<p>Thank you for posting that Graduation speech from UMW. It was marvelous. I’m passing it on. :-)</p>
<p>Congratulations all around to the graduates and to you guys as well. What a journey!
Re: music. I have found that my kids like very little of the old music I love, but also that I have come to love so much of the music that they’ve discovered. Much of the new indie music is really good, better than most of the stuff that’s played on mainstream radio.</p>
<p>Agree - great speech. My DH, who is really into music, made a conscious effort to influence our kids (when he still could) to avoid having them blast “today’s music” from their rooms. As a result, DS is definitely into good old rock n roll (loves the Beatles and is still promising to teach me all the words to Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire”). DD has more contemporary tastes, although DH has tried to influence her too (took her to see Paul McCartney once when I was on a business trip). Still, after seeing the Red Hot Chili Peppers this spring, she told DH that she wants to go with him next time. At 19. Wow. Makes me feel like we did something right (and that DH survived DD’s teen years, which wasn’t easy).</p>
<p>Two music memories stand out for me: When DS was a baby and I would bathe him, I used to sing to him Kiss’ “I want to rock and roll all night” - with coordinated splashing at the appropriate time. So much fun. I also remembering watching Shrek with DD and she couldn’t believe I knew the words to a Joan Jett song on the soundtrack (from my college days). I must say that I appreciate movie makers incorporating “our” music into kids’ movies so we could bare to sit through them a zillion times! Great marketing and great musical influence!</p>
<p>It’s also great on road trips when you can listen to (and sing together) music you both like on the radio. P.S. I always win the “guess the song/guess the artist” game when I play with DD! She is always in shock.</p>
<p>Now, I know some new music from my spin class and DH is the one in shock about the songs I know!</p>
<p>My S and H now love going to concerts together! It’s a riot that they both have the same favorite bands! The posters in my S’s room are the same bands who used to be taped up in H’s room when he was a teen. And yes, I too, always win at “guess the song/artist”! The funny part is when S asks, “How do you know this song?” and I have to remind him that it’s from “my” generation - not his (I feel very protective of this)! </p>
<p>Congrats to the hs AND college graduates and their families!! Mazel Tov to all.</p>
<p>Thanks for the graduation congrats. It’s hard to believe that I have a college graduate. Those four years really flew by. </p>
<p>D1 and I not only like the same music, we tend to order the same food in restaurants!</p>
<p>Coming back to the SAT II question for a minute- I agree with whoever said you should aim for over a 700 if possible. It probably also depends on the school, but given the specific schools that want the SAT II, I’d say its a safe bet to want those numbers in that range. If the student has just taken the subject, its not usually too difficult to get a good score on these 1 hr tests. Good luck!!</p>
<p>Except, Jym, that we are on a B student thread, not A. I tend to think of the 700’s for the A kids and 600’s or 500’s for the B kids, realistically.</p>
<p>My S2, who is definitely my B child, got a 570 in the Bio SAT II in Freshman year and he just took a practice SAT for Chem, which he will be taking for real this Saturday and only scored a 450. He has a teacher who doesn’t teach at all and as a result, these kids are floundering. It’s an honors course and his average at the moment is a B-.</p>
<p>His gc said he statistically did better on the practice ACT, than on the PSAT, although they were close. So I’m making him take as many SAT II’s as he can mainly for the practice of taking the tests. I will enroll him in an ACT prep class this coming year.</p>
<p>Ooh, oohh, oohh. Good point, chchipcookie. Apologies. My recollection, though, was that the schools that were requiring SAT IIs were schools that were going to want to see pretty strong scores:
</p>
<p>University of Delaware 2? That’s a shocker!</p>
<p>agree with jym626- the schools that require SAT II tests are looking for 700+ scores.</p>
<p>check out this list of SAT II percentile ranks. <a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;
<p>For instance, a 700 score on Math II will put your student in the 65% percentile.</p>
<p>U Delaware’s is recommended, not required. My trying to cut/paste the table didn’t work well. Here’s the original link again. It will show which require, which recommend and which will consider the SAT 2. [Compass:</a> Admissions Requirements](<a href=“SAT Subject Test Requirements and Recommendations - Compass Education Group”>SAT Subject Test Requirements and Recommendations - Compass Education Group)</p>
<p>Note too that many will accept the ACT scores in lieu of the SAT subject tests.</p>
<p>Vitrac,</p>
<p>Agree on Delaware. My d did not take subject tests. Never came up in either if her two meetings/interview with Admissions.</p>
<p>Again- it says Delaware has it as recommended. That said, though that website was updated in 2011 they say that the list may be from the entering class in 2007. Take it with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>FYI: My 2 kids at Delaware (class of 2014) never sent in their SAT 2 scores.</p>
<p>Well, well, well…I just learned something important! I’m sure it’s been talked about here before many times, but I just <em>got it</em>. So another words, because my older son was an A student and would be applying to top schools, he took SAT II’s and did score in the 700’s. But not all schools need to accept them? And the schools on my B student’s list probably don’t need them? Interesting!</p>
<p>So then it’s still good for him to take them as practice in case some of the schools will need them…but not to obsess about it since he’ll be submitting the ACT and will be applying to schools that don’t need the SAT II’s?</p>
<p>Gee whiz, I got it. A bit thick over here, but never-the-less glad I got it now! :)</p>
<p>Exactly…I do not recommend for my B students to focus/take on SAT IIs, especially if ACT is in mix…totally unncessary</p>
<p>I agree with Rodney. No need for B students to take SAT II’s unless they are incredibly strong in a subject. They’re not necessary for Delaware. I’ve seen kids get merit money and honors acceptances there without SAT II scores.</p>
<p>Hi!</p>
<p>I wanted to pass this link along:
[Planning</a> a College Visit? Readers Suggest Questions to Ask - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/planning-a-college-visit-readers-suggest-questions-to-ask/]Planning”>Planning a College Visit? Readers Suggest Questions to Ask - The New York Times)</p>
<p>It’s an article for any parents of 2013ers who are going to do summer visits. My D has said her list is complete and there will be no more visits for her, so I guess I’ll bookmark this to use for what I hope will be accepted students visits. </p>
<p>Make sure to report back on wherever you go!</p>
<p>I had called U Del’s admissions office to ask about the SAT II requirementslast year. They said they don’t require them, and that SAT IIs are only recommended for those who want to be considered for honors. However, I don’t think it is required even for honors applicants.</p>
<p>My D did not submit SAT II scores and received merit money from Delaware.</p>
<p>I am so shocked to see this much “chatter” about my SAT 2 question. I’m so happy to read all this, as I was very confused, and nobody seemed to have any answers for me, so I turned to you “CC-ers”, and look at all the thoughts, views, etc.! I guess what I am understanding is that “A” schools seem to require them, and “below A” either recommend them when submitting the SAT or allow the ACT without the SAT subject tests. I will take away from this that a score above 700 is worth submitting (even if the school does not require it), as it is helpful. Once again I thank you for your help.</p>