<p>A has done a great job in HS with top grades, nearly 2300 SAT, sports, 4 languages, coding awards. He's coming on strong with social skills if still a little reserved. But speech club competition, model congress and other activities are moving him way beyond the nerdish kid at the start of HS. One area that hasn't quite developed yet is a strong volitional sense. That is - being able to state clearly where he'd like to go, what he'd like to do. He has enjoyed coding and that's the industry of our area - Silicon Valley. So absent any other input from him (we have asked) I've been guiding him toward Computer Science. In the worst case he would graduates quite employable in these parts. I was just looking for thoughts from other parents who have been in the position of guiding a heads-down talented son or daughter. I noticed that you could apply to UCLA or Berkeley as Engineering Undeclared. That looks like a pretty good option that would leave some wiggle room if he lights on a particular path in his first year or two. Another idea was to just have him embark on a dual major - say Computer Science and Chinese. He's studying Chinese on his own outside of his already rigorous load. But he could as easily suddenly like something else while in college. Or lastly my college on the east coast had a strong engineering and liberal arts program and encouraged cross-pollination. Anyhow - any advice from someone who can relate? </p>
<p>Yes, I can relate. (DS didn’t have quite as many EC, but he did have stellar stats and many talents). Plan some college visits and try to be patient. Priorities can evolve over the last year of high school. </p>
<p>With DS, we stopped asking what major interested him. Instead we played a lighthearted family game…“What I don’t want to study”. His answers started with Pottery and then Creative Dance. As time went on, we made real progress 
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<p>There are lots of interesting college choices. DS really liked Harvey Mudd in Claremont consortium… it could be a good option for your son too. </p>
<p>That’s great - playing the reverse game. I already know a couple that put a burr in his bonnet. 
We loved Mudd and its relationship with the sister schools. The price is intimidating but we will probably put the hat in the ring anyhow. </p>
<p>Where did DS wind up? (No worries if you prefer to keep that private.)</p>
<p>Yes I totally relate - never pushed my son to worry about his future major while in HS because I said “the field you might major in maybe hasn’t been invented yet”. </p>
<p>Sure enough, he’s now a college freshman and his school has just announced a new major in Data Science - a field which marries comp. sci. and stats. and whatever else you want to throw into the soup (not really but it does seem still under construction!)</p>
<p>My son is quite interested but regardless of his decision, he realizes mom was right in that there’s no reason to rush the decision. </p>
<p>At Berkeley, be aware that College of Engineering undeclared is probably more selective for admission than most of the majors in the College of Engineering.</p>
<p>Berkeley also has computer science in the College of Letters and Science, where frosh admission is somewhat less selective, and double majoring with some other College of Letters and Science major is easier. But declaring the computer science major requires a 3.0 GPA in the prerequisites, and switching to a major in the College of Engineering is more difficult (it is not difficult to switch from the College of Engineering to the College of Letters and Science; only a 2.5 GPA is needed).</p>
<p>If he is very undecided, he may want to consider schools where there are fewer or lower admission barriers to changing or declaring the majors he may be interested in (of course, the schools should have good quality degree programs in those majors). Internal admission barriers may not be completely obvious; you may have to do some digging around college web sites to see what may exist in this area.</p>
<p>How about USC, where they actively encourage multiple majors? They provide generous merit awards to kids they court, and your S could be one of them. They are fine with kids being undeclared when they start engineering and deciding later what specifically they want to study. Our S was undeclared and decided on EE there. He also enjoyed studying geology and rock climbing. There are lots of other fields that your S can get interested in and pursue if he’s interested as well.</p>
<p>I’m more alarmed about 16/17 year olds who do know what they want to major in than those who don’t. :)</p>
<p>It’s great that your son is exploring different and disparate areas. At this point, he should be looking at CS and tech options but not eliminating strong math/science liberal arts.</p>
<p>I think you’ll find your EFC to be fairly consistent among most privates. If need based aid doesn’t look as if it’s going to work, start searching for some good merit schools (as well as UCs, of course). Grinnell and Rochester are two that come to mind.</p>
<p>Double and even triple majoring at most small liberal arts colleges is viable, though I may be mis-reading what you’re looking for in the depth of computer science and possible engineering option. Mudd + access to the other Claremonts sounds good, but I think Pomona + access to Mudd would also be viable. I like Williams for math/science and good overall academics, though not a tech destination per se. Perhaps Brown, excellent for everything on his wishlist plus the flexibility of an open curriculum.</p>
<p>Like momrath, I’m okay with a high student who wants to enter college undeclared. Keep in mind that students not only change their majors, I suspect, the vast majority get jobs and embark on careers unrelated to their majors.</p>
<p>D discovered a major on a college visit. Neither one of us had heard of it. It apparently is a very new field. </p>
<p>Colorado - my daughter and I played that same game beginning when she was fairly young - loved saying things like oh well you won’t be a professional football player! </p>
<p>She entered college undecided. She is going to a school which has an undeclared program where you take a one credit class the first semester to help you decide. They do things like have professors and kids from various majors come and talk to the kids, take aptitude tests, etc. The undeclared program did sway her decision on which college to attend. </p>
<p>End of freshman year she declared as a joint math/econ major and is very happy with her decision - says she loves economics. She is currently a sophomore and feels things have worked out perfectly for her.</p>
<p>I have a gifted S who was good in all academic areas in HS. His early interest was philosophy, which he studied in the summers, yet he chose to take the full AP science/math sequence in HS. He also excelled in languages, taking 2 through the AP level (both lang and lit in one case). Same thing with History and English. Like yours, he was naturally reserved.</p>
<p>He went to college as an undeclared major. He took a little of everything. Eventually he majored in one of his languages, with a strong philosophical and literary bent. He didn’t know what he wanted to do until about halfway through senior year. He is now in journalism school, and loving it. He is transformed in terms of drive, ambition, proactivity…it’s amazing.</p>
<p>When a kid is broadly talented and has wide interests, it is not easy for them to settle on one thing at an early age. I strongly believe that it is best for kids to go to a school that offers broad choices. They haven’t even had the opportunity to explore most of the subjects they could major in yet. </p>
<p>My one desire for my S heading to college was that he fall in love with something, anything, and throw himself into it. I knew that he had the talent to succeed in any area he chose. I thought that he could make a life and a living in any area he chose. Your S sounds similar to me. I would suggest that you stop trying to place him in a vocational box and let him explore and grow. When it happens for him, it will happen. And it is likely to be better if that choice is not made based on the life experiences and perceptions of a 17 yr old.</p>
<p>Yep. Sounds like middle son. High stats (Val, 5.3, 17 APs, National scholar junior year, 3 season 4 year varsity athlete, Captain, research,) at a public high school in the rural south. Loved history, math, physics, chem, foreign language… Was accepted EA to MIT, CalTech and a few others and RD to p’ton, harvard, duke,vandy, penn, dartmouth, amherst, swat… Looking at math at Chicago, biomedical engineering at MIT, all diverse subjects.</p>
<p>He graduated from p’ton with a degree in calc-based econ and a certificate in Helenic studies (greek). Received more degrees in 2 more semesters in biochem, microbiology and genetics from our local 4 year uni. Now he is med school in a joint MD/MBA program on full scholie/fellowship.</p>
<p>He graduates in less than 2 years. Maybe he will know then what he is gonna do. </p>
<p>Seriously.</p>
<p>Kat</p>