Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a topic in collegeconfidential called something like "stupidest reasons my child won't look at a college". It's a bit like the 'why my toddler is crying' site, in that students have been known to veto schools because:
-I don't look good in those school colors.
-The dorms smelled funny. (OK, that was my neighbor's kid).
-If I go to Purdue, everyone will ask me if I like chicken . -Harvey Mudd is a stupid name for a school.

etc.
The whole process is not as rational as you might think and add an irrational teenager into the mix and you never know what you will get.

I can see saying things like that as a teenager!

Anonymous wrote:There's a topic in collegeconfidential called something like "stupidest reasons my child won't look at a college". It's a bit like the 'why my toddler is crying' site, in that students have been known to veto schools because:
-I don't look good in those school colors.
-The dorms smelled funny. (OK, that was my neighbor's kid).
-If I go to Purdue, everyone will ask me if I like chicken . -Harvey Mudd is a stupid name for a school.

etc.
The whole process is not as rational as you might think and add an irrational teenager into the mix and you never know what you will get.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm getting a little worried about his chosen major. Don't tell us if you don't want to but if it is only offered 20 places in the country and it is not on the tuition exchange, this raises red flags.

For an example, I knew someone who got an undergraduate degree in Turf Management, she played D1 Golf. Boy, could she read a green. With this degree, her options were really limited. She couldn't work in true farming agriculture. Golf courses didn't really need a degree because their turf management jobs involved about half of your time sitting on a lawn mower. She tried to get a job at companies that grow sod but the smaller companies didn't need the degree and there are only so many larger companies growing sod. She ended up getting a Phd in Chemistry but her dissertation dealt with the chemistry of growing turf. This got a few interviews with some of the larger companies but eventually she ended up as a research professor stretching her, ok salary, to cover the holes between grants.

The point of the story is that most fields are better approached from a less specific degree that is offered all over. It is much better to get an undergraduate degree in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering with internships doing turf management than a full degree in Turf Management. The broader degree allows the graduate to pivot away from their narrow ideas of how the world works that they have in HS.

This poster is very wise OP. My niece did the same thing with another specialized major; she was fortunately able to marry and SAHM. Otherwise, it was back to square one. Encourage your kid to pick a related, more commonly offered major so they can go to a college that is a better fit. Win win.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm getting a little worried about his chosen major. Don't tell us if you don't want to but if it is only offered 20 places in the country and it is not on the tuition exchange, this raises red flags.

For an example, I knew someone who got an undergraduate degree in Turf Management, she played D1 Golf. Boy, could she read a green. With this degree, her options were really limited. She couldn't work in true farming agriculture. Golf courses didn't really need a degree because their turf management jobs involved about half of your time sitting on a lawn mower. She tried to get a job at companies that grow sod but the smaller companies didn't need the degree and there are only so many larger companies growing sod. She ended up getting a Phd in Chemistry but her dissertation dealt with the chemistry of growing turf. This got a few interviews with some of the larger companies but eventually she ended up as a research professor stretching her, ok salary, to cover the holes between grants.

The point of the story is that most fields are better approached from a less specific degree that is offered all over. It is much better to get an undergraduate degree in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering with internships doing turf management than a full degree in Turf Management. The broader degree allows the graduate to pivot away from their narrow ideas of how the world works that they have in HS.

This poster is very wise OP. My niece did the same thing with another specialized major; she was fortunately able to marry and SAHM. Otherwise, it was back to square one. Encourage your kid to pick a related, more commonly offered major so they can go to a college that is a better fit. Win win.

Anonymous wrote:I'm getting a little worried about his chosen major. Don't tell us if you don't want to but if it is only offered 20 places in the country and it is not on the tuition exchange, this raises red flags.

For an example, I knew someone who got an undergraduate degree in Turf Management, she played D1 Golf. Boy, could she read a green. With this degree, her options were really limited. She couldn't work in true farming agriculture. Golf courses didn't really need a degree because their turf management jobs involved about half of your time sitting on a lawn mower. She tried to get a job at companies that grow sod but the smaller companies didn't need the degree and there are only so many larger companies growing sod. She ended up getting a Phd in Chemistry but her dissertation dealt with the chemistry of growing turf. This got a few interviews with some of the larger companies but eventually she ended up as a research professor stretching her, ok salary, to cover the holes between grants.

The point of the story is that most fields are better approached from a less specific degree that is offered all over. It is much better to get an undergraduate degree in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering with internships doing turf management than a full degree in Turf Management. The broader degree allows the graduate to pivot away from their narrow ideas of how the world works that they have in HS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, MD participates in the Southern Regional Education Exchange. If your kid's intended major is not available in your state but is offered in member state schools, he can get in state tuition.

For some reason, there is no option for his particular degree in the tuition exchange. I can't figure out why as two schools on our list that have his major participate on the tuition exchange for closely related majors, but not for his. I feel as though, perhaps, there's some school in MD that I'm not thinking of that has his major that I'm not finding, but I've checked every 4 year school I can find listed. It's a mystery.

I'm getting a little worried about his chosen major. Don't tell us if you don't want to but if it is only offered 20 places in the country and it is not on the tuition exchange, this raises red flags.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I question whether first-hand exposure, especially of the college tour variety, would make him more willing to consider various locales. I've certainly found that, on closer (but still relatively superficial) inspection, places I was open-minded about looked less attractive to me after I'd actually seen them.

But that's different, right? You were revising an opinion based on actual first-hand information but he is forming one based on stereotypes.

Anonymous wrote:I question whether first-hand exposure, especially of the college tour variety, would make him more willing to consider various locales. I've certainly found that, on closer (but still relatively superficial) inspection, places I was open-minded about looked less attractive to me after I'd actually seen them.

Anonymous wrote:Wait until he finds out that southern Ohio and northern Kentucky are identical