Dad here: This forum rejects our family’s attempts to create a new account saying “you can’t post under two accounts”
So I am asking this question for my son.
He went to a bad high school where he easily got a 3.8 unweighted gpa, 4.0 weighted, and all the honors they have, which is not much honors. He is not ready to adapt to the kind of schools he can get admitted to.
He’s not going to apply to many sub 50% acceptance schools even though he might get in. He just needs to go somewhere where it’s going to be easy, and a non drinking non partying kid can get a good gpa in the first year even when he’s not prepared at all, has read less than two books cover to cover in his life, and while mathy has many weakspots that are not his fault.
He aced AP calc at his easy school (the class, not the AP exam which he bombed), for example, but can’t handle the algebra of an online AP Physics 1 class he’s taking. He’s not unaware of his problems, which shows he’s smart just not learned.
For another example, this morning I was saying something about politics and he didn’t know what “liberal” meant. He’s pretty good at grand theft auto, though. And I’m aware of how I sound.
Taking big state universities out of the picture (for other reasons) and also community college, and just limited to LAC’s, which ones can you recommend him that he won’t sink in right away? I’m not looking for an answer like “all schools have academic support” but more for “these schools are known to be easy”
They also need to have good merit aid.
I know that’s ironic but he can compete for merits.
More background:
" So anywhere, any kind of location. Except conservative and/or very greek or doused in alcohol.
As for money, NPC’s that show for our 2 kid at a time, 140K income, 14K EFC:
Less than 20K NP, 12k with loans and work study-- are great, but up to 22K net.
Examples:
Hendrix college comes in at 19K net for us, before loans and work study. This one hits the spot. But can he handle Hendrix?
Lawrence College comes in at that range too, and St Olaf, and I think Gustavos Adolphos.
Westminster College, Muhlenberg come in at 22K and that’s starting to get real rough.
A few of the more competitive but still not top competitive LAC’s can come in lower, but seem too high powered. (ex. Pomona, but I could pick a more realistic example)
i know you can’t run the npc’s of all for me but hopefully that gives you an idea – limited more to the great opportunity type LACs.
Most LACs come in at the 28-35K net range for us, and are too much. Almost Every NPC gives us merit.
He will be test optional because even with studying he’ll never break 1000 on the SAT.