<p>Does he go to a public school. Is his gpa UC weighed? For the UC's class rank is important. The UC's count 9th grade grades.
from a kid we know this past year with those range of test scores. In at UCSC, Irvine and Davis. Univ of San Francisco, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara University. Declined at UCSD, USC. In at Colorado Boulder, Arizona State, U of Arizona and Northern Arizona, Univ of Oregon.
Regarding Cal Poly San Luis Obispo- the results depend on the major. somewhere on their website it lists sat scores for each school- engineering, business, arts and science.</p>
<p>In cali U of the Pacific is a good mid-level, in Arizona you have Arizona State... and also if he is willing to venture to the midwest you might want to check out Depauw University in Indiana. Its a top-tier LAC but very doable (for the class of 2009: average GPA around 3.65, average ACT 28 and average SAT Math+CR is like 1300). If money is an issue they also give unbelievable Financial Aid...</p>
<p>My head is spinning. There are so many good suggestions. The UCs are not going to be on the list unless he changes his mind. He doesn't seem interested in them. He would prefer going to a smaller school. My feeling is that I'd much rather see him at a less rigorous school where he can shine, than getting into something in the bottom percentiles and then always struggling for grades. Sometimes it doesn't seem to make sense to go for the biggest name, and then not do as well. I'm thinking back to my own college years that might have been better spent elsewhere.</p>
<p>MrsP- Colorado College has a block schedule. You take one course at a time. It works really well for many kids. You only have to focus on that one class- and you do field trips, intensive projects etc. Pretty neat deal.</p>
<p>Midlevel colleges in our area--USD and Redlands. Heard great things about Redlands. We also send kids to Chapman, Loyola Marymount, and Pepperdine.</p>
<p>quote from jmmom "Also, he is not the only kid to have the idea that he does not want to jump through zillions of hoops in the college application process. Some refuse to consider schools which require SAT IIs, some will only consider schools accepting the common app... "</p>
<p>jmmom - great post. this is so true:) my d never did take an SAT II........she flat said no! 3 acts and 2 sats were enough!</p>
<p>Mrs. P - you can review the Fiske Guide at the library or pick up a copy at the book store. Peterson's guide to competitive colleges is also helpful. you'll get lots of helpful advice here on cc too. </p>
<p>helpful websites - check princetonreview.com and peterson's college search</p>
<p>my d just went through the process...........feel free to pm me if you like.</p>
<p>i'm relatively new to cc...............joined last year. i'm thankful to all the posters here on cc who answered my many questions. thank you cc'ers...........especially curmudgeon, momofwildchild, sbmom, jmmom, splashmom, patience, mom of four, st2, berurah, jlauer...........and others. if i forgot someone, please know that i am thankful for your help. sometimes it was helpful just by reading a certain thread and seeing the posts by someone on that particular topic.</p>
<p>Smaller schools in CA: Santa Clara University, University of the Pacific, Loyola Marymount University, University of Redlands, Chapman University, University of San Diego. All the ones I applied to basically (heh). I got into all of them with some scholarships and similar stats to your son The key thing to figure out is what kind of campus does he want, what kinds of people does he want to be around, what academic programs does he want, etc. Introspection, research and especially visiting can all help with that.</p>
<p>Oh and also there's Occidental, smaller and getting harder to get into, but I've heard its a good school. And then the Claremount Colleges, although Pitzer would be the only one that would match up with more mid level status.</p>
<p>"He should be doing this himself but it looks like his dad and I are going to have to start."</p>
<p>Hmm. As the mom of 2 sons -- one 22, the other 18 -- I know from personal as well as other experience that boys are not as mature as girls are. For that reason, it may be possible that your son is not going to be ready for college when he graduates next spring.</p>
<p>Consequently, keep in the back of your mind the option of a gap year for your son -- a structured experience that he could do for a year instead of going straight to college. This can be a good way for the late bloomers (who seem to be mainly male) to develop more maturity, focus and responsibility about their lives.</p>
<p>I learned the hard way that at least in my home when a son says he wants to go to college, but doesn't bother to do any research, that's a big hint that young man isn't ready for college. My older son swore that he could not wait to leave our state, which he happens to dislike. Although he had long said he disliked formal academics and my husband and I had suggested that son take a gap year, he insisted that he wanted to go straight to college.</p>
<p>Anyway, I ended up doing the research, finding colleges that he thought were good fits. I even hounded him into getting his applications in early and getting in nice merit aid applications that gave him great choices when spring came.</p>
<p>He happily went off to a Midwestern college, and had a ball making friends, being active in ECs, but just not studying. So, he flunked out and now is still foundering while also living quite far from home.</p>
<p>Anyway, younger son does like academics, but isn't too found of studying things he isn't that interested in. He never did any college searches, but did happily go along to the colleges that we thought were good matches for him. As his brother had done, this son claimed he didn't want to do a gap year. </p>
<p>I did learn my lesson, however, in that I did not hound this son into doing his applications. So, he missed all of the deadlines for the colleges he had expressed interest in. Then, he missed the deadlines for the out of town community service opportunities that I had researched for him (After not applying to college, this son said he wanted to do community service away from home.)</p>
<p>At that point, however, S managed to get a community service job created for him at a place where he has been volunteering for several years, and he has been very enthusiastically structuring this job. </p>
<p>Perhaps your son will truly be ready for college next year, but keep an open mind to a structured, productive gap year. Everything I have read and have experienced indicates that such a year can be a wonderful time for the late bloomers to mature enough to handle college with responsibility and focus.</p>
<p>Ellemenope, what can you tell me about USD and Redlands? Also Chapman and Pepperdine? How do they compare to one another? Is there a way to rank them?</p>
<p>I cannot disagree with the scenarios NSM presents. Certainly, a lack of interest in the college search process can be a precursor to lack of interest in the college study process. But I would not equate the two. As she says, keep an open mind. Look for signs that your kid might not be ready for college next year. But I think equating lack of desire to immerse himself in the college search process with lack of readiness for college is too much of a leap. In my S' case, he had some interest - but not at the intensity level of our interest. Still, he is thriving in both the academic and non-academic aspects of college life.</p>
<p>Anoel, which one did you choose and why? What did you think of those on your list? I've read about all of them now and they are all possibilities. Redlands is not on the colleges of distinction site. Is it different in some way from the others?</p>
<p>Northstarmom, that is good advice. My son likes to think about things when they are a reality. This is too far in the future. If he's still not too interested a year from now, a gap is always a possibility. We know many seniors who suddenly got excited about college after the acceptance letters were in. It seems to be true of the students who don't have all As and are worried they might not get into any of the schools they like.</p>
<p>jmmom, what I am seeing is a student who is so involved with academics and trying to keep grades up that there isn't time to do much else. It's too bad. The college search should be one of the most exciting things they are doing at the end of junior year, but all mine is worried about are finals.</p>
<p>some kids just have alot on their plate and are extremely busy............ec's at school, varsity sports, club sports, sports practices, homework, ap classes, choral performances, time w/friends, etc.
the college search is one more thing to add onto an already full plate. there are only so many hours in a day.<br>
agree w/jmmom..........lack of interest in the initial searching does not necessarily mean they are headed for a gap year...............and yes, once the acceptances start rolling in............interest level does increase. even interest in doing additional applications increases after getting a few initial ones done.</p>
<p>mrs p - perhaps you and your s can start making a list now of schools that have EA (Early Action).........and get going on researching those schools and making plans to complete the EA applications first. start small..........one or two applications. don't overwhelm him with a long list all at once. move on to one or two more after completing one or two.</p>
<p>With teenagers things can change in a day. My son saw the list I prepared, and added a school he had found. He is interested and looking but didn't tell me. We now have a list of 25, but some are duplicates (very similar Cal States in different locations). He is going to have to narrow that down. I started another discussion on visits. I decided we are going to visit many over the summer to get a feeling for the campus itself, then return in the fall to open house days. He will have time in the spring after he has received admissions to then sit in on classes for a day if the university allows it to make a final decision. His school considers a college visit an excused absence. I will make note of which schools have very late acceptances, so those can be visited in the fall. Is there anything I haven't mentioned that might also be important to do?</p>
<p>mrs p - i'd suggest a visit to the common app website:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.commonapp.org%5B/url%5D">www.commonapp.org</a></p>
<p>you can review which schools on his list also use the common app. take note of which schools also require an additional supplemental application. review the supps and the common app.</p>
<p>i once came across a helpful listing of the common app schools - does anyone have the link to that? that would be helpful for mrs. p. it gave the application deadline dates and noted which were ea and ed schools, etc. </p>
<p>for schools not on the common app..........review applications at the schools website if possible. get started on essays sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>you might also contact the admissions rep. for your state for the schools that are of interest to your s. some schools like to see interest from the student, i'm told.</p>
<p>find out now from your s's guidance counselor what is the policy about the number of applications that he can submit. do they have a limit at his high school?</p>
<p>Mrs. P, I just sent you a PM with a host of suggestions and links to other resources to help your search. I agree with Curmudgeon wholeheartedly -- this is a bumpy road, but a fascinating journey to watch unfold. And, somehow, it does. :)</p>
<p>Mrs. P--I see carolyn has responded and so won't address your Q as to the various plusses of the mid-level schools in the San Diego/OC area. She is the fount of all knowledge on that issue!</p>
<p>"...the fount of all knowledge..."</p>
<p>lol</p>
<p>I agree.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The UCs are not going to be on the list unless he changes his mind. He doesn't seem interested in them. He would prefer going to a smaller school. My feeling is that I'd much rather see him at a less rigorous school where he can shine, than getting into something in the bottom percentiles and then always struggling for grades.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Don't overlook UC-Merced. It was only 900 students last year; probably will be 2,000 total, with this year's admitted class (it will be 25,000 eventually). </p>
<p>So it's a UC the size of most small LACs for now, giving students small class sizes and direct access to profs as freshmen (and the opportunity for research projects as undergrads, too), brand new dorms that are apartment suites, and from what we've seen, very motivated teaching faculty. </p>
<p>Since it's without reputation (except that it's in "sticksville"), it's much less competitive for now in admissions than the top-tier UCs, so it might "fit" academically in that regard, too.</p>