Looking for a good fit for my son

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Hi there - </p>

<p>I am trying to find a good college fit for my son. He will be a senior next year. He currently has a GPA of 3.3 and has a SAT score of 1930. He has not taken the ACT test yet. We live in California and money is tight. We cannot afford out of state tuition. Unfortunately, his GPA is on the low side so I think that a state university is likely and a University of California is a stretch. He is interested in either history or perhaps criminal justice. He has not decided on the major.</p>

<p>I've looked at so many college websites my head is swimming. Can anybody give me the inside scoop? He wants to live in a urban setting, wants to go to a mid-sized university. It would be nice not to attend a "commuter" college. We are looking for a solid education plus a nice feel on the social side.</p>

2

<p>You might check out the CSU website. This is their website “mentor” which might help you narrow your search when looking at the state colleges.</p>

<p>[CSUMentor[/url</a>]</p>

<p>I found this page informative:</p>

<p><a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU](<a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>http://www.csumentor.edu/)</a></p>

3

<p>I don’t know Western Schools, but there is a thread here called “Western Schools for the 3.0-3.3 Kid.”</p>

<p>Sorry I don’t know how to link, but it has a lot of info that might be helpful to you, so you might want to look it up, as well as a thread for 3.0 - 3.3 in general or for different years.</p>

4

<p>I think this is the link aParentalUnit was talking about:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/907349-western-schools-3-0-3-3-kid.html?highlight=western[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/907349-western-schools-3-0-3-3-kid.html?highlight=western&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Have you done a FAFSA calculator yet to see if per chance you could qualify for any kind of financial aid?</p>

5

<p>Your son is UC eligible. I don’t think that the UC system has turned away an eligible student at any time since the opening of the Merced campus, which might actually be a good place of a prospective history major. </p>

<p>You can review UC eligibility standards here; the minimum GPA is 3.0:
[Freshman</a> Admission Requirements for Fall 2012](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman2012/]Freshman”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman2012/)</p>

<p>For a California resident, “eligible” does not mean “maybe” – it means “for sure”, but no guarantee of a particular campus. He may need to be a little flexible with his definition of “urban”. </p>

<p>Now it may be that your son would prefer choices available at CSU’s to a UC campus – but my point is simply that, based on the information you posted, you are mistaken to characterize the UC’s as a “stretch”. The word “safety” is more appropriate, assuming that the 3.3 GPA is calculated among A-G courses and that he has completed all required courses for UC admission.</p>

6

<p>Our bright, sweet, 3.3 S is headed to Western WA University in Bellingham, WA. Look around for the quieter colleges – not the UCLA or UC Berkley, but the University of Redlands sorts. </p>

<p>Consider contacting the high school counselor and asking where kids from this year’s class with a similar GPA are going. Ask about two years back as well. If you are lucky, you may get a name or two and be able to talk to a local teen/parent and get some first hand reporting on what has gone well. </p>

<p>Now is the time to really work your networks. Church, swim team, Kiwanas, whatever it is your family has contacts with – reach out and try and find families a year or two ahead of you. Ask what their kid did. You should end up with both some successes and some horror stories that will help winnow out that massive list of possibilities.</p>

7

<p>You really need to look at the numbers and the WUE schools. We have found U of Idaho and University of Southern Oregon to be very close to San Deigo State and Long Beach. The out of state school’s housing is two or three thousand less in room and board. These both top my daughters list of tech theater schools within our price range.</p>

<p>If any interest in Boise State the GEM Scholarship gives out of state student the same tuition as in. These are more competitive than the WUE. College Board also show room and board at $5,314. </p>

<p>She is also looking at WWU in Bellingham but their WUE is tougher</p>

<p>Hope this helps</p>

8

<p>^
Do you mean Southern Oregon U?</p>

9

<p>Thank you everyone for your help. This is alot to absorb. The good news is that the more I look into everything, the more options we’ve got. I’m new to educating myself on the college search thing. What does WUE mean?</p>

10

<p>WUE is an agreement between several western states to make higher education available to more students – so kids from Washington can attend in Idaho and vice versa for . . .not exactly in-state rates but much, much less than standard out of state rates. If tuition, housing and food costs are lower, then the extra WUE slice may pencil out just fine.</p>

11

<p>Here’s a link that tells you a bit more about WUE [Western</a> Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) | Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education](<a href=“http://wiche.edu/wue]Western”>Save On Tuition | Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)) Wish we had it for our Pennsylvania students, of course we probably have 300 colleges in the state…</p>

12

<p>my son is a WUE student at NAU Northern Arizona University. He is starting his senior year and loves it.
With the UC’s going up in price the 27K (room and board) is not horrible…and…he can get a WUE scholarship for about 5-7K.</p>

<p>The university also has a fixed tuition rate for 4 years…and flagstaff is cheaper than LA any day! check out Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ. We live in Boise and have found this to be just perfect!</p>