<p>A friend told me about this message board and I was wondering if anyone had some college suggestions for my son. He is finishing up his junior year of high school at a very reputable, exclusive college prep school; however, he has not done very well academically. He has about a 3.0 GPA, and after hours upon hours of private tutoring it looks like his SATs will be in the 1650-1800 range. We live in Pennsylvania but will be relocating to either the NYC or DC metro areas after he graduates from high school. Surfing seems to be his only goal in life. We want him to major in business but who knows what will happen with that. He is very involved in basketball but would not be able to play at the college level. He is also a peer counselor. </p>
<p>We don't know where to begin with this because our older son was exactly the opposte - driven, etc and he got into his first choice, a top ten doctoral institution ED. The whole process was very painless. </p>
<p>He wants to go to Penn State main campus but would never get in; other than that, he wants to go to schools where he can surf. He has been talking about schools in California .. maybe University of San Diego? We are Catholic, so that would be a plus... however I'm not even sure (a) if he could get in and (b) if that is reputable. We have had friends with very bad experiences at University of Pittsburgh and we don't really want to go that route. We had also been thinking about Oxford College at Emory, which was my older son's safety school. Still, not sure if younger son could get in. </p>
<p>Muffin, I have one of these sons, so I can sympathize! Please don't take this the wrong way, but other than wanting to go to a school that he can't get into, or go to an expensive private school and surf (!:eek:). You have not mentioned anything he wants to do or wants in a school. You said "we want him to major in business" - what does he want? I'm playing amateur psychologist here now, which is dangerous, but I wonder if he is not totally burned out and down on school? He's going to a reputable, exclusive prep school, and not done well - is his school very competitive? Maybe he would benefit from working a year, developing success outside the classroom - entry level work can be a great motivator to develop more of a plan than surfing.</p>
<p>College wise I was going to suggest he look in Florida, SC, and Alabama. I think he could get into Auburn (He could if he was in-state), not sure about FSU - he could get in some beach time at both of those without being at surfing central with the lure of surfing all the time. My big concern, though, would be his overall motivation.</p>
<p>Please don't take this the wrong way ... but it's really your son's issue and he's the one who needs to be providing direction. Does he really want to attend college next year? If so, why? "We want him to major in business." What does he want? What is he willing to work toward? What sort of environment does he want for the next four/six years? Oh, if your S is truly opinionless in all this, I'd suggest Fordham.</p>
<p>FSU could be tough - but here's the latest stats, and these are down a bit from earlier periods, so use only as a reference range:</p>
<p>Standardized Testing</p>
<pre><code>* In order to apply for admission at Florida State, freshmen must submit either an SAT or ACT test score
* The range that the middle 50% of the 2005 freshmen class scored on the SAT was 1110-1260
* The middle 50% for the ACT was 24-28
</code></pre>
<p>High School Statistics</p>
<pre><code>* High School GPA for the middle 50% of incoming freshmen was 3.4-4.0
* FSU received class rank data from 85% of those who enrolled
* Of these, 99% ranked in the top 50%, 86% ranked in the top 25%, and 47% ranked in the top 10% of their high school class
</code></pre>
<p>Can't give you specific advise about schools- but I will tell you- Have your son take the ACT's. My own unscientific and unproven theory is that SOME sports kids (and I think performing arts kids) do better on the ACT's. My d is also a sports kid and all the studying in the world could not help her with the SAT. She went in for the ACT with hardly any preparation and scored about 130 points higher on the ACT. I really think this difference may be due to learning styles and therefore some kids may do better on a particular type of test. I'm also going to agree with the others- it's really not what you want him to major in- but what he wants to major in. As your son is into sports, you may want to check out a sports management program. My d will be attending SUNY Cortland as a sports management major. You might be able to find a program that will combine your desire for business with his interest in sports. Temple U seemed to have a good program in sports management and it was affiliated with their school of business. If memory serves me correct the website for sports management programs is - nassm.org - which might be able to give you ideas to combine sports and business.</p>
<p>Ooops! The website is Nassm.com. There seem to be a # of Catholic schools that have sports management majors and plenty of school in Florida and Calif. It was just a thought-
For my own d who is a solid "average" student but doesn't really have a great deal of academic interest or curiosity- she seems content with the sports management curriculum. I just offered the idea as something to think about.</p>
<p>I just sent you a personal message with some suggestions - there are plenty of great schools out there for someone with your son's stats. Everyone above, however, is right on target. Don't push your son along, make it clear that he needs to be the one taking the initiative. It seems to me that boys often take a little longer to get the college search rolling than girls.</p>
<p>Agree not to push him into any particular field. Many kids are later bloomers. His stats are very reputable. I think he could have a chance at Santa Clara University if his 3.0 was in a solid curriculum of college preparatory courses. There are plenty of places for kids of his stats, although I can't speak too much to the surfing aspect. U Maine, Orono appeals a lot to outdoor-oriented kids, has marine science and other programs which might interest kids who seem like surfing is their only passion. Exploring fields like that might open up his thinking to the options out there in the world. Maine isn't the surfing climate, of course, but just to give you an idea.</p>
<p>If he wants to go to California, look at Santa Barbara City College. They even have surfing as a phys ed class. Absolutely, unbelievably beautiful campus and a neat school. The California community colleges have great transfer programs into the UCs and it would give him an additional 2 years to grow. I looked at it as a possibility for my son who was reaching abit for getting into the UCs as an OSS and wanted California and didn't like any of the Cal States. SBCC has two dorms on the border of the UC Santa Barbara campus where SBCC kids can live. SBCC also has a really good housing office to help if the idea of being at UCSB doesn't appeal. Altogether for OSS the SBCC tuition plus UCSB dorm was not a deal breaker cost wise in my opinion knowing that they can transfer over to a UC.</p>
<p>thanks for the suggestions- i appreciate it. i think you all may have misunderstood the business major thing (though reading over what i wrote i can definitely understand what you thought)- we don't care if he's a business major or not, we just want him to have SOMETHING in mind. since he has told us that he really doesn't care what he is doing or what classes he is taking, we figure why not have him start taking business classes and see where that leads him. </p>
<p>i like the idea of sports management except one of his cousins had a big issue with that, couldn't get a job etc. i figure if he is going to hate whatever he is doing, i would rather him hate business than philosophy.. that kind of thing. of course if he showed any interest in anything that would be wonderful and we would support it wholeheartedly!</p>
<p>thanks again for the suggestions though- a few other things:
-do you really think he could get into fordham?
-he DOES express interest in FSU, however we thought that was totally out of his range, because it would be even harder for him to get in out-of-state. is that not correct?
-temple is not in a great area (dont knwo if you are familiar) and i don't know that he would have much of the "college experience" at all -- though i don't know that fordham would be any different?
-i like the sbcc idea!</p>
<p>Fordham Rose Hill (the uptown campus) is known for business and soft sciences. Students are, well, New York so the environment is decidely upbeat. Business internships are easy to find. The Rose Hill campus is green, and furthermore is sandwiched between the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Gardens. My D like Fordham a lot, but she's a hard science kind of girl so .... Can your son get into Fordham? Sure, if he makes a good impression on his application and in his interview. Get the view book and visit before deciding.</p>
<p>Muffin - I'm having dinner tomorrow with a Fla friend who might have some personal knowledge about OOS admissions to FSU. A few years ago, he probably would be OKat FSU, but now with Bright Futures, it might be a stretch - I'll report back. In state Auburn is 3.0 and 21 ACT (that's engraved on my brain). I checked Auburn's website, they don't give their minimums (those numbers I quoted are what counselors tell us), but the average is 1170 SAT, 3.5 GPA and 24 ACT - I don't think there are any quotas, he applies in time - he's in. Housing is extremely limited, lots of kids live in trailers their parents buy or rent, for campus housing, our counselor recommends applying before August.
I know you are thinking "Auburn, huh?", but it is a straight shot down to the beach - maybe 4 hours, couple of hours to Atlanta, lots of fun weekend trips.
SBCC is a good idea, too, believe it or not, there are some kids at my kids' school who can't make that 3.0/21 ACT, and often there are 1 or 2 kids who go to the CC in Auburn or in Tuscaloosa to brush up before going on to the uni. Does anyone know if he could establish residency in CA while going to CC?</p>
<p>Finally, another vote for the ACT, he should take a few practice tests, particularly Eng and Science, because those are a little different than the SAT, and the science particularly, goes up when kids know what to expect. Some kids for whatever reason just do better on it, and nothing is lost if he bombs, no one need ever know.</p>
<p>In NC...UNC-Wilmington...literally minutes from the beach or East Carolina University....about an hour and a half from the beach, NC State University...about 2 hours to the beach. All have business/management schools.</p>
<p>On our California college visit trip this year we were told by 3 different admissions offices at 3 different schools that my son could establish residency as long as we did not claim him on our income taxes, he changed his drivers license, opened a bank account, filed taxes if he had a part-time job and established a mailing address. I was shocked. I was given the distinct impression that it is easier in California than a couple other states we visited schools in. What really shocked me as this information was given to us unsolicited. Whether this is true or not I could not say as we have not crossed that bridge yet so to speak.</p>
<p>California parent here living near SB City College and UCSB. The UCs are extremely competitive. Our son with 780v/650math/650writing 4.04 weighted and loads of career related ecs didn't get into UCLA, got into UC Irvine and didn't apply to UCSB but probably wouldn't have been accepted. SB City College is a great option for kids who aren't sure what they want to do...From SBCC you can transfer easily into the UCs if you do well. SBCC does have some options for kids to live in UCSB dorms, especially if they are in SBCC's honors program. UCSD is a very competitive school, probably out of reach. As far as CA residency I have never heard that. My son went to the local cc while still in high school and there were very strict questions about residency (he was born and has lived his whole life in CA). One other thought, lots of kids who aren't from CA have a distorted picture of CA....too much watching the old Beverly Hills and OC and Laguna Beach. I'd be sure to do some visiting of campuses and schools beforehand.</p>
<p>Ebee, at the time we were visiting SBCC we were looking into the honors program, but we did go over and look at both dorms (that accept SBCC kids) and I'm pretty sure you don't need to be in the honors program, but you do apply to live in the dorms, it's not a sure thing. I should have mentioned that. Also, my son, at that time, was planning on leaving for CA shortly after he graduated and living with my sister, who is a CA resident, and working for the summer, and perhaps taking a summer class or two to get a leg up at registration so perhaps that influenced the admins to talk about residency. I'm known for being abit of an education snob and I was quite impressed by the program. Some of the City Colleges are quite impressive with the caliber of students and the transfer rates into the UCs, especially out of their TAPs and honors programs. I got the impression that the students felt they had to prove themselves more and worked alittle bit harder. The class sizes were more appealing than what we found at the UCs for frosh and sophs. If you add up the sheer numbers of students at Cal States, UCs and City Colleges it's a number that numbs the mind of someone not from California.</p>
<p>My biggest concern about your post is that son doesn't care about his classes or what he studies (not just doesn't know what he wants to major in). It sounds as though perhaps he is not ready to go to college. A friend's son felt the same way, and is now dropping out of his 4th school. His grades were not stellar, and he even failed a few and had to retake them. If your son isn't performing to his abilities now when you are present to give him guidance and support, what can possibly happen when he is away on his own? And a big school doesn't have the support that the LAC's do. I second the idea of a gap year so he can see what it is to have to work at a job for a HS graduate and pay his way. Lots of kids wake up and decide that college is what they really want. As to knowing what he wants to study and your hope to give him direction, realize that most kids going off to college don't know what they want to study, and they decide in college, once they have experienced classes in many different fields. That is why colleges don't make kids declare majors until their junior year. The direction, motivation and drive can't come from you - it has to come from your S. It is horribly hard for parents to see their kids not have direction, and I see it all the time (I teach HS). But rest assured, kids all of a sudden, on their own terms and in their own time frame, wake up and decide what it is they want.</p>