<p>Military. .</p>
<p>OP - I would suggest you look into University of Redlands, Whittier College, University of La Verne, & Chapman University. All 4 are in Southern California and all 4 are excellent schools which may peak your sons interest in college. Don’t worry about taking him on visits this year, the only thing he needs to do during his Junior year is take the SAT. Maybe during the summer/fall before senior year you can get him to visit a few of these schools.</p>
<p>I would highly suggest you check into University of La Verne - it may be the perfect place for your son. He would have a good chance getting in with his stats, they have a great program for their on-campus kids, lots of stuff to do, and they offer over 70 majors. They have a TV & Radio station on their campus, and the admission staff is the best!</p>
<p>I only read the first and last pages of this thread, but based on what I read, I was also going to suggest Whittier as an option. Not sure if open to Oregon/Washington, but perhaps Western/Eastern Washington, or Evergreen State? Humboldt State or Sonoma State?</p>
<p>Hi everyone (I’m the OP)–</p>
<p>To the posters who suggested a job and also not to let him drive till his grades improve: excellent ideas, which I had already thought long and hard about. He has a potential job lined up at a pizza place starting in Aug, and he’s very excited about the possibility, so I take his anticipation as a good sign. I hope it pans out. If it does, I want him to keep it through the school year, although part of me will be terrified that his grades will drop because of it. On the other hand, considering how much time he blows on xbox and computer games, it shouldn’t make any difference. 
</p>
<p>As for driving, we are letting him get his learner’s permit (taking a drivers ed class first), but absolutely NO license till his GPA = 3.0 (he has a 2.9 now). The rationale for a permit now is that I think the more overall time behind the wheel, the better. And he still has to jump through all the hoops to get the permit anyway.</p>
<p>As for college visits-- to my chagrin, he wants no part of that right now. I’m hoping that changes…</p>
<p>As for possible colleges, who will take him with (this is my guess) a 2.9 GPA, no APs, and say a 1600-1700 SAT? He will have some ECs (mainly volunteering), but I know there are some schools that don’t really care about that.
Some of my close friends have kids that just graduated HS and are going to places like Oberlin and UCLA. It hurts!!</p>
<p>There are plenty of schools that would be happy to accept a student with a 2.9 GPA, no APs, and say a 1600-1700 SAT.</p>
<p>That is reassuring, midwestmom.</p>
<p>Another question for anyone-- S is considering a music business major, but his college app will likely have close to nothing that indicates he has an interest in music. He plays guitar (played piano for 7 yrs before guitar, but that was grades 1-8, which won’t appear on a college app), but has no interest in joining the jazz band at school because his musical interests lie in rock, metal, etc. He will be attending a music camp this summer (audition required, and he got in), but that may be the only hint of an interest in music on his application. </p>
<p>He’s friends with a kid at school (who just graduated) who will be headed to Berklee (in Boston), but that kid has a stellar resume (plays in multiple bands, does jazz band at school, has his own music web site, etc.). Not that S should aim for Berklee, but my question is how could he help himself get accepted into a music business program with not a lot of substance on his application (I am thinking ahead here)?</p>
<p>Hi BfloGal, I know you are looking for schools in southern Cal .in post #26 of this thread I mentioned University of Idaho along with several other schools in the West that your son would have little trouble being admitted. UI has a good music program, but Im not sure how their business program is rated. If you are looking for a school that attracts non competitive students, then take a look at UI. :)</p>
<p>Good question from a parent who can afford to pay for college.</p>
<p>schools with good music business programs that might admit your son…Belmont, University of Denver, American University…maybe Indiana University?</p>
<p>“As for possible colleges, who will take him with (this is my guess) a 2.9 GPA, no APs, and say a 1600-1700 SAT?”</p>
<p>That describes a good amount of my daughter’s friends and they are all heading to private colleges in the fall. There are more of them than 4.0, a million APs etc.</p>
<p>Thanks Tutu and Jordcin. Reassuring indeed-- assuming he’s willing, when the time comes, to broaden his scope outside of southern CA…</p>
<p>an ACT of 24 would put him in the 75th percentile across the nation. Pretty decent.</p>
<p>[ACT</a> Score Information: National Ranks for Test Scores and Composite Score](<a href=“ACT Test Scores | ACT Scoring | ACT”>ACT Test Scores | ACT Scoring | ACT)</p>
<p>my friend (adult) told me the best thing he did was to work as a furniture mover in the year after college since he was not focused and motivated. THAT work really got him interested in studying the next yr. He is now an editor of a major city paper after majoring in journalism.</p>
<p>OP, I think a small college where the kid can get lots of attention will do better for your S. He needs to be inspired, motivated and stimulated. </p>
<p>I was a total failure in my Highschool years. Bearly got out of a well known high school in Taiwan and repeated my 2nd Highschool year twice. It was a huge highschool and I got lost in it, could not concentrate on my work. In today’s standard, I can only get in a Jr. college or trade school. In those days, I could not even do that in my country, since I did not pass the college/trade school combined entrance exam. As a result I was drafted to the Millitary as PFC, the lowerst level you can get. The mandatory military service gave me two years to think over.</p>
<p>Afterwards, my parents decided nevetheless sent me to the USA to be educated. I went to a small, noncompetitive LAC in NY(Pace Univ.) and for some reason, the attention from the professors there stimulated my desire to succeed and ended up finishing my BBA degree in three years and went to work for HP, GE Capital, ABC TV and KPMG( 10 years), with a successful career in investment banking afterwards.</p>
<p>A music business major with your sons stats…Take a look at The University of Rhode Island.</p>
<p>Mid Tennessee has a well known program in music business.
[Music</a> Business – Department of Recording Industry – MTSU](<a href=“http://recordingindustry.mtsu.edu/music_business.html]Music”>http://recordingindustry.mtsu.edu/music_business.html)</p>
<p>Columbia College in Chicago has music performance and lots of music tech and business. They are a test-optional school, and not focused on academic or performance competitiveness.</p>
<p>McNally Smith College of Music in Twin Cities also combines music performance and music tech and business. They hardly request any academic information at all. (They used to be called “Music Tech” until just recently.)</p>
<p>Both are right downtown in great cities, with lots of contacts and opportunities. They’re definitely a step down from Berklee in terms of prestige, but they can get you well-trained, connected and into the business.</p>
<p>I’m sure there are other schools like this around the country. We know kids at both of the above schools, those who were stars in HS and those who weren’t. They’re enjoying their programs and feeling ready to get out and work in the field. Good luck!</p>
<p>MI in La has a great contemp music program where rocks thrive.</p>