<p>I am struggling with my son’s decision. </p>
<p>He always claimed Cal Poly SLO was his “dream” school and we were thrilled for him this Feb. He didn’t seem to really care.</p>
<p>He just informed us he is going to Santa Cruz instead. He claims it is so he can be amongst “redwoods.” </p>
<p>Seriously…is being among redwoods a reason to chose a school? </p>
<p>Beyond Baffled</p>
<p>Well, it’s as good a reason as any…if everything else is fairly equal. Perhaps he just feels more comfortable on the UCSC campus than at CalPoly, and one huge difference is the redwood trees at UCSC.</p>
<p>There is probably more to it than that. Sounds like he likes the vibe, atmosphere better than SLO. For him to thrive academically, this is very important. It stands to reason that you will do better at a place where you truly want to be.</p>
<p>I found the more I became interested in a school, the less my son did, so I had to stop discussing options at all. Probably why I post here, cause I don’t want to discuss these things with him! Not saying you did anything wrong, but sometimes kids just flip for whatever reason. One person may have said one little thing that caused the turnover and he went with it. Or could he he intimidated by the academic level or something else at CP if there is a difference (not sure his major). UCSC is very chill like CP, but in a totally different way. Have you spent time at both? Are you doing a second look while still time?</p>
<p>It could be anything. Is Santa Cruz farther or closer to where you’re from? Maybe it’s cause of someone from high school that he knows who is going to Santa Cruz - or Cal Poly. Could be he changed his mind a while ago and just didn’t tell you for whatever reason.</p>
<p>tell you what… have him SIR to both. This will give him another couple of months to figure out which he truly wants. YOu only lose a couple of hundred dollars in the process. However, the dorm deposit is a different matter… you need to make sure you can get that back if he doesn’t end up attending.</p>
<p>hmmm, our HS will not let us SIR to more than one school, no way. Big email sent on that. They will not send final transcripts to more than one school. But I guess if you are at a school where you handle that all yourself you could ask for more than one sealed set? Is that what you are thinking? Curious of the work around that. For me personally, I want this over on May 1st and still wondering the choice into July would make me a little crazy. But I can see people being stuck cause we won’t know about scholarship/aid for our sophomore till end of June so others may need that info before making a firm decision on next student…</p>
<p>I agree with CADREAMIN, I was told and read it is unethical to SIR to more than one school.</p>
<p>Hmm. That is a bit odd. Did he tour Cal Poly? More important, what is his major? If it’s in engineering, architecture or bioengineering, I would seriously question his choice because SLO is ranked nationally in those areas. And it’s not as if SLO is in an undesirable location. It has a great outdoor lifestyle, very bike friendly and a college-town feel. </p>
<p>I understand how frustrated you must feel. I purposely avoided favoring one school over another during my son’s college tour, application and acceptance journey, because there is a tendency for them to want to rebel against what a parent wants.</p>
<p>If the redwoods are the main reason he’s giving, I would sit down with my son to have a much deeper conversation. 17-18 olds are emotional, risk-taking and have a hard time making big, important decisions, ones they often regret 6-12 months later. As a parent, I think it’s important to sit our children down and show them how to go about making an informed life decision (especially when serious $ is involved). Perhaps write down the important criteria for his college experience: The school’s academic offerings, reputation, after-graducation career prospects, dorm life, campus/off campus life, housing in his junior and senior years, etc. </p>
<p>I would ask my son “If a fire were to sweep through Santa Cruz and burn down all the trees, would you still want to go there?”</p>