<p>Sbjdorlo, wanted to say that he sounds like an interesting kid. And I think he will have plenty of options. If he is motivated I would have him cast his net far and wide and see where things land. A variety of UC’s, tech schools and also schools that meet need to see what offers he might get. </p>
<p>Does he want to continue to play his cello in college? I’m curious more than anything. </p>
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<p>Starting at <a href=“http://www.assist.org”>http://www.assist.org</a> , you can go by schools or by major.</p>
<p>The schools path (best if you know a particular school and major):</p>
<ol>
<li> Select an institution: UCLA.</li>
<li> Select agreements with other campuses: San Diego Miramar (or whatever CC).</li>
<li> Select major: Design / Media Arts BA. Note: you can also see other reports from here, like IGETC, transferable courses, etc.</li>
<li> You get something like <a href=“http://web1.assist.org/web-assist/report.do?agreement=aa&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=19&dir=2&sia=MIRAMAR&ria=UCLA&ia=UCLA&oia=MIRAMAR&aay=13-14&ay=14-15&dora=DES+M+ARTS”>http://web1.assist.org/web-assist/report.do?agreement=aa&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=19&dir=2&sia=MIRAMAR&ria=UCLA&ia=UCLA&oia=MIRAMAR&aay=13-14&ay=14-15&dora=DES+M+ARTS</a> .</li>
<li> Unfortunately, UCLA Design / Media Arts does not have pre-set course articulations like most other majors; as described, transfer subject credit will be determined after transfer. As an example of another major, UCLA Mechanical Engineering has this report listing various course articulations: <a href=“http://web1.assist.org/web-assist/report.do?agreement=aa&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=19&dir=2&sia=MIRAMAR&ria=UCLA&ia=UCLA&oia=MIRAMAR&aay=13-14&ay=14-15&dora=MECH+ENG”>http://web1.assist.org/web-assist/report.do?agreement=aa&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=19&dir=2&sia=MIRAMAR&ria=UCLA&ia=UCLA&oia=MIRAMAR&aay=13-14&ay=14-15&dora=MECH+ENG</a></li>
</ol>
<p>The major path (best if you want to find what schools have relevant majors):</p>
<ol>
<li> Click Explore Majors.</li>
<li> Click Majors.</li>
<li> Use that page to search for majors.</li>
<li> You will get a list of majors and campuses. Select one.</li>
<li> Select a community college.</li>
<li> You will then get a list of community colleges in the area. For each one, you can look up stuff like IGETC courses and Major Prep courses (the latter will give a page similar to that found in the schools path above).</li>
</ol>
<p>There are other search options on the various pages as well.</p>
<p>Note that a frosh student at a UC or CSU who has taken CC courses while in high school can also use <a href=“http://www.assist.org”>http://www.assist.org</a> to check what subject credit the CC courses will result in at the UC or CSU (it also has listings by department, so you can check (for example) what the CC calculus, art, and Italian courses are equivalent to at the UC or CSU).</p>
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<p>4.0 college GPA or 4.0 HS GPA? It is rather hard to see a student with a 4.0 college GPA being rejected for transfer to SDSU, unless s/he does not have all of the needed course requirements for transfer complete.</p>
<p>If he is interested in materials engineering beyond just metals, UCSB has a top-rated program. CalPoly SLO is also strong in materials. We went to a small Maker Faire in SLO last year, and there was a group of students from CalPoly’s materials department who did metal forging. Very interesting presentation. </p>
<p>This was a 4.0 college gpa. I don’t know the full story, so there could be extenuating circumstances. I will ask my friend for further clarification.</p>
<p>ucb, I do know how to use Assist as described, but I thought maybe I was missing something since yes, I didn’t see the pre-set course selection for that major at UCLA, and that’s the major my son is looking at there.</p>
<p>At UCI, it’s the Computer Game Science major. At UCSD, he so far chose Engr. Physics, but I think I’m going to encourage him to switch to straight ME, though he said it didn’t sound that interesting at UCSD. Music is his alt major at all schools, but his first major of choice at the highly selective privates.</p>
<p>Deb, absolutely he wants to play his cello. He’s gone back and forth as far as music as a major, but at this point, he’s a very practical “get in, get out, start working” type kid when it comes to college. But his cello playing is totally core to his being, as are his creative ideas that have yet to come to fruition. He’s only now coming into his own, if that makes sense, having dealt with so many issues that put him “behind”, or at least left him with less energy to pursue stuff more in depth other than cello. But if he could do music at schools such as Princeton, Stanford, or take music classes at Case or U Rochester, I could see him sticking with it all the way to grad school. It’s something he can do many hours a day.</p>
<p>I am really torn as to how to guide him, since I guess it’s a good point that, <em>if</em> he were to go to the UCs or Cal State schools, transferring might make sense since the classes at the CC are much smaller, and he’s gotten to know all his professors pretty well.</p>
<p>OTOH, the type of school for a kid like him that would be the best “fit” would be one of the highly selective mid-sized universities where you don’t have to choose a major until your sophomore year. He needs time to explore. Even his CC is pressuring him to choose a major and go down that path. Bleh. He’s not ready.</p>
<p>He talks again and again about the amazing drawings/animation that he sees in his online games, but the business is so competitive, he knows that animation or music are nebulous careers. I think at least the Computer Game Science at UCI or the Product Design at Stanford or even Industrial Design at Purdue would be better… </p>
<p>Right now, his top choices for schools are: UCI (CS game design), U Rochester (Digital Media Studies) , Stanford (music, product design, film, creative writing), UT Dallas (Arts/Tech), and UCSD/SDSU just cause they’re local.</p>
<p>But yes, he’s casting a wide net because of his wide interests. Lot of work, though, but at least the Cal State apps are easy. :-)</p>
<p>Metal forging? Oh my gosh, he’d love that! He’s always wanted to blacksmith (that’s similar, right?). He loves working with his hands. Yes, he probably should add SLO. UCSB-I dunno. He’s not married to the idea of material sciences, for sure. He just thought the idea of metallurgy sounded cool.</p>
<p>Gotta set a limit for all these apps and $$. I think he’ll probably just stick with the three UCs. I’ll ask him today.</p>
<p>Have you run the calculator for the Claremont Colleges? Pomona meets 100% and should be generous. For a safety which meets 100% Franklin & Marshall might work. But I think he has a good chance with some of the reaches. As the top ones tend to give the best aid, I’d suggest applying to more of them. Call them and they may waive the application fee. Since you are eligible for some Pell Grant aid, I’d look at top universities and LACs.</p>
<p>SLO is well known for being very hands-on compared to the UCs. The group was working with both iron and steel and had a portable forge. I think maybe making things out of iron is blacksmithing. I’m not sure if steel counts as “blacksmithing” but they had some very beautiful patterned steel blades. The list for the SLO Maker Fair is here: <a href=“http://slominimakerfaire.com/2013-makers/”>http://slominimakerfaire.com/2013-makers/</a> and the group was the MESS Forging Demonstration. </p>
<p>SoMuch2Learn-ok, I confess that I steered him away from schools that were way too liberal and ones that had too much drinking. CMC and Pomona went on and off the list. They have a cool major at the Claremont Schools, Intercollegiate Media Studies, that would be a good fit for my son. Pomona also has music. But, I think they are just too small if the student body is all of a similar ilk. Then again, my son said matter-of-factly, “well, they’re that way <em>because</em> conservatives won’t attend.” Yep. Good point, son. But in reality, Pomona requires four subject tests from homeschoolers and my son will not have that, so it’s off the table anyways. CMC seems so interesting, but the drinking culture is just a no go. Mudd is a wonderful, wonderful school but not the right fit, not could my son get in even if he wanted to.</p>
<p>I’ve sort of scoured the country for reaches that meet full need. Some of the schools that went on and off the list were JHU, Davidson, Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth (love the programs! don’t the party culture…), and Yale. Yale would waive app fee for us, yes. I thought Penn’s DMD major was a good fit, but my son wasn’t interested for some reason. So, he has only two reachy-reach schools on the list (well, UCLA is definitely a reach, too).</p>
<p>Seems the smaller, interesting LACs all have really big drinking cultures, probably because they’re more isolated and the population they tend to draw has a little more money to spend on drinking. :-)</p>
<p>USC was on and off the list, too, and still could get on, but my son said if he would incur debt (and there’s no way he wouldn’t by attending USC from my vantage point), he would rather not apply. Still, their interactive entertainment major seems so awesome.</p>
<p>Ynotgo, I’ll share that link with my son, thank you!</p>
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<p>Some of the majors that he is considering (mechanical engineering, computer (game) science, music) have relatively large numbers of course requirements, so starting on the courses for the major early is essential for on-time graduation, regardless of whether it is administratively easy to choose or change a major. However, because CC is inexpensive, it may be financially acceptable for an undecided student to take the risk of delayed graduation, as long as any extra semesters are at the inexpensive CC instead of at the more expensive four year school (i.e. stay at CC as long as it takes to cover all possible prerequisites for the major eventually chosen before transferring).</p>
<p>"But in reality, Pomona requires four subject tests from homeschoolers and my son will not have that, " - Maybe it is worth considering, even for other schools? It would help show that his prep was strong. (You may already know it was. But I could see how admissions folks might like evidence.) </p>
<p>Yep, I do realize it would look great if he took four, but he’s not prepared to do that. He’ll take two for sure, Math II and Lit, and possibly one more in Dec., physics. We’ll take a look at the Italian, as well, but I think two years of high school Italian might not prepare him for the test. We can check it out, though.</p>
<p>I do realize that some of the majors have a heavy workload, ucb, so getting to it right away is something he’d have to do. And, at CSULB, the Industrial Design major is actually 10 semesters (maybe a co-op the last year, so students are earning income?), so I do realize at some schools, he’d need to focus from the get go.</p>
<p>I did talk to a student at Stanford who started with another major and made her way over to Product Design, and was graduating in four years, so some exploration is possible at some schools.</p>
<p>CSULB industrial design lists a 10 semester roadmap at <a href=“http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/catalog/current/roadmaps/cota/desn/desnbs01-5yr.html”>http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/catalog/current/roadmaps/cota/desn/desnbs01-5yr.html</a> , but it has only the usual number of credit units (120 semester units). It is not obvious why it is suggested to spread the 120 semester units over 10 semesters instead of the usual 8 semesters (there is no co-op semester listed, although the last two semesters are only 7 units, and there are some other 12 or 13 unit semesters as well). That would be something to ask the department.</p>
<p>Regarding the Stanford student, if she started in an engineering major, then changing to product design, which has significant overlap with engineering majors at the frosh/soph level, would not delay graduation. Stanford is also on the quarter system, which can make “catching up” after changing majors somewhat easier.</p>
<p>He should defintely at least try a Physics practice test for SAT II. If he does well, great… he should take the real thing. If not, it will give you clues about readiness for Engineering. </p>
<p>colorado_mom, not necessarily. He took only half the material in his physics class, so he has not learned the other half. He really does well learning from a teacher. Other homeschoolers do well with self-study in subjects like physics, but not my son. My oldest took the full two semesters that prepared him easily for the physics subject test. I am confident my 2015er would do very well on the test had he taken the second semester that covered E&M, optics, waves and modern physics. He did very well in his class, loved it, and in fact, his physics teacher is one of his recommenders. So no, I wouldn’t judge his readiness based on the lack of a physics test. His success or failure in engineering would lie squarely on his math disability and how much it will or will not hinder him. This pre-calculus class is really a “make or break” class. He says if he can do well, he feels confident he can tackle calculus and beyond. So far, he has a 97%, but felt he didn’t do well on his mid-term. We shall see. </p>
<p>ucb, no, the student studied IR for a few quarters before switching. She was nervous at the time as she didn’t consider herself a “techie”, but says PD focuses on people and the need at hand more than traditional engineering that can be more theoretical. </p>
<p>Well, I am sure my son wouldn’t get into Stanford anyways, so no need to really worry about it! LOL</p>
<p>E&M… not my favorite. I’m a MechE, and to be honest I was lucky to have AP Physics and not have to deal with it in college. (I liked mechanics, but not E&M). Ig your son does well learning from teachers and has the affinity for E&Mit, he will do ok. Just know many of his classmates will be repeating the material. </p>
<p>The “math disability” worried me at first since math is so key in engineering… but I went back to the original post and saw he had a fine Math SAT. See how pre-calc goes. He certainly needs a good understanding of that. Best of luck. </p>
<p>Yes, I didn’t understand the math disability claim for someone who has 750 SAT and seems well-prepared to study engineering.</p>
<p>On a test called the Wechsler (WIAT II), my son scored at the 98th%ile in math reasoning and the 14%ile in math calculation/computation. This indicates a genuine disability.</p>
<p>Just this week, he was trying to learn long division (of polynomials) because he never learned it before. It just didn’t make sense to him.</p>
<p>He has historically had a very hard time remember calculations and I know he never memorized his multiplication tables.</p>
<p>He did very little math from probably ages 10-14. He used a curriculum that relied on reasoning and was very light on calculation. It was a great fit, but put him behind. </p>
<p>He was tutored heavily to make it through AoPS’s Algebra I and II. He took two years to complete geometry. He got tutoring help with his trig class at the college, but bombed the final and got a B.</p>
<p>He works with a tutor several times before every test. (The tutor is a young math phenom, who is the son of a friend, and gives his time freely to my son. My oldest son also tutored this son when he was in town)</p>
<p>My son is <em>very</em> good at reasoning and so weak at remembering simpler calculations. SAT math was fairly easy for him because there is more reasoning involved. He prepped for it in soph. year by taking an SAT class that met four times. He got a 690 that year. In junior year, my oldest son taught him a simple trick: get the Blue Book and just do the last 10 problems of each math test since those are the hardest. What he didn’t know, he asked either my son or the other young friend to clarify. And yes, the result was a 750.</p>
<p>Seems hard to believe he has a disability, but you have <em>no</em> idea how hard he has worked at math, how scared he’s been of it (dropped pre-calculus twice because he was afraid of not relying on a calculator), and how far he’s come.</p>
<p>Being gifted and disabled in a subject seems like an oxymoron, but it’s not.</p>
<p>To be honest, it’s more than a little frustrating to see friends who apparently breeze through math curriculum at their schools, but score relatively lower on the SAT (two such friends scored a 640 and a 680). They find math pretty darn easy; my son does not. But he does realize he’s good at certain aspects of it, but still has much to overcome and learn.</p>
<p>I have a kid that was deemed to be gifted/disabled (different situation), so I know it is possible. In you son’s case, it is possible that being allowed to use a calculator in college will mitigate a lot of his issues. Often students that were good at “math” in hs were really good at arithmetic, not higher level mathematics. Your guy may be just the opposite.</p>
<p>Based on what I’ve read to this point, it seems CO School of Mines (and most STEM schools) will be too geeky/math-y for your son’s comfort zone. </p>
<p>Well, it’s not the geeky I would be concerned about. He liked what we read about the scholarship winners. </p>
<p>For now, maybe adding SLO to the list and making one more sweep of schools that meet 100% of needs will be enough. </p>