@DaEmmJay23 Ditto. I would love to take a dance class.
I just took my English final and now I’m literally just in the library right now. My Algebra II teacher said we could just go to the library, since we all already took and passed the SOL, making us all final exam-exempt. I have my Spanish final tomorrow and I won’t have to come back to school. My dad literally told me to SKIP SCHOOL on Friday because he doesn’t want me to just sit on my phone for 2 1/2 hours. I’m planning on going, only because of all of the photo opps that will be happening on the last day. It doesn’t even matter because my version of skipping school is going to the library instead! I am such a geek! :-B :)) I’m actually going to the library after school. School today lets out at 11:30am, it’s a half day, so I’ll be there by 12:15pm.
My grades as of right now are:
Computer Math - A - 97%
Pre-AP English 10 - A - 94%
Pre-AP World History I - B - 82%
Spanish I - A - 94%
Pre-AP Chemistry - B - 85%
Algebra II - A - 96%
HPE I - A - 92%
With all of the free time I had, I decided to make a calendar for the month of June to keep track of everything I’m doing this month.
Here’s what I’ve got:
Friday, June 17, 2016
- Read Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
- Listen to The Dragonfly Effect by Gordon Korman Audiobook (20 Minutes)
Saturday, June 18, 2016
- Do SAT Prep (1-Hour)
- Read Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
- Listen to The Dragonfly Effect by Gordon Korman Audiobook (20 Minutes)
Sunday, June 19, 2016
- Work on AP Chemistry Assignment
- Read Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
- Listen to The Dragonfly Effect by Gordon Korman Audiobook (20 Minutes)
Monday, June 20, 2016
- 1-Hour of Coding in Java
- Read Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
- Listen to The Dragonfly Effect by Gordon Korman Audiobook (20 Minutes)
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
- Read Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
- Listen to The Dragonfly Effect by Gordon Korman Audiobook (20 Minutes)
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
- 1-Hour of Coding in Java
- Read Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
- Listen to The Dragonfly Effect by Gordon Korman Audiobook (20 Minutes)
Thursday, June 23, 2016
- Read Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
- Listen to The Dragonfly Effect by Gordon Korman Audiobook (20 Minutes)
- Summer Quest Event: Outside The (Beat)box with Human Beatbox Max Bent (7:00pm – 8:00pm)
Friday, June 24, 2016
- Work on AP Chemistry Assignment
- Read Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
- Listen to The Dragonfly Effect by Gordon Korman Audiobook (20 Minutes)
Saturday, June 25, 2016
- Summer Quest Volunteer Shift (12pm – 3pm) (3-Hours)
- Do ACT Prep (1-Hour)
- Read Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
- Listen to The Dragonfly Effect by Gordon Korman Audiobook (20 Minutes)
Sunday, June 26, 2016
- Work on AP Chemistry Assignment
- Read Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
- Listen to The Dragonfly Effect by Gordon Korman Audiobook (20 Minutes)
Monday, June 27, 2016
- Summer School (7:30am – 12:40pm)
- 45 Minutes of Coding in Java
- Read Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
- Listen to The Dragonfly Effect by Gordon Korman Audiobook (15 Minutes)
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
- Summer School (7:30am – 12:40pm)
- Read Half Bad by Sally Green
- Listen to The Dragonfly Effect by Gordon Korman Audiobook (15 Minutes)
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
- Summer School (7:30am – 12:40pm)
- Summer Quest Event: Breakdancing Demonstration with Urban Evolution (2:00pm – 3:00pm)
- Read Half Bad by Sally Green
- Listen to The Dragonfly Effect by Gordon Korman Audiobook (15 Minutes)
Thursday, June 30, 2016
- Summer School (7:30am – 12:40pm)
- Read Half Bad by Sally Green
- Listen to The Dragonfly Effect by Gordon Korman Audiobook (15 Minutes)
- 45 Minutes of Coding in Java
Do this seem like a good amount of work? I’m planning to have at least two hours of coding time a week. Is one hour of SAT/ACT prep time a week enough? If you guys have any questions about my schedule, feel free to ask!
I got a 710 on my SAT subject test for I.S history! Not terrible I suppose…
@DancingwithStars Good job on your score!
@ak2018 I should definitely make a calendar!! I feel like I waste time doing irrelevant things.
Apparently none of my requested schedules worked :(( so now I’m stuck with this
AP Calc AB/BC (daily)
AP Lang
AP Physics 1
H World History
H Contemporary Voices (1 semester)
H Comp Sci Java Programming (1semster)
Algebra 2 in-class tutor
AP Study Hall (required)
I’m kinda upset because two of my classes out of 8 aren’t worth credit or go towards my GPA, so I might seem like a slacker to colleges.
What is AP study hall? @DaEmmJay23
@apple1893 it’s not an actual AP class, it’s just a study hall students must take if they have over 3 APs, and I have 4, so I am required to take it to keep me from doing homework until 12 am everyday
@bubblylaugh I get you with the extracurricular activities. It’s been pretty hard finding things I enjoy and that are worth mentioning on a college application. I’m so jealous of people that are passionate about a certain activity and have been dedicating themselves to it since childhood. I enjoy volunteering, but it’s kind of one of those things that everyone does. I need to find something that sets me apart from others.
I got a 26 on the ACT and my goal is 33, so yeah, I probably should save some time for that during the 2nd semester (unless I end up taking it in December?)
I just decided it would be the best thing to take the SAT2 for US H instead of World. This would allow me to have a practice run in June and retakes in October of the next school year. I would also know by then if I was more comfortable with taking the Chem or Physics subject test and could use the whole summer to raise any of my scores. I want to take the SAT this Fall/Winter and my school pays for us to take the ACT Spring of Junior year, so I’m taken care of in that aspect. If scores for both tests fall short of my personal goals, whichever one I scored higher on is the one I retake. That would mean either the SAT in March/May or the ACT in June/September. So much to do and so little time!!! I just had to make a schedule, so I would force myself to commit to these tests because if I miss one possible date then I have little flexibility for anything else.
How does the ACT compare to the SAT? Which is easier/cheaper?
I do not know about price but do whichever one suits to your strengths both can be different for every person.
I’m done with all my finals! I got a 73/75 on both my engineering and spanish one and i’m still waiting on my bio score. Tommorows a half day and im going but only because I’m going to hang out at a friend’s house afterwards. Also, i played cards against humanity with my math teacher today which was hilarious. Im so so glad to be done with schoolwork for the year!
@DancingwithStars Take an ACT practice test and SAT practice test and see which one feels easier. I think the new SAT is more generous than the ACT w/ time limits. Some colleges don’t require subject tests if you take the ACT instead of the SAT(out of those that even ask for SAT2s, which is miniscule), so taking one test would be cheaper than 3 or 4. With the SATs redesign, I feel like it’s easier overall, but the scoring range is more unfamiliar. Khan Academy has amazing resources for the SAT though w/ instant feedback for questions/practice exams free. I think the ACT might be in trouble because of that. The ACT has more practice tests available, but that could change too.
@neptuna Same! I am having some trouble finding extracurricular activities that are unique. I feel like am doing what everyone else is doing.
@apple1893 Thank you so much!
@ak2018 I’ve just been busy with work, I’ve been attending a lot of castings so my life is busyyy. Not to mention, I had a lot of track meets that I (didn’t) go to hahaha. I’ll probably do a few in the summer. And I start my first final tomorrow.
@Cookiesandcreme Then don’t find one, make it for yourself. I helped start up our school’s gsa (wasn’t easy w/ the old principal cause he was a *****) and want to start a cs club w/ outreach to elementary students who wouldn’t be introduced to the subject otherwise. Little kids are so cute!!! :(( Not sure, but I also want our school to have a club for students who are politically/culturally aware of minority-specific issues and want to change their community to make it more inclusive for all students, parents, and community members. You have the power to make opportunities for yourself. Sometimes they aren’t waiting for you on the kitchen table.
@Cookiesandcreme You really should! It helps to keep organized.
@neptuna @bubblylaugh @Cookiesandcreme While volunteering is something that is very commonly seen on a lot of applications, you should not only want to volunteer just to use it for your application. There was actually a discussion I saw on CC a while back about how many students are starting to volunteer not out of the kindness of their hearts, but just to gain community service hours for IB or for college applications. It’s kind of like what @Hamlon said about her school’s National Honor Society. You just see a lot of people there who are just volunteering for personal gain. I mean, if volunteering truly did nothing to help your application, would clubs such as The Key Club and The National Honor Society still have as many members as it does today? There was once a time when I volunteered more for personal gain, back in middle school when I needed IB community service hours. One of my teachers had started a “Pay It Forward” Club, based on the movie Pay It Forward, and we went to a homeless shelter and that’s when I “saw the light”. Those people truly needed help and that experience made me see past volunteering for personal gain, but instead to volunteer with true passion for the cause. Before our trip to the homeless shelter, we had spent a good two hours making food for them. Once we got there, we all ate the food together. It was quite the life-changing experience.
Back to what I was saying, if you want to volunteer, go for it! But think about all the people you’re helping, rather than thinking about how this will help you on your application. I’m actually going to be volunteering at my local library as a 4th year-returnee and will not really be gaining anything of personal gain, except, I guess, work experience. I can’t even use this as community service hours because I’m only allowed to do 20 non-Biotechnology-focused hours, which I fulfilled last summer with volunteering at the library. Other than that, I could put it on my application, but that’ll be a year from October or so. Anyways, just my two cents.
@snowfairy137 Were you taking a non-PLTW class? What was it? Congrats on your final grade though! Also, have you thought about anyway to get a Robotics class into your schedule somehow?
@averagebean Do you mean “castings” as in for acting roles?! Also, my last final, Spanish, is tomorrow. Good luck with your finals!