Should I try to get my son more interested in other options?

College Search & Selection
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<p>My son is a junior this year...good student. 4.0 GPA, ACT 32 (Math 35). Will likely go into engineering. </p>

<p>He seems perfectly content with going to Michigan State or Michigan Tech, which is great because it will definitely save us money in the long run. In my opinion, neither are a perfect fit - MSU too big, MTU too cold/snowy and 8 hours away. He agrees with me but doesn't seem to have interest in looking at any other options.</p>

<p>Financially, either of these schools would be great. He would need to get some merit scholarships to be able to go anywhere OOS. </p>

<p>Should I just let this go (and have him attend one of these two schools) or should I encourage him to look at other options? I really don't mind if he attends one of these schools...I just don't want him to regret not looking at other possibilities (he's just not engaged in the process at all).</p>

2

<p>My younger S was the same way. I just scheduled college visits for him and made him go. Some schools he liked, and some he didn’t. But he didn’t take the initiative at all.</p>

<p>If you feel strongly that he should look at other options, I suggest you do some research on ABET accredited schools, and the financial aid programs at those schools, and schedule a few visits yourself.</p>

<p>Ultimately he might still choose to only apply at those two schools, but he will at least know his other options.</p>

3

<p>University of Michigan?</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the replies. Maybe I will schedule some visits in the OH/IL/IN region when we’re down there this summer. (Thinking Case Western, Purdue, Rose Hulman, Grove City…etc.)</p>

<p>We will visit U of M - just to make sure we have looked at everything - but he likely wouldn’t get accepted. Even MSU is too ‘big’ for him. He has said he will only go to MSU if he gets into the Honors College.</p>

5

<p>I recommend that most prospectives do a fairly broad search before narrowing down their options. They need to see other schools, locations, programs, etc if for no other reason than confirmation of their final choice - even if that choice is the same one they started off with.</p>

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<p>According to [Michigan’s</a> common data set](<a href=“U-M Office of the VPIT-CIO | Office of the VPIT-CIO | University of Michigan”>Office of Budget and Planning), the middle 50% of freshmen had ACT scores of 27 to 31 (with ACT math 27 to 33). So your son’s ACT scores are in the top 25% of freshmen at Michigan, so acceptance is fairly likely with that and a GPA of 4.0.</p>

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<p>^ As ucbalumnus stated, your son would be considered a solid “match” at UMichigan and they have a very highly regarded Engineering school.</p>

8

<p>My nephew applied to ONE college. He was a prospective Ag. Engineering Major. He lived on a farm in Iowa. He knew that he was an automatic admit to Iowa State University based on his grades and ACT score. He knew he could pay for it with what was in his college fund, and what he could earn during the summers. He wasn’t interested at all in visiting any other campus, and he didn’t want to write any application essays.</p>

<p>After a couple of semesters at ISU, he did change his major from Ag. Engineering to another Ag. Tech. degree, but he has never regretted, and never looked back.</p>

<p>If your kid is like my nephew, and he’s all but assured admission at these two universities, there is no reason to drag your kid all over the country to look at colleges.</p>

9

<p>Maybe thrown Kettering in the mix if he’s dead set on Engineering?</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice. There are several good options here in Michigan…but really only a couple that appear to be a good fit - at least on the surface. </p>

<p>We visited Calvin College (small, Christian college) and he loved it - it’s just out of our price range, I think. The only way he will even consider MSU is if he gets into the Honors College. He has no interest in a big college setting…so U of M is out. I, personally, really like the Kettering program but the location is awful and my son has said more than once, “I am NOT living in Flint”. (Plus they have no music options whatsoever…and that is something he wants to continue at some level.)</p>

<p>So in his mind, there’s really only Mich Tech or MSU honors college. That being said, I do think I will drag him around this summer to a few OOS schools - just to widen his perspective a bit. Hopefully, by summer he’ll have a little more interest in the process…I don’t want to do it all myself.</p>

11

<p>University of Minnesota! 28k for a great engineering program ( my friends brother finished their program and now works for Amtrak in NYC ! ).</p>

<p>The average ACT score for Minnesota’s engineering program is 31 I believe. Great competition and curriculum!</p>

12

<p>My son was not engaged in the process at all and at his high school there was a big sucking motion into the UC’s. I scheduled a trip back east and a visit in-state to several privates an a UC and, ultimately he chose one of the private schools we visited. Just be careful what you wish for because private schools do cost more.</p>

13

<p>I would definitely think that U of M is the smartest choice, in state tuition as well as a top 10 (top 5 maybe?) engineering school.</p>