OH! I forgot about Elon. D1 as well…
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The first school that popped to mind for me was Marshall University in West Virginia. It has about 8k undergrads and sports are popular there. Additionally, it is well-known for its assistance programs: https://www.marshall.edu/help/divisions/. It includes academic coaching and help with executive functioning, but it also has a summer program that sounds like it could be really good for him to help acclimate to college before the rest of the student body gets on campus. It’s not very racially diverse, but there is more socioeconomic diversity (45% of students receive Pell grants). It’s also part of the National Student Exchange where he can study for up to a year at another university (mostly in the U.S., but also in Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam). He could do an exchange with U. Mass - Amherst or U. of Minnesota - Twin Cities if he wanted to try a bigger school for a term or two (and U. Mass would also likely give him an opportunity to take classes at Amherst, Smith, Mount Holyoke, or Hampshire, if he so desired).
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Penn State is on the list - am worried it will be same level of difficulty to get into as UMD. Would love to check back with you in the spring and see how the admissions seasons went for your son given similar interests. Indiana and Colorado are ruled out for us because of lack of diversity.
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Thats funny that he said that about Denver but didnt notice about Boulder. When I visited there with my daughter - it was very noticeable 
We lived in the south (Georgia) for most of my son’s childhood - moved to NYC when he started 9th grade so in addition to the heat - we all have a been there, done that feeling about the south.
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the south…
the south…
PSU, major dependent, is not near as difficult an admit as UMD.
You probably need to learn about the selectivity of different schools - and you can do that in the Common Data Set Tab C I pointed out earlier.
PSU would, off the top of my head, even be an easier admit than Ohio State.
Not that your son would necessarily get in - but it’s less selective.
I had mentioned Marshall earlier and @AustenNut just did.
I’d look into it - smaller, quieter, but big football culture.
A lot of the Coastal Carolinas, James Madison, E Carolina, App States, Miami of Ohio are D1 schools - maybe not considered powerhouses like an Alabama, UGA or Ohio State - but have a strong football culture.
In the end, your son needs to succeed each and every day - and not just on the 6 football saturdays each year.
Of course, you know this but he favors the larger - but maybe get him to a JMU or App State for a football Saturday in the next few weeks to see what he thinks.
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I was not familiar with Marist until this thread but looked it up and seems worth looking at. I dont think we would do the cc route although I know it really works well for some families. I dont want him living at home after high school.
Good to know - was not what I had heard
You seem to know a lot so question for you - do a lot of big schools require the student to apply to a certain major? Is there an option for undecided liberal arts? Thanks
Thanks. We are actually headed to UMD this weekend for the MD - Penn State game with him and a friend. Even if he likley cant get in there (which I didnt realize when we planned the visit…) - it will be his first college tour and a chance to see a big school. And maybe it will motivate him to try and pull up his GPA this year.
It’s not really the South.
WV may be considered the south - but WVU, for example, is a tad more than an hour from Pittsburgh.
Huntington WV, home of Marshall, is East of Lexington KY and almost lined up directly with Washington DC and north of Richmond.
Many people infer places - like Kentucky or WV to be “the south” but geographically they are not really near “the south”.
One only has to look at a map to disengage the “perception” vs. the actual.
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The best chance for admission to Penn State main campus will be to apply to DUS (undecided) and check the box that he is willing to start in the summer. Admission to (pre)Smeal (business) majors is highly competitive. Students in DUS can take the same Entrance to Major courses as (pre)Smeal students. Both must do well in these courses to continue on as a business major.
It is possible he would instead be offered admission to a commonwealth (branch) campus and would need to spend 2 years there before going to main campus. Often this is a good thing, as the smaller campuses have smaller classes and more personal attention. The Altoona campus is fairly close to the University Park (main) campus (45 minutes) and many students at Altoona travel to UP for football games.
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JMU does not require admission by major. It also has a liberal arts focus through its Gen Ed program. Additionally, professors teach over 90% of all classes. They have always been focused on the undergraduate experience.
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Yes, at most schools, you can apply undecided.
Many many many many students also change majors - per the Student Research Foundation, 31% of social science and 36% of humanities majors switch.
All three schools you mentioned - and likely every other - has an “undecided” or exploratory major. Many colleges - a UF for example and many more - don’t even admit by major. You may apply to a major so they can keep count - but they admit you to the university and if you change…that’s ok too. And then of course, LACs are great for exploring - but won’t have big sports culture.
Undecided - Undergraduate Admissions (psu.edu)
Welcome Newly Admitted Students | Letters & Sciences (umd.edu)
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I think you should take him to schools of various sizes and environments. You don’t need a formal tour but you could.
Marist is a smaller/mid size and it’s not urban.
A UMD is on the fringes of DC and large. Where can you stop - and just take 30 minutes and walk the campus on the way home??
Millersville?
Drew??
Ultimately get him to different schools of different sizes and different environments - urban, rural, suburban. He might find some are just too big - just walking around, etc or seeing the #s of buidlings. Or he might find some - like a PSU - too isolated, etc.
Without rigor, a top school like UMD is unlikely regardless of GPA but again, there’s tons that will be just fine. UMD happens to be a near top, more selective school.
Here’s one comparison -
At UMD (per the Common Data Set), 66% of kids are in the top 10% of the class and 90% in the top quarter.
At PSU, it’s 33% in the top 10% and 68% in the top quarter.
Rigor is most important at UMD but only important at PSU (not most important).
So I know PSU has this great rep (and it is a great school) and they’d seem like peers with PSU probably the bigger or better national rep…but it’s not near as selective (in most cases). It’s Honors College, as an example, is very selective.
So as you start bandying about names, you have to factor in selectivity. You mentioned Michigan State up front - likely not overly selective.
Other “selective” publics - but you don’t like the South so it’s ok - are Clemson, UGA, UF, FSU, Wisconsin and in some cases Purdue and Illiniois, etc.
But I do think - you need to find the “right” school - and you do need to factor in budget as many of the schools - Syracuse, Arizona - have significant extra charges for students like yours who take advantage of the offerings.
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good idea on the trying to stop somewhere on the way home. Our UMD tour is Monday morning. Will have to look at the map. We are torn on trying to take him to see many places - kind of thinking we will do a few of different sizes and then wait and see where he gets in. He has travel VB tournaments in Chicago, Boston, RI, Penn (cant remember which part) and Austin this season so will try to use those trips to see some places if we can.
and I do think that rural is probably out. He really is a city kid at this point and while he claims to love nature and the outdoors - I have seen no evidence of that
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Another Ohio school with big sports he might consider is UCincy.
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I’m just saying mix it up.
Info sessions and tours are great to an extent. Well the tours are great. The info sessions go long and they’re all the same (IMHO). We have study abroad. We have lots of clubs - and you can start one if you don’t see one. We have Qidditch - they all said that, at least a few years ago. We have so many majors - that you can explore and change and yada yada.
The tours are much more helpful - but self touring is better than not. And always walk the surrounds - the adjacent college neighborhood - how many restaurants, bars, shops - that interest kids - like Marshall Street at Syracuse, etc. Eat on campus if you can or at least look at the food and eat nearby.
Even in cities, you can find nature and the outdoors.
My daughter goes to College of Charleston - yes, South - but urban with a ton of Northerners - and a ton of nature. She walks each day to “the battery” or ubers to the beach - and they have hikes too. Someone (not me) mentioned the school earlier as having great LD services.
Hopefully as he explores - he’ll be able to determine what type of school he likes - and then from there, you can find the names that will work.
As for the private school counselor - they might seek the biggest names for their school - but I’m sure they’ll be acutely aware of the “where” a student like yours can find success - so if they know they have zero chance at Princeton but a decent chance at Hofstra, then they’ll send you toward Hofstra or Marist, etc.
Many kids don’t want to seek the level of school they might be ready for. But in the case of your son, they’ll be acutely aware of his GPA and rigor and lack of test to hopefully steer you into the right direction.
PS - there’s lots of colleges in Maryland as you drive home / down - and even Delaware. But maybe a Muhlenberg, as an example.
If he hates it - great - small LACs are out. He already thinks it - but good to verify. If he contrasts it with the size of enormous Maryland, he might actually think otherwise…it happens.
Enjoy your trip.