We had a good weekend. Took S24 to get fitted for a tux rental for Junior Prom which is in a few weeks. We talked a little about college stuff in the car and he is excited to tour Alabama, Auburn and Clemson next week, though he said “I really hope I don’t love Clemson because I doubt I will get in”. For some reason, our high school does not have a good track record with Clemson. No idea why. And since he is not a top student, I agree it is unlikely he will get in, but since he wants to look at it, we will tour. Plus I told him you never know- crazy things happen in admissions. We are hoping he loves Alabama as he has a much better chance of getting admitted there and we have family and friends within a couple hours drive (we are in the NE so knowing there is family close by is helpful). He can also apply super early in the summer and have a decision back early fall so if he absolutely loves it he could potentially be one and done, though I am getting way ahead of myself. He has round two of the ACT this coming Saturday. Praying he is abler to get his math score up and slightly improve on the others. SAT was not pretty so he will have to submit ACT scores to the schools that require them. Third quarter ended on Friday and he thinks two of his grades went down a bit. Hoping he is wrong but they pretty much know their grades since they can look them up before they are officially posted. It is finally a beautiful stretch of weather here- it’s been cold and gloomy for a while but this week sunny blue skies and in the 60’s-70’s 
Hope everyone has a great week.
Sounds like you made some progress, though, in terms of further defining what sort of place your kiddo might be looking for!
Here for an early check in for my #2 son, class of 24, as S23 is finalizing his college choice. Two kids in two years!
Son 2 does not know what he wants to do. He has talked about taking a gap year, a road trip with friends, he just seems directionless. Has talked about majoring in engineering or business. Said once he is passionate about Geology. Enjoys French. Major activities have been choir and Boy scouts. #2 might not make Eagle, he is very laid back, but does well socially with the scout group and has been to National Youth Leadership Training, was Senior Patrol Leader and did a nice job.
What do we do with this kid?
ACT score 24 (he did not really study or care). GPA 3.3. Only AP class is AP Lang which he is getting a C in, but he was taking accelerated chem and physics. Math is probably average.
Very nice kid. Not motivated at all. Taking life at a slow pace.
I have been trying to get him to finish getting a driver’s license and also get a part time job and the kid is just not all that interested.
I am concerned that he would lemming and go where his friends go, but that’s not very likely to happen. He might like to go close to home to stay close to high school friends. We live in SE Wisconsin. Interested in Eau Claire, Stout, Parkside. Has no real focus for an area of study.
I ran this one by my wife, since none of her three siblings were focused/head-straight-to-college (or at least stay in it) types, yet all did well over time in a (medical) profession, business/sales, or as a homemaker (something I did for far longer than engineering BTW).
Her first thought, same as mine, was a “no” to the gap year. That could turn into a gap decade when someone hasn’t yet found something which motivates them to push forward.
Her other thought was that CC would be perfect for someone who is intelligent but doesn’t yet have much of any direction. Start accumulating college credits, and then even if it’s just the two years initially, they have a better foundation for their working life ahead. If they are later on in a job which motivates them to earn a four-year degree for advancement, they aren’t starting from scratch. And suppose while working in whatever job post-CC, they recognize that they have a passion for a particular line of work (e.g. forest ranger). They will already be half-way to achieving that in terms of education – not such a big hurdle to make it happen.
It’s interesting, S24 has a friend who is a senior who sounds very similar. He ended up applying to a few schools (U Maine, UNH and U Utah) and got in, but then couldn’t really decide what he wants to study and wasn’t really excited about the three options. So he has decided he is going to do an extra year of high school at a boarding school (we are in New England and many athletes do this). I am not sure why he decided this over doing a year of community college, but he is excited about his decision and his parents are on board.
If he/your family are interested in him living on-campus, have you thought about one of the community colleges that offers housing? Milwaukee Area Technical College and Western Technical College both offer housing, and he could either take coursework leading to an associate’s in liberal arts and transfer to a 4-year university, or there are numerous vocational fields (trades, engineering technology, logistics/supply chain, business, culinary arts, health professions, etc) that he could study and then hit the workforce earlier (and/or transfer to a 4-year school with that area of interest). (Links lead to the College Navigator pages for those institutions.)
That way he would be well-positioned on whether he wants to go for an academic bachelor’s or a vocational school and wouldn’t need to change schools, while still learning some the independence and life skills of living away from home.
Update on S24. His aced his French and Chemistry and GPA gone up from 3.97 to 4.0.
With ACT composite of 33, wife is super happy.
Of course, I had to tell her that the school year has not ended… yet. 
You must be very proud of your son’s achievements. Did you know there is a thread that is more focused on high stats students (GPA and SAT/ACT) for the Parents of 2024?
Yes I do. Didn’t think S24 would be able to pull through.
I will leave this thread now… slowly and quietly…
Wasn’t trying to scare you away - was legitimately not sure if you were aware of the other group. Many people cross post info/questions to both groups but wasn’t sure if you had been or just thought this was the only thread for 2024 parents.
You’re welcome to hang out here!
Went to see Austin College and Southwestern yesterday and today. D24’s prioritized list is now:
- univ of Arizona
- Austin College
- Southwestern
- UNM
- NMSU
- ASU
Next task will be showing D24 some Centre College info. One thing at a time though.
About Austin College, she said:
- “it’s nice there.”
- “The food is a lot better here.”
- “Everybody is really nice.”
- “the cell physiology class was super boring and covered stuff we did in AP Bio only in more detail.”
- “this school has a PA program. So I like this one better over Southwestern because of that.”
About Southwestern:
- “a dorm is a dorm. What they look like really doesn’t matter. Whatever.”
- “I liked what the pre-med tour guide said about internships and their pre-med committee that helps you apply to grad school.”
- “It doesn’t have a PA grad school with preferences for undergrads like Austin College does.”
- “I like the hammocks. I wouldn’t mind hanging out in those.”
- re: Georgetown - “it’s cute here.”
A lot going on this week: parent-teacher-student conferences on Thursday (and the Stats teacher has no slots available), a meeting with the college counselor on Friday, and the ACT on Saturday.
Plus, the school just announced they are adding two new course counselors to the college guidance office in the next few months. DS says it’s because two counselors are leaving. I really hope we don’t get moved.
“Thinking out loud” for a moment about the past 2 days:
D24 would be happy at either Austin College or Southwestern Univ but I think that AC will be way more affordable. DH will want her to go to SW. Both of them are great for similar yet slightly different reasons.
They’re both an easy plane ride to get to (about 2 hr from our home airport). Both colleges are about an hour from the nearest airport.
SW and Georgetown, TX feel like a mix of Chandler & Scottsdale (comparing it to city vibes in our state). AC and Sherman, TX felt more like Tucson.
Didn’t see one homeless person lingering around the edges of campus like we saw at U of A, UNM, or NMSU. Both schools and surrounding areas felt suburban, not rural.
I thought going into this that what the dorms looked like would be a deciding factor for my kid and I was totally wrong! Go figure. I suspect we will make a second visit at some point to AC and then we will see the dorms…skipped that part of tour on Mon because D24 was tired.
SW tour guide said that there’s a local Baptist church in Georgetown where a group of retired ladies regularly bring huge meals and food and desserts to campus for the students. Tour guide said, “It’s a lot of fun. They treat us like their grandchildren and they just love it when we eat up all of their food and it’s kind of like having a grandma away from home.” I thought that was really cool.
D24 is worried about finding her “crew” of buddies at college. She’s excited but also really nervous. It’s understandable. Either AC or SW would honestly be a better fit for her social and emotional and academic needs than U of A. Part of this is because her HS is so small. And she’s the sort of kid who is an extroverted introvert, if that makes sense…she will tend to not speak up or ask for help if she needs it for fear of looking foolish or “dumb.” At a smaller school, DH and I feel right now that she wouldn’t be as apt to fall through the cracks. She’d also be way more likely to finish in 4 yr.
There’s a whole year to figure it out, of course. Am very grateful to our school counselors for suggesting the group of “Colleges That Change Lives.”
AC is more generous with AP and CLEP credit than SW. So that gives it another leg up in my opinion.
DH has a coworker who’s from the Dallas area. That guy referred to Sherman as “an armpit.” 
But his coworker was last there 20 yr ago. With the Texas Instruments plant expansion, Sherman is going to change a lot in the next couple of years. We didn’t drive around the downtown but I’ve seen pics and video online…it pales in comparison to Georgetown, TX.
AC also gave us a hand out which lists out the major requirements for the bio major with biochem emphasis. That was helpful.
SW admissions person told DH that you can do bio major as a BA or BS…difference is you have to take calculus for the BS. They do give AP credit for Calculus if you get a 4 or 5 on the exam, but they want you to take their class anyway. DH was frustrated by that.
Am really really glad that we did this long arduous road trip to see these 2 colleges in person. Now it’s back to the grind…ACT on Saturday, D24 studying her butt off for AP exams, etc.
Got D24 to open up a bit more today as we are driving home to AZ. She said that she could see herself happy at either AC or SW. Also said that “everybody there is really really friendly. Maybe it’s a Texas thing. But everybody was really friendly.”
And also “Both places felt like there was a lot of stuff to do nearby so I won’t get bored on the weekends. At the schools in NM, it didn’t seem like there was much to do.”
What does she like better about U of A over Austin College?
Her reasons currently are:
- “I want to be able to see my friends.” Right now, all of her friends are planning on attending ASU though.
- “I like the campus.”
- “I like Tucson.”
Realistically, Austin College has much better opportunities for her than U of A. She’ll come around in a year.
She did say today also, “I’m excited about going to college.” That’s a first!
I think that D24’s change in attitude from “College…meh” to “I’m excited about going to college” is probably a result of the tours we went on Mon & Tues and all of the info sessions at both colleges. D24 said a few times afterwards how friendly everybody was.
So I think it’s all starting to click now.
Prior to this trip, when she & I discussed her trying again for the ACT and maybe prepping for it, she balked big time and complained a lot. But after Monday’s sessions at Austin College, she said, “Mama, I AM going to bring up my ACT score.” Oh! Ok! 
@sbinaz , I am happy for you! Kudos to your patience with the kid. I wish and pray that my daughter gets motivated too. 