He’s a very adaptable sort of kid, but I think he’d like a rah rah urban setting. Was happy being an introvert before, but told me this year he wanted a “fresh start” socially once he enters college.
During Freshmen year we had him tested for ADD, but he apparently was just lazy. He picked up on material rather fast (Very high test scores), but teachers would say he rarely -if ever- turned in anyway. He had the same teacher of the video editing class in the first year and I think this left a bad impression. Nevertheless, I’m glad that he’s smoothed out his differences with her. The assignment he has is the same as given to the rest of the class. He does blame himself for his poor GPA, and constantly says he should’ve worked harder early on.
In the past he was chronic gamer and would do 5-6 hour gaming binges every day. He’s gotten over it now.
My D applied to “regional” state universities and it seems these schools are more forgiving of grades if you bring a higher test score… but not sure if the standards are different for STEM.
As for an urban school with Engineering (dk if they have Industrial En’g, sorry), I bet U of Illinois in Chicago would accept him. Not so much “rah-rah” though.
Southern Illinois University would likely admit him, too. If he had a 3.0, he could get in-state tuition there, ouch… will he bring it up by the end of the year? 'Cause they may have space at the end of the year, they are often under-enrolled…
Private colleges to look into - Marietta College in Ohio; U of Evansville in southern IN. Both have Engineering.
If you’re in a midwestern state that is part of the Midwest Student Exchange Program, you could look into one of the Purdue branches in Indiana, and he could see about transferring in two years to the main campus of Purdue, if he brings his grades up. (Heck, with that score, I’d have him apply to Purdue now, too, what the heck, he might get in, but it might be expensive if you’re not in-state…)
Same with IL schools, although SIU is a traditional campus and is fairly respected here in IL for STEM.
Your son sounds a little like my D. She is the epitome of underachievement when it comes to grades and schoolwork:). You’ll get a lot of advice from well-meaning folks who likely do not have kids like ours, that he needs to go to community college. I KNOW with my D, the best thing for her at this point is for her to go away from home - not that there’s anything wrong with cc - it’s just that it means my kid will be living at home, and honestly, that’s a big part of the problem - she won’t grow up until she is away on her own. I just know this, kwim?
I think he needs to be retested for ADHD. I don’t know what methods the mental-health professional used in his/her evaluation, but much of what you’ve written screams ADHD…doing homework, but not turning it in, 5-6 hour video game binges, high test scores/lowish GPA, etc.
He may have “gotten over” the 5 hour binges, but I suspect that he’s substituted something else to hyper-focus on.
I would find a mental health professional that specializes in ADHD and have him retested.
I took my older son to be tested and was told “no.” Then he was tested again later on (with other tests) and was identified.
That said, when I first took my older son to be tested and was told “no,” the doctor pointed over at my younger son and said, “he’s the one who has it.” lol
He hasn’t really found much else to focus on besides studying and exercise. I think a huge part of his gaming addiction was his lack of success both socially (Due to severe rhotacism for most of his life) and academically, which sort of drove him to “hide away”. I fear that if he tests positive for ADHD that he will be barred from the military; he truly takes the military as his life dream (much to me and my husband’s dismay).
One of my greatest fears with CC is that he’ll end up taking it as another extension of HS and fall through the cracks. He already has expressed a massive desire to move out of state and I don’t think having him stay at home would be the best for his motivation or work ethic. We cannot go in-state anyway, since the only NROTC college is UofMich-Ann Arbor, and even though we have strong legacies at that school, his GPA is far too low for consideration.
It’s not mandated that your son enroll at an NROTC college to end up as a Industrial Engineer or Supply Logistics Officer in the Navy. I read on the US Navy website that the preliminary qualification for Supply Logistics Officer is a bachelor’s degree. You said that money will not be a obstacle in his selection of a college, therefore he can target any college that offers his desired programs and where he has a good chance of admission, whether it’s an NROTC college or not.
That being said, your son may find a good fit at these universities;
U of Rochester (NROTC); it would be a tough admit, but his test scores (and being full pay) give him a shot. Investigate UR’s Independent Engineering major and the Engineering Science major. There’s no Industrial Engineering Major at UR.
SUNY Maritime College (NROTC)
Not well known either in or out of New York but a very strong engineering school that produces Naval Engineers and kids very qualified to enter maritime commerce careers. Students are not required to join the corps of cadets. There are many “civilian” students at SUNY Maritime. Cadets are required to participate in a summer voyage overseas. This is a very affordable college situated at a picturesque location on Long Island Sound. Obviously, life for a cadet is quite strict, just like a military academy.
U of Idaho (NROTC) Can’t speak specifically about Engineering Management or Industrial Engineer at Idaho but engineering generally is solid at U of I. His present stats meet admission requirements. Also, U of I would be much cheaper than Rochester.
South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. An excellent STEM university that offers Industrial Engineering. Very laid back students but a quite rigorous curriculum. Also, it’s a bargain at $22k COA and has great resources for kids interested in the military.
U of Akron; take a look at UA’s MET major in the Engineering School, as well as the Information Systems Management Major at the Business School. Engineering is well regarded at Akron.
Old Dominion University; take a look at the Information Systems major, the MET major and the Maritime Supply Chain major.
OP - It sounds like you are in Michigan. If so, it looks like Eastern Michigan has a NROTC program in that they are a “cross-town affiliate” of the program at the U of M. According to the NROTC web site, a cross-town affiliate is a college that participates in the NROTC program but which does not physically host the Department of Naval Science or the NROTC unit (which can be found at the host school).
Students at an affiliate school take their Naval Science classes and participate in drill and other unit activities at the host school. This might be an option for your son since EMU is much easier to get into. It looks like they do have some engineering management and industrial engineering, although these programs may be MS-only programs.
Have you considered having your son directly enlist into the Navy? He’s obviously bright, but may not be college material as an 18 year old. He could get a few years of discipline under his belt and high tech training, and attend college later using his GI benefits.
Another option - I know several very successful Naval officers who took this exact approach (my husband included). The Navy has programs for those who qualify - that will send one directly to college while still active duty to get their commission. My husbands route was on a full NROTC scholarship after he spent a few years as a nuclear electronics technician on submarines.
Look into Iowa State - great engineering school, very reasonable OOS tuition. A friend’s son was enrolled there and doing NROTC ( he did have some academic difficulty and switched to CC).
On Parchment for Rensselaer I see very little in the way of rejections for anything over 31 ACT. There are few data points for GPA under 3 however. But it’s a great Engineering school. Same for Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
I love the idea of directly enlisting. A friend’s son did that. He trained as a medic for a year, and now is getting his degree, courtesy of the Navy, and will continue with his naval career when he finishes in 2018. He also had a low GPA, but really matured a lot during his year of training.
Disagree that this kid “screams” ADD. If he were ADD, he would NOT have been able to turn it around and be getting mostly As and a couple of Bs now He also fits the profile for a gifted kid that was bored and turned off by school. He probably didn’t need to do the work in the earlier grades and so did not develop the habit. In HS he discovered he could no longer phone it in and has turned it around. Although gifted kids can definitely have ADD, they can also be misdiagnosed if they aren’t jumping through hoops, but still ace all the tests.
Does your school have Naviance? That would be a good start, but aiming a little over the point at which he would seem to fit, since the upward trend is good. I don’t think getting a C in a video editing class will derail him, (although an F would). I understand some of the doom and gloom here, as some kids never really change. But if he has and does the work, he will do just fine, whether in the Navy or not. The fact that he patched it up with the teacher (assuming he did at least some of the work and it was not all the GC or parents, suggests maturing).
RPI may be tough for admittance with a low GPS, but perhaps Worcester Poly tech, Rochester Inst of Technology or Drexel would be good, the latter two especially for a kid that wants to do coops. But these are private, so not sure if your OOS was for out of state publics only. If the latter, make sure he applies as early as possible. Most of the big schools have NROTC, but totally out of my wheelhouse.
I don’t think Kansas or Nebraska would be a reach, actually.
In fact, Kansas is auto-admit, and they give the minimum stats needed on there website. Check their site and see.
I’m not sure Miami of OH is either…
What about Iowa State? That’s a good school for STEM and Engineering, and also is auto-admit, and they’re not very selective. OOS tuition is about 20k as well.
Several colleges have a Corps of Cadets that can give him the structure and discipline of the military. There is no military commitment until/unless he receives an ROTC scholarship. Take a look at Norwich and similar schools.
The Iowa State University engineering college is a notorious “weeder” program. The engineering curriculum is excellent but the programs are reputedly as tough as it gets in terms of rigor.