<p>Thanks for all the great replies. I might not have been clear about not wanting to spend 20K+ on a mediocre private school. I wasn’t referring to the schools we’re looking at, but rather those that might be considered lower than those. Schools like Ithaca seem like quality schools that I’d be happy to see him attend and I would try to find a way to pay for it. But I assume there are lower rung privates that he would be able to get into with no problem. However, it would be difficult to justify spending 20K more on them than on living at home and attending Hunter or another CUNY.</p>
<p>I haven’t looked too deeply into paying for college yet. I know this seems strange, but after last year I basically did not concern myself much with finding him a college. He was not willing to do what is necessary to go to college yet. I pretty much let him know, however, that after this year he would either be in some kind of school, be employed, or be living somewhere else. Late this summer he surprised me a bit when he said he wanted to start prepping for the SAT. He hasn’t exactly been a workaholic, but he is being good about doing something every day, and we also discuss colleges a bit every day.</p>
<p>If I need to pay 20K+ it will be from a combination of loans, cutting back expenses, and perhaps increasing my income. I guess this is what most people do. To justify this kind of cost, however, I would have to feel the school he would be going to will greatly benefit him both academically and in terms of personal growth.</p>
<p>Some good arguments have been made in this thread about taking a gap year or going to community college. We will definitely look into these options. But right now we’re rushed because we’re beginning the search process so late. The GC wants all apps in by mid November, so we need to decide which scools to visit and make arrangements to see them in October. Once that’s over we can look into other options and also into paying for college.</p>
<p>Comments made about my son’s conduct last year are certainly valid, and his academic record was not just because of the extreme problems at his school. But I believe he never would have had these problems if it weren’t for the purging of the previous administration. S was as happy as he had ever been in his life at the school, and it was destroyed overnight. I think of last year as a very bad teen stage he went through, but now he’s transitioning out of it. An additional year of maturity before attending college may very well be what’s best for him.</p>
<p>Northstarmom mentioned Elmira College. That’s a school we’re considering. I really liked it when I first looked into it (especially when I saw they gave a 9K scholarship for 1000 SAT). It seemed like a good possibility, but I am concerned that the M/F ratio is 30/70 and also that it is categorized by usnews as a baccalaureate college, with more than half its students there for preprofessional training. It seems to be mainly a school for women looking to become nurses and teachers. There’s obviously nothing wrong with that, but I’m not sure S will feel like it’s where he belongs. A more diverse, artsy crowd is more for him.</p>
<p>S is the type of kid who is reserved around people he doesn’t know well, but is very outgoing with people he is comfortable with. If he never feels at home at a school he’ll lose interest. I agree about avoiding the party schools. We’ve talked about needing to find the right balance between work and fun. </p>
<p>I’m very appreciative of the many informed comments in this thread. I’ve been very busy at work this week unfortunately, but this weekend I will be looking into the links like Americorp that have been mentioned. I will also be sure to take a good look at the SUNY and CUNY info mentioned by sybbie719.</p>