He’s a freshman and a whole lot changes in those 4 years. You can’t determine whether he will go to grad school his first semester. Many kids go out and work after college, nail down exactly what they want and then go back to grad school. It sounds like he really doesn’t know what he wants yet and that’s ok.
My own son is going for the PPEL major. Leadership is a major most people do as a double… an extra on top.
Does it hurt him to take those courses he needs? Do they cover any requirements for him at Richmond so he doesn’t screw himself if he stays? If he doesn’t want to take them I guess you know his vote.
The frequent CC concern is, he’s not just a freshman, he’s hardly been there more than a month. Just left home and the familiar, hardly time to settle, get his college thing going. Only in the first 5 or so courses, little chance to test himself, be influenced by peers, assess his own strengths relative to others. There’s a reason most kids don’t declare a major until into second year.
Did he love Cornell before choosing Richmond? Was it a clear favorite for what it IS, not just brand or prestige?
Are those courses needed for the transfer option courses that he is interested in anyway, or which are prerequisites for majors he may want to do if he stays at Richmond? Would taking them prevent him from taking other interesting or necessary courses?
S was a very late bloomer and didn’t take active interest in the college process. We had suggested a gap year, but he also didn’t want to do that. I researched and put schools on his list based on his strengths. He applied to only a few that required writing supplements, Richmond and Cornell ILR (he chose this 1 based on a mailing he received that sounded interested to him) being 2 of them. He had no dream school. We only visited a couple places nearby before acceptances. He chose Richmond because he liked the PPEL class he sat in on, and I’m sure he’d do great in the major because the format matches his strengths. I just worry about employability.
He was rejected from Cornell, most likely because he stopped turning in work first semester of 12th grade (as I said, a late bloomer, with no anxiety) so his 1st semester grades went down. He was offered the “transfer option,” that says if he takes some of the required 1st yr classes and gets a 3.3 I think, he’ll be accepted as a sophomore. They do this a lot, and they have reqular orientation, etc. for those transfers.
He can take the required Cornell classes, but then he can’t fit in say, accounting, to see if he might like that, along with both the 1st Ppel and leadership classes. So, I feel like he has to decide now if he’ll transfer.
I guess I shouldn’t worry about his future and it will be what it will be…
I assume you aren’t in-state for Cornell. If you are, I would urge him to transfer. A fair number of kids from my offspring’s old high school choose Cornell ILR for the relatively now price. (ILR is one of Cornell’s land grant colleges.) ILR is very, very flexible. It also has an incredibly strong alumni network.
ILR tends to be fairly transfer friendly. It has articulation agreements with a number of NY State CCs. So, my impression–which you should, of course, double check–is that it has a higher percentage of transfers students than other Cornell colleges as a result. I think it would be easier to be a transfer student there than at many other schools.
If he’s not sure what he wants, why not have him take the courses he needs to take and see how he feels a few months from now?
ETA: I was typing when you post the above. Yep, he’ll have to do some thinking…
It’s normal for parents to have anxiety about their kids’ futures! I commiserate in that S21 is not going to get high blood pressure from anything related to school.
I think this decision is up to your son, provided there aren’t financial considerations. Personally, he does not sound like a great fit for the culture of Cornell, but that is based only on feedback from local students who attend and/or graduated from there.
Lastly, I know 2 women who have recently graduated from Richmond and both got great jobs, with salaries well above the averages posted upthread (which is incomplete data anyway, as only a portion of students completed the survey).
@havenoidea oh ok I see what you’re saying. My opinion is that your son should stay put if he’s doing well at Richmond academically and socially.
Cornell can be pretty intense and most students are high achievers. If your son is pretty blasé about life in general I would say Cornell may not be the best fit for him. But I’m not familiar with the ILR School environment.
Both were business majors, but I don’t know specifically which. Neither were accounting though. One is in NYC as a brand manager for a large consumer product company and one is in the midwest, I am not sure her exact job, but know that her demanding parents are very happy! D19 and I visited last spring and during the admissions pres, school officials specifically cited strong tech placement as well.
It’s not like this is staying at Podunk vs going to a superior college. I don’t know why you think he won’t have job opps from URichmond. To truly benefit from Cornell, he doesn’t get to just go to class and not engage in activities. He needs to self advocate there. Not just be there, waiting for pixie dust to land on his shoulders.
I’m not against the xfer. But nothing you’ve written makes this “Wow, the perfect school he researched and loved, the perfect match, has come through!” Instead, you make this about job prospects for a laid back kid who may not “work” the Cornell system any better than now.
I’m a believer in the fish/pond thinking. Can he be one of the bigger fish, eventually, at R? At this point, he doesn’t even have midterm grades.
One of the courses is an introductory microeconomics course, which also fulfills a course requirement for Cornell ILR TO. It looks like another Cornell ILR TO category (“western intellectual tradition”) can be satisfied by an American government or perhaps political philosophy course listed in the sample course plans for Richmond PPEL.
In some cases, AP credit may be applicable.
In other words, depending on what he has already taken and what AP credit he has, he may be able to work toward both Richmond PPEL (and perhaps other majors) and Cornell ILR TO simultaneously without being forced to decide now.
Thanks for all the input! I think what I’m realizing is that it is up to S to decide to put in more effort and become a go-getter, and then he will have job opportunities from wherever he graduates, or stay as is and likely not have those opportunities. I need to do some yoga and relax!
Tough to be a parent, eh? Especially when we do believe in them and see the little steps they can take. Or think we do. D1 was lucky to find a best friend who had good ideas. A number of things she did were easy as they joined together and influenced each other’s thinking.
Best to you.
They are wired the way they’re wired and operate on their own timetable. One of my children is way more ambitious and driven than I and my husband are. She didn’t learn it or have it drummed into her from us. Just her wiring.
Octagon has an office in Richmond. Have him check out their website. There are many different routes to take with a Sports Management/Business/Law focus.
Well first they said their student was undecided and then that they were getting a BS. That was what seemed weird. But I think it really was just a typo.
II know you can go into law from just about any major. I know a bunch of ex-biology professors who are now doing patent law.
The OP can correct me if I’m wrong…but it sounds like the student is perfectly fine with University of Richmond. He has made friends and is doing well.
It’s the PARENT that wants this kid to keep the transfer option for Cornell open.
Cornell is a fabulous school. It is.
But this student sounds like he has found his place. He is doing well, and has friends. He is the one going to college, and it doesn’t sound like he is thinking about transferring…at all.
The parent is probably doing more thinking because the student is not. Most 18-19 yr olds do not think as far as ahead as parents. I do think it is up to the parents to give some guidance and not leave it all to the student sometimes.
Yes, I am the one who was worrying. S has never had a worry in his life. He is doing well socially, has lots of friends. Likes his classes fine, doesn’t find the work to be hard, but hasn’t received grades yet. Hasn’t done well in terms of getting into the 2 groups he’d assumed he do, due to not putting in enough effort and failing to follow audition directions, ilearning that in real life, people won’t seek you out and change rules for you, even if you have national recognition.
One of the harder ideas to accept, as our kids get older, is that an important part of their learning is what they learn, on their own. For one of mine, a sage person told me, “She has to learn this.” And, “From her own mistakes.” Now, our advice and suggestions need to be oblique, if at all, unless they directly ask. Not easy.
Plus we adults fo see more angles and ramifications. But though we now have them partly launched, they grow at their own pace. OP, I’d think, if you have these concerns, he’s heard that, knows you have ideas. He may come to you for strategy advice, at some point. Or first try it on his own, learn from that.
My other is also not anxious. I just praise and commiserate and she does fine.