<p>@Mysonsdad – As seal16 noted, out here in California going to CC route to a UC is a very viable way to go. We know all sorts of kids who would not have gotten admitted to a UC right out of high school, but got into a choice UC (UCLA, Cal Berkeley, Santa Barbara, Davis) after two years of CC, and continued on a very positive trajectory. . . I work with a superb trauma orthopedic surgeon who went to our local community college, then on to UC Davis, then onto medical school, orthopedic residency and a trauma ortho fellowship. . . A number of folks who responded to your note explained why it wouldn’t be the right route for their kid. Obviously you were asking about your own kid. What state are you in? If your son performs in CC the way he’s performed in high school my guess is that he could walk right into your state flagship. . . I remember reading a relevant note last year that went something like, “The experience of those first two years is transient, but the debt you incur is not.”</p>
<p>@petrichor11 – I don’t how much or how little elite schools value AP tests/scores – a lot folks who might answer that question have a vested interest in the answer. Using AP test scores as an admission criteria is so inconsistent, as it’s based on what one’s high school offers. So many of the applicants to elite schools score so well that I’m not sure what they make of a 4 or a 5 on an AP test. Some schools that S14 applied to stated (upon questioning) that they don’t even look at test scores for tests that they don’t require (whether they were telling the truth or not is another matter). As @crowlady mentioned, some schools require an SAT2 science subject test. If he’s that sharp in physics, well, an 800 on the subject test is certainly not going to hurt his application.</p>
<p>I think for the top performing kids, it is more common to graduate school after the tenth grade and then go to cc. 3 years later they transfer to the university of their choice as juniors.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your responses. I am in California and the local CC is within walking distance of my house. If S gets some merit aid that comes close to the CC then perhaps it will be the 4 year. </p>
<p>I think location would have to be a huge part of the equation as well. The CCs in some areas are not nearly as strong as they are in others, and the whole California uni system is a different kettle of fish to our state, as far as financials and entry and…well, a lot of things. What does your son think?</p>
<p>We (D and I) are visiting two (2) schools this week. WashU and Hendrix. She has also visited one of her safeties this summer. She likes this school and if all else fails knows she likes it and would attend. </p>
<p>For us, I can’t imagine going the CC for a top performing HS student unless finances were a huge issue. The quality / level of instruction of the basic general education courses is much more basic/elementary than at a selective university. Most HS student here who do dual enrollment (instead of or in addition to APs) do so at a variety of 4-year institutions where that option is offered rather than at the local CC. I am only commenting on our local situation though not CCs in general. YMMV</p>
<p>About scouting…
I think some colleges value scouting more than others. I know Texas A&M gives an automatic $500 scholarship to accepted students that have earned either their Gold or Eagle. If they join the Corps its a $2400 scholarship (with no military commitment). It takes a lot to start something as a 5 or 6 year old and stick with it through high school graduation. Scouting teaches many valuable like skills that I think would make a person desirable to a college. I’d like to believe that in the case of kids with similar stats and other EC’s that the kid with a strong scouting history would have an edge.</p>
<p>@AsleepAtTheWheel re: post #1128 I don’t know about being “fearless” or “generous” D has proven to be a very competent international traveler and I know the group will be well chaperoned so I don’t have anything to fear, I trust in D’s good judgment and that of her chaperons. As for generous, the camp she is at in MA is only $50 a week since she is a CIT2, this about about what it would cost me to feed her at home for a week. The Morocco trip is very expensive but she earned 100% of the cost of the trip (including airfare!) from cookie sales, a council grant and other GS money earning opportunities. And yes, she sold a lot of cookies Lots of great skills learned there too: budgeting, marketing, inventory control, accounting, salesmanship … I can say I am ‘supportive’ or even ‘encouraging’ but not fearless or generous. D is a great kid and she is appreciative for all the opportunities she has had.</p>
<p>I can not call myself fearless when it comes to my DD. This year she won merit scholarship to go to one of those abroad programs in Spain for one month this summer. We all got very excited in the beginning and then realized that she will be leaving with a hosting family that we do not know for a month in a completely different culture and environment. At 15 we do not think she is ready. So instead of month in Spain, she did two month in cc. Did she have fun? I do not think so. But it might to be as valuable in the eyes of admission officers since she boosted her GPA (cc classes counts at AP level weight) and she still remain her Spanish contest finalist title that got her scholarship in the first place.</p>
<p>Well, no matter how you slice it Morocco is still a third-world country. A bit less third-world than some others, but it still takes some fortitude on a parent’s part to send their child there. And the ‘generous’ comment did have to do with the cost. She must have sold more cookies than Nabisco that month. What a kid. And as you stated, all sorts of practical skills gained in the process. </p>
<p>S14 just returned yesterday from three weeks in Israel. He flew home on Delta, who this morning suspended all flights in or out of the country. Some parents brought their kids home early. Our feeling was that he was at greater risk going to high school for four years in Oakland than he was in three weeks over there. </p>
<p>Yes Morocco is certainly a third world country but that doesn’t bother me, as you pointed out, our kids could be in just as much danger in the states as abroad. I took a group of 14 and 15 year old Girl Scouts to Ghana two years ago but I would not take the responsibly for a similar trip to Venezuela (or even Miami for that matter!) as I think it is far more dangerous. @AsleepAtTheWheel I think you make a good point, we all have different comfort zones. DH works very closely with a group in Israel and his company is always threatening to send him on business trips there. I am not comfortable with this at all but have no problem with d16 going to Ghana, Morocco, Europe …</p>
<p>Thant being said, isn’t living in a “completely different culture and environment” part of the point of foreign exchange??? We had an 14 year old German exchange student for a month and it was a great experience for both her and our families. I’m sure it took a some “fortitude” to use AsleepAtTheWheels term for her parents to send her to Texas of all places but it worked well for all of us.</p>
<p>I also agree with @Seal16 each child is different an some are ready for these types of trips at different ages. When D16 was 13 she was asked to tour Europe for 3 weeks with her BF’s family. The parents were world travelers and regularly house “swapped” so that they could immerse themselves in local culture and save on lodging. D16 went even though it meant her flying solo directly from Ireland to her GS camp in MA. If my S20, now 13, was given the same opportunity even with the same family the answer would be “NO” - he is far less mature at the same age.</p>
<p>Seal16 congratulations to your daughter on the Spanish Contest! I’m sure that will look great on her college apps even if she didn’t end up going on the trip. </p>
<p>AsleepAtTheWheel what was you son doing in Israel? </p>
<p>Well, that brings up a question: What’s everyone’s schedule (if any) in terms of putting together a list of potential schools? When you’d expect to whittle that list down to likely and then definite schools to which your child will apply? It appears that some of you may have already gotten to the end game here.
Not only have we yet to begin putting together a list of possibles – we haven’t even discussed WHEN we might start putting together a list of possibles. Our ultimate goal is to have a list of schools to visit during S16’s week off in early March. That’s earlier than we did so with S16, but S14 is a swimmer, and he has a ‘peak’ meet right before that March vacation week. Hopefully his performance in that meet will allow him to talk sensibly to the coaches at the schools that we’ll visit. One challenge for us is that S16 may possibly focus more on the swim team aspect of the schools than on the academics. His club team coaches tell the kids that it’s unclear whether they’ll swim throughout their four years at college, but it is clear that they’ll be attending classes for four years (at least, we hope so). So, just like a high school GC they recommend that the kids go for the best overall ‘fit’, not just the best swim ‘fit’. We’ll see.</p>
<p>@3scoutsmom – S16 was in Israel essentially touring, although it was officially a ‘leadership training’ trip organized by a national Jewish youth group (BBYO), and they had lots of lectures and classes regarding history, politics, etc. And since he already knows where he’s going next year there’s no question that he attended for all the right reasons, as opposed to trying to dress up his resume. It was essentially our graduation gift.</p>
<p>Both my kids have lists of about 35 schools at the moment. Most of them are schools I put there. D16 has looked at her list more carefully than S16, but hasn’t removed any of them. She likes Kenyon, and possibly Mt. Holyoke, but those may be a bit reachy for her. She’s also looking at Denison. Mostly she just knows she doesn’t want a big university.
S16 hasn’t looked at a lot of them, but does have some definites and some maybes. Rice, Carnegie-Mellon and Princeton are on his list, and possibly Macalester. He’s just not sold on the idea of a smallish liberal arts school, or I think he’d really be looking hard at Mac.<br>
Overall, the golden number we’re aiming for, I think, is 8-10 each. If there’s any overlap I’ll be surprised.</p>
<p>So far D16s definites are rutgers, u Delaware, and Purdue. Most likely Virginia Tech and u mass Amherst…have to visit. Off the list are Penn state and Michigan state u. Great schools…just did not appeal to her. We are limited in colleges because she wants a very particular major. </p>
<p>I have a list based on highly ranked schools for son’s desired major- Business/ Economics. Luckily for us 4 schools in the top 40 in the country are in-state (public- UVA, W&M, JMU and a meets need private- U Richmond). Son will apply to all 4 of those unless he gets in ED somewhere. Also on his list are some OOS meets need privates. </p>
D has proven to be a very competent international traveler and I know the group will be well chaperoned so I don’t have anything to fear, I trust in D’s good judgment and that of her chaperons. As for generous, the camp she is at in MA is only $50 a week since she is a CIT2, this about about what it would cost me to feed her at home for a week. The Morocco trip is very expensive but she earned 100% of the cost of the trip (including airfare!) from cookie sales, a council grant and other GS money earning opportunities. And yes, she sold a lot of cookies