Today was my first day of school and it was incredibly stressful. I got my schedule this morning (we never get them more than a day in advance). My first three years I really had no scheduling complaints – I got all of the classes I needed, and I never had a teacher bad enough to cause me to transfer out. This year was very different. I requested AP Lit, AP US Gov, AP Econ (Macro + Micro in one class), AP Stat & AP Psych. I live in NY, where you need a semester of both gov & econ to graduate, so you typically have to take both AP Gov & AP Econ if you want to take one or the other because if you don’t, you won’t have the credits necessary. When I received my program, I had AP Lit, AP Econ & AP Stat, but no AP Psych or AP US Gov, and I was given English 11 and regular Gov instead. It turns out that, for the first time this year, there is only one section of AP Gov, which happens to be taught at the same time as AP Lit.
I was able to sneak into the guidance counselor during a free period, and I pretty immediately got English 11 swapped for AP Psych, so I was good on that front, and though I don’t have AP Gov, I was relatively happy with my schedule. However, I’m afraid that they’re going to take me out of AP Econ because it’s a bit over capacity and, though I have the graduation requirements because I’m enrolled in regular government, I don’t have AP Gov. My other option would be to transfer out of AP Lit and keep both AP US Gov and AP Econ, but writing is my thing and my teacher would be heartbroken. At the same time, I love the humanities and was really excited for both AP Gov & Econ, and sacrificing two APs to take AP Lit scares me. A bunch of kids in AP Lit have the same dilemma, and since AP Lit is a really small class to begin with, I’m afraid it may get canceled altogether if people start dropping it to take AP Gov. I really like my AP Econ teacher (who incidentally happens to be my non-AP Gov teacher), and he told me that he really hopes I can stay in his class. If I am forced to leave, he wants me to audit the class without receiving credit for it so that I can take the AP exam in May. I hope that, if it comes down to this, my guidance counselor will be able to explain my relatively light senior course load in the context of these restrictions…
I just had an interview in front of the GS council. I was really nervous and stumbled quite a bit… But I was able to answer all of their questions, so I really hope I passed!
@arinuma My interview was not what I expected. When I arrived, there was a dude ahead of me so I thought I would be waiting a while. 10 minutes later he’s out the door and it’s my turn to go. My interview was only 10 minutes too. I’m a little worried now because I thought it was common to have interviews that were at least 30-45 minutes. I talked about myself, but I think he’s basing most of his interview letter off my resume.
Guess who’s back from a hecking long hiatus??? Me!!!
Quick updates from when I was last here (who knows when that was. it’s been too long):
I got a 1370 on the SAT first try (670 M, 700 R). I’m retaking it in November to try to get a 1500.
I kinda bombed my SAT subject tests in June (620 Math II, 650 Biology E, 660 USH). I’m retaking Math II and will be taking Biology E and/or Physics as well.
SSP was amazing! It was by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it was such a great experience that will literally change my life. Because of that program I think I might have a chance at some top schools (mainly Caltech and MIT). Someone from MIT admissions came and spoke to us on open house day which was very nice.
My classes this year: AP French, AP Literature, AP Calculus AB, AP Physics C (both mech and e&m), Honors Band.
My college list at the moment:
Safeties:
UMaine
University of Colorado - Boulder
Matches:
McGill
BU
CWRU or Reed (trying to decide between the two)
Reaches:
MIT
Caltech
Harvard
Princeton
Dartmouth (mom wants me to apply there)
I’m only applying to UMaine, Colorado - Boulder, and CWRU or Reed EA. The rest I’m applying to RD.
I’m applying to mainly reach schools because I don’t want to go to my state school. I’m already guaranteed $11k/year merit scholarships and I am doing work at the school already, but the school isn’t a good fit for me (my mom thinks that too but wants me to highly consider it because it’s a financial safety).
I’m also trying to get fee waivers for my apps, so if any of you have advice on that it’d be great. I’m really confused.
@Hamlon@arinuma I might do my MIT interview already even though the deadline for me isn’t until December 10. My interviewer is a state legislator, so I think it would be good to do my interview before legislature is in full swing.
My classes are kicking my butt so far (I’ve gotten 60% on 3 quizzes this week), but it was only the first week. I’m going to work harder since I want to get all As in my classes this semester.
@Hamlon mine was two hours long, I’ve got both a good feeling and a funky one if I think too long. Half of the stuff that I mentioned- Questbridge, MOSTEC, Girl Up- he didn’t know them. Wrote them down and asked questions about it. I was a bit reserved and quiet. Downplayed my achievements which is a bit of a head banger. But he offered to let me work in his lab next semester! So he must have liked me some.
@frazzledazzle that is very overwhelming. State legislator?
They put class rankings up and somehow I’m first…! Wow. I don’t know if I can keep it but I’ll try… My class all thought the previous #1 was a whole point ahead since she transfered from a different school, so it was a little shocking today.
Tbh class ranking isn’t too important to me, and I know it won’t really help with college admissions… But I’m trying to keep it a secret until graduation, so my parents will either not notice if I drop down or be surprised when they see it ^^;
Now it will be a battle against this bout of senioritis I caught recently…
I am happy to say my Doge 4 Family House fundraiser raised its goal of approx. $3,000! Could not have done this without the help of volunteers and the generosity of donators It is great supporting an amazing cause by the Family House organization: provide temporary housing to families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at UCSF Benioff’s Children Hospital in San Francisco, California.
If anyone wants to see the website, it’s the first link when searching “doge4familyhouse” on Google.
I took the ACT at the same testing location where I had an inappropriate proctor in June. I think my report kinda helped out in a way? Every room had THREE clocks instead of the usual broken one or none at all. My proctor was really nice too. And the test was free so that’s a plus.
My predictions are pretty optimistic which is rare for me. I normally expect the worst so I’m not disappointed.
33-34 English: thank you magoosh, and the 2-3 freebie questions testing “it’s vs. its”
31-32 Math: The first half was very similar to past June tests from 2017 and 2016! The second half was rough.
33-35 Reading
28-29 Science: I messed up on my timing and had to guess on a few I got too wrapped up in solving a set of problems for a passage when I should’ve skipped to the next one.
Hoping I finally get 32+. At least that was my last ACT ever!
@snowfairy137 I’m the opposite. I am --dreading-- these standardized tests, but I love doing my college essays; it’s great talking about what I’ve done
It’s also one part of admissions in the US that I really like that admissions here in Canada don’t. US admissions look at who you are as a person, while Canadian (and probably the rest of the world) admissions only look at your grades. Even scholarships here are almost only given out for sports or volunteer work, and not anything else.
AP Comp Sci A is going really well. I though the work would be hard, but I guess my prior coding knowledge is really coming in handy. I’m currently at a 99% in the class. Also, I just applied to the CMU Fly-in the only one I’ll probably get into.
I was going to sign up for the SAT for October, but I’m going to visit colleges out of state and out of country that weekend. Now I’m retaking it in November. Good because I have more time to study, not-so-good because I won’t be able to take it another time before RD deadlines (I’m retaking subject tests in December).
I just finished my first draft for my common app essay! I kept pushing it off because I couldn’t find a good topic, and once I did, I was scared that it wouldn’t sound good when I put it on paper. But I finally forced myself to just start writing, and I like the way it turned out. I’m going to wait a couple of days before coming back to it to edit.
I made a complete checklist for when I want my applications submitted by and the actual due dates. I’ve been so busy so far this semester with applications and college classes, but it’s nice. It’s also good to know that it’s going to calm down a little second semester.
I took the ACT this morning. Not sure how I feel about it, but I’m hoping I get a 33. I just need that extra point.
I also scheduled my USC interview. It’s still my top choice, but I probably won’t get in, and if I do, it’ll be too expensive. But I can dream, right?
Hey all, I’m a 2018 grad (just like all of you) and here’s my schedule:
AP Art History
DE College Algebra + DE Elementary Statistics (3 credit hours apiece)
AP English Literature
DE Personal Finance + DE Intro to Business (3 credit hours apiece)
AP Chemistry
AP US Government (online)
AP Macroeconomics (online)
I also plan on taking additional dual enrollment courses through Blackboard second semester to work towards my AA (I will have at least 44 college credits for all of my prospective colleges (not planning on going OOS) not counting the 5 AP exams I will be taking or any dual enrollment class for 2nd semester that I have not listed already). Last year, I did manage to get all As and 1 B+ 1st semester (the B+ was in DE US History I) and all As second semester, but I put in what I feel like was too much effort. I was so paranoid that I would go to these crazy Saturday morning study sessions for extra credit, when I would have still ended up with an A otherwise. I’m also really pissed at my school because they stopped offering Spanish IV. I want to major in Spanish in college and I already took 3 years and loved it. Unfortunately, most of the other kids in my Spanish III class hated it and I and this one other kid were the only ones who wanted to go to Spanish IV this year, so they scrapped it entirely.
In terms of grades, here’s where I’m at right now
AP Art History - 88 (lol we had 2 tests before we even got the book rip)
College Algebra - 103 (2 quiz grades and 1 test, homework is extra credit and classwork combined is a quiz grade)
AP English Lit - 100 (only the syllabus is in the computer)
Personal Finance - ??? (it’s not even on my online schedule rn)
AP Chem - ??? (nothing is in even though we’ve had a lab safety test, a lab equipment quiz, and several homework assignments)
AP Government - 96
AP Macro - 89.7=90 - (and it’s been dropping recently; pls send help)
Keep in mind that school started almost a month ago for me. Also, we have had an impromptu 6 day (and growing!) weekend due to the hurricane, and I have an AP Chem test Thursday, a College Algebra test the day after we get back (whenever that is) and a third AP Art History test (we finally have the book). I also have two AP Chem lab write-ups due the day we go back to school.
Currently, I’m trying my hardest to not freak out over college apps. So far, I’m looking at UF (reach), FSU (match?), and UNF (match). My GPA is actually above the 75th percentile for UF (4.4ish UF GPA), but my ECs are trash, so I’m not expecting an acceptance from them. I’m currently in the process of entering my applications online via coalition, but I haven’t started the essays or anything.
@r2v2018 Hey another Florida resident, welcome to the thread! There’s no school until next week Monday if you live in Broward or Miami-Dade. I think you have a chance with UF given your GPA and assuming your ACT/SAT score is good.
I lost power for two and a half days and it was brutal. Because of that, I haven’t really been able to study for the ACT like I’ve wanted to but I’ll have tons of time now that there’s no school until Monday. The fact that my ACT test center will most likely reschedule for next week Saturday worries me. I won’t be able to have my scores on time to determine if I want to pay for the October ACT. I probably will pay for it anyway to just be safe, but those expenses are going to add up. Will universities be generous to extend deadlines to Harvey and Irma victims given our circumstances?
It is great supporting an amazing cause by the Family House organization: provide temporary housing to families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at UCSF Benioff’s Children Hospital in San Francisco, California.
I got too wrapped up in solving a set of problems for a passage when I should’ve skipped to the next one.