<p>We’re doing some visits this summer. There’s no way during the school year, she’s just so busy. She’s doing a competitive fellowship this summer and it might, possibly, maybe be an essay consideration. Thankfully, she and I both get stressed by procrastination, so I think she’ll at least have the administrative stuff done. My real concern is decision time. When picking a high school, it was a six month process of agony and tears with decisions being changed until after the last minute. I fully expect that to happen again.</p>
<p>Has anyone asked for recommendations yet or planned to do so this year?</p>
<p>MaineLonghorn - I think the APs are about 4 hours long, barring complications. The Bio exam is in the morning, so your S should be fine. </p>
<p>And you’re right, that is a short track season!</p>
<p>Youdon’tsay - don’t forget that a lot of people apply ED/EA, so if they get into that school, they may not send out other apps. Also, if kids are applying to one reach and one absolute safety, that’s fine, as long as money isn’t an issue. If you need FA, things seem to be a little more complicated.</p>
<p>zoosermom - yes! MY plan is for my D to do as much work as possible this summer. She has an incredibly busy fall planned, so she knows it’s to her benefit to get as much out of the way as she can. D’s school has a whole procedure we have to follow, so we can’t do much ourselves. I have to speak to her GC again before the end of the year to see if I can get more details.</p>
<p>DD is also talking about backing off a little on next years schedule. Right now, every class is either honors or AP and the last month has shown her that such a schedule would result in a (to quote her) “less than desirable senior year”</p>
<p>Ds has had three recommendations written for him recently, thanks to QB and his Eagle Board of Review. He knows he wants one of those writers to be his main LOR (had the teacher for four years, is adviser to the club of which he is president). Should be easy since the guy has an early draft from the Eagle letter. Ds is kind of sweating who to make the second writer. He’s thinking he wants the English teacher because he had him in freshman year and will have him again as a senior, but it should be a math or science teacher.</p>
<p>Given the amount that DD stresses over essays, and the fact that all of them seem to require a supplement besides the Common App, I think the number of schools she applies to will be fairly self limiting.</p>
<p>I would like D to start on the essays this summer, at least the “why college X” essays, at least the part about jotting notes on what she liked about them all. Of course this will require work to remember details about each, since she wouldn’t take notes during or after the visits…</p>
<p>ML- the collegeboard site will tell you how long each test is, unless someone else knows the answer for Bio. They are not all the same. But with that being the morning test I don’t think he would have a problem.</p>
<p>I bet when D gets home from school today she will mention the outbreak of AP flu. Many of her friends take off days for work catch up at other times during the year, I’m sure the day before an AP would be a similar result.</p>
<p>Sounds to me like a family where having an EA/ED acceptance in hand might be bliss. Since many of the RD acceptances come out in March, at least that leaves ony a couple of months of decision agony. Or did you mean decision on where to apply?</p>
<p>S has had his math/science LOR nailed down since this beginning of this year. It will be his AP Calc teacher. For a second LOR, he’s debating in his mind betwee, the APUSH or the AP English teacher. I lean slightly toward the APUSH teacher, since he’s seen S in mock trial. However, AP English teacher has now had him for two classes. He will ask him/her before school lets out in mid-June. I’ve been keeping his GC apprised of various things that may impact what she’ll be working on for him.</p>
<p>As soon as AP weeks are done, I’ll remind my S to ask his GC if there are school guidelines/deadlines for when LORs, transcripts, etc. need to be requested, so this can be factored in to the master calendar.</p>
<p>scu, I don’t feel at all bad about letting him back off because he’s starting from such rigor. It’s not like he’ll have two off periods and three study halls. I find it hard to believe that that extra AP is going to be a deal-breaker for college admissions or his education.</p>
<p>qia, the best thing about finding cc – besides all this lovely company – was discovering the strategy of having all testing done junior year. Not worrying about SATs and Subject Tests means he’ll be ahead of most of his classmates next year, who are stressing to get that testing done. That’s one thing.</p>
<p>Also, because the QB app deadline is so early, that will force him to work on this stuff over the summer, instead of spending huge amounts of time on it in the fall. That’s another way to make it easier.</p>
<p>Also, like I mentioned earlier, the change in schedule will help I hope.</p>
<p>And, for me, copious amounts of Jack Daniels to lighten my mood. ;)</p>
<p>on recs, D knows who she will ask and will ask them before the end of the year. She has probably already mentioned it to her Latin teacher as she talks with him all the time, but may not be able to use that rec for all schools, so she will ask a total of 3 and then use some combo.</p>
<p>zoosermom - D asked one teacher for a rec, and she said she would write it, but to remind her in September. She hasn’t asked a second teacher because she’s still debating over which teacher to ask. She has two really good ones in mind, and she’s just not sure which one would be better. Also, her music teacher has offered to write her a LOR when the time comes, so I guess she’ll take him up on his offer as well. </p>
<p>We’ll likely do some visits over the summer as well as D definitely won’t have the time in the fall.</p>
<p>Well, thanks for that, Jackief. I had no idea that the AP exams had different times. I’ll have to look up the times for Physics and AP Engl Lang.</p>
I find it hard to believe that that extra AP is going to be a deal-breaker for college admissions or his education.</p>