<p>This is my first post! I would like advice from parents about the future college prospects in CA, preferably SoCal, for my HS sophomore son.
Based on his current performance and motivation towards academics in high school, I think he will probably end up with a 3.5 GPA (UW as well as weighted) with a 1800 SAT score. He has no APs so far and I am not sure if he will take any APs in his junior or senior year. He may take a couple of honor classes by his senior year. I am hoping he will think more about college as he moves into junior year . He is a typical slacker and has no idea at this time about what he want to do in the future. His ECs are only skateboarding at this time, which he is very passionate about and displays good level of skill, participating in several contests, is sponsored by a local company and has potential to grow further (get more sponsors/become amateur/professional) in this sport. I know skateboarding is not a traditional sport that appeals to colleges, but I was wondering if a skilled skateboarder would get him points with any private colleges.</p>
<p>I was hoping he may get into some good CSUs since they do not look into course rigor or ECs, and use a number based admission criteria. We are open to UCs (if he improves on his grades), CSUs and all privates in SoCal.
Can anyone suggest what colleges in SoCal or California would be a match for a 3.5 GPA-1800 SAT-no course rigor kid?
Thanks in advance for your input.</p>
<p>Only two weeks there, but up to this point, the experience has been fantastic!</p>
<p>As a sophomore, my son had less than a 3.0, and no AP classes in his future (his school offers 7), but he really stepped it up after that, had some pretty good EC’s, 1800+ SAT, and finished with 3AP’s, and about a 3.3 GPA (3.1 UCGPA).</p>
<p>He also got waitlisted, then into UCR, CSU’s (CPP, Sonoma State, Chico Monterrey) and a few privates in Ca and the PNW. Things can change a lot in a year, not that it needs to.</p>
<p>It sounds like his grades have an upward trend so that’s a plus. He has a more unique EC and it sounds like he may be traveling to competitions. My friend’s S is a competitive surfer and is also doing a college search. His priority is geographical location (there is currently a cc thread on this) and wants to go to school closer to home.</p>
<p>As a parent of a S who I felt was a slacker, I suggest that your S apply to a couple of schools so he can make a decision in the spring. They often experience a lot of growth and maturity from fall to spring of senior year. S wasn’t too excited about it at first (I think he was more nervous than reluctant) but when spring came, he was ready to make a decision.</p>
<p>@tx5athome - Yes, we are CA residents. Our local CSU is CSUN (Northridge) and I would like to aim for higher tier CSUs. </p>
<p>Also, I would like for him to go to 4 year college and not the community college route.</p>
<p>Shrinkrap - I would love for him to get into Loyola Marymount but I thought their criteria is more competitive. I am especially worried about his lack of APs…</p>
<p>If he raises his GPA a little he might get into SDSU (their average admitted GPA outside of the San Diego area was I think somewhere around a 3.8). </p>
<p>You might look at Chapman. My son has 3 high school classmates there, doing very different things, and they are all happy. Also my neice just started and really likes it.</p>
<p>The UCs (not sure about CSUs but I assume so) look at the 10/11 grades to determine admission. These are the critical 2 years where he needs to perform as best he can to have his options open. I know this is easier said than done but try to explain to him and show him how the UCs calculate the ‘UC GPA’ and why these 2 years are important for him including course selection (i.e. getting an ‘A’ in a UC accepted AP or honors course will boost his GPA - potentially above a 4.0).</p>
<p>I think it’s too early to be too concerned about which college would be a match for him because you don’t really have any way to know that since he’s just starting on earning the first grades that count the most. You also don’t really know what his SAT/ACT scores will be like at this point. It’s really nothing to get too involved in until he’s further along and you have a better idea of where he’s at - other than to make sure he understands in tangible terms what’s at stake these next couple of years.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for their insight and responses.
Right now, my son doesn’t realize the importance of college and working hard is important to get into a more competitive college. He just wants to cruise along and see where he goes…I definitely think visiting some colleges will inspire him when he sees how cool and interesting the campuses look…
Thanks again…</p>
<p>CCSiteObsessed - Yes, we would definitely consider Redlands.Thank you.</p>
<p>One more question to all the experts on this site, is it correct that CSUs will not consider course rigor when determining selection to a prospective student? CSUs will just go by GPA and SAT/ACT scores…right? Or do the selective CSUs such as Long Beach/CPP/SDSU take AP/Honor classes into consideration?
Thank you.</p>
<p>^^^See detailed explanation on the CSU Mentor web site re calculating GPA. The short answer is that it appears that GPA is figured the same as the UC system expect that they also look at senior year grades in addition to sophomore and junior grades. Course rigor is considered to the extent that you get an extra bump for up to eight classes for honors, AP, and IB classes. I am assuming they will only include approved classes as shown on the UC site, and not what the particular high school counts as honors/AP/IB. The differences among the CSUs is their formula cut-off, and SLO has a much more involved application and requires a hard and fast declaration of major. </p>
<p>Also, Hopeful – IIRC, Redlands has a pretty early deadline in order to get the best merit scholarships, etc.</p>
<p>CPP had a pretty detailed supplement last year. I thought more work than CP SLO. Also be aware of the role local referral area plays on points needed. This seems really big at SDSU.</p>
<p>Just a minor correction to the good explanation in post #15. The UC and CSU’s will give a one point bump for eight semesters of approved honors or AP- only 4 year long courses. This is why you will see kids sometimes post their UW, W and UC gpas.</p>
<p>So yes, rigor is considered to an extent, but it is still numbers driven for the CSU’s</p>
<p>The UC’s claim to be more holistic in their process, so rigor above the eight semesters calculated in the gpa is taken into consideration.</p>
<p>Hi Hopeful! College visits are a great idea, college is otherwise so far away for him as to be literally unreal.<br>
One thing I would recommend is him taking the PSAT as a sophomore to identify his strengths and weaknesses and also predict a range of where his SAT may lie. Then, if you want you can get some tutoring early on to prep him for the later tests. It also lets you see how he tests. Even if he does TERRIBLE, that would be useful for lighting a fire under him for future grades, prepping for tests, and taking more advanced classes. Good luck!</p>