<p>it looks like that this year’s # of applications tops that of last year. Any of class 2010 parent know something about the # of HS graduates of clas 2010?</p>
<p>When it comes to selecting the Val and Sal for our high school, it is ultimately the Principal who makes that selection - and it is not always for the highest GPA. He also weights sports, music, student leadership, etc - all school related ECs. The last two years the Val was not the highest GPA in the class (my DS was in the class of 2008 and a good friend was in 2007). It is something that you don’t find out about until the senior year back to school class meeting (that the GPA is not the only factor).</p>
<p>Frankly, I think it is a good way of dealing with the incredibly tight GPA competition among the top students - and of dealing with the differences in their schedules. </p>
<p>Our school does have + and - on the report card - but then doesn’t use them in computing GPAs - something that always confounded me. The school does give an extra grade point to Honors and AP classes - so if you get a B in APUSH, it counts as 4 grade points just as an A in regular US History would.</p>
<p>momonthehill, “one and done” sounds great, but I think it probably won’t work for my S, unfortunately. We had the same idea about S taking the SAT this month, to spread out the test dates a bit. He will take SAT IIs in May, as your D is. He will take the 3 that match up with the 3 AP classes he is taking now. Then maybe the SAT in June (2 days after school ends and 2 days before he has his wisdom teeth out! :eek: )</p>
<p>LIMOM, wow, that IS ironic. How are the knee and hip feeling, now that you have hopefully been resting a bit? Of course, you may be driving back to get your D right now. Good luck! And if your D won’t give you any TLC, you are more than welcome to come here and whine a bit and we will send you all we can! :)</p>
<p>LIMom, Oh no! Hope you are ok! Get that S of yours to pamper you instead. His wife will appreciate you one day for it. 
Glad you saw the location was different before you drove all the way to the other school – <em>that</em> would make for a stressful morning, for sure!</p>
<p>I wish our school gave more gpa points for honors and APs. Since they don’t, our rankings are very deceptive. There can be many kids with 4.0, some having taken a very rigorous schedule, and some not.</p>
<p>Our HS also does not name a Val at all. They give out one top award for “academics”, as well as several for non-academic pursuits. A few years ago my D got the Academic award, so I considered her the val. (Mom’s perogative) :D</p>
<p>Unfortunately since it was a PDF document, I can’t just cut and paste it in.</p>
<p>Through 2010 (my S’s year), here’s how the HS calculates for Val/Sal status:</p>
<p>Unweighted academic GPA + 0.02 for each yearly weighted AP/Honors class. All who achieve a 4.0 or higher are Sals. Highest score is the Val, who is invited to give an (approved) speech at the grad ceremony. If he/she declines, Sals who are interested can present before an academic panel, from which one will be chosen.</p>
<p>Beyond 2010, the Val/Sal status will be based on the weighted 9-12 academic GPA.</p>
<p>For those outside CA wondering what academic GPA is, note that the UC system checks with each HS in the state (all publics and interested privates) and will tell them, based on course content, which classes the UC system will consider as “academic” for purposes of application to the UCs. So, for example, classes like PE, Student Worker, and so forth are not included. This is also what our HS uses to determine academic GPA. Each report card will show the academic and total GPA, which is helpful for the students who will be applying to the UCs.</p>
<p>UC also provides another service. At the end of the junior year, the HS will submit the transcripts for the top students. By sometime in late Sept/early October, the students who are in the top 4% of their school, as determined by UC, will receive notification that they are ELC, Eligible in the Local Context. These students are then automatically qualified (presuming senior grades are up to par, etc) for entry into the UC SYSTEM (not a specific campus, and especially not the tops of UCB and UCLA, for which separate application is required.) So in effect, it may just mean, for the less competitive of the 4%, UC Merced or UC Riverside, but it’s a start toward admission.</p>
<p>It’s kind of an EA, if you will, for the top 4%, at least into the UC system itself. All it requires of the student/parent is a signature on the form to allow the transcript to go forward, I believe. Of course, a complete application must still be submitted, especially all the supplements for the upper tier. I’m reading UCB is now sending out emails to some applications with yet another supplement. Conjecture is that this is for students “on the bubble.”</p>
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<p>Not sure what supplements you are talking about, unless you count SAT scores as supplements. My understanding is that the UCs have the same application, whether you are applying to Berkeley or Riverside. You just check off the box next to the schools’ names.</p>
<p>BengalMom, if your S does end up taking the June exam, I hope that he’ll have recuperated from the wisdom teeth extraction. It’s good that his school year will be ended at that point. We’re in Pennsylvania, and D’s academic year almost always goes through the third week in June (although school doesn’t normally start here until after Labor Day). She figures that at least the AP exams will be behind her. As for SAT II, so far the only one that matches up with one of her current AP classes that she wants to take is U.S. History. She is currently taking AP Spanish, but doesn’t want to take the Spanish SAT II exam. She’s thinking that for the second “II” subject, she’ll take the English Lit exam.</p>
<p>S just returned from SAT and felt the test went really well. He actually thought it was better than the ACT. I hope that is the case since he scored very well on that test. Hopefully this was a one shot deal. It sure took a long time ~ he didn’t get home until 1:00 and we only live 5 minutes from the testing site.</p>
<p>momonthehill,
The superscoring (score choice) goes into effect for our class of 2010 graduates, even for SAT I’s and II’s they’ve taken before 3/09.</p>
<p>My guys took the SAT’s this a.m., and one of them had the desk he was sitting at COLLAPSE, just after he finished one of the sections! Fortunately, he wasn’t hurt, and at least it broke the tension for everyone else. ;)</p>
<p>Well, mom2010grad - yay for your S saying the test went really well! I couldn’t help noticing that our kids got the same scores on the PSAT and the ACT (you posted it somewhere recently). </p>
<p>The thing is, today was just not our day! Started out with me slipping on the ice, as you all know. Then D said that towards the end of her 2nd math section, the batteries on her calculator died! She didn’t bring spares because they were new batteries. So, she ended up finishing that section and doing the other two math sections without her calculator! She said she left out one answer because she thought she would get it wrong, but otherwise felt ok about the math. Writing she said was fine, and reading, the score we were hoping to improve, she said she thinks that was fine, though she’s pretty sure she got at least one sentence completion wrong. Sorry for that awkward sentence. We were hoping this would be it, but now D is even contemplating canceling her scores! She’ll have to decide by tomorrow.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the well wishes - I’m still achy, but fine otherwise - and so glad I didn’t break anything!</p>
<p>Interesting about how different schools determine the val. I like the way your school does it, scualum. Seems fair. At D’s school, I believe it’s strictly by GPA.</p>
<p>momof3sons - glad your S wasn’t hurt when the desk collapsed! Convenient that it happened when he finished a section!</p>
<p>LIMOM ~ just curious why your daughter would cancel the scores? Has she already taken the exam once and doesn’t believe she did as well this time? I’m still new to this process. S didn’t elect to send his scores to anyone other than National Merit organization. We are going to decide which scores to send to colleges once he is done taking the standardized tests (figured we rather spend the amount necessary to send them later rather than sending scores that we haven’t seen). Is it not true that the schools only look at your best scores regardless of how many you send to them?</p>
<p>limomof2 ~ have to wonder what the proctor would have done if the desk collapsed during the exam? Do you suppose that have the authority to add a few minutes to the test due to the down time caused by the desk collapsing? Good thing they didn’t have to find out.</p>
<p>mom2010grad - my D hasn’t decided whether she’s going to cancel the scores yet. I think she’s wondering whether she should trust herself since she didn’t have her calculator for more than half of the math. I suspect her curiosity over how she did will win out over her fear that she didn’t do well. We didn’t sent her scores anywhere except the high school. I didn’t even realize we were supposed to add on National Merit. My D won’t be NMSF, but will most likely be commended, so I guess it’s a good idea to send them.</p>
<p>I think most schools say they look at your best scores no matter how many you send, and some superscore, taking the best score from each section. Not really sure which schools do which.</p>
<p>I’m very thankful that my D’s desk wasn’t the one that collapsed during the exam - on top of everything else, that might have put her over the edge.</p>
<p>D1 also took the SAT for the first time today. She felt pretty good about the CR and W, less confident about Math though she’s been working pretty hard on the math on the practice tests. Biggest reaction: the test was longer and more draining than she was expecting. She’s hoping not to have to re-take, but we’ll see. She’s pretty motivated to compete for some highly selective LACs so if her scores aren’t stellar she’ll convince herself to re-take. We’re just trying to be supportive.</p>
<p>I’m recalling scores from the December test date (when D1 took the SAT literature subject test) were available online about 2-3 weeks after the test. Does that sound about right?</p>
<p>I completely forgot to have D list National Merit as a recipient. Is that fairly straightforward to figure out online?</p>
<p>^Yes, National Merit has its own number that is readily available and sending an additional score report is easily accomplished online at collegeboard.</p>
<p>Kid question here: I just took the SAT today and listed National Merit Corp to receive my scores. I’m a junior with qualifying PSAT score (way above WI cutoff). Will I have to resend the scores to them when I’m notified that I’m a semifinalist next school year, or do they keep a file?</p>
<p>^Only way to know for sure is to ask the National Merit people.</p>
<p>After 3 days straight of finals S2 came down with something and became ill the night before the SAT. He took it anyway. Said he felt miserable before and after because he is likely to have to take it again. I feel sorry for the kid.</p>