<p>I’m not sure where to start, and ANY suggestions would be very welcome. :)</p>
<p>Son will be a junior next year so we are beginning to think about college. He is not a strong student (gets everything from As to Cs) but tends to do very well on standardized tests (usually 99th %tile for verbal and 70th %tile for math). But he doesn’t have much direction or ambition and, while he wants to go to college, isn’t really in what I would call an academic mindset. </p>
<p>He is a loner type so doesn’t have much extracurricular. He’s a sweet kid but VERY nerdy and into video games. He is interested mainly in history & political science. </p>
<p>Religious/ christian/ catholic colleges would be fine. He attends mass each week but isn’t too interested. Basically I am hoping to find a “nurturing” school that isn’t highly selective as his grades do not match up to his scores (underachiever). I’d also like it to be a nice setting & facilities, a place with a sense of community where he could stretch his wings. </p>
<p>For location, ideally within driving distance of metro NY.</p>
<p>Thanks for any input!</p>
<p>How much can your family pay? Can you pay for an extra semester/summer session/year at that same rate?</p>
<p>How far do you consider to be “driving distance”?</p>
<p>Have you taken him on any college visits yet? It doesn’t matter if they are places you think he will want to go to or not - just pick some nice colleges near you for a couple of day trips. Fordham comes to mind as a starter.</p>
<p>I’ve seen oodles of more apathetic students start to perk up for college after they’ve seen what’s out there - esp if they were bored in high school.</p>
<p>You’ll also have the advantage of starting to find out what he does and doesn’t like in a school which will help in the selection process - esp for visiting colleges a little further away.</p>
<p>I would look at Drew University in NJ.</p>
<p>My DD attends Slippery Rock University in Western, PA. She is fairly shy, not much into the party scene. She absolutely loves her university. Everytime I go there I am just amazed at how nice everyone is to each other, it can’t just be when I am visiting. The professors really do want you to succeed, they are very caring about their students. They want the best for them. The cost, even for out of state is awesome, if they can keep a 3.0 GPA. The dorms are gorgeous, microwave, refrigerator and shower in the room. The enrollment is around 8000 so not huge and not too tiny either.</p>