<p>I am helping my friend's son in an effort to improve the chances of getting into college. I have a lot of experience in this but all with kids with super stats heading to highly selective schools. This one is different and I need advice. Here is his profile:</p>
<p>California public school
Hispanic Rising Junior
Single Parent since 2 years old
Low income (50K gross so low EFC)
Rich uncle who will pay any amount needed</p>
<p>GPA - 2.6 out of 4.0 unweighted
Got a D+ in english freshmen 1st semester.
Only one A (in english Soph year - go figure)
No AP's attempted
Language for fresh and soph was American Sign Language</p>
<p>SAT - 1750</p>
<p>Plays varsity lacrosse - good but not great</p>
<p>Good kid, unmotivated until this summer. Now he wants college.</p>
<p>Based on the increase in motivation I think he will improve but not greatly. He might get his 3 year average up to 2.9-ish.</p>
<p>What schools would say are safeties and which might be considered likely? He wants to go out of California if possible.</p>
<p>Okay his preferences would be: social, sports teams, big school might be better for him, he prefers to be “as far away from home as possible”. (Just about broke my heart to hear a kid say that in the tone it was said).</p>
<p>Not needed but big bonus would be a college with a lacrosse team.</p>
<p>Rich uncle will pay any price so privates and full-price OOS are okay.</p>
<p>Look at the colleges that change lives series. Although they are not big school I have seem some of them where the average gpa is 3.0 or 3.1 so he could be in the running if he got his gpa up a bit. Also look at the WUE schools. If he got his gpa up then he might consider University of Nevada at Reno. </p>
<p>With the rich uncle you want to make sure the uncle will pay for all four years. You don’t want the student starting someplace then have the uncle renege on any $$$$.</p>
<p>I would also check University of Arizona. Boys from my son’s high school in 2010 with similar grades got into UofA. Just make sure the student has some discipline since it tends to be a party school.</p>
<p>I know several people that went to Blinn College in College Station and then transferred to TAMU. Cost AND grades were factors in going to Blinn before going to A&M. There is a huge market for transfer student because so many Freshman flunk out, change their minds, don’t make grades to continue scholarship, etc. Wherever his first choice is, there is likely a nearby school that is pretty much a feeder school - the admissions office may even help identify which schools they recruit from.</p>
<p>Just make sure he gets the grades up in his freshman year of college to be a desirable candidate for admission and scholarship opportunities.</p>
<p>Although the kid may have become more assertive and committed to his academic goals… do you honestly suggest that he jump into a university with a limited background? Ambition is great, but so is a foundation. How do you do well in multivariable calculus with a C+ in algebra (assumption is based on your context)? Same for any other course.</p>
<p>I’m not saying he can’t do well, he certainly can… but I wonder if junior college is a better fit for now. 1). It’s cheaper so he doesn’t have to pay/risk so much money. 2). it gives him a chance to practice his newfound commitment and build his “new” collegiate gpa. and 3). he gets a better sense of what college is upon transferring/transitioning to university studies. I’m sure there are more good reasons… but anyways, that’s my 2 cents. When transferring to a university from junior college they only look at your junior college academics for indicators of success. It seems to suite him better, in my opinion. Best of luck! I love hearing how people become inspired to perform well… good for him. And a great person you are for having this young man in your thoughts.</p>
<p>Based on your info. given, I’d highly suggest Arizona State U. The WEP is actually already set up at ASU --he would get instate tuition without another app. </p>
<p>My other thought though is that CA is a big state and “getting far from home” isn’t too difficult even if he headed to an instate school. Have him look at Dominion University of CA.</p>
<p>I goofed. I meant Northern AZ State, and Dominican U of CA. </p>
<p>Also, I didn’t explain why I was suggesting the WEP. This Uncle could change his mind, or have health problems in the future, or any variety of reasons that will prevent him from actually paying for all four years of college. I’d just be cautious and have this student apply to schools that are more affordable over the entire 4 years.</p>
<p>The other thing is to look for schools where a Hispanic male is definitely underrepresented, but also a school where he could get academic help, if needed. These schools might be in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Southern states.</p>
<p>Please be aware with WUE schools, ALWAYS go to the college website for details on who is eligible, requirements, etc. I have seen in the past where the WICHE website is a great place to start, but does not give important information about who qualifies and whether it is a guaranteed award or if it is competitive, like a merit scholarship.</p>
<p>For instance, while they no longer offer WUE, UO was limited on the states and majors that were eligible and it was very competitive; none of this was detailed on the WICHE website.</p>
<p>I graduated high school with a 2.89 and an ACT score of 21 (From California).
I had sub-par classes and only 1 year of a foreign language.</p>
<p>I got accepted to:
University of Arizona ($15,000 Scholarship)
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
University of Nevada - Las Vegas
University of Illinois - Chicago
Boise State University
Northern Illinois University</p>
<p>I had a 2.0 going into my junior year then I decided to turn things around and got a 3.7 and 3.2 my next two semesters. Senior year I got 3.0 both semesters.
He really needs to start doing volunteer work to help him stand out and he needs to write a good essay.
I only sent my essay to the University of Arizona and they gave me a scholarship.
I really wish I would’ve sent it to the other schools, I probably could’ve gotten some nice scholarships from them too.
He’ll have an easier chance getting into out-of-state schools.
Every school is disparate for money now, and out-of-state students bring in the most money.</p>
<p>Alabama will accept him if he applies early…app opens in July. </p>
<p>Gorgeous campus, strong academics, friendly people…big sports, spirit, etc. Tuscaloosa is a mid-sized city, well-maintained, and sits on a lovely river. </p>
<p>Calif sends a good number of kids to Alabama. The state ranks #5 in sending kids to Bama, so he won’t be a fish out of water at all. The fall class is 53% out of state.</p>
<p>*Also, I didn’t explain why I was suggesting the WEP. This Uncle could change his mind, or have health problems in the future, or any variety of reasons that will prevent him from actually paying for all four years of college. I’d just be cautious and have this student apply to schools that are more affordable over the entire 4 years.
*</p>
<p>Even at a lower WEP price (150% of tuition plus room, board, books, fees, travel, etc), if the uncle stopped paying, this kid would still have to go home. COA at a WEP school would likely still be $25k-30k per year. WEP schools aren’t going to give this kid the needed FA at that point because he’s OOS, not an incoming frosh, and wouldn’t qualify for their state aid. </p>
<p>Unless the uncle suddenly lost all of his money, I think the “money supply” would more likely end if the student wasted the opportunity and got low grades.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids, true, good point. The cost of NAU would be $12,000 py tuition before room/board/travel costs. Within CA state schools makes better sense.</p>