ralper

Yesterday's college fair at New York's Javits Center was good for what it was. We were able to answer a lot of questions, and look into several schools that we were thinking about, but we still need to visit their campus'. As we expected, the "hot" schools, NYU, UConn, UMass, Penn State and etc., were very busy.

Now we are going to schedule some tours. Most schools conduct tours through the end of July.

WhiteS2k

That's a very common situation. But there must be SOME signs whether it is in the liberal arts or the sciences areas. And even if you cannot narrow it down that way, try to eliminate majors that are completely of no interest to your son -- for example, if your son is not interested in any of the performing arts, then it is useless to look into a school that is known for their arts programs. I am sure that one way or another, you and your son can narrow things down even just a little. Good luck.

If your son truly cannot decide, then enroll in a university that is known for excellence in many disciplines -- such as UC-Berkeley here in California. Allow your son to take a year or two to explore and take different classes in different disciplines. It may take him 5 or 6 years to graduate, but at least he would find what he likes to do. As an example, suppose your son enrolls at Berkeley with an undeclared major (which would automatically put him in the college of "letters and sciences") and he decided he'd really like to study engineering. Well, it is practically impossible to "switch into engineering" at Berkeley because the programs starts at the freshment year. So your son may have to enroll all over again as a freshmen at the college of engineering or apply to another university with almost as good a engineering program as Berkeley (since Berkeley Engineering school is at the top of public universities already ). So an important question to ask of the universities is "how easy is it to switch majors".

For what it is worth, seems all the students who attended UC-Berkeley with no declared major and cannot make up their minds after three years end up majoring in Psychology.

ralper

White,

You are right. Even though Andrew can't decide on a major, he has been able to eliminate the fields of study that he doesn't want. That has helped to narrow the field.

I'm not sure the decision is going to be as difficult as we originally thought. As we talk more and more about the schools, and learn more about them, we are beginning to be able to eliminate some and favor some. I'm sure that after we visit some of the campus' it'll become easier still. Fortunately, we Andrew is a junior so we still have some time to go before we have to make up our minds. I'm glad we started early.

Mandocorri

In small and mid-size colleges students tend to receive more individualized attention, at all levels of the undergraduate curriculum. That helps particularly students who are "slower-starters", or more timid. In addition, I believe that most students may get a better preparation in smaller colleges in foundation courses. At the upper level, this may be reversed, but some small colleges offer great learning opportunities at all levels. Visiting different schools and asking a lot of questions should provide good information. Good luck (to all of us!).
Tonino.

Kyras

My daughter will graduate high school in 3 weeks. I would like her to go to a Jr. College first but she is determined to go straight to a 4-year. She only knows she wants some type of science major. I let her choose. She and her boyfriend just found out that they both got accepted to UC Irvine and they visited the campus and liked it. We were hoping they would chose UC Santa Barbara, where they were both also accepted, but she said it smelled (there's a lagoon there) and it's got the reputation as quite the party school. We'll see how it goes. She leaves a tiny high school in Acton where they sit on couches in AP Calculus because the class has only a dozen students. I am going the route of letting her choose and learn from her mistakes. If she transfers back to a Jr College for 2 years, that's OK by me. I don't care too much where she goes, as long as she goes and finishes.

WhiteS2k

I think UC Irvine is a very good school -- great new(er) campus, diverse student body, and has a reputation for straight-forward study types. UC Santa Barbara does have a reputation for a party school; and unless the "science major" is marine biology, I think they made the right choice going to UC Irvine. Good luck.

Kyras

Thanks, WhiteS2K. You seem to be Vintage. Why not flash the Vintage badge?

gdw

Well my daughter is graduating from high school next week, and my son is graduating from University of Oregon the following week (he did it in four years!!). We did a big college visit for my daughter last year, and she decided on Northern Arizona University. My son applied to two colleges and got into both, but picked UofO. He loved it. My daughter's decision was also totally hers, and I am sure she will do well.

I think a lot has to do with the maturity of your child. Are they even ready for college? If they are not ready to pick a school, I don't think they are ready to go to college. I think the parents try to push their kids too much, it should be the kid's decision.

WhiteS2k

I am vintage, but also too old to try and figure all that computer stuff.

Kyras

It's easy. Nothing to figure out. Just go to this thread: https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=135781

Post what it asks for and you're in.