<p>east carolina
unc wilmington
ucf
mercer
winthrop - 65% girls
maybe clemson</p>
<p>with all due respect, he is not getting into UF or FSU
dont consdier USF; big ugly urban campus in bad part of tampa</p>
<p>california is too far and then he'll leave as its not place to poor after college</p>
<p>I don't know about surfing and it's probably too cold. But my S has a friend who sounds a lot like your S except that he wanted to sail in college. He considered URI and Roger Williams, they seem to be campuses close to the ocean and are not so difficult to get into. I have a friend who's S really liked Alabama when he visited, he's also looked at Eckerd in FL, similar stats.</p>
<p>While USF (and UCF, for that matter) are more commuter-type schools than FSU or UF they still have some fine programs. I would not rule them out, despite the more urban setting.</p>
<p>I'm with the people who've said a year or two off might be a good idea. Perhaps he could work at a surf shop and spend his time surfing? I know it sounds weird, but if that's all he wants to do, give it a shot. Maybe a few years of living on that income would make him more interested in moving ahead? (My son is in the process of trying to figure out how to combine his love of scuba-diving with his love of engineering, so I sympathize. A semester of student internship at not-much-money is certainly focussing his mind nicely.)</p>
<p>UH Hilo would allow him to surf and he'd be well qualified--but it's a million miles from the east coast. He might even get into UH Oahu, too. </p>
<p>My nephew is in community college in Santa Barbara (where his parents live) and I'm not impressed. Plus, SB is hugely expensive.</p>
<p>What about staying home, getting a job and earning money to pay for the move to California for himself in a few years when he can afford it? I wouldn't subsidize a move to Santa Barbara or anywhere else for an 18 year old who has no goals in life. He's not going to learn anything about responsibility. Sending him away and paying for it is not going to make him more interested in college or more independent. It's going to prolong his childhood.</p>
<p>Your son's only a junior now. The reality of life after leaving the nest and the practicalities of the real world probably haven't hit him yet (many juniors understand these realities but many don't). If he hasn't had a job yet, try to have him get a job - especially in the summer between junior and senior year. Make sure it's a job he gets on his own - preferably a job where he can see other older people (30s-60s) in equivalent dead-end positions and he can realize "I don't want to do this the rest of my life!". Make sure he pays a lot of his own bills so he can value the income (or lack of it) he has. Explain to him what a typical career path without college is like (lack of opportunities, low pay, having to share apartments, older cheaper cars, no surfing vacations, etc.) and what a typical career path with college might be like (earning 2 times, 3 times, 4 times the amount of money in the same 40 hour week). For many kids that age, these life realities are still things they've never seriously thought about and experiencing it first-hand as opposed to just hearing it from parents makes a difference (as a parent you should just assume you're 'tuned-out' much of the time!). </p>
<p>I don't agree that he should take a year or two off between HS and college since a gap that long will diminish his chances of ever going to college - especially if he gets himself strapped with car payments, credit card bills, wants to move out with his friends, etc. It may come to this but it should be avoided if possible.</p>
<p>I do agree that for many kids who haven't applied themselves enough and aren't sure of what to do and aren't so motivated, going to a community college first can help them make some progress on college coursework while they figure out for themselves their priorities in life. On the other hand, the percentage of students who attend CC who don't ever eventually end up with a 4 year degree is very high compared to those who attend a 4 year college right away. Another point about California's community colleges - they have a very good transfer program to transfer from the CC to either the UC system or the Cal State system. However, in order for this to work, the student must work with the CC counselor to make sure they take the correct classes and that they have a good enough CC GPA. Just taking an assortment of classes won't work for the transer.</p>
<p>Your son's stats seem to be good enough for many non-upper-tier state schools. I think it's worth taking a closer look at them.</p>
<p>Make sure your son visits some of these schools - preferably early this summer. If he either has friends in college or if you have acquantances in college, see if they can show him around. Maybe it'll seem more real to him.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that reality hasn't hit home with your son yet. He's not thinking ahead in practical terms. He needs his eyes opened a bit. He needs to imagine in real terms what he'd be doing 2, 5, 10, 20 years from now. You can help him with this. You may find he'll do it on his own in the next year but helping him experience some of these eye-opening experiences (nowhere jobs, being older and stuck in a low-paying job, real costs of living, his peers going on to college and more exciting rewarding careers) may make it sink in.</p>
<p>Here's a link to the student profile at USD:
<a href="http://www.sandiego.edu/admissions/undergraduate/counselor/studentprofile.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.sandiego.edu/admissions/undergraduate/counselor/studentprofile.php</a></p>
<p>My S has a good friend, a former mentor and an excellent very caring teacher, who's an associate prof on the business faculty there. He loves it, chose it over two other faculty offers, speaks very highly of the student body and the opportunities they have there. You might want to see if you can arrange to visit.</p>
<p>If you son is serious about surfing, I don't think he'd like either UF in Gainesville or FSU in Tallahassee. Both are landlocked. The Gulf beaches are about an hour away from Tallahassee and they're awful, not typical Florida beaches at all. No surfable waves, either. He may have a chance as OOS in Florida if he applies very, very early. I can't see what the draw would be, though, other than the climate. I can see an average, unmotivated student succumbing to the party scene at either of those schools.</p>
<p>My nephew (OOS, Catholic, high-average student, super-talented athlete) graduated from Florida Atlantic U Boca Raton in business and did fine, is a mortgage broker now. You might want to check that one out.
<a href="http://www.fau.edu/about/campuses/bocacampuses.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.fau.edu/about/campuses/bocacampuses.html</a></p>
<p>momofthree, okay now the part about your sister makes sense. I know lots of kids who went to SBCC and they have a great program so I wouldn't hesitate there. I didn't know about the honors vs. regular student and the dorms. Good advice from the dad above re: taking the right CC classes to get into UCs. One thing about that area though is that it is known for being a huge party area...UCSB just voted number two party school in the country, so if it were my boy I would just make sure he knows he is going there to take classes not party..</p>
<p>Have you looked at the "Colleges that changes lives" book? It might give a sense that there are actually many schools out there for your child. Also look at their website, CTCL.com or .org. They currently have a touring school fair.</p>
<p>I didn't mean that he shouldn't go to college, but I don't think parents should subsidize going to a CC so far from home without some guarantees he's going to work hard at something other than surfing. I would suggest looking into a smaller college that offers mentoring. I was looking at the website for California Lutheran University and they offer a mentor to each incoming freshman to help the student adjust to school, get to classes, etc.</p>
<p>Also, another good book is called Delivered From Distraction by Hallowell. It has a chapter on college that gives similar advice on finding a coach to help the child get to class and get work done. Sometimes students who slack off in school have ADD or other attention problems that affect their work habits.</p>
<p>UNF in Jacksonville is within your son's stats range and is very near the beach (Atlantic Ocean).</p>
<p>Here in So CA, there are lots of young men just like your S. The youngest of a friend of mine got out of high school, worked in a surf shop in Huntington Beach while taking a few courses at a CC (could live at home, though) and surfing. It took two years, but he has direction now -- wants to be a sales rep for a surf equipment/clothing company and is going to complete his AA and transfer to a four-year for a degree in marketing. If surfing is his passion, I would look for a next step out of high school that allows him to pursue that. The CA or FL community college programs or colleges on the coasts in those states would surely be a good fit. He might get excited about future schooling if it was in a place that allowed him to pursue his interest in surfing. Don't bother with UF or FSU, selectivity not withstanding, they are nowhere near the ocean. Tell him to do his own research into which colleges have surf teams and which ones surf companies visit to do recruiting. Those places will have other students that share his passion. It could be the spark that motivates him to do well in his senior year.</p>
<p>If moving to NYC, check out Hofstra University. Many opportunities for sports management internships in NYC and plenty of contacts. It's on Long Island, so not far from the beach; I don't know what the surfing is like, might be a little chilly in December. :) We know someone who is attending who loves sports and has interned and now has an opportunity with the Knicks. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.hofstra.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.hofstra.edu/</a>
<a href="http://www.hofstra.edu/Academics/Business/MGB/biz_mgb_careers.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://www.hofstra.edu/Academics/Business/MGB/biz_mgb_careers.cfm</a></p>
<p>If your son is given an option between California and Florida and he likes to surf, he may well choose California since the surf is substantailly better there (most of Florida's coast, both east and west, has little to no surf). </p>
<p>My D goes to UCSD and there are many students there who get up early to do some surfing (across the street) and then show up in class still dripping. They're having a good time and still pursuing their studies.</p>
<p>Would he consider Behrend College in Erie, PA? It's a Penn State campus, and he could transfer to the main campus later if he wanted. Although Lake Erie doesn't have much by way of surfing ops, there are plenty of other water sports available. His stats would fit in easily.</p>
<p>There are a number of other colleges in Erie, and almost all of them are Catholic - Gannon University, Villa Maria, Mercyhurst. I think he would fit in with any of them. Before you move out of state, maybe you could take a trip to Erie and check them out. Full disclosure: I'm an Erie native, and I love the city.</p>
<p>No offense to binx but - if he's going to get the true feel of Erie, he should visit in winter (I've been there a few times in winter - the water sports consisted of sideways sleet)! It's nice enough in summer but he'll be there mostly in the winter.</p>
<p>The skiing's good. :) And the tobogganing! Most of Erie is so flat, though, that the driving in the deep snow is so much easier than in Atlanta's half-inch per year.</p>
<p>However, there IS a reason I moved south. :)</p>
<p>(But this is a PA family already, so I figured snow wouldn't be a huge issue.)</p>
<p>University of San Diego is definitely reputable! The val in my Ds class threw over an appointment to the Naval Academy to do NROTC at USD--why, you ask??-because he wanted to continue surfing every day.</p>
<p>Another San Diego school that gets rave reviews from kids is Point Loma Nazarene University. I've known two kids who have gone there and they are the nicest kids.</p>
<p>Point Loma Nazarene is a great school. Expensive and super conservative. Kids have to sign a morality code....(at least they did a few years ago). Beautiful campus, good education. A friend's DD got her BA and MA there.</p>
<p>Although it would be quite a reach, I would suggest he at least apply to Loyola Marymount. Good rolling admissions school, Catholic, in a great area of L.A. and it has a surfing club.</p>