Even if his father got a teaching job, teaching in Alabama isn’t a 100K/year job. So, it’s unlikely to affect his financial aid terribly. Obviously it means his father would be expected to contribute and if I understand the implied information, he might not…
He/you should contact the Dean’s Nursing Scholars Dean and explain his predicament: he’d love to attend but UAB isn’t affordable.
What’s his highest score for each section of the ACT?
(Did he get another 25 composite but with different results than previously, ie., increased some and decreased others?)
He should have drafts for several supplements by now - does he?
If not, sit down with him and set up a schedule. At this point and until Jan 2, nothing is more important -not his friends, not his job (call his boss if necessary but I doubt that for one week in which there are holidays, so, for 4 days, a small business can’t manage without one 18-year old). He needs to focus solely on his applications.
I’m not sure how much he will be making, but based on his pay before he got fired I would guess $50,000 or so. He was making about $46,000 the last year he worked but this job is in the Birmingham area and I think it pays more than what he was making before. It’s really the 2019 income that I would be most concerned about because he could continue to draw his disability for the first few months while working which could put his total income in the $70,000 range. He wouldn’t necessarily refuse to help but he’s not too good at managing money(went straight from his mother taking care of things to me) and when he was teaching before his take home pay was only about 60% of gross after deductions. He makes lots of promises but usually doesn’t keep them. I haven’t had the patience to have a conversation with him since he took the younger 2 kids with him to Birmingham Thursday and then once again left them out in the car alone(for an hour) while he went in for an interview.
His last ACT was a 26 composite and included his best math score to date as well as reading, science was his worst score yet. Highest sections include 27 in math, 28 in reading, 27 in English, and 25 in science.
I do need to manage to corral him and find out what he has done.
I don’t know what has been going on with him but he definitely hasn’t been himself, but seems to be trying to do better recently. He didn’t meet any of the January deadlines, though some of the schools that accepted the Questbridge application are complete and others are still needing a supplement, which I’m not sure if he is going to complete. Washington U. in STL closed his app but the others are still sending e-mail reminders of missing items. He finally submitted his application for honors college at UNA and his resume for leadership scholarship consideration. I’m hoping he follows through on the plan and gets the general scholarship application for endowed scholarships completed today as well as the one for UAB. There are some other schools in the region that he has been admitted to but February 1st is the scholarship application deadline. His application to Berea is finally complete(somehow they had 2 files on him and couldn’t seem to get the two connected) and they are requesting a brief interview, it will probably have to be via facetime since the school is several hours away.
He moved up to 5th in his class(out of 61) due to a good first semester, so at least in the top 10%. There was a wrinkle due to him being tardy or absent too much for his first period class(annual staff) and the assistant principal insisting that his grade be docked accordingly. A class that is an automatic 100 normally and he had an 82 for the 2nd 9 weeks, but still had a 91 for the semester. It was completely his fault and he is aware of that, though not happy about it. Otherwise his first semester grades were good:
Precalculus 100, Physics 99, Intro to Pharmacy 97, English 97, US Govt 96, Applied Agricultural Mechanics 98, Yearbook staff 91.
I hope he can get what he needs to submit done and then we wait I guess. He is senior class president so he will have to start preparing for prom and his graduation speech.
My daughter will be in 9th grade next year and I hope to have a better handle on things as she starts the journey toward college.
Oh, I forgot to add that his father’s new job won’t be a problem if he gets into any profile schools because he has already quit.
So, he’s not applied to St Olaf nursing? 
They’d likely be both his best option academically and his cheapest… If they’re among the people asking for missing items, perhaps it’s worth it to send whatever’s missing.
Fingers crossed on Berea and all the Profile schools!
No, he never finished the common app(I filled most everything out but didn’t have all of the info to complete the honors/activities sections) so it was never submitted. They sent an e-mail the next day after the deadline that said apply today but nothing since that. The emails are from Questbridge schools that I submitted the request to have his materials submitted for RD, some have writing supplements which he never did. I haven’t been able to get him to even discuss college stuff until a few days ago and the only thing he has done was the stuff for UNA. Well, he did turn in the request for mid-year reports and transcripts to the guidance counselor from QB schools that required them. I’m still pushing when I can, sometimes he is receptive and sometimes it just makes him mad and he leaves.
He told me the other day that he doesn’t know what he wants to do and I told him that was fine because decision day is not until May 1st but if he doesn’t get his stuff submitted then there won’t be any decisions to make. It seemed to help momentarily but his waiting until the last minute about everything is really stressful, I am so ready to be done with all of this.
Received an acceptance letter today for UNA honors college, it includes a small scholarship, $300 per semester first 2 years and $600 per semester last 2 years. I’m not sure when they will notify about leadership scholarships, endowed scholarships or housing scholarships. The application for project OPEN is up so he will fill that out as well.
He had a telephone interview with his admissions rep from Berea yesterday, she had him send an updated transcript and resume so hopefully they will be making a decision sometime in the near future.
Also received a letter from UAH to apply for honors college, but unless he could raise his ACT substantially it is not affordable.
Fingers crossed for Berea, and for UNA scholarships as well!
Do apply to Honors college at UAH.
Fingers crossed for Berea, likely to be his best opportunity both financially and academically. His excellent senior transcript won’t hurt. 
I forgot to add that I am a bit peeved at the constant push for community college(not that there is anything wrong with it). His guidance counselor yesterday insisted that he apply to some community colleges in the region, everyone is pushing the idea and apparently most of the ones in his class that are college-bound are heading to CC. Unless no more scholarships or admissions offers come in, that doesn’t make sense to me, since he already has more in scholarships than what they offer for transfers.
He wound up 5/61 in his class, made honors, and hall of fame. GPA 3.95, weighted GPA for ranking was a 98 I think(95 unweighted).
Is applying to the CC a formality at no cost, and is there any first-come-first-served advantage to doing so early (e.g. earlier registration for classes)? If so, and you and he are concerned about the possibility that no four year school will deliver the needed scholarships / FA, then it may make sense to apply as another option.
On the other hand, if there is no first-come-first-served advantage to applying to the CC early, then that can wait, since it may not be needed at all if any four year school comes in affordable.
^ the issue is that if OP’s son applies to CC there’s then no scholarships for years 3+4, whereas he can commute to a 4-year college that would thus mean he keeps his scholarships for 4 years.
However that strategy is sometimes pushed in rural areas - remember the thread from a rural Iowa kid with a 32 ACT and high GPA who’d been told to just go to CC, he’d titled it “did I just cost myself tens of thousands of dollars?”
I’m not sure if there are any advantages for early application, and I am fine with applying to them, I am all about having options. It’s the fact that so many are trying to automatically steer them that direction when we don’t even have all of the decisions yet on scholarships and admittance. We will evaluate options after all information is available, but most seem to think CC is the path everyone should be taking. If you ignore all other options, what happens in 2 years when you can’t afford to transfer? I just think it is short-sighted to assume Cc is the cheaper option for everyone. I know there have been a lot of eye rolls about his applying to Questbridge and to some of those schools.
In a small community, it’s often hard to be the one who doesn’t follow the beaten path. On the other hand he can be a trailblazer and tell other kids ranked high that they, too, can have other options if they wish. There’s courage in his endeavor but then others might follow.
This issue is not for applying to a CC, it is taking courses at a CC (or any college) after high school graduation. Merely applying to a CC as another option should not disqualify the student from any frosh merit scholarships that he may be waiting for at the four year schools.
If there are no advantages to applying early, then applying to the CC can wait (and not have to be done if a four year school comes up with a good financial package). However, if the CC has any first-come-first-served advantages, applying now may secure them in case the CC ends up being the only affordable option, even though he need not attend or take any courses there if a four year school comes up with a good financial package.
The general advice is true - if your cc has an honors college with a deadline to apply,if it has special scholarships… Apply now.
But unless I’m mistaken OP is saying counselors at her son’s school are pushing the local cc, period - and in fact seem to discourage students from applying anywhere else, including a student ranked at the top of the class. And THIS is a problem.
I finally got him to sit down and finish the UNA general scholarship application for endowed scholarships last night. We are still waiting to hear back about leadership scholarships and now for endowed scholarships as well.
Good news. He received an acceptance letter from Berea today, it says more information including financial will be arriving soon. If it is affordable when the information comes I will try to work it out to make a visit before time to make a decision. There are still things to hear back from but at least there are some options so I feel much better, if he wants an education it should be possible and the rest will be up to him to make the most of it.
Yes, that was how I understood things, that he was told that moneywise he was better off starting with community college. Mostly I think people around here(parents and students) don’t want to venture into the great unknown. I guess no one wants to leave Mayberry. Those who never really fit in well are the ones happy to leave, but even among those most stay within 2-3 hours away.
Huge congrats to him on Berea!!! Does this mean acceptance to the nursing major as well?