<p>The admissions counselor just emailed my son though I emailed him directly saying that* because they are a big nursing school that many of the numbers reflect that program and that nursing students tend to have similar stats.** I don’t know if this is true or not.
*</p>
<p>I’m not sure I understand what the adcom person is saying in light of the mid 50 score range. Is he/she saying that the scores of the top 25% are just a bit above the top of the mid 50 range. If so, that would not be a positive point to be making. That would suggest that the entire school has very modest test scores. They can’t all be smart kids who just don’t happen to test well. </p>
<p>I would hope that if this is a big nursing school that the BSN students are scoring at least in the 75th percentile…otherwise I would wonder what their passing rate is for the nursing boards.</p>
<p>*Having a little fun with the title of this thread. Wait till your student picks the one person you don’t like to be his/her spouse. *</p>
<p>I think that there have been some threads on this subject in the Cafe before.</p>
<p>*If it were me- I’d table all discussion of college until three weeks before the “I’m coming” letter is due. Give all the emotions a chance to settle down.</p>
<p>Right now, your son is thinking Good Weather plus Soccer plus Lots of Women plus Won’t have to kill Myself academics and it’s sounding pretty sweet. And maybe it is. But the more you try to show him that lots of kids don’t come back after Freshman year, or go home every weekend, or whatever, the deeper he digs himself into the fantasy.</p>
<p>I read about Dominican and can fully understand your stress.
I would encourage him to fly up so he could spend several nights there, attend classes, go to soccer practices-the whole college experience.
He can arrange it with Admissions.
I think he would take off his “soccer goggles” very quickly.</p>
<p>Is there any way he can talk to some of the soccer team kids to see how they like the school? Maybe they’ll have some insight into why the other goalie transferred?</p>
<p>So, how much above these stats is your ds? I’m not trying to say this school is great or anything, but its often helpful for me to remember that this virual CC world is pretty skewed. I’ve seen students here report a 28 on the ACT and receive the advice to “look into a community college.” Nothing wrong with those, by the way, but a 28 has more options. We talk about the same few colleges over and over and give most everything else the tag “lesser” and “no-name.” </p>
<p>86% of the students who choose this school are in the top half of their high school graduating class. Are only the top 10% of kids supposed to go on to 4 year schools? Is there something inherently wrong with a school that isn’t afraid to say to a kid “you can try,” even if it means a lower retention rate? </p>
<p>Maybe it is a terrible fit academically, but over the years, the time and money put into soccer have sent the message loud and clear that it is something of high value–to all of you. He might need some time to let go of that. Do some things the others have suggested, an overnight on a Friday so he can see if the place clears out for the weekend. Sit in on some classes. And keep quiet for a while. If he feels like this a battle he has to win, he’s going to do his best to win in.</p>
<p>Another thing to ask your son and maybe get him to think about something besides weather (seriously? there are many many goalies in the northeast that are fine. also, i do crew, and I am a coxswain, which means that I don’t move during practice like your son is concerned about, and I am regularly on the river in 30 degree weather and or rain or snow. you survive).</p>
<p>Anyway. What if he, say tears his ACL three games into his freshman career? Would he want to stay there. Would it be worth the year of no soccer to play again the next year (but maybe not start if he’s still coming back from injury, and they’ve just gotten better freshman recruits in). </p>
<p>Sorry if you’ve been over this all already. Maybe visiting will help clarify things for him.</p>
<p>Son’s choice college is not my (Mom’s) choice. He’s accepted into a top LAC 150 miles away (Wabash), but instead wants to go to local Catholic LAC which doesn’t have same reputation as Wabash & has easier entrance/admission. Also local LAC is 80% commuter with over 60% female & lower retention rate/grad rate than Wabash.
All things being =, I (Mom) want son 2 go 2 Wabash (merit aid offered is about = to both LACs), but Son is getting cold-feet about leaving home. He wants to stay in same social groups here at home next year instead of going to Wabash 150 miles away.
I don’t want him to go to local commuter-LAC which has lesser reputation/stats. Shouldn’t I (as Mom) have the final say-so about son’s choice since I’m paying for it, or should I allow Son to attend less-rigorous academic local LAC because of his fear of leaving the nest? I think that part of growing-up is leaving the nest (we’re not talking about Son going to school 1,000 miles away from home, but within 150 miles from home, with access to his own car). Even though Son is not a sports-player (like soccer-son in previous thread), my son has similar reasons why he wants to attend local LAC which aren’t academically sound (i.e., it’s 10 minutes away from our home, like going to high school). Another reason why s doesn’t want to go to Wabash is that s doesn’t know anybody else from his h.s. who is also going there. Should I put my foot down (when deposit is due by 5/1/11) and tell s “try 1 semester at Wabash, & if not good fit after 1 semester, then could transfer”? In my gut, his local LAC choice is not a good fit (other than he wants to not be away from home next year). He’s getting too clingy; he’ll have 2-nite stay scheduled in March at Wabash;
also local LAC doesn’t have Grk frats, which I want s to pursue at Wabash. He’s legacy to Wabash & frats vs. local LAC is mostly nursing/tchg majors. Should I (Mom) prevail?</p>
<p>My answer is a simple no. You are fighting taking a young colt to a place he does not like and then leaving him there. Just seems to be trouble to me. If he does very well at the local school, he might want to transfer to Wabsh later or do a semester there as a guest student. Maybe he’ll like that semester and apply to stay there. Why don’t you just get him started on the right foot in college? Have him try out he visit and overnights at Wabash but if he doesn’t change his mind, let him go. </p>
<p>I have 5 boys, by the way, and I wouldn’t be able to pay any of them to go to Wabash. And the oldest two know the school well as they have practiced with their swim team during spring breaks. There is a reason why there are not that many single sex male colleges around. It just doesn’t have the appeal to many young men.</p>
<p>Wabash seems to be within your comfort zone, not your S’s. He has set his parameters for now and I feel you should respect them. My S was emphatic about staying in-state. I thought this was funny since traveling to northern CA is actually farther than traveling to AZ and NV but that’s what he wanted. He was accepted to an OOS U which I thought would be a good fit but he chose a nearby school that was 2 hours away. An earlier post on this thread advised the OP that if he made the decision, he would have to make it work. I agree.</p>
<p>That’s the toughest question - they choose and I’m paying for it. Maybe talk to him about why he wants to stay local and the fears about Wabash or some other school. Perhaps something will come out that you can address. It could change his mind. Or one more visit. Sometimes things change the second time around.</p>
<p>We started out last summer looking at schools by intended major, geographic region (above Mason-Dixon line), and environment (city). Since we live in MD, we were hoping he would look at UMCP (great education for the $) but he wants to move away. After each school visit, we did a pretty good debrief (pros/cons) as well as a ranking. Now his previously #4 school (Pitt) is number 1 because he didn’t get into his #1 (an Ivy) and Pitt has really worked hard to lure him (honors college and scholarship) while #2 & #3 have not. We’re thinking of making one last visit to schools that accept him (2 orr 3 schools) before May 1 to finalize the decision. For you, it’s relatively local to do that. For us, it requires a long car ride (NYU) or plane tix (BU). I think he should give Wabash one last look.</p>
<p>This sounds like a new thread to be posted banjolady.<br>
The update for today on S2 is that he did start taking a look at the school from an academic standpoint and sees that it is ranked below our state schools so he is wondering why pay 30K/year just to play D2 soccer and has decided he is going to revisit his other top 2 of the 3 (Linfield-OR, Sewanee-U. of the South).
The strange stat about DU is that their acceptance rate is 52%. Must be a big demand for nursing schools??</p>
<p>Nursing is a decent career (pays a living wage) and people know what it is. I think for those reasons alone, schools known for nursing attract a lot of candidates, many of whom just don’t have the stats. I’d also guess that because one can get an assoiciates and pass boards, nursing is not so highly competative that only the best students can get into the field. Hence, what many might consider unacceptably low score ranges for the school, even though the acceptance rate is just over half.</p>
<p>rmac399,
For those final April visits our kids went solo. Made their own sleeping arrangements, got to experience what it would be like to travel to the schools solo, etc. They both wanted the unvarnished filter without parents and Accepted Students hoopla to distract them.</p>
<p>They took the entire selection and application process seriously, and busted their tails to earn some great choices, so we were inclined to trust their judgment on final decisions. Their choices weren’t necessarily what DH or I would have thought they’d be, but they are both making it work.</p>
<p>SDiegoMom,
For me, the overarching question to my athlete would be “would you want to be at this school if you weren’t playing your sport?” S2 looked at academics first, sports second. He was considering playing at D-IIIs, but realized that there was a lot of HS he missed due to his sport, and he got cold feet midway through senior year. Was very thankful he had not committed to /applied to places he wouldn’t otherwise want to attend.</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear he is rethinking his decision. I think having him visit classes and stay in a dorm would be just enough of a nudge that he’d would decide he wanted to be elsewhere, but allows him to save face by making the decision himself. These kids have to OWN this choice and commit themselves to making it work. If you push him to go elsewhere, he can blame you later. Step back and let him take responsibility.</p>
<p>Of course, that does not prevent you from sitting down with him and laying out terms and conditions if he later decides to transfer and how he will pay for any additional expenses incurred because of lost scholarships, etc.</p>
<p>ordinarylives: I have read your reply a few times and maybe my brain is just fried from this virus I’ve had for 10 days but I don’t think I follow what you are saying.
I did email admissions two days ago and asked about the stats as far as the 41.6% transfer out rate and the reviews we were reading on a couple sites. I have not gotten any reply. I also copied the VP of admissions but no response.
He has some time to decide what is best for him but my feeling is that it isn’t a good match outside of soccer.</p>
<p>I haven’t read the whole thread so forgive me if this has been answered. If this school REALLY was a place you did not want your child to consider for enrollment if he got accepted…WHY did you let him even apply there?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>These are positive things. Does he plan to get the MBA and would he WANT it from this school? A guaranteed 4 year graduation rate? I’ve never heard of a school that GUARANTEES that…that is terrific too if it’s true. Most schools have students who take an extra semester or even an extra year in some cases. </p>
<p>Nothing is forever…if he really hates the place after a year or two…he can transfer.</p>
<p>On the surface at first look it seemed like one to apply as a safety and he was interested in the soccer. All the “dirt” was uncovered just since he was getting really serious about committing.
If he transfers in a year or two he loses the great merit he is getting from all the other schools he likes. They are more generous to incoming freshman. We couldn’t afford any of the schools on his list without the merit he has earned.
Yes, he is interested in an MBA and we have been a few places that gave 4 yr. guarantee’s. If he does decide to go there he can transfer but it just means he will have to most likely attend an instate public school which aren’t doing well here in California due to our deficit.</p>
<p>Sorry, I may have been a bit vague to avoid offending. You were concerned about the low mid-range test stats (20-24, I think) and astounded that with those scores the admit rate was still only 52%. I work at a u that’s pretty big on nursing. Basically, one doesn’t have to be the best of the best to pass boards. Students from cc programs do it all the time. As a result, and here’s were I was trying to avoid offending the nursing hopefuls, the field can attract more middling students. Some can’t make the acceptance cut. Others get in, not realizing that the BSN requires a lot more and the job options post- grad aren’t instantly better, and then transfer back to 2 year programs. This may explain both the test score range and the rather high transfer rate. It may not. There may be something else going on at Dominican.</p>
<p>That totally makes sense. The comments though on the two referenced websites above don’t really say anything about the nursing programs. More just about how dead the campus is socially, how the admin. side is weak, and the coursework not challenging for the above average student. I gave admissions the opportunity to address these concerns but have heard nothing back.</p>
<p>If there are a lot of commuter students, these may be adults headed back to complete their educations/change fields and perhaps don’t have super stats but are willing to bust their tails to get the degree.</p>
<p>A friend of mine teaches core courses for students heading to nursing programs at a CC in CA. The majority of her students are non-traditional folks heading back to get RNs, BSNs, etc. Heck, she went to nursing school after her PhD in neurobiology couldn’t get her more than the adjunct teaching gig in her part of the state.</p>
<p>^^good points. Od1 rejected one school without so much as an inquiry when she saw the student body was about half adult returning students. Just not the experience an 18 year old was looking for.</p>
<p>*The strange stat about DU is that their acceptance rate is 52%. Must be a big demand for nursing schools?? *</p>
<p>Oh Yes!!! I think every nursing program in Calif is very impacted. Even the CCs with RN programs. so, yes, that would be why the acceptance rate is what it is.</p>
<p>glad to hear that your son is now open to considering other schools. Maybe once he heard that transfer students don’t get merit made his rethink his decision…knowing that if he did leave DU, he’d probably have to go to a Cal State or something (not that a CSU is bad or anything.)</p>