<p>First-time college parent here, trying to help my not-always-motivated/very directionless oldest son through the college search process. He has decent grades/scores that don't necessarily reflect his intelligences (although he's definitely not Ivy-ish material). He has learning issues so a good academic fit is important. I know boys his age tend to be lost at this age, but girls can be as well. He's only criteria is that a school be within an hour of skiing! We've taken him on several tours, mixing it up with big vs small, urban, vs rural, etc. No place really jazzed him other than UVM, where I think he will easily get lost in the shuffle. We aren't loaded and have other children - in other words a 5.5 year college plan for him isn't optimal. For those of you in similar situations... </p>
<p>1) thoughts on Gap year? We've said we'd consider it but he has to have a good plan for it, not just "Working"
2) thoughts on tossing him into a school right after HS so he figures it out faster?
3) thoughts on strong smaller schools (near skiing lol) that offer academic support?
3) CC for awhile? That has it's own risks as well plus he'd miss out on a more typical college experience</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for any advice. He is so unlike my spouse and I, and our other children, so we're at a loss as to how to guide him. Big kids big problems</p>
<p>Where are you located? My own opinion is that a kid like that shouldn’t be too far from home so you can keep an eye on your son’s progress. </p>
<p>There are schools that would fit the bill here in Pennsylvania - although Pocono skiing doesn’t hold a candle to Vermont. The best skiing in PA is probably at Elk Mountain which puts the University of Scranton at about a half hour away. Scranton definitely has some support services - I know people with issues who are attending there successfully.</p>
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He’s only criteria is that a school be within an hour of skiing!
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<p>that would concern me for a few reasons:</p>
<p>1) college is expensive…who will be paying for pricey lift tix? If it is him, does that mean all of his income goes for fun? that can lead to bad habits/entitlement thinking. some of his earnings should go towards books, personal expenses (a budget for day to day non-skiing needs). </p>
<p>2) will he have a car on campus? who will be paying gas? and gas for 2 hour roundtrips of gas to skiing? </p>
<p>3) will any of this be a distraction?</p>
<p>when kids say that they have to be near the beach/surfing or mountains/skiing, a red flag goes up. usually students are too busy to be able to devote that much time (surfing can be an early morning thing, but skiing is usually an all day commitment…plus drive time.</p>
<p>If you know he wont have funds for much skiing (and gas, and associated food/other expenses0, then why the need to be near skiing? </p>
<p>Go west young man! Many of the western flagship colleges (Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Idaho) have good skiing, low tuition (last year UVM was second highest OOS tuition, Wyoming second lowest), solid education especially in geology and engineering.</p>
<p>My daughter is going to Wyoming. Your son sounds a lot like my daughter - smart enough, unmotivated, no interest in a city school or highly competitive one, and most important, she didn’t want to go to school in the south. She’s starting school by moving in 4 days early so she can go on a mountain bike ‘welcome’ trip because the sports and social life is important to her. Utah has an easy path to state residency, highly subsidizes freshman year, so it’s very affordable. Lots of good skiing. North and South Dakota are also inexpensive options but the skiing isn’t as good.</p>
<p>Wyoming was her first choice, but since it is also a rolling and automatic admission, it was also her safety and in fact the only school she applied to. She has fallen more in love with it at every visit, and I’ve fallen in love with it because of the grants and scholarships they’ve awarded. There are about 25 freshmen in her major, so I think she’ll be well supervised (although I did have to insist she change the 4 pm on Fridays discussion group - she’d never go to that!).</p>
<p>“not-always-motivated/very directionless oldest son through the college search process. He has decent grades/scores that don’t necessarily reflect his intelligences (although he’s definitely not Ivy-ish material”</p>
<p>"He’s only criteria is that a school be within an hour of skiing! "</p>
<p>The one kid I know, who actually graduated from UVM, based his college choice on the exact same criteria. He is very intelligent, but was pretty burned out with schooling by his senior year of high school. He really only wanted to ski. He picked his first major based on a high ranked major at UVM to help convince his parents to send him there. </p>
<p>After a year he changed majors to a major that is pretty “eh” at UVM, but is one of the top in the country at our own state flagship (where he had originally been offered a scholarship). His major choice was based on an aimless, directionless decision along the lines of, “Of general use… Probably… At some point… Can’t hurt…” So his parents paid a lot of money for an OOS public flagship for a major he wasn’t excited about, that would have been almost free had he stayed closer to home. He skied as much as possible for four years, graduated with a degree he is not excited about and has no interest in pursuing. </p>
<p>So what is this kid doing a year after college graduation? </p>
<p>Traveled a bit, spent the winter working at a resort out west for minimal pay but free skiing for employees, now traveling a bit more, and headed back to the resort for the winter.</p>
<p>I would not send a directionless kid to a college based on its availabilty to skiing. </p>
<p>My response would be different if you were talking about a self- motivated kid who shows direction and drive… Who also would like to be near skiing.</p>
<p>Colorado College has the block plan - students take a single intensive course for 3 1/2 weeks - this format works well for some students with learning issues. I believe they get a few days off between courses - perfect for a short ski “reward” break!</p>
<p>Cornell College also has the block plan, but I’m not sure about skiing in Iowa…although google just found me a ski area in Dubuque…</p>
<p>I’m not so concerned about the “one hour from skiing” requirement. This is a child who struggles academically, if I understand the OP correctly, so of course he’s developed interests and strengths outside the traditional academic environment. Going to school near skiing could be important not only for his social life but also his psychological health, and could even lead to jobs and internships in the ski business, which could develop into a career.</p>
<p>Why not look at higher education for this kid that is not a traditional bachelor’s degree? There isn’t much in your description that suggests that this is a kid who is getting out in four years with a degree.</p>
<p>Other than skiing, what are his interests?</p>
<p>Anywhere he goes where you aren’t able to hover and see if he’s going to class, doing his labs, handing in papers… how is that going to work? Even college’s “with support” are not going to stand over him in the evening making sure he’s in the library and not at a frat party. And nobody is waking him up at 8 am to get to his first class.</p>
<p>If it were my kid (or nephew) I’d start a dialogue about what HE wants to be doing next year. College can wait if he’s not ready.</p>
<p>In your #1 option- You said “you’d consider a gap year, but he needs a plan besides working.” Does this mean that he has expressed an interest in a gap year? I don’t see the value in pushing him into a college when he’s really not there emotionally, much less academically. I also don’t see what’s wrong with working. A few years of taking jobs he can get with a high school diploma might be just the motivation he needs to go back to school with a purpose. He might even find an career path in the working world that would inspire him in a particular direction. </p>
<p>My Dh dropped out of college at 19, married me, and worked as a sailboat rigger (sailing was his passion) for two years while I was getting my teaching credential. When I got my first teaching job he decided it was time to go back to school, finished two years of college in one, was motivated with a plan, and received a full graduate fellowship after graduation. </p>
<p>You might be surprised that if you drop the expectation that he go to college, his own interest in doing so will have a chance to kick in. In time.</p>
<p>Frankly my oldest required skiing within an hour’s drive also. He graduated in 2011, was employed and self-sufficient financially at graduation. When he was stressing in college, he’d go ski and clear his head. Skiing always centered him and it is an important aspect of his physical and emotional health. People do different things to relieve stress and having a kid want to be able to ski isn’t necessarily a bad thing. His season lift pass was his Christmas present. </p>
<p>We had a tough time finding close skiing in the NE for my two oldest - Colby, Dartmouth, Middlebury and University of Vermont stood out. A possibility is Hobart, they told my middle son he could be on the ski team, but I haven’t the faintest idea where they practice and ski as when I was touring with #2 I couldn’t visibly see any mountains. I was told about St. Lawrence, but it, too, felt like a long, long way to skiing. </p>
<p>My D went to WWU, where lift tickets ( at Mt Baker)are half the price you might expect elsewhere.
The quality of the outdoor activities ( her school has Outdoor club, that rents equipment and has discounts for outings), was very important to get her through a challenging course schedule.
She took a gap year, where she worked and traveled, and she earned self advocacy skills which came in handy to utilize the learning support offered.</p>
<p>Snow sports were a big part of her school years and have been since 6th grade, when she went snowboarding on ski Fridays, and she was able to take what she learned on the slopes ( basically that learning can be hard work, but there is a pay off & you get up when you fall) and translate it into the classroom.
She would be a different person without her outdoor activities.
( she originally snowboarded because she couldnt tolerate ski boots, now she skis however)</p>
<p>There are many options outside the NE so OP if you are willing to send your son further, many of us have done the research (like WWU, the PA colleges and unis, etc. etc.). </p>
<p>Check out University of Maine, Farmington. Sugar Loaf and Saddle Back mountain around an hour away. School is more like an LAC, so he would not be lost in the shuffle. I also believe he may be eligible for merit.</p>
<p>To meet your son specifications for skiing availability near by, you might want to consider Colby Sawyer in New London, NH. Included in your tuition price is the cost of a seasonal lift ticket to Mt Sunapee, one of the nicest ski areas in New England. I believe the school runs shuttles to the ski area.</p>
<p>On a more practical side, Colby-Sawyer is a small liberal arts college so that he will be in small classes and Professors will know your son’s name. </p>
<p>As far as taking a year off until he is more motivated, I would check out schools who offer gap years as an option of their curriculum. Elon University (unfortunately not close to a ski area) in North Carolina had a program that we checked out where the first semester is divided into 3 parts, a leadership training program in Wyoming, a service program in Costa Rica and also travel across the US. You earn college credit- 8 credits to your degree. When asked, they informed us that even through participating in this program, you can graduate on time by doing “Jan terms” and or a summer class. I’m sure other colleges- even colleges in ski areas might have programs like Elon’s </p>
<p>I’d look into gap year options with him, don’t leave it up to him. Maybe one of the ideas will catch fire. In any case, know what is out there. </p>
<p>I like the idea of him working at a ski resort. He gets to ski, but also has to work with people, likely in the service industry, which may whet his appetite for education. </p>
<p>Have you considered University of Denver? “DU” is a small private school that is well known for strongly supporting students with learning differences. Approximately 60% of undergraduate students receive merit aid. My unmotivated son with learning issues who, in spite of his innate intelligence, managed to fail a summer class at community college, then thrived at DU, graduated a term early and landed a good job right out of college. DU is also a paradise for skiers and snowboarders (no classes on Friday)</p>
<p>Thank you all for the great responses. I responded to as many of them individually as I could. We live in a hyper competitive area in the NE is it’s hard sometimes listening to hyper parents talk about their hyper kids. They look at you like you have three heads when you say he might take a year off. I know everyone says “there’s a college for everybody” but with what it costs these days an error in picking one can be costly. </p>