Help me understand my son

chimchim
Sat, 13 Apr 2013 21:36:10 +0000

Hmm. That is a bit odd. Did he tour Cal Poly? More important, what is his major? If it’s in engineering, architecture or bioengineering, I would seriously question his choice because SLO is ranked nationally in those areas. And it’s not as if SLO is in an undesirable location. It has a great outdoor lifestyle, very bike friendly and a college-town feel.

I understand how frustrated you must feel. I purposely avoided favoring one school over another during my son’s college tour, application and acceptance journey, because there is a tendency for them to want to rebel against what a parent wants.

If the redwoods are the main reason he’s giving, I would sit down with my son to have a much deeper conversation. 17-18 olds are emotional, risk-taking and have a hard time making big, important decisions, ones they often regret 6-12 months later. As a parent, I think it’s important to sit our children down and show them how to go about making an informed life decision (especially when serious $ is involved). Perhaps write down the important criteria for his college experience: The school’s academic offerings, reputation, after-graducation career prospects, dorm life, campus/off campus life, housing in his junior and senior years, etc.

I would ask my son “If a fire were to sweep through Santa Cruz and burn down all the trees, would you still want to go there?”