and you thought picking a pre school was hard

Because my oldest son thought he knew it all, he made 2 mistakes in the last year.

1.He failed a quarter of US History because he didn't turn in the take home work he had to complete while we were on vacation last year, and

2.He missed, by 20 points, the cut off for a couple very good universities on the math section of the SAT. THEN didn't get up the day in May he was scheduled to take it again.

He has since remedied no 1 by dating his History teacher's sister. kidding, actually he won't even be his teacher this year. And no 2, well he has to take the SAT in October again, but unfortunately he really needs to apply before then. Now, he is looking at probably not getting into his first choice of schools (Pitt).

So guess what we did this weekend? Made a list of schools. Ten places my oldest feels will be acceptable to give him the knowledge he needs to succeed in life. Plus I think the hotness of the girls on the brochure factored in some as well.

This task was not as simple as it sounds, seeing as at one juncture I almost threw the 6 inch, 5 pound, US News and World Report Ultimate College Guide at him. If I wasn't so weak from arguing I may have given it a go.

How do you pick a college? I mean really, sure we all have dreams of Ivy League eduacated children...FULL scholarship Ivy League eduacted, I should say. But in reality there are so many schools to choose from. How do you pick a place where you will drive your child, and drop him off on Saturday in August, with his belongings to fend for himself? I gotta tell you..it's HARD. We compromised by choosing schools (with one exception) that were within a 3 hour drive from home. Close enough to visit alot, far enough to let him be on his own. But who is to say he's ready? He was looking for cool campuses, varied food choices and coed dorms. I am searching for bloodshot eyes (or lack thereof), lighted parking lots, lots of cell service, and girls with morals.

I am praying we picked the right ones....he chose 5 we know he will get into
Slippery Rock, Gannon, Marshall, Cal University of PA, and Dayton University. And 5 that he is going to have to BS his way into...Pitt, Penn State, State University of NY at Albany (my family is in Albany so I made a concession), Temple and U of Maryland. Now he could be accepted to a satelite campus for any of those schools (except Temple I think), but his goal is Main.

So, the work begins, there are millions of dollars in app fees to pay, essays to force him to write, and a math section on the SAT to conquer. All this out of a kid who would be content to lay on the couch and play Madden the rest of his life. I have quite a road ahead. If a really handsome 17 yr old is seen wandering the streets you will know why.