@mathmom totally agree…looking at the specifics of the academics one will get in college seems to make a ton of sense, doesn’t it? But this is really raining on MY parade. This is my last rodeo and I think that the quality of Parent’s Weekend should be in play here, don’t you? And nearby shopping. And golf courses. I like to golf. I don’t think I am asking for too much but my son does. Looking at chem labs is a total buzz kill when we then don’t have time to check out the botanical gardens and the student center. I need to find a neighborhood kid who needs someone to visit some New England LACs with them. My kid sucks the fun out of college visits completely. My older kids were no fun too. Both focused in on state schools early and did the visits on their own.
None of my whining is having any impact on my kid at all. Nada. This may need to backfire. I am thinking that once he has finally picked THE ONE, I begin planning my outfit for orientation. And then top it on move in day. School colors, of course. Head to toe. Payback time. I can be patient.
There is a simple solution to your problem. I bet if you go 15 miles in any direction from where you live, there is a HS without adequate college counseling, filled with ambitious first gen students who don’t know the slightest thing about visiting colleges or picking a safety. There is probably an organization or two in your own community which pairs up successful professionals with HS kids who are trying to “launch” all by themselves without any grownup help.
Your kid seems fine. But if his independence is raining on your parade, there are hundreds of kids within commuting distance of your house who would LOVE an adult to go through the college guides with them, who don’t have a single grownup in their lives who know the difference between an SAT and an ACT, or wants to talk about the difference between applying undecided or applying to be a history major.
Get cracking. Whining is pointless. Use your energy for all the kids out there who are high potential but who end up undershooting for lack of help, direction and advice. There are likely kids in your own neighborhood who will end up as ultrasound techs (not that there’s anything wrong with that) just because they didn’t get enough guidance to understand that they would be solid candidates for a wide range of better paying/higher potential health care careers- and the ultrasound program is on the bus line, and their Pell covers tuition.
@blossom. I think you missed my humor. I actually am on the board of our local non profit which pays for college counselors for the top 50 students in each of the low SES urban high schools, one of which is two miles from my son’s high school. So I don’t have to really look for those kids. I mentor a bunch of them and facilitate (aka pay for) their college visits every year.
@cypresspat , I thought it was hilarious. 
I’ve been reading your threads/posts the last few days and think you missed your calling as a writer. You need your own column. 
@1Dreamer Why, thank you! I tend to see the humor in most things. And (leaning in to whisper, cupping hand over mouth), a tiny few folks on CC kind of compel me to get extra silly. I think a few take themselves a liiiiiiiitle too seriously. Grown-ups and kiddos alike. They crack me up!
I will share your compliment with my fellow dork researchers tomorrow. They will blankly stare at me, of course, as they see little point in humor. They don’t condone such things.