I really need advice. My daughter screwed up her college list and only applied to safeties and reaches (maybe two targets.) My daughter got into all her safeties – SDSU, CSULB, U Oregon, ASU, and U Colorado Boulder. We are very thankful for that! She was denied or waitlisted at all the other schools she applied to (nine or ten.) Lots of tears.
She is leaning toward SDSU because she loves San Diego. Unfortunately, she is thinking that “only dumb party kids go there” and has lost all hope that she will be intellectually challenged by her peers. I know this isn’t true, but the one boy she knows who is going there in the Fall is, “A drug addict, with only one brain cell,” according to her.
Please tell me stories of really smart, motivated kids who go/went to SDSU so I can make her feel better. Also, if you think any of the other colleges she got into would be a better fit for her, please let me know.
Your title suggest that she is weighing SDSU vs another school vs gap year. Is that what you are asking or are you asking for stories about smart kids going to SDSU?
Good question! I wasn’t clear. I want to know about smart, motivated kids that go to SDSU so I can tell her. If she isn’t convinced, I need to know whether she would be a better fit at the other schools she got into or take a gap year and apply to a different set of schools in the Fall.
We are trying to get her to visit the other schools next week, but she isn’t excited about them either because of their high acceptance rates. I know that is a narrow-minded attitude, but I don’t know what to do. I certainly don’t want to send her off to any college if she doesn’t feel grateful and fortunate to be there. That is why I’m entertaining the possibility of a gap year.
@bayareaboymom 's son wasn’t happy with his admissions results so took a gap year and applied again. Here is her post in on the UCSB thread.
Everyone parents differently. Personally, I would give her time to kick and scream and then tell her it is time to get over it, look forward, and make a decision about what she wants to do with her future. Have you told her that you don’t want to invest the money into something that you don’t feel she will appreciate?
Super great advice! I have told her she needs to appreciate college and get good grades or we will not fund her. Unfortunately her dad is willing to fund any whim she has. He and I are still married, but we aren’t on the same page about her or her education.
Just to be clear, I would be perfectly happy for my daughter to go to SDSU or any of the schools she got into. My problem is her bad attitude toward those schools given her expectations (which may have been unrealistic.) I could see her attitude resulting in an insolent and negative approach to classes and the school in general. If she is going to be that way, I’d rather have her take a year off.
Not sure why the “Party school” stigma still exists for SDSU. They have an active, vibrant student body and there is Greek life but nothing compared to the party school reputation they had 20 years ago. If you want to party, you can find a party at any school and if you do not, then are plenty of students with the same mindset.
My younger son attended SDSU as a CS major and my niece just graduated with Honors as a Biology major. Both turned down a UC to attend. Both found the academics challenging and both are “smart motivated” students that took advantage of the many great opportunities available to them.
My son currently works for Google and my niece is taking a Gap year to apply to PA school.
Acceptance rate is not valid indicator of the quality of students that attend SDSU. What does she consider an acceptable acceptance rate for a competitive school? Show her that SDSU’s acceptance rate is comparable to UC Davis and lower than UCSC. She should be proud of her acceptance at SDSU with an average CSU GPA of 3.97 which is the 2nd most competitive Cal state behind Cal Poly SLO.
SDSU: 38%
UC Davis: 37.5%
CSU Long Beach: 42%
UC Santa Cruz: 47%
UC Riverside: 68%
She wants to go into marketing, advertising, or PR. She applied to either Business-Marketing or Comms/Media studies everywhere. She is a direct admit into the Business-Marketing programs at SDSU, ASU (with merit aid,) and U Oregon (with merit aid.) She got into the super-cool looking Media Studies program at CU Boulder with merit aid.
She thought she wanted a school with good sports and school spirit on top of a program she wanted when she was applying.
Good questions. She definitely prefers a more urban environment with good restaurants and things to see. And she really wants sports/school spirit since she spent the majority of high school online due to COVID and then switching to online after for a variety of complicated reasons.
My daughter is a freshman at SDSU and could not be happier. Since you want stories of smart
motivated kids she graduated hs with a 4.0 UW / 4.7 W and chose SDSU over Boston University and Northeastern along with many other higher ranked options. I can’t tell you how many very motivated, very smart kids did not make the cut at her large public high school. She also has a couple of friends that were admitted to UCSB and UCSD but not SDSU. I will say there are definitely parties but you will find that at most college campuses. San Diego is great, beautiful city with so much to do and I am sure she will receive a great education.
