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The U of CO is known as a ski bum school and also as a good engineering school. It'd be tough to do both, but one could certainly spend ONE day a weekend skiing. It only takes a couple hours to get to the big-time slopes, and Eldora is about a half-hour away.
My friend's sons majored in engineering at another Colorado school that is not on the OP's list but is highly rated, Colorado School of Mines. Several years, they managed to arrange their schedules so that they had no classes one day a week, and went skiing then. Weekday skiing is much better, far less crowded.
I think CU's main requirement for out of state students is ability to pay the bill.
Thank you Katiana - that's what he's looking for - ski bum + engineering... Is this U of CO - Boulder with the good engineering program? I think this was top on his list. I do not think Denver has a ski team for his events.
Does CU refer to Boulder? Trying to keep all the CA and CO colleges straight!
I have also heard excellent things about Colorado School of Mines, but do not think they have a team. However, this is a growing sport that seems to be adding college programs.
Currently, he needs to only compete in 3-4 natl. ski events a year to qualify for nationals. I have no idea what the college team time commitment is, since it is at the club level it may be minimal (e.g. 1-2 days a week commitment).
Thank you Katiana - that's what he's looking for - ski bum + engineering... Is this U of CO - Boulder with the good engineering program? I think this was top on his list. I do not think Denver has a ski team for his events.
Does CU refer to Boulder? Trying to keep all the CA and CO colleges straight!
I have also heard excellent things about Colorado School of Mines, but do not think they have a team. However, this is a growing sport that seems to be adding college programs.
Currently, he needs to only compete in 3-4 natl. ski events a year to qualify for nationals. I have no idea what the college team time commitment is, since it is at the club level it may be minimal (e.g. 1-2 days a week commitment).
Yes, the U of CO Boulder is the school with the good engineering programs. CU refers to Boulder. There is also CU-Denver (or UCD) and UCCS (University of Colorado-Colorado Springs). Colorado School of Mines might have club skiing.
As Katiana mentioned, CU Boulder has a very good engineering program. I will also chime in though that I think it would be really tough to be on a traveling ski team and do engineering. Maybe it depends on the type of engineering.
My son is a sophomore at CU Boulder in aerospace engineering. He is already deeply immersed in engineering classes. It is not something that doesn't start until junior year. He seems to study 24/7 sometimes. And if not studying he's over on campus with the lab group. Two classes have labs this semester.
My son used to race wih he ski team out of Eldorado years ago and I know the commitment and dedication it takes for sure. It's great your son has goals already. He might want to reach out to some schools and ask questions.
Thanks for your response. He is still an 8th grader with unweighted GPA. I think he has received A's in all his core courses (but B's in cooking, art, etc.) - not even sure what his cumulative GPA is because it doesn't really matter yet (I think it is 3.5 -3.6).
Thanks, yes he is an 8th grader. Sorry if that was not clear. He is starting to think about colleges/majors and has been looking online at schools (which is how he came up with his "list"). He also talked to a lot of college kids this summer (many from Cali) at various ski camps. As I mentioned, he wants to head west to ski and study engineering at this point - he is very driven by this idea.
'driven' and '8th grader' are not really terms that go together.
You are just massively too early. Give him time to change his mind, he's going to.
'driven' and '8th grader' are not really terms that go together.
You are just massively too early. Give him time to change his mind, he's going to.
That's not necessarily true and I think it's great that he's thinking of these things!
Our son knew he wanted to do aerospace engineering I would say early middle school. He never wavered. He also knew where he wanted to go to school at. Part of that was because we live close to the campus and he would train over there during the summer for his ski team stuff. He would see the ski team when they would go up to train. He fell in love with that campus and it has a great program in what he wanted to do.
A broken leg during a race pretty much ended his ski racing but he was still driven to go to that school. He knew from researching online what he would need to do in high school to try and get automatic acceptance into the program. He met with counselors at the school when he was a sophomore in high school to get advice.
OP, yes your son might change his mind. But he might not. And knowing what he wants to do early on is nothing but a good thing. I know it helped keep my son focused. I think it's great that he's looking now and thinking about these things. If he wants something bad enough he will work hard to get there.
That's not necessarily true and I think it's great that he's thinking of these things!
Our son knew he wanted to do aerospace engineering I would say early middle school. He never wavered. He also knew where he wanted to go to school at. Part of that was because we live close to the campus and he would train over there during the summer for his ski team stuff. He would see the ski team when they would go up to train. He fell in love with that campus and it has a great program in what he wanted to do.
A broken leg during a race pretty much ended his ski racing but he was still driven to go to that school. He knew from researching online what he would need to do in high school to try and get automatic acceptance into the program. He met with counselors at the school when he was a sophomore in high school to get advice.
OP, yes your son might change his mind. But he might not. And knowing what he wants to do early on is nothing but a good thing. I know it helped keep my son focused. I think it's great that he's looking now and thinking about these things. If he wants something bad enough he will work hard to get there.
Thank you Jkcoop, Your insight is valuable and I could not agree more with your opinions.... FWIW, my SO decided to be an engineer in middle school (even knew he wanted to go on to an MBA), and attend a particular well-regarded engineering/business school, and that is exactly what he ended up doing.
I also have a cousin who told us in 6th grade he wanted to be a heart surgeon and attend Pitt in PA. He is now a successful heart surgeon in NYC, after graduating summa cumlaude from Pitt Medical School. He spent all 4 years of high school volunteering at the local hospital - in the cardiology dept.
My SO and cousin were lucky to know what they wanted to do at a younger age (I was completely opposite) and were able to position themselves in High School (like your son) so that they had the better chances of reaching their goals.
This is the type of person my son seems to be. He knows what he loves - math, designing/building/robotics, business/making money, the mountains, and skiing. He is visualizing the life he wants in 10+ years. His parents are here to support whatever direction he takes, based on what he loves to do. However, if he completely changes direction, that is fine also - and he knows this (no pressure).
I think it can be a mistake to think one is exploring things "too early" and not setting flexible goals to focus upon. It is a journey. It may even be more stressful to just begin thinking about these things, say, Junior year of High School. There are many benefits to early explorations and preparation. However, it would be a mistake to lock into something early (school, major) without being flexible/open to any change in direction/goals.
I believe CU-Boulder is currently #1 on his list. He just told me he has been following them on Instagram for awhile, and that he already knew they had a good engineering school - LOL, what do I know? I would love to hear more about your son's experiences with this school/engineering program and may want to pick your brain in the future, if you don't mind. Your son sounds so similar to mine.
We will continue to look at the school's requirements and maybe even arrange a future visit. I wonder if Boulder has summer ski camps open to the public - I'll look into that. He does not know yet which engineering degree he wants to pursue. He has mentioned mechanical engineering and civil engineering - but that could change.
That's not necessarily true and I think it's great that he's thinking of these things!
Our son knew he wanted to do aerospace engineering I would say early middle school. He never wavered. He also knew where he wanted to go to school at. Part of that was because we live close to the campus and he would train over there during the summer for his ski team stuff. He would see the ski team when they would go up to train. He fell in love with that campus and it has a great program in what he wanted to do.
A broken leg during a race pretty much ended his ski racing but he was still driven to go to that school. He knew from researching online what he would need to do in high school to try and get automatic acceptance into the program. He met with counselors at the school when he was a sophomore in high school to get advice.
OP, yes your son might change his mind. But he might not. And knowing what he wants to do early on is nothing but a good thing. I know it helped keep my son focused. I think it's great that he's looking now and thinking about these things. If he wants something bad enough he will work hard to get there.
Glad you think that. I think the OP is massively helicoptering.
Glad you think that. I think the OP is massively helicoptering.
Well, since you brought it up, I completely disagree with both your opinions that:
1) 8th graders are incapable of being driven (maybe just the 8th graders you know?). I don't have such low expectations of kids - they continue to impress me.
2) A parent's support of their child's beginning research on schools, programs, etc. means they are "massively helicoptering."
You have little background information (other than a few posts) on my particular child or my parenting style to come to the erroneous conclusions that 1.) the child is incapable of drive and 2.) there is "massive helicoptering."
I'd say a parent who allows her 12 y.o. to board a plane by himself, to fly acrosss the country to somewhere he's never been, where he knows no one, in order to flip off a 60 foot ski jump is kind of the antithesis of "helicoptering," don't ya think? (unless you count the helicopter it takes to get to heli-skis runs, which in that case - Yes, I am helicoptering my child!).
I am curious what your educational/professional background is, if you care to share. I suspect the previous poster with the successful engineering student, my cousin who is the successful heart surgeon, my MIL with kids who are successful engineers, business owners, and musicians would disagree with you - as all these people (who set some college goals in middle school) now seem very happy and successful. They were likely given unconditional support and guidance from their parents, whatever their direction.
Having the foresight, aptitude, and resources to support your child's dreams and direction (whatever it may be) is not "massive helicoptering" - just good parenting. Wish more kids were so lucky. Thinking this kind of love/guidance is "helicoptering" and an 8th grader is completely incapable of drive or even beginning to think about college, is a big problem IMO. So glad my parents were not like that. I owe a lot of my success to that kind of love/support/guidance and can only hope I support my children in a similar way.
Rather than just judging my child/parenting style, feel free to also answer the original question in my OP regarding the particular schools.
Last edited by GoCUBS1; 11-03-2013 at 01:50 PM..
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