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Olymom, a good work ethic is perhaps the greatest predictor of success in college. Contrary to what many on CC believe, or say they believe, natural intelligence can only take a student so far -- usually through half of the first semester. This reality hits not only the students who don't like the "minutiae and repetitive tasks" but also those who got straight As in a non-demanding academic environment. The sooner your son realizes this, the better off he will be. Many students need to mature and to figure out what they really want in life before they can tackle demanding coursework. Northstarmom's S2 is an example of this.
Not putting effort into meaningless tasks -- or more exactly, what your son sees as meaningless tasks -- will hamper him if he doesn't realize that such completing such tasks will eventually lead him to what he wants. We have this problems in my family's young male adults: they have grand plans but don't want to put the effort to get there. One of these "boys" is now 26, without a college degree, and still dreaming of being a lawyer. Another is 21, barely enough credits to say he went to college for a semester because he didn't hand in the work he thought was worthless and failed many classes, and still tells people he'd like to be a physicist or computer scientist. There are TWO other examples of this in my family. And these kids were B to B+ students in high school. Like your son, they are all caring and generous young men who can complete tasks they care about, just not the ones that they see no point in.
I wrote the above not to scare you but to show that your support of his "honesty" in not doing "meaningless tasks" is counterproductive. In the work force, he is going to have to do even more tasks that he doesn't see the value in. Learning to jump through hoops is essential to advancing one's own goals.
But I think your son CAN succeed given the right academic environment. He is clearly bright. A small LAC with a tight knit community might give him peer examples of what it takes to succeed. I don't think it's an issue of challenging v. too easy. He needs to find a school where he feels that he belongs -- with the students as much as the academics.
For a reach, because of the SAT scores, you might want to look at Dickinson. Northstarmom mentioned Rollins, a beautiful campus in Winter Park, FL, which may also be a reach. (I know a B kid with stats like your son's who got in to Rollins, although he was also an all-state soccer player.) Also look at Mary Washington in VA.
And do look at the 3.0 student thread. People have given some excellent suggestions there.
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