<p>I know someone who went to Cal State Sonoma, someone who majored in X-box in high school, and got a good education and matured a lot. Unlike some of the other CSU’s, it’s not terribly impacted and he still gets home to SoCal easily enough.</p>
<p>*What about…Chapman, Santa Clara, USF, UC Riverside or Merced, USD, Chico State (which is not SoCal but is residential!). *</p>
<p>Santa Clara? no way.</p>
<p>The UCs have a 3.0 minimum.</p>
<p>USD, USF, & Chapman might take him as a full pay.</p>
<p>m22ck: the high(er) GPA scores are true, but look at them in the context of the SAT scores. The CSU entrance matrix is a combination of the two.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>The Calif schools are very GPA minded.</p>
<p>And, the mom was guessing what he might get on the ACT and SAT. She may not really know.</p>
<p>What does ‘GPA minded’ mean ? Looking at the matrix and the scores you posted, it just appears that many of the kids have low test scores, and rely on grades to gain admission. OP’s son may fit this category, or she may be right that he can rely on higher scores to offset his low GPA.</p>
<p>Regardless, look at the matrix: a 2.5 GPA + 900 2-test SAT is enough for the non-impacted majors, while a 2.5 GPA + 1200 2-test SAT is enough for the impacted majors. Is this what you are calling increasingly difficult to get into ?</p>
<p>From my distant perspective, it sounds like any slacker kid who is actually smart, can at the time of their choosing sit down for a week, prep for the SAT, and score results adequate for admission with a GPA of ‘D’ or above.</p>
<p>OP: Are you familiar with WICHE ? A consortium of colleges in the western and mountain states allow their OOS students a discounted tuition rate of 150% of local state fare.</p>
<p>My state of NM has essentially open admissions to UNM and NMSU. UNM has a large commuter population, but a dorm population also. I don’t know much (anything) about NMSU. I gather that sports are well attended although not mid-west football intense. Only 10% of entering freshmen graduate in 4 years, and only 25% graduate in 6 years. On the other hand, 3 of the top 10 kids from the top rated public HS my kids finished this year are heading to UNM.</p>
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<p>It is a commuter school, but the campus has recently been spiffed up and looks wonderful. There’s a performing arts complex that hosts a wide range of offerings.</p>
<p>I feel it’s worth taking a look at nearby Cal States. The physical facilities and “feel” can be a pleasant surprise. </p>
<p>Some kids also decide to take the less selective options. A friend’s child, who I think had a CSU GPA in the high 2’s/very low 3’s, was (much to the mother’s surprise) admitted to San Francisco State and Northridge, but decided to attend the local community college.</p>
<p>Why am I the only one who’s suggested the idea that “college might not be the best answer”?</p>
<p>Honestly people, college isn’t for everyone, and that’s not a negative thing. Some people are cut out for academic work, and others would rather jump into a job or career program or start a business.</p>
<p>TC, ask yourself this: are you willing to spend $60 thousand dollars minimum for a degree your son doesn’t seem very interested in? Isn’t it worth at least looking at other options first?</p>
<p>The College of the Ozarks is tution free but requires working with others and doing chores such as cooking and whatnot. Perhaps a year at a place like this might give him a wake up call and make himself seriously consider what he wants from life.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that this is a sophomore h.s. boy…a rising junior. His interest in college is very likely to pick up and it is very possible that his GPA will rise as well. College is in his future if he wants it and if he decides he doesn’t, then mom can post another thread.</p>
<p>Have him apply to all the UC’s that are not top tier, north and south, so the choice is there in spring of Sr year. At this point, keep the choices open, he can pick later. UC is one application, so no more work except paying the fees. Kids do change, and the change from fall sr to spring sr may surprise you. Apply to several Cal States. Look at private schools like the University of Redlands, especially the Johnson Center there. That may work better for kids that already have direction, but it may appeal to him to develop his own program and you are mentored intimately, from what I hear.</p>
<p>I’m not a fan of sending a kid to community college first. My own experience is that you don’t have gestalt with commuter students. I could just have fumbled along casually along with so many peers had I not known people at state. I had a much more positive experience at state. Being surrounded by people who were in it for the 4 year degree really influenced me to do the same. For very focused kids, who plan to transfer to UC, I have seen CC work. They lived with family and just were focused workhorses hoping to get Jr transfer to Berkeley.</p>
<p>Other SoCal schools? Maybe Pitzer, but likely a reach, visit anyway. What about Arizona? close enough. USD is beautiful. How about doing a bit of a tour with him. Skateboarders are not strangers on college campuses. Good Luck/</p>
<p>Edit to see he is only a sophmore, so you can’t calculate his UC gpa yet. Just make sure, if you can, that he is UC elgible, so that option is open. UC has the most difficult requirements in the country so he will be able to apply anywhere if he meets reqs. If he does not, he can still apply to many places. UC elgible means taking certain classes. See the UC Pathways website for more info. It is too early to see what his interests are in college or not. You can only keep options open. But a visit or two to see how some operate, and see how chill the atmosphere is might interest him. Try to find out about the coolest schools possible (UCSC? Johnson program at Redlands, Pitzer?) and just take a visit or look to see how awesome it would be. Don’t pressure now.</p>
<p>wow, I only now realized there was more than page one. I will have to go back.</p>
<p>Good Lord in heaven, only on CC would we be talking about gap years and trade school for this kid.
He sounds like 97% of the boys in America.
Even very bright and motivated kids do not necessarily discuss books and current events at the dinner table.
He will do fine. He will probably end up applying to schools that some of his friends are applying to, and that’s perfectly normal.
I agree with whoever it was that said that the real issue is not finding a school but finding direction. But all kids struggle with that.
Let him take more of the initiative senior year (which is when many non-cc kids start worrying about college!) , set a GPA minimum for your continued payment of tuition, and leave it be.
Good luck!</p>
<p>What Pandem said. I won’t be surprised if S2, now finishing eighth grade, dosen’t go to college, at least not a 4-year program. He’s bright but not the least bit interested in learning. It wouldn’t kill me if he went in the armed forces or took vocational training after high school. Of course, a lot can change between now and then, but as long doesn’t try to work 20 hours a week at McDonalds and spend the rest of the time playing video games, I’ll be fine.</p>
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<p>Sometimes it’s just a matter of your son’s finding his true “calling”, i.e. finding a field he’s actually interested in. </p>
<p>I don’t know your son or his particular circumstances, but what I can tell from personal experience is that surfers and/or skateboarders are often stereotyped as shallow and non-intellectual, when that is definitely not necessarily the case. </p>
<p>I second however other posters’ opinion that you should not waste your hard-earned money sending your kid to a 4-year college if he’s not ready or willing to do the work.</p>
<p>D. does not like to read, does not care about news either and almost never wathces TV. She would not discuss books with anybody, she never discuss anything academically related with her friends (lots of them). What is intellectual?
She graduated #1 in her HS class. She also never had a single “B” in her life starting with when they start letter grading (1st grade?) all thru college. She will be college senior next year. Still does not care about literature or news. We just let her be and enjoy whatever she is interested in.</p>
<p>Is it possible that a non intellectual kid may be better served living at home and attending a CC. If he proves himself to be interested in something that requires a degree than he could transfer to a state school. To spend $40,000 plus a year for a kid whose interest is in skateboarding seems like wishful thinking. He may just need to mature and learn that a college degree is too expensive to use as a social enjoyment.</p>
<p>I would also like to mention that if your son is not a reader than it is not safe to assume that he will have a 1700 SAT score. Kids that do not read are lucky to break a 500 on the reading section. What math class will he be taking in Sept of his junior year? The questions you may want to think about regarding his success potential in college are his AP classes, and the comprehensive exams. If he has difficulty studying for midterms and finals that cover the years worth of work, than that will indicate how he will do in college.</p>
<p>My husband was a first generation college attender who tells the story of never having been on a campus until the day he showed up as a freshman. He’s always been very enthusiastic about making sure our kids are exposed to college at every opportunity – so that they’re not in any way intimidated by college. Where we live there’s an easy way to do it – there’s lot of free stuff going on on our local campuses.</p>
<p>Maybe you could simply find some ways even over the summer to work in going to something at a college – an international fair, a football game, a theater festival (our local one shows movies on the lawn in the summer) or something. (I always take my kids to walk the dog at my alma mater when we’re in the area. i’ve never actually consciously told them “I’d like you to go here.” It’s just a great place to walk a dog, but if they were to get ideas while we were there . . … )</p>
<p>If there is an intimidation factor to your son’s attitude, just spending some time at colleges is often a good way to get kids over it. (I worked in a program for inner city kids for awhile where we consciously got them onto campuses on a regular basis – just so they’d start to feel comfortable and be able to picture themselves there.) If the local uni has a good pizza place on campus, Sunday brunch or something – you might just want to eat there once or twice over the summer. The big driving visit might seem heavy handed to your son, but finding stuff to do on a college campus is fairly subtle and just might have the intended effect.</p>
<p>What about the Arizona schools? Just a thought. I know you say CA, but the system seems so overburdened there and the Arizona schools seem fun and sunny and a little less intense in terms of admittance. Also, not overly “intellectual.”</p>
<p>I know what you mean by that. D2, a rising soph, athletic, great with people, I mean seriously great with people, could head up any sales team in the country…will need a degree for that job, but isn’t going to be thrilled if she’s got to spend hours with people who want to discuss Finnegan’s Wake as a pass time. Rather be at the game, watching or playing, rather be out with friends just hanging out.</p>
<p>This is a good skill set, too, and no reason at all for a kid not to go to college. I’d look for schools with business majors and media majors…good luck to you and your son.</p>
<p>Perhaps in the years to come it might be worthwhile for him to get out of his element and see a different environment which will challenge and motivate him. Berea might be a perfect place where he can rub elbows with the less well to do since it is tuition free. All students work at least 10 hours per week in campus and service jobs.</p>
<p>Also, Cool Colleges: For the Hyper-Intelligent, Self-Directed, Late Blooming, and Just Plain Different by Asher is another book to take a look at.</p>