My 3 cents…a visit is a must. Time is running short so pick 2/3 that he has been accepted to ( other than CU) and see what kind of feel they bring him. It’s the school where he can say, hey I can see myself being here for 4 years. And he won’t know until he visits. Good luck!
@blueskies2day I agree there are plenty of high caliber students out there (with impressive ECs/leadership.) Truth told, his biggest Achilles heel is being unhooked. That’s enough to keep one out of the HYPMS these days – so his expectations are well-managed. Honestly, I think he’ll be a bit relieved if he gets rejected in all/most of his outstanding applications, as he will know he didn’t “leave anything on the table.”
And you are right, I do not speak in terms of lesser or more with him, and I shouldn’t have on here either. I was inarticulate in that characterization, as a ranking/image does NOT make it a better fit for everyone.
@Raven2016 On it.
Well… I think you (and he) need to better understand whether he wants to follow an engineering path or not. Does he have any exposure to engineering? (Summer program experience, etc) It might be the right path for him, but you want him to have options. And it is pretty darned easy to end up on a five year track if he is wish washy on this.
Every student does not know their major going in, but having a sense of what his short list of majors is and understanding if he can accomplish them at each school (and the impact of trying to switch) is critical. To me it feels like you and he need to spend some serious time digging into the websites and asking questions, and also getting some visits booked.
Good advice. If he were set on a well-established track like accounting or aerospace engineering, it would be easier. Digging in was what led him to where he is so far. The path to something emerging like analytics and/or data science is a little less defined. Add in a factor I’ve not even mentioned (a DI sports program that he could fold in to his analytics) and it’s even more complicated.
Depending on the school. sometimes a data specialization lives in A&S/math, sometimes in Engineering and sometimes in Business. It’s sort of based on how you CHOOSE to build it.
But your point is well taken, and I will be planning at least a couple more trips tonight – he is out of town with DECA at the moment.
Elephant in the room.
Who is choosing these potential majors for this student? Is the student doing so…or is the parent?
This student sounds like he would benefit from a school with varied choices of majors…because really…he isn’t sure what his intended major will be. And you know what? That is perfectly fine for a HS senior. Part of,college is exploring,and learning…and figuring out direction.
The vast majority of college students switch majors MULTIPLE times. And that is fine.
I would suggest having thr STUDENT choose the top three or four choices…and visit those.
To the OP…please keep an open mind. You allowed your son to apply to a variety of comments with no restrictions. Now, let that same son make a choice about where he wants to spend the next four years of his life learning.
HE is going to college…not you.
Just wanted to congratulate your son and your family - it will all work out!
And I agree with you about Stanford; it’s the one school I’d gladly cut the check. 
DS did not apply so it’s moot for us.
Be a Buff. Save that money for grad school. If CU is such a regional school, why do so many from Chicago and California go there?
Where are his friends going? I can’t tell you how many of my nephew’s friends went to schools around the country and have transferred back home to CU. Some went to schools to play sports, some wanted to go to Florida or Texas or San Francisco, wanted the experience of going away. These kids were from top high schools and were used to being around very privileged and intelligent peers, but when they got to their OOS schools (public and private) they realized CU was a better bargain and just as good. One decided to transfer in September, before he’s played one game or taken one exam.
@thumper1 Trust me, this path is his, not mine, and precisely why we are under the gun right now, as he is hesitant to commit to any of them until he gets all his answers. Problem is, time is ticking and so I’m trying to do what I can to guide, as a parent.
I do not condemn him at all for not having a definite immovable focus. In most cases, show me a kid who says they know exactly what they want to do with their life and I’ll show you a parent who has decided it for them.
That being the case…perhaps a university with many options is the better choice. A place where this student can move and change majors with ease…and have a large variety of options. Any of those flagship universities would be fine. They are all excellent choices…with much variety.
But then Duke or Vandy woild offer the same plentiful choices…as would CU.
@twoinanddone, CU Boulder has always been popular for OOS students, but not necessarily because the school is so good. (Although it DOES have excellent engineering and chemistry.) They come here for the sunshine, the skiing, the partying and (lately) legal pot. (The Californians also come here because they didn’t get into the UCs of their choice.) They’re accepted not necessarily because they’re such great students, but rather for the steep OOS tuition - Colorado is in the bottom nationally for per-student-spending on the college level.
To ski.
OP, how can he decide if he hasn’t even set foot on campus? Of course he is hesitant to commit. Also, did you say he is interested in sports analytics? Like Moneyball, or what Nate Silver used to do before he got into political analytics? Nate Silver was a stats major… engineering really isn’t the track to go down if he wants to pursue that. Although maybe he really does want to be an engineer (in which case that major is fine).
Moving between majors, especially into the business school, isn’t so easy at some of those schools, @thumper1. UVA is another one on the OP’s list were b-school admission is very competitive and the OP’s kid doesn’t have in hand – you don’t get in as a freshman. Do Duke and Vandy even have an undergrad business degree (not sure they do)?
I don’t mean to muddy the waters… but if he is interested in data analytics, and might major in business, I think as a parent you might want to step in and help with the research. And then get him on a plane to the ones that seem to fit his goals the best and give him flexibility between his possible paths.
@intparent Yes, exactly like Moneyball, however he understands that those jobs are few and far between, so he agrees he should pursue fundamental expertise in data analytics, a field that has more broad practical application. He wants to work with data AND people. Personality tests confirm that’s his sweet spot. He does NOT want to write code in a dark room all day, nor be a computer engineer, although he has the math chops to do so.
I’m not really sure why you keep assuming he/we has/have done no research. All his school choices offer an appropriate foundation to continue to either an MS in Data Science or Analytics. It could be through Stats, Math, CS, IT Management, any number of majors. Notre Dame actually has a Sports Analytics Club and program that works WITH ND Athletics. SMU has a business analytics concentration within Cox. Vandy and Duke do NOT have UG business per se, but again, they do have avenues to reach the ultimate data science destination – although I personally believe Duke is weaker in that category. This is possibly moot, as he’s yet to receive admission to either of the latter two.
The problem we are trying to solve here is the VALUE of a range of current scholarship offerings or lack thereof, in light of the available programs and school reputation. But I agree, he needs to get on a plane.
Because you mentioned business as his first choice major, and you have several schools on the list where that may not be an option. And if he likes data and people, engineering seems far from the right choice – and it sounds like he has acceptance to the engineering school for at least some schools. Now maybe he has some engineering background (FIRST Robotics, summer programs, a long history of tinkering and interest in engineering projects that you have not mentioned). But if not… maybe you should look at the coursework the engineers take. Because most of it is a really not related to data analytics, and probably wouldn’t be too useful.
This is the first you have mentioned that he might pursue a MS. If you are reluctant to pay for four years of undergrad at some of these schools, who will be funding the couple of years of grad school if he doesn’t gain the requisite skills in undergrad? I am not denying that he may need a masters for jobs in that field, but just saying that cost then becomes a factor – if you are stretching for the schools on the table now, then isn’t that an issue?
Ha, we have the money. I just don’t part with it easily. I mentioned the MS subject far earlier in this thread more than once. I don’t believe you had joined us then. I don’t believe I claimed business as an absolute first choice major. Which is why different schools with different majors.
I do tend to agree, though, that engineering is not the ticket. He is more interested in interpreting, extrapolating and visualizing the data, than in building a computer or anything else.
I also hold a bit of hope that an employer or scholarship may subsidize some post-grad work if he joins a company that thinks he’s a star. Alternatively, you can read way back to our discussion to #8 about SMU that would avail him of a MS in Business Analytics in four years.
FYI, for all you helpful folks, accepted student visit now scheduled for Notre Dame and re-visit to SMU. Stay tuned for more.
If…and I mean IF your son decides to continue at SMU for his masters…you need to check very carefully about the costs. Very often, merit awards are given for undergrad…but once the student becomes a grad student, those awards go away.
Yes, it’s good to find a school that can fulfill a students needs for all four years. But picking a major for undergrad AND grad degrees while the kid is a HS senior is not alway a good plan. Many kids switch majors…and very often into majors they didn’t even know existed when they were in high school. They take college courses that inspire them one way or another, and that drives their choice of a college major.
Honestly, help your student pick a college with a wide range of options. Don’t try to shoehorn him into business or engineering or anything else. That will be his choice to choose…or not.
OP, please keep us posted. It saddens me to follow a student’s story and then not know where he / she ended up! Yours is an interesting one.
I would only echo the possibility that your S may change major or focus, and encourage your family to choose a school where he will be happy and also have a range of academics.
I can’t help but to think of that house hunting show where you follow a couple or person who is looking at houses and they put out their list of “must have’s” and their price range…and often end up selecting the house you would least expect, because well, they just like it best! So glad that S is setting out on visits. I suspect that the choices will become clearer.
Nephew at Notre Dame is loving it, but I hope your S ends up wherever suits him best…and that he does his best wherever he ends up.
@ShouldBeWorking , if it hurts to write the check, even though you can, it is a sign it is too much IMO. Paying $65k year for an undergraduate degree is ludicrous no matter the institution, unless it has no effect on your retirement plans, your out of debt, home paid off etc., then go for it. I have worked in High tech and Wall Street for 25+ years and can tell you the cream rises to the top no matter where they went to school. If you plan for a life of crime at Goldman Sachs, Washington DC or Supreme Court or want to be an overpaid college administrator, then go to an Ivy or Stanford, else save your money.
I wouldn’t leave them all to April…
People make sacrifices all the time to give their kids a college education. Why pick on the folks who pay 65K per year? I know people paying 20K per year- at significant personal sacrifice- who are pretty much flushing hundred dollar bills down the drain. Their kids were indifferent students in HS, are now proving themselves to be indifferent students in college, are going to graduate (maybe) in 6 or 7 years with a degree in something they’ve got a moderate (or not) interest in, and the only thing they really and truly enjoy is hanging out with their GF or BF, going to parties, and shopping.
It bugs me that it’s so easy to criticize the full pay folks. yes, I was one of them. We had kids young; had two relatively secure incomes, which meant two retirement plans and two benefit plans and all that jazz.
It was painful to write the checks- it is, after all, an enormous amount of money- but at the end of the day, it was a better use of the funds FOR MY FAMILY then a nice kitchen, a cruise, luxury cars, buying the kids all sorts of “stuff”, country club memberships, and all the other things that people are full payers for without feeling a twinge of anxiety.
And the people struggling with Parent Plus loans for kids who are one semester away from being thrown out of college? Give those folks your financial advice. Most people who can actually afford to pay full freight for college- whether via extreme thrift or otherwise, don’t need your advice.