<p>"Ever considered that others might have experiences different from your own and your children? And perhaps opinions that are based on more than a N of 1?</p>
<p>Have you considered that there are students who do plan their full curriculum of HS and believe that APs are important? Have you considered that there are students who see the SAT as a bit more important than you do, and perhaps hope their scores might help them look beyond SAT-optional schools?"</p>
<p>I would love to hear what your child’s PSAT/SAT prep was and their high school curriculum plan - so share away. I am all ears. </p>
<p>This board is for people who are seeking information about the getting into college process. I am sharing what worked for my kid. If someone else can relate to that and think it might be a good path for their kid - that’s great. If someone thinks differently - that is fine, too. No one is telling anyone their way of doing things is better than anyone else’s - except you. For some reason you think you know everything, think you are smarter than everyone else and your way is the right way. </p>
<p>“As others have said, if you care about merit scholarships, the PSAT could get you a lot.”</p>
<p>Yes, it can, and if that is important to some one or their parents then they should do what they think they need to do to get a high score on the PSAT. </p>
<p>My kid obviously didn’t have scores anywhere near the cut-off, but even still he got merit awards of as much as $30K a year - so one can still get significant merit $ without being NMS. </p>
<p>I read some of the posts and laughed. In my case, I asked my kid what he wants to become. “I don’t know.” That was 2 years ago. Nothing said after that. Asked again this summer. “Engineering.” Why Engineering? “Because I am good at Math and Science.” What kind of Engineering? “I don’t know.” Would you like to take a summer course that gives you exposure to various disciplines in Engineering? “No.” I am an engineer and I explained the best I could. So, this isn’t about what parents wants. This is about guiding the kid at an important time in his life. Sitting around for hours a day on youtube isn’t productive. Get off that *** and be active. Take up a sport, go volunteer, read a book, etc. I am baffled by parents who are baffled by a parent speaking the truth.</p>
<p>As for the Fairtest list, not all schools are test optional. They expect certain GPA or rank to not provide test scores. To my eye, these schools are test optional with conditions.</p>
<p>What prep has your kid done for his/her PSAT/SAT and what high school curriculum are they taking. </p>
<p>And you were the one who said this:</p>
<p>“However, I could not disagree more about avoiding the PSAT in the 10th grade and wait until its official version in the Fall of the Junior year. By all accounts, that is both too late and a … huge mistake.”</p>
<p>By all accounts? Whose accounts would that be? </p>
<p>You and Cobrat have more in common then you think. </p>
<p>It’s not all about scores. All the convoluting on CC abut improving scores too often misses the point.<br>
But I’ll assume xiggi’ position is for kids who do want to improve.</p>
<p>Paid test prep and a tutor didn’t help my kids improve their scores. We matched them in other ways and they did fine with the colleges, graduated and are starting to be productive.</p>
<p>Nothing is simple with kids. Certainly not linear. They grow in spurts and tend to want very much to feel their decisions are their own. We can use that to our advantage, if we’re clever and have the energy. Clever. Not hounding.</p>
<p>HFA, I don’t think your kid is unusual. There is a lot of inertia with teenaged boys. They will grow into the couch if you let them. The ones who are out doing things on their own are the exceptional ones, as blossom said. But that is not to say they will fail if you don’t constantly nag them and/or plan out their futures. Some of them just develop more slowly than others. I think it is a delicate balance between letting them grow on their own and giving them the appropriate nudge. </p>
<p>I have two boys. It does drive me absolutely crazy when they stay up until three and then sleep until noon. Ask them what they did all night and they say “nothing.” But they do get their school work done and they are involved with sports and music and other activities. Like your son, they make good grades. The compromise I strike is to give them a few days of sloth, but then tell them they have to be doing something productive, whether it is working, practicing a sport, volunteering. Like a lot of parents, I am trying to move the locus of control from me to them. I stopped waking them up for class. Somebody gets a tardy, not my problem. I stopped talking to teachers or counselors, gradually; they have to advocate for themselves. </p>
<p>Sometimes my plan doesn’t lead to the optimal outcome. Neither kid prepped for the PSAT. I didn’t nag or set a study schedule. One kid did well anyway, the other not so much. The kid who didn’t do as well DID wake up in time to prep for the SAT and did very well. Some kids have to go through the experience on their own, make their own mistakes, to figure out what to do. </p>
<p>@Lizardly, my kid has learning disabilities. I think he is mentally a couple of years behind compared to his 16 year chronological age. I had given thought to gap year, etc to let him grow. I am in no hurry to see him off to college. The problem I have is how to figure out what is best for him. Gap year, jump right in and hoping he grows up, etc. I had considered 2 years at a community college if he fails at ACT and can’t get admission to a decent university. And then transfer the credits to finish up B.S in Engineering like he wants to.</p>
<p>One possible explanation is they’re trying to maintain a sense of independence and “maneuvering room” regarding their own activities to give parents the minimum possible information that could be used to nag or to push them. </p>
<p>It’s something I commonly did to my own parents during junior high/high school and many other friends and HS classmates during their middle-high school years did the same. </p>
<p>Parents of unmotivated kids always hope that if they get behind the kid and shove hard enough from an early age, eventually the kid will develop some momentum that will carry them forward on their own. What I wonder is how often that works, and how often it just leads to resentment and bad feelings? Anyone here have personal experience with this situation?</p>
<p>When I was in late HS/early college, had an annoying aunt who kept bugging me to consider majoring in pre-med and go to med school because she felt I was “smart”. </p>
<p>She stopped once I retorted that I’ll take her up on her offer provided she paid for med school and all the inevitable malpractice suits I may incur once I start practicing. She never brought it up again. :D</p>
<p>“As for the Fairtest list, not all schools are test optional. They expect certain GPA or rank to not provide test scores. To my eye, these schools are test optional with conditions.”</p>
<p>Some of the more competitive schools on the list do expect a minimum of a 3.5 GPA, but HF your son clearly exceeds that threshold with his 3.8.</p>
<p>@Lizardly I hadn’t broached the subject. I explained to him what is involved in college admissions and left him alone. I am going to wait and see what happens this coming year and especially with ACT. If it goes true to form, he will maintain his GPA and then get may be an 18 in ACT. I will consider more prep for ACT in the fall.</p>
<p>@dustypig good point. at least in my case, there is some resentment from him. I don’t hover over him but I make it very clear to him what he should be doing and then leave him alone. I do worry about how he will cope with college when I may not be around to help him. But then again, I might. I work from home and can live anywhere. But I shudder at the thought that being around to help when needed means he may never be fully independent as he should learn to be.</p>
<p>The spinning was about my posts not addressing the case presented by the OP! The OP wrote </p>
<p>“Going to be sophomore year in sept but v lazy . Sat mock test only got 1500. Teachers said he is bright but how can he go to uni with such score? How can he get another 500-600 bt jan 2016
I feel hopeless”</p>
<p>My answers were that a score of 1500 was not unusual and that a REASONABLE preparation targeting October of the Junior year for the PSAT and the SAT should help getting a higher score. The OP wanted a 600 points increase …by January 2016. Not my words here!</p>
<p>Accordingly, I wrote it would be wrong to delay the prep until the PSAT of the 11th grade were known as that would be January 2016. And I added that it would not be a long calvary. But you called it a three years prison term, or something along the same lines. In this regard, I am afraid that you are not very familiar with my views on what works and what it takes. It is a LOT less you seem to think and surely does not take three years or even two. </p>
<p>Obviously, you disagree with my suggestions on the basis of your son’s experience. But the OP does not seem to share your views and objectives. </p>
<p>For the record, I make no apologies for suggesting an approach different from yours, as I truly believe that a preparation for the SAT should take place in the tenth grade and summer before the 11th … if the student is expected to earn a competitive score for the schools that are mostly discussed right here on CC. While it is hardly representative of the US in general, CC attracts people who are hoping for a spot in a selective school. And a quick look at the SAT forum should reinforce that point. </p>
<p>Should every student in the US, or even a large minority, devote much time preparing for the SAT? The answer is NO. Most students do not give it much thought. But that was not the case of the OP! </p>
<p>Perhaps it would be helpful to read my posts in this thread with the appropriate context in mind. </p>