My third and last child is a junior. His sisters are both in college now. One at a women’s LAC and the other at a large university. Both had better stats than he has.
He’s a smart kid but academics have never been his highest priority. He loves sports but isn’t looking to play any in college. He wants a spirited school with a D1 football team. He wants to major in communications. He plays a varsity sport, has a part time job and a leadership position at school.
He currently has a 3.67 gpa but I think that will go down this semester. He is taking 2 APs and currently has two As anc four Bs. No test scores yet but I’m guessing 26-28 on the ACT.
We are California residents and are full pay. We took him to University of Washington and he loved it. He knows it’s very unlikely that he’ll get in but that’s the environment he’s seeking. We will take him to look at Colorado Boulder, SDSU, and U of Oregon.
Other than these four schools, I’m at a loss.
Any suggestions on private schools that might work. I’m not thrilled that having a football team is his top criteria but it is what it is. My husband and I went to Syracuse. He would love it but Newhouse would be a huge reach.
He’s a typical last child. A boy with two older sisters who have always been more time consuming. He’s easy going, well liked and has loved watching sports since he was two years old!
I would love it if more California publics interested him. But he really wants that rah rah football experience. The only UC’s that fit the bill are UCB and UCLA and he won’t get into those.
What about Washington State? They have rah rah football experience hard core. Also, they have a communication technology undergraduate major in the Edward R Murrow Communications school. The school work is what you make of it there are some who study a great deal and some who are more social and everyone in between. My friend’s son goes there, is a younger brother and is having a positive experience
I was also going to suggest Michigan State. And Iowa State has been fielding very respectable football teams the past couple years as well (currently 3rd in the Big 12).
The University of Utah is a much cheaper option than the other OOS PAC-12 schools you listed and the football experience is definitely spirited. Many Californians dismiss Utah (especially because it’s a red state) but the experience has been great so far for our (very liberal) D18 and the facilities and outdoor activities are both amazing.
D1 football schools that your son could get into, and which are on that side of the US include U Arizona, Arizona State U, U Nevada, Oregon State U, Colorado State U, U Wyoming, and Washington State U.
Arizona State offers WUE tuition only at the satellite campuses that appear to be mostly for non-traditional students (Downtown, Polytechnic, West), rather than on its main campus.
However, there may be merit scholarships for out-of-state students at Arizona State and University of Arizona.
I too recommend he look at Ohio University. It has a strong College of Communication. It’s a quintessential college campus and a great college town and he should get some scholarships. It fits his stats perfectly and many describe its feel as layed back. The Scripps College of Communication is an excellent school.
Kansas State. Good communications department, fun D1 sports, If he can get a 29 on ACT he will get merit scholarship for OOS. Happy students, really helpful faculty. S17 loves it there. Frat life fun and not over the top crazy. No hazing, no rush period. Great dorms, lots to do on the weekends, prettier area than you might imagine. Not what you would think Kansas looks like. S is from a big OOS city and thinks it is great fun (he has a 4.0 average too!)
Thanks for all the great suggestions! If we visit some of these, I can honestly say that I will have toured every kind of school with my kids. From small, rural LACs, to large urban universities to big D1 sports schools. I love looking at colleges and seeing firsthand how there’s a school for every kid!