Not the typical CCer

Parents Forum
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<p>I was drawn to this site while researching schools for my oldest son. Now that all his applications are in, my focus is somewhat drawn to his brother, who is now a junior in HS. Finding a college for him may prove difficult. Like the title of this most implies, he is not a typical student you will find on this site. His GPA will most likely fall in the mid to high 70's, no honors or APs, and he will be lucky to break 1000 on his M/CR SAT. I understand that the first reaction is "community college" but for various reasons we feel he will be best served if he can "go away" to school. I've read a few times in this forum that "70% of the colleges accept most anyone that applies." That being said, I don't want to spend a small fortune based on the effort he put into HS. My wishlist is a medium to large school on or around the east coast that he could get into, that is reasonably priced. </p>

<p>Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>Take a look at the book "Colleges that Change Lives" by Loren Pope. It will give you quite a few options.</p>

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<p>Sounds like my son, and I don't want to pay a small fortune either. I was not aware CTCL schools were an exception to the small fortune thing, for kids who won't get need based or merit based aid. I am curious about why you think "away" is best. My son thinks he's going "away" too, but after the expected results of this weeks finals (and more importantly, this weeks effort), we are going to have to talk about that. Typically he is a year or so behind his peers in matching his effort to his ability ( he actually scores around the 85 percentile for 10 th graders on the PSAT), so I'm thinking a couple years of cc then a UC might work for him, or even some sort of two year trade thingy.</p>

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<p>I will take a look at that book - thank you!</p>

<p>I hear you on the two year trade thingy! If only he could find one that interested him. My son has a lot of "distractions" here at home. Most of his friends don't even intend on pursuing college. I am hoping that if he is away from them, with like minded students who are stiving for a college education, he will succeed. My son wants to go to college. but I'm afraid with the influences here he may very well drop out. His guidance counselor feels he will need at least an 80 average to get into any SUNY's. Another underlying problem is his brother, who has exceled in HS and has been accepted into every college he has applied to. He feels he can't compete with that, therefore he doesn't.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>Some of the CTCL give "merit" aid to almost every student. In other words, the sticker price doesn't have anything to do with what the students actually end up paying.</p>

<p>Lottastrikes, what are you looking for? What do you hope your son will gain from college? Might there be a different experience that would offer the same benefits? What careers do you imagine for him? </p>

<p>Shrinkrap, CC is one good thought, but just waiting a year or two before starting college (whether at a CC or at a UC/Cal State) might even be better. Boys do mature later than girls, and some boys are a lot later. A couple of years in the workforce can do wonders in showing a kid the benefits of academic study.</p>

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<p>Here are some possibilities returned by a search I did on Naviance at our public high school (SAT 1000-ish, GPA less than 3.0):</p>

<p>Arcadia University - PA
Assumption College - MA
Champlain College - VT
Dean College - MA (2 year, but might be very good in your situation)
Green Mountain College - VT
Hartwick College - NY
Lesley University - MA
Mass College of Liberal Arts - MA
Roger Williams University - RI
Suffolk University - MA
University of Hartford - CT
Western New England College - MA</p>

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<p>Sounds like my two, although I don't think he's trying to compete. It's made no better by the fact that he see's me and H as pretty academically successful too. Still, we don't compete with him at sports, and if his effort matched his talent, he'd have something going on. So he's upping the effort now, but he's a little late in the game to get in a school for sports. And his school tells folks he'll be playing for Duke! (his sibs school). No pressure!</p>

<p>When you say "like minded", what do you mean?</p>

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<p>some of the Suny technical and community colleges do have real campuses and dorms. We checked out suny delhi as I wanted a true safety for my kid. The campus seemed pretty nice and not too far away from Oneonta. I think Monroe community college in Rochester has dorms also as does a few other cc/technical SUNY's. I'll agree with your kids GC, it's pretty hard to get into a 4 year SUNY with a sub 80 average. And for most, you need above an 85 average. My kid struggled with the SAT's- she found the ACT test a much better fit for her study skills.
Good luck.</p>

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<p>I know someone who attended Delhi and then transferred to another school after 2 years. It worked out. </p>

<p>Here are a couple of others that might work in addition to those listed above and CTCL schools: New England College in Henniker, Widener College, Kutztown, Pace, St. Leo's (FLA), Lynn U. (FLA), High Point U. (NC).</p>

<p>If anyone thinks that the schools listed above are too competitive, let us know.</p>

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<p>What do you want your son to get out of college, OP? What does he want to get out of college?</p>

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<p>Thank you everyone! You have all been very helpful. </p>

<p>what are you looking for? I'm looking for a college where he can learn and thrive.</p>

<p>What do you hope your son will gain from college? The ability to be self-supporting and find a future that will help him be successful and happy.</p>

<p>Might there be a different experience that would offer the same benefits? I'm open for suggestions!</p>

<p>What careers do you imagine for him? It's really not what I imagine for him, it's what he can imagine, and so far he's come up with 0. He loves sports, maybe a gym teacher? LOL I am told there are way too many people going for that. Maybe law enforcement? Don't really know, which is part of the problem.</p>

<p>My fear is if he doesn't go straight to college, he will never go. You know what they say about the best intentions. I will absolutely look into the schools that have been recommended. One school he himself wants to apply to is West Virginia. Does anyone know anything about that?</p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>

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<p>lottastrikes, I would really look for a small school, one that might have less distractions, and one where one could find academic assistance and guidance without needing figure out how to negotiate through a sea of people. JMO.</p>

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<p>northeastmom, I know where you are coming from, and I totally agree with you. I am trying to balance what I think he needs in a school with what he is looking for in a school. We will most definitely pursue the smaller schools as well!</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>Your welcome. If your son is looking for big time sports, football, pre-gaming, frat houses, parties, etc. I would sit him down. If he needs to do those things, I would even consider a gap year where you pay for him to share an apt./room with someone and let him experience that. Then send him to a school to focus on his future. BTW, that idea came to me from one of son's friends. The boy was a B- student in hs, parents spent their last nickel on an older child who was an A student and went to the then 40k (now 50k) school. It was so bad financially that they relocated to a less expensive area and sold their home. They sent this young man to a large U. campus to get the party life out of his system (not enrolled, just living there). He experienced a new life, it cost the parents next to nothing and now he moved back home. Now he will go to a vocational school.</p>

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<p>What state are you in? There are a number of northeast states that have small residential state colleges, many of which may have been teachers' colleges in previous lives. They are used to students in your son's situation, and they'll not necessarily cost an arm and a leg.</p>

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<p>So, you want your son to learn and thrive, be self-supporting, find a future. Great goals, but what I wonder is whether college <em>right now</em> is the way to achieve them. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding the situation, but this young man sounds like a kid who, right now, doesn't like academics and isn't very good at academic pursuits. </p>

<p>Nearly half of US students who start college don't finish within six years. When thinking about college for your son, it's worthwhile to think about whether he'd graduate, and whether it would be worth the money if he didn't.</p>

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<p>I'd say if you want to get an idea of his admissability in a SUNY school (I am assuming here you are from NY from your references), I'd stroll over to the College specific threads and go in the "SUNY - General". You'll find a member called SBUAdmissions monitoring postings there. He (IIRC) obviously works at one school, but IIRC he is pretty knowledgable about admissions practices at many of the SUNY campuses. I think you'll get an honest assessment there.</p>

<p>Good Luck.</p>

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<p>Does your son WANT to go away?</p>

<p>My brother had about a 3.0, no honors or AP courses, and an 1100-ish SAT. He was heistant about going away to college, but my parents pushed him to apply. He got into all 4 schools (3 in-state publics, one OOS public) and went to an in-state public for 1.5 years. He's currently working and doing pretty well, but my family thinks that maybe pushing him to apply to and attend college right away was not the best choice. My dad took a long, winding route to his BS (in Engineering), and while he said he wouldn't necessarily recommend that way, it's worked out pretty well for him so far--as he got older, his focus and commitment shot up, and he did very well in his engineering courses while working full time in the field, married with two kids.</p>

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<p>I also think it might be good for him to work for a year before he goes to college, but if working for a year in your home town would keep him close to old friends who will not be going to college, I understand your wanting to encourage him to go away to school. </p>

<p>The Colleges That Change Lives are private schools and are not inexpensive. Based on his SAT score, he is not going to get merit aid. (Try the ACT.) </p>

<p>There are some cheap schools he can go to if he wants to go away to an inexpensive school and he is not a candidate for merit aid or need-based-aid. These are second or third tier publics that want to boost enrollment so they offer in-state tuition (or out of state tuition for very little more) to everyone. Some are more selective than others; some admit almost all applicants. The real bargains are not on the East Coase. I like the Minnesota State Universities and Eastern Oregon State.</p>

<p>Here are some ideas for you to investigate. Maybe one is in a geographic are he likes – a favorite cousin in Nebraska?</p>

<p>Alabama
Athens State University (AL)
Alabama State University
Jacksonville State University (AL) "
Troy University (AL)<br>
Alabama A&M University<br>
University of North Alabama<br>
University of West Alabama</p>

<p>Arkansas
Univ. of Arkansas–Monticello<br>
University of South Alabama
Southern Arkansas University</p>

<p>Idaho
Idaho State University </p>

<p>Kentucky
Murray State University (KY)</p>

<p>Louisiana
Southeastern Louisiana University </p>

<p>Maryland
Morgan State University (MD)</p>

<p>Minnesota
Southwest MN State Univ (MN) SMSU</a> - Financial Aid - Cost of Attendance
Bemidji State University (MN)
University of Minnesota–Crookston</p>

<p>Missouri
Missouri Southern State University</p>

<p>Nebraska
Peru State College (NE)
Chadron State College (NE)
Wayne State College (NE) </p>

<p>Oklahoma
Oklahoma Panhandle State Univ.<br>
Southeastern Oklahoma State U.
Northeastern State University (OK)<br>
Cameron University (OK)<br>
East Central University (OK)
Northwestern Oklahoma State U.
Southwestern Oklahoma State U. </p>

<p>New Mexico
Eastern New Mexico University </p>

<p>Oregon
Eastern Oregon University, LaGrande, Oregon <a href="http://www.eou.edu/staccts/tuition2.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.eou.edu/staccts/tuition2.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Pennsylvania
Slippery Rock U. of Pennsylvania </p>

<p>South Carolina
South Carolina State University</p>

<p>South Dakota
Northern State University (SD)</p>

<p>West Virginia
W Virginia University–Parkersburg
Bluefield State College (WV)</p>

<p>You might enjoy this thread: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/590865-kiplinger-2009-best-values.html?highlight=inexpensive#post1061218074%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/590865-kiplinger-2009-best-values.html?highlight=inexpensive#post1061218074&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Community colleges have some amazing programs that can help kids figure out if the field they think they MIGHT be interested in would really work for them or not. My D ended up at one and later transferred to OOS private U. She and I were amazed at the range of programs offered there--physical therapy assistant might be something your S could do with sports.</p>

<p>Perhaps going away from his environment to another part of the state might be as effective as doing OOS while saving you $ from paying OOS tuition.</p>