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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This has disaster written all over it. Does he actually WANT to go away to a 4 year college/university? It doesn’t sound like he’s prepared or motivated at all. Which is fine, but now you all have to be realistic. A kid who goes off to college after being pushed and monitored by his parents isn’t going to do well, and they’ll probably end up back at home after freshman year with a 1.8 GPA, burned out and upset.

I would look at your local community college for some programs where he can transition right away into work after finishing. Something like the HVAC repair program, auto body tech or collision repair, or horticulture/landscaping. If you think he might be able to handle a 4 year college maybe in his mid-20s+ when he has more maturity, he could try one of the CC health programs and then have the goal of eventually getting a BS in Nursing.

Also has he looked into the military? [/quote]

I agree this has the signs of a reckoning coming.

I have people in my life who were smart enough for college but dropped out/flunked out.

Also for three years recently, I was supervised by a guy who worked construction and was a fast food manager before going back to a college you will have never heard of for engineering.  It's thought of kind of like Towson by people where I am.  So he made more money and supervised me, even though I am a National Merit Finalist/Phi Beta Kappa/top-ranked in undergrad/full scholarship to Top 20 MBA.  And believe me, that's not the only example in my life right now where the "C students are managing the A students".

I think your kid doesn't like school (my youngest doesn't either).  There's a lot not to like these days.  It's not school as we knew it in parent times.

The pressure you are applying is likely having the opposite effect of what you want.  Honestly, failing in high school just doesn't feel that bad.  Also, re: SAT prep...as a high schooler, studying on my own, I was not able to raise my math SAT by 20 points on my own.  I tried and wanted to do it but across 3 tries I couldn’t.  I wanted to move 20 points on math to get a scholarship and didn't get there because I didn't really master the material.  For grad school I was able to move my score a lot with self-study, so I believe it can be done, but it takes a lot of work and personal insight from the test taker.

I suggest you drop the rope and the SAT tutoring.  Ask your kid if he'd like to do something like a gap year or two or go to community college first.

My kid is excited by robotics team and the prospect of co-op-ing.  He considered a 3 year vo-technical high school to associates degree path but rejected it because it's "1 year more to graduate".  His grades and SATs are good enough for a flagship but he's not excited to go and his school has grade inflation so I worry about him flunking out of engineering.  He also talked about plumbing and other trades work and I bought him a book on plumbing for Christmas and he hasn't touched it.

I'm in a bit of a stalemate with my kid too.

The thing I keep thinking about is the Dilbert strip where the Boss says "Pressure makes diamonds." and Dilbert says "'Pressure makes garbage more compact".  I think you need to figure out a way to make diamonds.  I don't think summer SAT prep is going to work to turn the motivation around. I wouldn't overspend on it.[/quote]

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