jrcsmom wrote, “…but it was via an internet search that I found that based on his grades and test scores he could attend the University of Alabama tuition free.”
–
Thanks. I looked at their website and the do a very good job showing the requirements and level of award. Will keep it in mind as time progresses and my son begins taking some of these tests.
Only problem is, that I would have to find a new football team to root against. 
Quote button = quote code:
[ quote ]what you want quoted here [/ quote]
With no spaces around “quote,” as those were put in so the characters would show up instead of actually quoting.
[ quote ] Copy text here [ /quote ]
Delete the spaces between the [ and the word.
<mom2collegekids wrote, “If your child earns his AA while in high school, then he would and (and SHOULD not) be a transfer student. He will be an incoming freshman with junior standing. That is a big difference for aid and merit”.
Interesting terminology. I didn’t realize there was such a thing as incoming freshman with junior standing.
<mom2collegekids also wrote, “When you were playing with the NPCs, were you including any contributions to retirement accts? Those will get added back in as available income.”
Yes, I also added HSA contributions back in.
<mom2collegekidsalso wrote, “Has your child taken the PSAT yet?”
No, he has not taken it.
<mom2collegekidsalso wrote, “You can pay about $5k per year…which is about 1/3 of EFC for a school that meets need.”
This is tough because if we stopped contributing to various retirement accounts, then we could do substantially more. The thing is, employer offers a very generous match with no cap. So we hate reducing the level of contribution and leaving free money on the table. Sometime, will need to make a decision about how to handle this. That is, what is the cost of loans vs forfeiting employer match + growth.
Some posters commented that we should start saving the $5k per year now. We are; in a Roth IRA. So we can get those contributions back out with no penalty if necessary. I view them as a combined retirement/college fund.
CLEP is an infrequently mentioned option, and I am not sure why. CLEP is a program run by College Board. Your child can test out of intro level courses and get credit for,them… As an example, I put in Uni of Cincinnati: https://clep.collegeboard.org/college-credit/university-of-cincinnati?destination=/search/colleges/us%3Fsearch_type%3D0
You can see that dozens of courses are accepted by UC and you kid can get credit and graduate in a much shorter time and save literally tens of thousands. Many public iniversities all over the nation accept CLEP credits, and some privates do to. You just put in the college you are interested in. I once read about a kid,who got his BA in 2.5 years instead of 4 and had an MA 18 months later. Sweet deal. You should explore that option.
The idea that you have until sophomore year of college to choose a major is not true for engineering or CS. He should begin investigating those options in high school.
Math is much more about practice than ability. If there are a few specific topics that he does not understand well, the summer would be a great time to work on those. As he gets to more advanced math subjects, it is important that he knows that it is practice, not ability, that primarily determines who is good at math. Doing his homework is very important.
Now that the initial comments about struggles with math have been clarified, and also it is clear that the student himself has some “passion” for STEM" (watches videos for instance) it is important to note Much2learn’s point above. The curricula for STEM subjects start in freshman year. However, a student could take intro course while trying out various disciplines within STEM, depending on how the program works.
I remember we had trouble figuring out software engineering versus CS. CS was not in the engineering school at my son’s university, so he made the decision before applying that he would try the CS direction initially, and he stuck with it. As I said, lots of difficult math.
If his math grounding is weak but he is basically capable, you do want to make sure he firmly has the building blocks in place, as math is pretty cumulative. He may even want to repeat something at the CC that he already has if the teacher wasn’t good and he didn’t get it all. He should try to get through Calculus during HS – pretty much all of his STEM peers will have had some class in it by the time they go to college.
If he wants to be an engineer, have him work on the math skills. There are many free or low cost resources to do this.
@mathyone Who knew you would recommend math skills? lol
Not taking anything away from you comment, you are exactly correct, but I just couldn’t help it.
:))
If he wants to be an engineer, have him get through at least Calculus in HS if possible…that is what all the other engineering students will be doing. It will be tough to have Calc for the first time in college…many other students will have had it in HS.
Many good math students sometimes struggle with material that presents a new way of thinking. For instance, Algebra and Calculus can sometimes be a struggle at first. That doesn’t mean your child is a poor math student.
I would echo what others have said about anyone wanting engineering or CS in college. Make sure he has some exposure to Calculus by the end of HS. If he struggles a bit that is ok but he should definitely see it before he starts college.
Many students from small rural high schools go on to be successful in college.
Do you use Khan Academy?
I second u Cincinnati 's co-op program. For a reach, Northeastern.
Run the NPC on Kenyon, Denison, Ohio Wesleyan.
Your son will he judged ‘in context’ as long as he’s tried his best to challenge himself.
It means 5 units each of English, history/social science, and science, plus math up to calculus and foreign language eupnto level 4 ( or AP. )
My son is globally gifted- both math and verbal. He is not the “top of the top” in either but the combination contributes to his overall better IQ. There were times I could not have predicted whether he would go for literature (humanities) or math. Your son sounds similar in that he has verbal as well as math abilities. This is great. Some students are super in one or the other but lack both types of abilities.
Now is the time to shore up any weaknesses so he can grasp material that is built upon past work. Don’t worry about his past homeschooling- he obviously learned. Things will come together. Also, he may choose math related fields over language ones because they are more challenging. I chose chemistry for both my interest and the challenge eons ago over some fields I perhaps was better in. btw- my son went the math (and CS) route. The trouble he had learning those arithmetic flash cards in early grades would not have made me think he would be taking grad level math for his undergrad Honors degree (just shows that arithmetic and math are different-he had a good memory). At that time he was showing creativity in writing. Who knew?
Your son’s story is a long way from being written. It will be interesting for you to follow his journey as a lot of changes occur in the next few years. Enjoy.
@amgarb You’ve already received lots of great advice, so I will just make a comment about what you said about you son being perhaps a little “lazy” when it comes to studying for tests/prep. While I agree with others who have said that he’s young to be putting a lot of focus on college at this point, you can perhaps use his already expressed interest in STEM to get him to prod himself into preparing a little better.
Have him look for himself at what kind of background one needs to become an engineer - maybe web sites like http://www.discovere.org or similar. If he’s really interested (which it sounds like he is if he’s spending free time watching youtube vids on thermite 
, it may help him to focus on math all on his own.
@amgarb I love the way you write about your son. It’s clear you are a level-headed parent who knows that your son has the hard task of growing up, and that you are there to guide that work. I’m taking a deep breath and am going to plunge in with a recommendation. Look up Jeannie Burlowski online and read her free ebook. It’s called something like ‘Help Your Child Graduate College Debt Free’ I read it a couple of weeks ago. Ms. Burlowski gives some fine advice and she writes about the ‘whole’ child, (because they are more than a test score!) as well as the ‘whole’ family. I know that I learned some things to follow up on as my son enters his final year of HS. I plan to purchase the book by Ms. Burlowski once it is published. You have four years to plan and getting advice now shows care and responsibility on your part. Good Luck to you and your son! BTW, I am not associated with Ms. Burlowski, but just found her ebook helpful and you seem like a parent who might enjoy her holistic approach.