? (E.g., would I like to do research in a lab? design airplanes? be an actuary? write plays?) I was thinking of perhaps visiting the offices of parents I know w/interesting jobs (to son, possibly) in order to get a 'feel' for possible career direction. </p>
<p>Just thinking that getting a handle on the preferences for the 'end result' might greatly inform the college search (and may be better than letting atmospheric conclusions about which campus 'fits' guide the process...?). </p>
<p>Although, not sure if this is even a viable possibility w/a 15 year old guitar-player-in-the-making (and my own experience as a completely goal-free Eng. major could be motivating it!).</p>
<p>Thanks again for the kind insights and any additional thoughts...</p>
<p>I think any development of possible career aspirations is great to include alongside the college search. Your idea of meeting w/ friends or relatives w/ interesting(to S) careers or jobs is a super way to begin!</p>
<p>Thanks for the encouragement!</p>
<p>I'm printing out all the advice, above, for future reference!</p>
<p>Btw, there is a new great summer program at MIT in physics for HS students---if anyone is interested. My son qualified for this (!) & hopefully will have a good, science/math experience!</p>
<p>Jolynne, </p>
<p>A couple of thoughts, one on career and the other on school selection process.</p>
<p>LFWB had wanted to go to the Naval Academy since he was in first grade and went to Navy football games. So, getting him to look at any school beside the Naval Academy was a trip.</p>
<p>It was helpful that after writing papers and doing projects on the Navy he still wanted to go and wanted to go because he wanted to serve in the Navy. That kept him focused on grades and extracurriculars because he knew what he needed to do to get in. So that gave us a base from which to look at schools other than USNA. </p>
<p>We spent time thinking of the things he liked and was interested in outside the Navy such as film and outdoors activities and where he wanted to go to school.</p>
<p>He decided he would focus on the four Academies on the East Coast, not because that is where there were located, but because he had and continues to have a distain for all things Air Force. But he decided that if he didn't get into an Academy, he wanted to go to a school with a good NROTC program in the West.</p>
<p>He applied and was accepted to the Naval Academy Summer Seminar program that is held the summer preceding your Senior year. Went to that and also did an overnight the Spring of his Junior year at the US Merchant Marine Academy, at Kings Point, NY. He had been to West Point many times and had visited CGA the summer before his junior year.</p>
<p>He also visited UCLA and USC (film interests and joint NROCT Unit), Cal, Cal Maritime, and the University of Colorado Boulder (Outdoors and good NROTC Unit)</p>
<p>He sent SATs to the Academies and decided to apply to USNA and USMMA, USC, UC Boulder, and as a safety to Cal Maritime.</p>
<p>A lot of the application timeline for academies is driven as much by the nomination process as the application process itself. The good thing about Service Academies is that its free to apply. So he had his apps in and his nomination stuff done in October. He had is interviews and was starting his civilian college apps in November and Dec. </p>
<p>He received his Nominations to the Naval Academy and to Kings Point and a letter from Kings Point reserving him a spot in the Class of 2009 on the day after Christmas and he never finished his other apps.</p>
<p>Ultimately, he chose Kings Point over Navy for a host of reasons and is very happy with that decision and is doing well.</p>
<p>So, on the career front, if he knows what he'd like to do -- like be a Naval Officer -- look at all the paths to getting there and provide options. But also, look at schools that meet other needs as well. </p>
<p>I am a huge fan of service academies for the right kid. But they are not for everyone, but you don't necessarily need to be as driven as LFWB to have them be an option. I encourage you to look at them all, especially KP because it is so unique. They are all different and they all have great kids attending them.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Kings Point is a good school its like 15-20 minutes from my house infact my eye surgeon is across the street from the street u turn down from 25A(aka Northern blvd)</p>
<p>Off subject, but...</p>
<p>LFWBdad, A Kings Point recruiter at my son's high school once told me that statistically it is easier to get into Navy Flight school from Kings Point than the Naval Academy because there are so many students from Anapolis vying for spots, compared to students from King Point. I always wondered if that was really true (at the time, son was serious about flying in the Navy).</p>
<p>I have a junior S. </p>
<p>1) One of the first things he did was to sign up for SAT Question of the Day -- between that and all the emails from colleges after the PSATs, that got him to thinking.</p>
<p>2) A couple of teachers made excellent suggestions about schools (they know him well -- strengths and weaknesses). Happily he told me about this so I could encourage him to follow up.</p>
<p>3) He and I both did lots of browsing online, and I have complied an impressive (or at least lengthy) list of bookmarks.</p>
<p>4) Probably the most useful thing that's happened in terms of DS figuring out what kind of a college he wants is that he attended a selective math program the summer between soph and junior year. The junior staff at these places are generally math majors at top schools and arew more than happy to talk abouthte pros and cons of their respective schools. By the end of the summer, DS knew the size of school, what kinds of courses, the level of faculty interaction with undergrads, research opportunities, LAC vs. engineering school, etc. Things I never would have guessed were important to him were high on his list. Things HE never realized were important showed up on the list.</p>
<p>5) If he's math-oriented and bored, things like USAMTS and AoPS are great for stretching one's mind. DS fell in love with mathematical proofs over hte summer, doesn't get much of it at school, and does MTS to improve his skills (and he enjoys the heck out of it).</p>
<p>6) We visited two schools before the summer program, and four since. We generally combine these with family vacations. At this stage, DS wants to visit schools while classes are in session so he can observe classes, so that limits us to spring break and the fall of senior year. However, his list is getting pretty set -- he's looking for schools that meet some specific characteristics and meet the benchmarks for his top two choices. If I were starting out, I'd visit local colleges in your area to get a sense of size, urban vs. rural, programs, etc. Not withthe intent of applying, but as a knowldge base.</p>
<p>doubleplay, </p>
<p>It is true. There was a time when you simply needed to qualify for flight school and you were in. Today slots are limted so there is competition, but about 80% who want to fly get to. Two of my son's wrestling teamates will be going to Navy Flight School at graduation.</p>
<p>My son tells a great story about one of his pals being out on a container ship in the middle of Pacific when a Navy jet circles and radios the bridge asking if there are any Kings Pointers on board. There were, so the pilot chats for a while, does some tricks for them then flys off.</p>
<p>Lesmizzie, </p>
<p>What's your favorite place to eat in the area? I'm always looking for unique and good places to take my Mid when I'm up there.</p>
<p>first admitting that I havent read the other posts, but to the original question:</p>
<p>the thing that I did and made me very very happy with my selections was this:</p>
<p>have him make up an imaginary school that is "perfect" there are so many schools out there, that a dozen or so will fit that exact model. after he comes up with a huge list have him divide them into three categories: "I wont even consider a school without this" "important" and "icing on the cake"<br>
then all you have to do is find the schools that match</p>
<p>best of luck!!</p>
<p>I think the first best step is to come up with some variables that are pretty definite. By sticking with those, you can a least begin to reduce your list.</p>
<p>For example, we decided as a family that my daughter did not want to be more than 5 hours away from home (driving time.) </p>
<p>Next we decided that having a Jewish presence on campus (of at least 10%) would be another important factor.</p>
<p>By identifying those two factors, we reduced our possible numbers from thousands to maybe 50 options.</p>
<p>Next my daughter decided that she did not want to attend a school with under 2,000 people. More possible schools were eliminated.</p>
<p>We began to read guides to find our more about possible majors and campus life. Campuses with a big sorority/ fraternity presence seem to be out, too.</p>
<p>We are now probably down to about a dozen choices. Since my daughter is still a junior we are remaining flexible and open to new choices, but the task does seem less daunting.</p>
<p>We have begun to visit campuses and have eleiminated some possible schools just by gut feelings.</p>
<p>We try not to keep second-guessing our eliminations, since we know that ultimately we cannot have more than 8 to 10 choices.</p>
<p>I also didnt sift through the other posts, my apologies if I missed something or restated something:</p>
<p>I'm a college freshman and starting looking at schools about this time my sophomore year. I knew what I wanted to study (which changed last semester) so one day I did a quick Google for "athletic training"--not a very common major or one that's likely to be covered in the top "college search books". If your son's looking towards a more obscure major such as the one I looked up, online searches are helpful. Even USNews and College Board didnt mention Athletic Training in searches. Anyway, I would recommend figuring out TWO (or more) subjects your son would be interested in--one as a primary major, another as a "fall back", if he loses interest or whatever and wants to change majors once at school. I failed in that option--I only looked at athletic training (physical therapy was my backup). I dropped because Biology kicked my butt first semester and it wasnt even a weedout. And I seemed to lose interest in everything about training that I'd once liked. </p>
<p>But back to my point--I changed to Business and I'm happy but Iowa State isn't really "known" for business, atleast not nearly as much as its Colleges of Ag and Engineering. Basically I went from being in arguably the best Athletic Training program in the country to a so-so average b-school. I could've easily gone to Michigan and changed from Athletic Training and still been in a great business school. Same at many of other schools I checked out, except I was only focused on the athletic training.</p>
<p>I don't know if my post made sense. I hope it did though :) Just a recommendation to remember that interests change and its always good to go to a school that is strong in many fields, not just the one you're currently interested in.</p>
<p>I don't think you need any 'engineering' days at the office if he's going to MIT for a summer program. If he isn't wetting his pants by the end of that, you have a rock guitarist, not an engineer, on your hands. </p>
<p>All kidding aside, you never know where the poetry and guitar avenue will take him--it might lead him to invent some amazing new instrument. Encourage him to pursue his ideas with online research and forums. Encourage him to combine his interests with his natural talent. Look out for potential 'supplement' material for his app--his point of distinction. Little projects can turn into big products when the big dollop of testosterone hits them at 17.</p>
<p>More great, great insights, thank you all so much!!</p>
<p>And interesting info about the 'testosterone hit' at 17! Didn't know to anticipate that...! Son does seem a bit more motivated since receiving all the colleges' "we'd like to get to know you" emails after the PSAT scores arrived ("I feel special"). Hoping that sustains.</p>
<p>Crossing my fingers that the summer program will be a great way to do fun work, meet up with motivated kids and maybe hone in on an academic interest. </p>
<p>Will keep in mind <em>all</em> the tips offered here, both general and specific. Again, many thanks!!!</p>
<p>The lead guitarist for the group Boston was a MIT student -- and is collecting $$$ on his patents for various musical/sound system inventions. I am sure others can add more to this!</p>