Be careful about your attitude toward your kid's prospects. It is possible he's "not interested" in college because he smells your angst and feels "why bother if my parents think the schools I can get into are unworthy?"

I never think college counselors are worth it, but in your case it might be just the thing to give you and your kid some outside perspective.

OP, I'm still unclear about the actual GPA. Your post suggests only one C and it's in an unweighted class? That's not so bad and is a far cry from a C student.

Honestly colleges do not look at a C the same way if a kid is also taking APs. Our kids had some Cs, and the original list we gave the college counselor was based on what that GPA seemed to translate into from our research. We were so far off! The counselor pointed at several of the schools and said, these schools don't see applicants who took AP classes, let alone 8 (like our kids). Kids are in schools in the 30-100 range with merit awards.

So what is his current gpa?

I tried to motivate my adhd kid by showing her options. She barely got acceptances to 4 schools, including Radford and Randolph. ODU wanted her to do their bridge program.

She almost didn’t graduate HS even after that. We told her we were going to keep her home. She got her crap together and graduated last minute.

We thought going to a school she was excited about doing stuff she actually liked would help to motivate her. Yeah, she flunked right on out.

Maybe letting them go and try works for others. I mean, if your kid is at least doing APs and honors in HS, it could possibly work. But it was a massive waste of time and money for us.

She’s now working FT and considering going to nova for a specialized medical certification.

I’m voting for community college while working.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is his part-time job that he loves?

I don't want to give too many details for privacy reasons, but it isn't something that could be a career.

Look at what he lovea about the PT job. Is it engaging with the public, problem-solving, making money, social environment, pace of work, etc? May give you some clues.

Va tech, Ohio state

Many potential choices out West depending in major. Colorado State. Arizona. Oregon. Washington State.

Check out your school’s Naviance for practical indication.

Many Regional campuses of state university systems

This is really out of left field, but my friend recently told me about this school in Charleston for their gifted high school student who loves working with her hands but is probably not destined for traditional college:

https://acba.edu/wood

Roanoke and Bridgewater Colleges are options also.

Anonymous wrote:I have one. C student, 11th, taking some AP classes (math and science mostly) and just honors for the others. C is unweighted; I guess it could get up to a B after weighting and maybe by the end of the year. He has only two extra curriculars, but they are strong. PSAT was around 1350. I know VA Tech and UVa and the like are not in the cards, but what state schools or somewhat affordable privates might he get into? STEM major, but not sure what exactly.

Harvard. They gave 80% As. no more Cs, ever.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:maybe he should get a neuro psych eval

it's odd for a kid with two parents that smart to do so poorly and be so unmotivated

I think the kid is motivated, just not doing school. It sounds like they are very dedicated to their job

Sometimes undiagnosed students (eg ADHD) appear unmotivated when they are actually anxious/avoidant. OP, does this sound like your kid?

In any case, there are a great many colleges with acceptance rates greater than 50%, 75%, even 90%. It's a buyer's market, to be honest.

My A/B/C student (with ADHD and high test scores) went to Towson for a couple of years and then transferred to a much more selective university. Both experiences were immensely valuable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the many colleges that take everyone who can pay tuition.

Not helpful. Was hoping for specific recommendations of not awful schools that are affordable.

What is affordable to you? No one on this board knows your finances so that's going to make it hard for people to respond intelligently.

For specific recommendations, you've told us basically nothing about what type of school environment is appealing to your kid. So, how about Gettysburg College, Muhlenberg College, or Ithaca College.

Thanks. Kid is introverted and has little interest in college. But has two Ivy League grad parents, one with a PhD. So we don't even know where to start with this. Money is not a huge issue, but we're not rich enough to afford some of the most expensive schools comfortably, but in any case my husband refuses to spend a ton of money on a kid who doesn't even want to go. Low grades are due mainly to working too much (he has a part time job he loves and he works as much as he can) and also just not liking school work.

In this case, maybe just let him work and take community college classes. Will have a lot more options if he does well there.

+1
Especially since he loves his job, isn't crazy about school, and doesn't know what he wants to major in. Working PT and attending CC seems to be exactly the right move.

Anonymous wrote:maybe he should get a neuro psych eval

it's odd for a kid with two parents that smart to do so poorly and be so unmotivated

I think the kid is motivated, just not doing school. It sounds like they are very dedicated to their job

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is his part-time job that he loves?

I don't want to give too many details for privacy reasons, but it isn't something that could be a career.

So my kid has an EC he loves to do that could be a (maybe low-paying, not stable) career. There are careers that use the similar skills-plus others- with a BS that lead to careers that give health insurance & can support you.

He’s very hands-on & practical & uninterested in learning for fun. The opposite of my spouse & I! Honestly, he’s very intrigued by proper polytechnic schools (ones that are all hands-on degrees, career focused). Depending on weighted GPa , maybe Purdue’s Polytechnic Institute (an AAK with I think a 3.2 & 1100 SAT just posted admit to mech eng technology in that school)

If that’s your kid, maybe focus in on those schools (AAK suggestions would possibly be Missouri S&T, UWis-Stout, & there’s another I’m blanking on)