<p>Alright, so I'll admit, I went through a bit of a senior slide 3rd quarter as some seniors do. I got 4 A's, 1 B, and 1 D (in English which is my weakest subject). After seeing my report card, my parents gave me three options:</p>
<p>1) Go to UMass-Amherst which is free for me since I have a state scholarship and it's very close to home which I assume they like since it's close to home and they can keep an eye on me and save money if I tank out of college. This is the last place that I would go. I can't stand the school and would hate my life if I were to go there next year
2) Go to Purdue since every engineer my dad works with says that it is the best place to study engineering. Would prefer not to go there because of the cold weather and the fact that it is a big school. I'd say its 4th out of my 6 accepted schools.
3) Go to Virginia Tech and join the corps of cadets to get "disciplined". I really like Virginia Tech but it's not the school I wanna go to next year and as much as I think the corps of cadets is a good thing, it's not something I wanna join in college.</p>
<p>My dream school is definitely Clemson University and if I could I would send a deposit there right now. What should I do? and is there any way I can convince them that I'm not gonna be slacking off at school next year and let me go to Clemson?</p>
<p>Am I correct to assume you were already accepted to Clemson? Have either your parents or you visited the campus? Did they offer you any finanical aid or scholarship?</p>
<p>Yes, I applied early action to Clemson and was accepted in February.
I visited with my parents last week and the visit went great, I really loved it but my parents didn’t really say much about it other than it was ok.
I didn’t get any scholarships or any major financial aid help but I didn’t get any scholarships or financial school at my other schools either and all my schools with the exception of umass (about $19,000) are around the same cost ($28,000-32,000)</p>
<p>Propose to your parents that you write a contract where you will withdraw from Clemson or that you will be responsible for paying them back if you don’t meet a minimum grade expectation. (And figure out what is a reasonable GPA - don’t make it too high if you are doing engineering.)</p>
<p>Pierre0913
I think your parents need to know that you have made 1430 posts to the cc website! </p>
<p>That shows me that you have done a lot of research! You obviously know what you want in a school. Do they know this? But do consider the cost and if your parents are financially prepared. If not get great grades and transfer to Clemson after one year. You will have proved yourself and most likely get an academic schololarship to offset the difference.</p>
<p>Call Clemson’s financial aid office tomorrow and ask for some money. Really, it won’t hurt. Did you file a fsfa? It doesn’t matter. Just call and plead your case. If your paying full retail they may knock off something particularly if your gpa is above a 3.0. Even 5 grand might improve your parents attitude toward Clemson.</p>
<p>They must have been close to saying Clemson was OK if the three of you made the trek down there just last week. They may have gotten a really bad vibe, but parents are usually able to tune out the noise and fairly appraise things. Especially two of them seeing the same things and comparing impressions. If this grades thing has just tipped it the other way, maybe you can jawbone them back to tipping the other way and saying yes. </p>
<p>I don’t see much difference between going to Clemson vs. Purdue, from Massachusetts. Both are big state Ag and Engineering land grant schools, out in the middle of nowhere, and about the same distance from home. Both have highly-regarded engineering programs. So I don’t get why Clemson is no and Purdue is yes. This makes it hard to come up with a winning argument against it.</p>
<p>“Go to UMass for a year to prove to your parents that you are responsible and then transfer to Clemson.”</p>
<p>Sounds like a great idea. Clemson won’t hold against you that you turned them down this year. Public universities make decisions overwhelmingly based on stats and state of residence.</p>
<p>Even though Purdue and Clemson are about the same distance from your home, as a person who hates cold weather and grey skies, I understand why you prefer Clemson.</p>
<p>I think you should go where you want , provided that if you don’t do well you won’t be able to continue. do your parents have any reservations, like a party atmosphere, or being too far away? Actually UMass is considered a party school. Is there another reason for your parents to be concerned? Recent bad decisions? Can you bring up the D to show them?</p>
<p>Did you do your best in the English class and still get a D? Because that is something to address before you leave for college.</p>
<p>If you did not do your best, then why not try apologizing to your parents? Sending ones child off to college is a big leap of faith and instead of building up their confidence, you gave them something to worry about. If you address them as a responsible adult, you might be able to meet in the middle.</p>
<p>I like mathmom’s suggestion best. This will give you the incentive to succeed at Clemson, and this should reassure your parents that you are serious about college and your school choice. I would also ask them why they seemed just “ok” with Clemson. Make sure you didn’t miss something they observed. Make sure you pull up that “D” in English. This will show your parents you’re serious about school and the “D” was just a mistake. Also, your college admission acceptances may change if your h.s. grades change significantly.</p>
<p>pierre0913,
I do not see any reason to escalate any conflict about it. Just ask your parents how much they are willing to contribute for your free choice of college. You are out of luck if their answer is zero. However, if they are willing to contribute some $$, take student loans for the rest and go to school of your choice. As a parent and having H who is an engineer, I would not support any expensive engineering education. ALL engineering programs are extremely challenging at ANY college and most engineering firms are recruiting locally, so any fansy / elite / expensive college for engineering does not make any sense for me. I have been in engineering myself for half of my life, be prepared for extremely tough classes even for very top students anywhere you go for engineering.</p>
<p>S signed on w/Clemson over Purdue (&VTech) couple of days ago for business, although originally admitted to eng so we got a pretty good handle on both disciplines. It was really tough choice for S and for us; talked to numerous advisors/faculty & students at both schools. Our net was both are good, each w/strong & weak points, so on balance, comparable. Purdue definitely has better recognition but CU is rising fast, especially in eng - it’s their shining star. It’s a tough program there and you won’t be able to slouch. An edge we noticed at CU is the focus on applied knowledge via projects for everyone and not just in your upper years. The smaller setting gives everyone a chance to excel, not just the stars. CU seems to emphasize personal growth and preparation for the “real world”. That’s what set my best employees apart. Agree, you need to attack the English issue - writing is critical for everyone.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Do not let the “senior slide” determine which school to attend next fall. I like that contract idea for Clemson. My gifted son’s senior grades, especially second semester… How many get a C in AP Chemistry a month after taking the AP exam with a score of 5? Please have your parents read a PM I am willing to write to persuade them to go to your first choice college.</p>
<p>What is your English grade like for the fourth quarter?</p>
<p>I hope you can convince them that you have learned your lesson and they should give you a chance.</p>
<p>Along with the contract idea, which I think is a good one, you might want to proactively tell them you know what you must do in order to get good grades (attend all classes, do the homework, get help from professors or the tutoring center if needed, hold off on the partying, etc)</p>