Given the family finances described in reply #11, any gap year needs to be at least free, or preferably earning money (i.e. paid work).
Is the student a high stat student who, as a frosh applicant, could get a large merit scholarship (like those listed at http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ ) or be competitive for admission for the more selective good-financial-aid schools (of course, net price calculators need to be checked to see if they are affordable before applying)?
Or is the student not likely to get either large enough merit or good enough financial aid as a frosh applicant, such that his most affordable option is likely to commute to a community college and then transfer as a junior to a local state university within commuting distance?
ACT 28, but on little sleep and no preparation. GPA probably 4.0. National honors in public speaking.
The father is insisting that “everything will work out fine.” The mom told me that he becomes angry when she tries to talk to him about the situation. She thinks it is possible that the father will apply for the tuition remission, be denied, and lie to her about it. It’s not a pretty set of circumstances.
With a 4.0 HS GPA and 28 ACT, it looks like the student already qualifies for a few of the automatic full rides in http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ ; taking a gap year to work to earn some money while retrying the ACT and taking the SAT to get higher scores will gain eligibility for more of the automatic full ride scholarships. The full tuition scholarships can also be viable if the parents can make a small contribution or if he gets enough Pell grant.
Beyond that, there are competitive full rides that he may also have a decent chance at. See http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html and http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html .
If he wants to go down this gap year path and apply as a frosh to a new merit-seeking list of colleges, he must not enroll in any college courses after high school graduation, in order to preserve his ability to apply as a frosh (as opposed to a transfer, where far fewer merit scholarship opportunities are available).
I’m wondering about retaking the ACT. Will colleges use scores for test taken after graduation for merit consideration?
^ They will if the student is not in college. That frequently happens in finishing school or prep school.
Would the son be okay with attending community college? It doesn’t sound like his motivation is high- is that true? He could take just a couple of classes and work. One of my kids did that and is now at a 4 year college that fits her much better than her original choice.
What is the creative area that he excels in? Is this creative area something he loves doing? Can he do more of it during a gap year, and would deeper involvement change his school choices?
Would suggest a European- or Australian-style gap year. Six months living at home and working in a relatively low-paid job and saving, then six months backpacking with the savings.
Attending a cc only works if the family can afford whatever school he transfers to later on. This student is probably better off working for a year and reapplying to a new list of colleges next year. I think he should retake the ACT and/or try the SAT during his gap year and look for merit scholarships. He can’t take cc classes and still qualify for freshmen merit awards, though, so I wouldn’t suggest taking cc classes at all.
So you’re agreeing with the idea of a gap year…
The father is still insistent that everything will work out fine, whether or not he has a job at the university. I have provided the information to the mom. As I said earlier, she is concerned about even discussing the topic with the father, because of his anger problem.
@rosered55, The mom can find out before her child enrolls if s/he got tuition remission or not. She should contact the school financial aid office.
If this student can get a better financial deal by taking a gap year and reapplying, that’s a better idea than trying to start at a school that will likely end up unaffordable. S/he will lose the option of freshman grants at the other schools if s/he enrolls at the college where the dad used to work and has to drop out due to finances.
If substantial financial aid is a possibility in the future, then community college or attending whatever university he still has access to, might be the best path. I know many kids in this kind of situation who took a “gap year” that turned into years of low paid work and feeling lost. For some kids, once they step off, it is hard to step back on, for a variety of reasons. This may or may not apply but in general, for families without a lot of financial resources to make a gap year really inspiring, that year can lead to a lot of problems.
Additional update: the father is applying for the tuition remission and should find out soon whether it is granted. The mother attempted to talk to the college to find out more about the remission, but the staff would not give her much information, because the father is the employee. The mother hopes the father tells her the truth about the status of the tuition remission.