<p>Washdad-- I think that’s great.It is wonderful when these smart kids who don’t always measure up when measured by high school <em>standards</em> can finally find someone/someplace who appreciates their ingenuity . Yes celebrate!</p>
<p>Bear in mind too, that a lot of kids develp a certain “maturity” the minute they step on a college campus (I know I did). For the first time they are treated as adults by the community and have a sense of responsibility and take pride in that. SOme of the smarter kids have a disdain for being treated like “babies” in high school and it is reflected in their production level. Don’t be surprised if all of a sudden your son “gets it” when he goes off to college.</p>
<p>washdad - thanks so much for posting this 
</p>
<p>from what i’m seeing now that i have a son in middle school…homework is key to grades. son is a good tester too…but the homework can be a challenge for him.
an online system through the school is helping us stay on top of the homework situation…and i feel it’s making a difference. we can check to see not only if the homework has been turned in on time but also the grade received. this is a tremendous help to parents and students. i hope more and more families will have access to something like this. son doesn’t seem to mind…i think he appreciates it that we are involved and he understands that we are all trying to work together to help him to succeed. i’m seeing him take a more mature attitude towards homework than in the past so i’m pleased …but i feel like we may have to continue to be diligent. again, i’m thankful to the school for implementing the online system.</p>
<p>thanks again :)</p>
<p>Here’s my small parent victory. S, who has the capacity for both enthusiasm and intellect, has shown no enthusiasm for the intellectual. Since about the age of 10. However, he went to CTY last summer and found he loved it. One small step, on the other hand, it involved being in Hawaii:). The other day I emailed him the link to TASP. He actually looked at it and said “looks cool” (he doesn’t believe in full sentences…). A bigger step.</p>
<p>It’s not about his actually getting in. That’s unlikely. It’s that he didn’t dismiss it, that he showed some enthusiasm. We parents take what we can get.</p>
<p>WashDad, have you looked at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)?</p>
<p>I think I’ve read trip reports describing some pretty cool things going on at that campus, and it is not as competitive to get into as Olin or MIT.</p>
<p>MIT doesn’t seem to really care that much about grades. Standardized tests matter more, and really enjoying engineering and other nerdy stuff matters the most. (My son is at MIT, and if grades had mattered, he wouldn’t be… but his love of messing around with robots got him in. That and SATs not as good as your son’s. As was said above, Olin is harder to get into than MIT.)</p>
<p>Another good school that might not be on your son’s radar is RPI. My husband went there.</p>
<p>OK, OK, OK! You talked me into it, and then I talked him into it. Junior just emailed his interview request to the area interviewer for MIT. (After I dinged my credit card…) Thank you all for your incredible support, including the small deluge of private messages. You are all looking pretty good right now…</p>
<p>(Do you think it will help that he wears nothing but aloha shirts, all the time? Including working out and running? And that he found polyester aloha shirts to wear backpacking? This sartorial splendor has to be good for something, right?)</p>
<p>WashDad: my son not only wore nothing but aloha shirts until he went to MIT, he still mostly wears aloha shirts… under a sweater, which looks really weird in Boston. (We are also in King County; it may be a plus.)</p>