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True…if he gets a D this semester, his admission may get revoked anyway.
There are three CCs close to my house
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are you saying that the deadlines for ALL THREE CCs have already passed??? Are you sure??? What CCs are these??
If you do get pressured by your H to let him go, then at least secure a promise from H and son that if the first semester grades aren’t at least a (whatever you think …3.0??), then he’s coming home for spring semester and going to a CC.
Hmm… The CalGrant deadline passed. Registration for Community Colleges is open pretty much up until Add/Drop date, which will be sometime in September. He has plenty of time to register for community college. The quality of the teaching can be excellent at a California Community College. However, there is no hand-holding, and between the bureaucracy and the non-cohesiveness of the student body, in some ways it takes more discipline to succeed at a community college than at a 4-year college. I would reiterate what @stepay said in post #48:
The good news is his two friends are not going to that 4-year college either; and for the exact same reason he is not- it is not economically feasible. So, if it is true that misery loves company, he does have that. Plus, one reason he wanted to go was to be with those two friends, who are not going.
Working at a job or at Americorps may be just the ticket!
@mom2collegekids I called the three CC in our place and said the date i saw on their website is the starting date the students can submit the applic. online.
Thank you for all your comments.
YOU JUST TELL THEM.
I don’t get the obsession with all this bending over for the kids. The kid wants to move to a mansion. Do you say, OK, let us get rid of our savings, work our fingers to the bone, take out massive loans, because baby boy wants it? Of course not. You say you can’t afford it. Be happy with what you have.
It’s called life.
There are a ton of educational options. You don’t get your dream school? That’s how you learn and become a leader. You learn from failure, from regrouping, from charting a new course. Things handed over on a platter do not leaders make.
No is not a bad word.
didnt get any aid from fed. so i had to go to a cc, got fee wavied so… yay… >_>
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If you got fees waived, then how come your EFC isn’t low enough to get aid from fed govt??? What is your EFC???
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s I called the three CC in our place and said the date i saw on their website is the starting date the students can submit the applic. online.
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Ok…so now you know that the CC deadline has NOT passed. So, it’s time to get son over to these 3 CCs to have him pick which one he’ll go to.
Keep in mind (and give H a heads up) that a LOT of whining and tantrums are going to take place because son’s main goal was to be dorming and having no parents around monitoring his comings and goings.
Your H may be the type who prefers to “give in” rather than hear his child complain or whine. My MIL was like that. She never said no to her kids EVER, and it’s because she didn’t want to hear any tantrums or complaints. Everyone needs to wear their big-boy pants.
You can tell your son that if he gets a 3.0+ at his CC, then you’ll happily help him pay to transfer to a univ. That seems fair, and your H should be able to accept that.
CC by far is not a cheapest route. CC’s do not have much resources, I do not know if they even provide any type of Merit awards. The cheapest route is to attend a 4 year college on very high Merit scholarship. But this route should be planned when a kid is 5 y o, not 15.
Delay the decision by taking a gap year to work?
Maybe working a min wage job will provide the college motivation that seems lacking.
Or do Americorps or some other volunteer program that will provide some college money.
CCs in California are about $1,380 per year for in-state tuition (assuming 30 credit units at $46 per unit). Typical college book estimates probably bring it up to $3,000 total at most. Food, utilities, and transportation living at the parents’ house adds another several thousand dollars in costs, but many parents willingly subsidize that for commuter students, so they and the students think of it as “$0” even though it is not.
For a student whose academic credentials are unlikely to find a full ride, it does not get much cheaper than that. Of course, the CC student would need to transfer to a more expensive four year school later to complete a bachelor’s degree.
I think investing money for college with a marginal or less mature student is a financial risk. The CC minimizes the risk financially, and also since the least expensive option is living at home, it also minimizes the risk of the cost of room and board and the student being away from home when he/she is not mature enough to keep up with living independently and balancing social and academic activities.
An expensive scenario ( to the student) I have seen (IMHO) is when a student not quite ready or mature goes off to college and does not succeed. That student returns home with the education level of a high school student, and some loans and is then left to work at whatever job they can find to pay them off. A college will not release records until all debts are paid. Instead of getting a degree that could lead to a better job, that student comes home with debt.
CC’s also have job training educational programs. A student who isn’t ready or motivated to do a four year degree could be better equiped for a decent job by attending a CC.
I’ve known of some students who start at CC, but it takes them a while to find their passion and their major. I’d much rather spend the money for an extra year or semester of figuring this out at a CC than to have them not be mature enough for college.
I was shocked also about CC in CA being closed already for the fall. We have a student taking a CC course in CA and she asked for a permit without proof of registration because theirs didn’t start as of last week.
The CC she is going to just opened summer registration this week, and fall registration is not on their radar yet.
Another consideration is a trade school - like an adult vo-tech program. My nephew went to a regular HS then a CC, but the commuter aspect of it bummed him out - he couldn’t make any friends and he was kind of lost. He took a union laborer job, started working a LOT and decided to start anew as an apprentice electrician. He has to go to courses but also have a sponsor who will work with him on his way to becoming trained and licensed.
Trades can be quite lucrative and should be on the list for consideration.
Oh please…read the thread @MiamiDAP This kid did not get a merit scholarship…so for him the CC IS the less expensive option.
Show him how much he would have to pay in loans and what percentage of his potential income that could be. 80K in debt does not make sense but 50% of his monthly income going to paying off student loans does.
If I read the OP’s later post correctly, the CCs near them are not closed for fall. She thought that the opening day for registering was the closing day.
she needs to take her son to each of the 3 CCs near her, have him talk to some advisors (bring a transcript with you), and have him choose which CC he likes best.
@MiamiDAP …"CC by far is not a cheapest route. CC’s do not have much resources, I do not know if they even provide any type of Merit awards. The cheapest route is to attend a 4 year college on very high Merit scholarship. But this route should be planned when a kid is 5 y o, not 15. "
You may have forgotten the real issues in this thread. OP’s son is a poorly performing student. Top resources are not really necessary here. He’s not going to be bored by the limitations of a CC. Merit awards are not happening. You can plan that a five year old eventually be educated through merit awards but that’s kind of ridiculous. You have no idea at five what his achievement level will be. You cannot force a child to excel in school. It’s about as smart as planning that he will win an athletic scholarship. It’s more practical to save actual money for college. I’m not sure why few parents think to do this. Sometimes with these long threads it’s a good idea to reacquaint yourself with the issues.
OP is smart to be skeptical of her husband and son’s plan. She came here looking for support and alternative schools. CC is perfect until her son can prove he’s college material.
And thanks to California’s excellent community college system, the son can even CHOOSE one among three! Having a choice is super important. 
And indeed, if he manages to pull a 3.0 each semester, you can agree to send him for 2 years to a 4-year California public college he can get into.
Thank you MYOS1634 for your advice. We already told our son that we cannot afford the tuition/housing at the university. He is very persistent to go to that school and suggesting he will commute every day. This is another debate/ argument in our family. It takes about 45 min. To go to school if there’s no traffic. If there’s a traffic, it will take about 1.5 hours to 2.5 including looking for the parking space at the campus and walking to his classroom. I told my son that he will get stress out every day to go to school because of the traffic. In addition, he will spend more gas and risk of accident driving to/from school. Also he will be a new driver, he does not have a license yet. Not only that, the tuition is more expensive in the university than CC. I hate my husband because he always take my kid’s side. He always say yes to almost everything that my kids want, because for him it is so easy to say yes, than arguing or giving advise to my kids. He does not know how to be a father to them. I am having chest pain, stomache and body pain because of stress.
Thank you for taking the time to read and giving input to my post
Actually, the non-impacted majors at non-impacted CSUs admit transfers even down to 2.0 college GPA (but with important general education and major preparation courses passed with C or higher grades). But I would certainly advise a student to aim quite a bit higher, because “non-impacted majors at non-impacted CSUs” is a relatively limited subset of the major and campus options among California public universities and other universities that a student can transfer to. I.e. better academic performance leads to more choices. It also means a better chance of successful completion of a bachelor’s degree after transfer (should be obvious that a 4.0 student who transfers is more likely to succeed than a 2.0 student who transfers to the same major at the same campus).
For the parent (OP), it does mean that planning for the affordability of two years at a four year school after transfer needs to be considered in your household finances. Or more than two years if he transfers with a relatively low college GPA.
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suggesting he will commute every day. This is another debate/ argument in our family. It takes about 45 min. To go to school if there’s no traffic. If there’s a traffic, it will take about 1.5 hours to 2.5 including looking for the parking space at the campus and walking to his classroom. I told my son that he will get stress out every day to go to school because of the traffic. In addition, he will spend more gas and risk of accident driving to/from school.
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What car would he be driving ? If you don’t provide a car, then how could he even do this??? You have the right to say that your car will not be taken to his school, and that a car that YOU own will not be driven that much.
Also he will be a new driver, he does not have a license yet.
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Another reason to say NO. Also, do you know how much his INSURANCE will be? Likely at least $2000 a year ~ especially if he’s driving THAT far…and even more so if you get a car for him to drive.
Not only that, the tuition is more expensive in the university than CC. I hate my husband because he always take my kid's side.
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What is your H saying NOW??? Is he saying that he will provide this kid a car, pay for all the insurance and gas, and pay for the tuition???
I have another BIG concern…your son has expressed an interest in the “social side” of this school. My concern is that he’ll attend parties, drink, AND THEN TRY TO DRIVE a long way home (not that driving a short distance is ok, but driving a long distance is even more scarier).
I can also tell you this…If your son has to face morning work traffic, then he’s going to start skipping morning classes.
Even if he only signed up for 10am classes or later, he’d still be in work traffic.
Stay strong!!!