<p>And I like the suggestion of getting him to a basketball game or hockey game. Once his sister starts next fall I am hopeful that we can arrange a visit where he can stay there for a weekend. Then he will see what the big deal is all about. His sister has been accepted at BC. She has applied to 5 other schools too so not sure where she will end up. Financial aid may be an influencer.</p>
<p>TKsmom - Two other small engineering schools to look into are Rose-Hulman and WPI. Both have a lot of support and advising for students. I have a Junior at Rose, and my HS senior just got accepted at WPI. </p>
<p>CSM is a good choice, but I did hear it can be a bit of a “grind” school in some majors. I suggest you take your son for a visit. Now that I remember, my ex took S1 to visit CSM summer of his sophomore year, and the admissions counselor was EXTREMELY helpful. He not only talked about CSM, but he gave my son lots of advice about the college search. This made a big impression on my son.</p>
<p>You might also want to check out Ft. Lewis College in Durango, a small public school. They have an Engineering Physics degree.</p>
<p>Regarding studying for PSAT / SAT / ACT, I would not push that too much this year. There will be plenty of time next year. (Unless you believe your son is National Merit material, in which case you do want him to study before taking the exam Junior year.)</p>
<p>Both my son’s have ADD, so short chunks of exam practice worked better than long test prep sessions. Subscribing to the “SAT question of the day” is a fun way to study together. (But it does nothing to help prepare for the reading passages.) There is a lot of advice on the SAT / ACT threads here, especially about the “Xiggi” method, which we used in a scaled back form, with good results.</p>
<p>I would suggest helping your son find an E.C. passion, where he can excel and explore his interests. Also, When he is a junior, you might want to look into “Operation Catapult” at Rose Hulman, or similar engineering summer camps.</p>
<p>Oh, and I forgot to add - All B’s is really not that bad!</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the suggestion! </p>
<p>I think a tour to CSM would be good. I was unaware of Ft Lewis College’s engineering/physics program. My son would likely love it there and his dad and I would love to visit him there! And the price would be right!</p>
<p>We have been trying to help our son find his EC passion without much success for years. He is so different than his sister who loved horses from age 2 on and dedicated herself to that passion. Son has tried everything without seeing any of it through. He is a boy who likes to play some sports occaisionally but hates to compete. Team sports like football and soccer were a disaster. He could not handle other male parents on the side line screaming at him (neither could I). He likes to play golf and tennis but is not yet skilled enough to play on teams in high school. </p>
<p>He likes to bird watch, go hunting, practice shooting (this is his 4H project) ride ATVs, and play on the computer. He also enjoys mechanical stuff like working on his ATV and refurbishing a boat with his dad. So this is the extent of his ECs. We have tried art, music, photography, etc but those did not hold his interest for long.</p>
<p>Never heard of the Xiggi program so will go to that thread to check it out! We do get question of the day. He struggles with many of those which is why I think we need to start practicing sooner than later–and the reading portion is a big concern to me.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the suggestions!</p>
<p>TKsmom ~ You could also look into Rensselaer and Rochester Institute of Technology, although RIT may be larger than you are looking for.</p>
<p>TKSmom, I think Lafayette, Lehigh & Bucknell may be reaches. (Not impossible, but a 3.2 student wouldn’t be in the middle of the pack at these schools). Also, you said your son really doesn’t like humanities, and Laf & Bucknell are Liberal Arts Colleges that have good engineering depts - but they will require probably more humanities courses than a more tech-y school like WPI. I think WPI is a good choice, I’m sure there are more like it but my kids aren’t engineers so I didn’t really research those schools, sorry I can’t list any more for you!</p>
<p>TK, Lafayette, Bucknell and Lehigh are all very selective, although coming from outside the East would be a plus. A number of posters have been very impressed by Alfred and Rochester. Others in PA to consider are Alleghenny, Drexel, Pitt, Susquehanna, Juniata, Muhlenberg and Ursinus. Syracuse may be larger and more party-oriented than you prefer. In NY, RIT may be attractive. WPI and Northeastern seem promising.
Other posters have been pleased with small schools in the Midwest, South and Far West, none of which I know well. I would look for a place with a small freshman classes and a high 4 year graduation rate, as they would seem to be good at keeping kids from falling through the cracks. Also, a campus gamers club would likely give him a group of friends.<br>
He might want to do his essay on why he prefers hunting and bird watching to school group activities–it could turn a potential minus into a plus and make him stand out from the crowd of Est Coast applicants who are not outdoorsmen. </p>
<p>Congrats to your daughter on her acceptances and best of luck with her decision.</p>
<p>TK, perhaps Clark in Worcester, MA?</p>
<p>Clark has a 3/2 Engineering program with Columbia. I don’t know if Columbia would be the best fit for OP’s S.
But, Clark has some very good science programs, with hands-on research opportunities.</p>
<p>TKsmom, your son sounds like an interesting person. In addition to yabe’s advice re: the SAT essay, the boat-refurbishing would be a great topic. It may be hard to think about this early, but he could start a journal to keep track of the progress. This would reflect his motivation and his skills and also his relationship with his father.</p>
<p>As for ECs, my daughter’s strong suit was her 4-year involvement in a summer program that is directly tied to her future major. Not much else … no leadership, team sports or school activities of any import. Is there anything your son can build on going forward? How about the birding? Is there an Audubon chapter in your area?</p>
<p>Some schools have shooting programs. Maybe cross check a list of those with math/science programs that fit his stats. Best wishes.</p>
<p>Everyone, thanks for the great suggestions. I have learned so much today. The gaming group at college idea is excellent!<br>
Don’t mean to sound so negative about my son, he is a great kid and has a heart of gold. He gets the important things right. </p>
<p>I do think the suggestion about a great summer program that is career interest focused is good. He won’t drive for at least 1 year so transportation is an issue, but I think such a summer opportunity is a really good idea. So, where do we find such things? We live in a smallish town, so do I look via regional universities or engineering firms? </p>
<p>thanks again!</p>
<p>TKsmom –
I agree with the WPI suggestion.</p>
<p>Also…if NY State is an option…look at some of the smaller SUNY schools that have engineering programs. It’s possible that Binghampton, Buffalo, Albany and Stonybrook may be stretches (and they’re also fairly large)…but…SUNY schools love out of state students!</p>
<p>With 4H and hunting interests, would he counsider a school in the south? If yes, there are some parent posters who could probably make some good suggestions…</p>
<p>haha, I’m a 3.1(UW) 3.5(W) student, 1870 SAT, 27 ACT, not many EC’s. I honestly thought I wouldn’t get accepted to many schools thanks to CC lol.</p>
<p>However, so far I got accepted into</p>
<p>UNC Greensboro
UNC Asheville
Drexel
NC State</p>
<p>Pending</p>
<p>UNC Chapel Hill</p>
<p>I guess the moral for me was to bunk what most CC’ers say haha. They make it seem as though if you don’t have these high scores you are a savage.</p>
<p>Next is the FAFSA(I sorta hate the idea of loans but what else can I do)
UNC Chapel Hill(I would scream if i got in).</p>
<p>Congrats, JAJdude. You are so right that CC leads one to believe that all is lost if you aren’t in the tippy top. I just have to say, though, your scores ARE high, far above average for every state. Good job and good luck.</p>
<p>Heh thank you. I honestly thought my reading score(on both tests) saved me from a more average score lol. They’re so lopsided.</p>
<p>JAJ - your stats are great and I totally understand that CC can be demoralizing. My son ended up applying to far more schools (at a lower tier) than he needed to because after reading so many posts on CC I thought no one would take him. Not only have they accepted him, but he’s received some great merit aid at schools I thought that he wouldn’t get into. </p>
<p>So congrats and I think this thread should be kept alive for all the future applicants so that they can see what great schools are out there.</p>
<p>Another acceptance-The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Hope I get some money hahah(but probabaly not).</p>
<p>I’ve been lurking CC for months, but thought it was time to share some stats here.</p>
<p>3.16 UW, around 4.0 W GPA with an upward trend
(A’s in english+history , C’s in math and ‘hard’ sciences)
7 AP’s
33 ACT
National Hispanic Scholar</p>
<p>Accepted:
Fordham
U of Arizona Honors (full OOS tuition scholarship)</p>
<p>Applied:
UC Berkeley
UCLA
UC Santa Cruz (withdrawn)
UC Irvine (withdrawn)
Carleton
Bard
Babson
Bowdoin
Boston University
Bates
Kenyon
Hamilton
George Washington
NYU
American
Occidental</p>
<p>What helped me financially were fee waivers and some LAC’s not having application fees. If anything, I wrote my way into Fordham and will hopefully continue to do so for other colleges.</p>
<p>^^please do not take this with offense, but this thread is specifically for the student with a 3.0-3.3 weighted GPA; while we would be more than happy to help you out elsewhere, your stats are WAY too high to qualify for this thread…by the way, what is your actual question?</p>
<p>I saw JaJdude’s post several spots up and figured I’d post. I figured I’d exemplify getting into a school like Fordham with a 3.1 GPA.</p>