<p>Son accepted with National Hispanic Scholarship ($25 thou/year for 4 years plus about $1,100 more in grant) to U of A, with auto acceptance to Honors college…now thinking about going to Cal Poly Slo w/only cal grant of $4,000 this year. He can live at home for Cal Poly as we can’t afford room/board in CA too high, but has always said wanted to leave…wanting to hear about either school. He will be Poly Sci major (2nd choice was philosophy)…thinking about music minor or at least taking some music classes. When visitied UoA he really liked alot…“even the food is good here!” thinking he is probably anxious about going, but says he is not. I am wondering for someone who isn’t that social that going to UofA seemed good as live on campus, in honors dorms, in honors college with smaller classes for at least one class a semester. Living in dorms and being in honors college with extra hands on advisor seemed good. Concern about calpoly would be like going to jr college where he took a class and then came right home and never talked to anyone in the class. although a few friends will be going to local jr college and one will go to cal poly, vast majority are moving away. Even now he does not call local friends on weekend, only goes with them if they call and there is a gathering…says he is bored with them…as mom don’t have need or even desire for him to go away…but do want a positive experience for him. He has been bored with school and always did not like school since Kindergarten…until about a week ago after 2nd tour of cal poly (first one was the worst…girl in charge just would stop when walking and ask friends to say hi and talk about their experience, but hey just mostly giggled and laughed and before we knew after about 6-7 if these stops the tour was over and we never went in any building but the student union! (so my impression was not so great…but he went back on his own tour as we agreed first was not probably representative). Really want to hear thoughts on both schools and any students out there your experiences going away and staying home…Thanks</p>
<p>I think that your son may want to go away and he seems excited about Arizona, but I think he is probably somewhat uncertain about it, since it is farther away and so he wouldn’t be able to go home as often and the entire experience would be new to him. I am a freshman at Cal Poly from out of state. In high school, I was very similar to your son. I was very quiet and didn’t have a lot of friends and only really hung out if them if they asked first. It’s ok not to be super outgoing, but I think it’s important to have at least one or two good friends. Even if your son decides to stay here and go to Cal Poly, it will probably be a different experience than high school or junior college. I was actually in a similar situation last year when Arizona offered me a quite generous scholarship for four years and a spot in the honors college, but I had applied early decision to Cal Poly and was therefore obligated to attend if I was accepted. Cal Poly only offered me a $1000 scholarship for one year. I think you should encourage your son to think hard about the decision he is about to make. He can always try going to Arizona and if he absolutely hates it, transfer. However, since he was accepted to the honors program, he will probably meet some more students who are a little bit more dedicated to their work and maybe more his type (vs. the partying type). I think the best way to meet people is just to talk to them. I know that when I am sitting in a class where I don’t know anyone, it is always nice if someone starts a conversation with me. In the end, it should be his decision though. But just so you know, the food here isn’t very good…</p>
<p>If your son is a highly disciplined, teacher proof student then the UofA could be a fabulous experience for him given that he could enjoy the full college experience at a good school. On the other hand it is more than twice the size of CalPoly in a totally different environment; a mid-sized city in the desert. Many people go there and love it. Just as many do not. Given what you’ve described, I’d go for it.</p>
<p>If finances are an issue, go for the best scholarship. Going away from home to a college in an honors program with such a nice scholarship would be an awesome experience. He would be with other scholarly types and he would grow. Good luck, a hard decision.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the input! How do you like Cal Poly and how friendly do you experience the other students. Any input regarding living off campus (in this case at home)…do you know any other students in that kind of situation and how they seem to do socially…I realize there are lots of factors to that…but I guess in general does it seem like there are lots of things going on that would pull someone in? eg. do they have ultimate frisbee? easy access to group actvities? again thank you for the input!</p>
<p>opps didn’t not that I was writing to NTKS17 specifically…but actually I thank all of you so far for sharing your thoughts! slocomom</p>
<p>Cal Poly is a very nice school, but it has been very different for me since I grew up near a big city and cal poly is not near one. But the people here are very friendly and the teachers are great and always willing to help. The generally small classes are nice too. One if my roommates became friends with a girl who lives at home and had her over to watch a movie. I think that if you are outgoing enough and make an effort, you will be able to make friends. There are also tons of clubs and intramural sports (ultimate frisbee may be one of them). Clubs meet at different times of the day, so they’re pretty easy to access. If your son does chose Cal Poly, I would strongly suggest he do WOW week, so that he has a chance to meet some new people. Even if he doesn’t become best friends with them, it may help get to know the school and things like that.</p>