help me make a first time list for my soon to be hs jr son?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Here is what we are looking for:</p>

<p>RURAL or Small town country area,mountains etc. PREFERABLY UPSTATE NEW YORK but will consider areas no more than 5-6 hrs from Long Island too that fit rural setting.</p>

<p>He does not know what he wants to major in but is best in and enjoys Math.</p>

<p>When I mention Enginnering of different types he says ...eh. Also mentioned accounting or finance... the same...eh.</p>

<p>Architecture? He likes to draw and is fair to talented...but again...eh.</p>

<p>Sounds motivated huh?</p>

<p>He has GPA approx B+ Scored about 1100 on PSAT w/ no prep...will prep this year but he does not seem to be too motivated in spite of our encouragement</p>

<p>PT job in video game store, loves the outdoors, kind of techy and quiet( at least from what I see as mom) loves building and being outdoors(his grandfather has log home near Delaware river and they build all kinds of things and work outdoors together)</p>

<p>11th grade 12th grade
courses: courses:</p>

<p>Eng H AP Lit
AP US Hist Full yr AP Govt
Pre Calc Full yr AP Economics
Physics Either College Forensic Science, AP Chem
HS Engineering or AP Physics
AP Calculus
Spainish III ,SAT Prep Criminal Justice I&II
Internship( not sure w/ what yet)</p>

<p>Will try to get him to join some clubs or math contests.</p>

<p>He tells us he wants to be a police officer. Or maybe join the service. We want him to have at least a 4yr education if not more first before taking the test and explore lots of different options before commiting.</p>

<p>Here are schools we are thinking of:</p>

<p>Reach
RPI
Hamilton
Vassar
Colgate
Cornell
Bucknell</p>

<p>Match
SUNY Geneseo
Alfred</p>

<p>Others
Clarkson
Wells
Union
SUNY bing
SUNY buff
Alleghany</p>

<p>So what can you suggest?</p>

<p>Appreciate your comments</p>

2

<p>It sounds like you have a good list going.</p>

<p>Maybe you could add U of Rochester to the list...but other than that, I think you thought of all the schools I would have mentioned.</p>

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<p>Hartwick, St Lawrence, Ithaca</p>

4

<p>If he really does want to join the service I would advise against stopping him against his will. Admittedly, I know nothing of your family situation, so this may not be the best judgment, but I do have some personal experience here. My grandmother wanted my father to go to school rather than joining the service. He eventually caved and went, spent 1 miserable year there, and joined the service anyway. Your situation might be completely different, your son might not be set on the service or the police, I do not know, but if he is completely set on the idea, I really don't think you should necessarily stop him.</p>

<p>That said, your college list does sound about right for the schools you are looking for, as collegehelp said, Ithaca would be a good possible add.</p>

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<p>I would say that's a very suitable list. Vassar has a very liberal bent that is very different from Colgate, Hamilton, Bucknell, so if you like the Vassar atmosphere would be better off to consider Wesleyan, Connecticut College and Skidmore too. Dartmouth, Williams and Middlebury are good rural schools within 5-6 hours of LI. You might want to also look at Lehigh, Lafayette and Hobart.</p>

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<p>you know i like you lulizte (from the trinity and conn threads), but i think that some of those schools are too out of reach: he's not getting into cornell (or colgate, vassar, hamilton for that matter) with a B+ and SATs below a 1200. (although he might have a shot at vassar because of gender imbalances).
bucknell and bing are reasonable reaches, i'd add union to that too.
other schools i can think of:
matches: hartwick, ithaca, hobart, marist (next to vassar),
safe schools: canisius, elmira (a great school that also wants to get more males!)
niagra might be of great interest- its apparently one of the best rotc programs in the US</p>

<p>good luck!</p>

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<p>uh gellino- before you recommended that list of schools (most top schools, and some that are reaches for everybody), did you bother to look at her sons stats?</p>

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<p>1100 on the PSAT? It's scored out of 240.</p>

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<p>^ Don't pretend to be confused. You know exactly what she means</p>

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<p>Just checked SUNY Cortland website and found a link to ROTC programs based out of Cornell. It seems the following schools have a partnership with Cornell ROTC.-<br>
Ithaca College-Elmira-Wells and SUNY Binghamton & Cortland. My d will be attending Cortland. They also have a big outdoors program in the Adirondacks. Hope the info is helpful.
I swore to myself, I was going to stop posting on any new threads after 6/30 unless it really pertained to info about my kids school. But since I have one in Cortland and the other at Cornell (and it is 6/30) I wanted to get you the info.</p>

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<p>I guess I shouldn't have bothered with Dartmouth and Williams, but given Cornell, Colgate, Bucknell in the reach category, thought the rest were reasonable suggestions.</p>

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<p>Yes, but Cornell, Colgate and Bucknell are unrealistic reaches. Isn't this the same parent who had Yale on the list for a daughter with an SAT score in the 400s?</p>

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<p>I am so silly-- can't believe I forgot to mention it!! SUNY Cortland seems to have a BA/MA combo program in Environmental Science/Forestry with Duke U. I actually started the hidden gem thread because I was so impressed that a kid from Cortland can get a Masters from Duke U. As you mentioned your kid is into the outdoors, it may be a program to check out. It is listed under the biological sciences.
Just for info- the 4 year SUNY's is not a slam dunk for B+ kids with 1100 SAT's. He should do ok and get into some of them- but I have heard of kids with those stats not getting into the SUNY colleges.
Wells- probably wants more males too as it just went co-ed. I believe there is also some academic arrangement between Wells and Cornell to allow students to take courses at the other school.<br>
FYI- I really did like the Cortland campus. Very outdoorsy-rolling hills etc.
PS- I hope grandpa's home is ok. I know they were hit pretty hard in the area with the rainstorms.</p>

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<p>syracuse..isnt that in ny?</p>

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<p>yes,
I am the parent of the child who scored a first time score of 490 on her math portion on her first SAt. She scored higher on her second SAt and ultimately was accepted at a good LAc in which I think she will be happy. She also graduated in the top8% of her class and won many scholarships, she was awarded two medals from HS, one for highest score in dept of Social Studies and the other for academic achievement and was on the principals list.</p>

<p>some CC responders gave unrealistic responses to her college outcome ....they were the unrealistic ones if you ask me. Perhaps you were one of them? They were telling me she was learning disabled because she scored below avg on the Math portion her first time.</p>

<p>The reason she considered applying to Yale was because she has relatives with an inside hook that she did not want to use... and she also IS capable of that level work. She also applied to a range of schools in selectivity.</p>

<p>As far as my second child, the hs jr that this thread refers to...schools like Vassar or Hamilton and Cornell are reaches but he has not even taken his first SAT yet nor prepped for it....is it wrong for me to be optimistic about a high score that may in part earn him a spot in a selective school?</p>

<p>If parents according to you should not REACh for top schools for thier kids because of thier present grades then I must say I disagree with your method of reaching goals. Reaching for a top school may just be the motivation needed to work very hard to gain admittance in one.</p>

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<p>I dont think SUNY Geneseo is a match... there average student has about a 92 GPA, not a B+.</p>

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<p>I think it's harmful to a kid who scored 1100 on the PSAT to have a parent put Cornell and Colgate on his list. If he is one of the very few that make a steep jump in scores, then happily add them. Don't you think he might feel he is dissapointing you if he has no chance at schools you wanted for him?</p>

<p>And if you don't see him as very motivated, do you think the teachers that have to write his recs will?</p>

<p>I'm curious, did your daughter end up at a school anywhere near Yale calibre? Did the math score jump hundreds of points? </p>

<p>A roomate I had at Harvard who was a several generation legacy with big dollar donations had a sibling that was rejected with a 1300 SAT. The school did write the family a nice letter.</p>

<p>Bottom line, a parent coming up with school lists that are way beyond the student's current stats (especially going into junior year!), IMHO, is not constructive or healthy.</p>

<p>And luli, almost any average students could make it through Yale or Harvard, but it is not the criterian for acceptance.</p>

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<p>Considering the average GPA at Colgate is around 1300 I dont think an 1100 on a kids first try at the PSAT's, with no prep, should think he has no shot to get into Colgate.</p>

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<p>No my D did not end up @ an ivy nor did her SAt math score jump"hundreds of points", it did jump about one hundred pts and her overall performance was notable.</p>

<p>If kids visit a top school and educate themselves on what will be expected for acceptance or at least a competitive chance at admiitance I think it is good for them.</p>

<p>If I would have told my D her 490 score was the final score and only had her visit less selective schools because her grade was acceptable than she would have not had the passion to work harder and strive for admittance anywhere else.</p>

<p>Iam trying to instill this in my son as well.</p>

<p>By no means is this something that they do not want for themselves, they do....but at 17 not all kids have the wisdom and maturity to navigate the college process alone. It is a learning process as we found with my first one. I just think parents can help encourage thier kids and support them in thier chioces and give them every opportunity that is available to them in this process. For example if you like this school then this is what you will need to strive for. If they try thier best and still don't get accepted at least they have the satisfaction of knowing they raised the bar for performance and did thier best.</p>

<p>I think this is better than setting the standard lower or at a mediocre level because that is where your grades fall comfortably 1 year before you submit applications and 2yrs before you attend.</p>

<p>Much can happen in 1-2 yrs. With the hope of attending a school that makes a student feel proud and happy for his future in front of him it is amazing what a student can achieve when it is something he determines to work hard for.</p>

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<p>"I dont think SUNY Geneseo is a match... there average student has about a 92 GPA, not a B+."</p>

<p>Wow, that confused me. At my school, a B+ is a 90-93</p>