<p>First choice on NM: agree with FlMathMom that you start with “Undecided”, and then change the name as acceptances start coming one. One caution is to be very, very careful if your child is considering a school that offers significant NM aid. Many schools have late cutoffs for that first choice designation, but other schools may want to know earlier. I remember seeing that American, for instance, had a cutoff of something like February. Anyway, that’s a very common strategy, and that’s why it shouldn’t make any strategic difference if your kid don’t designate a tippy-top school as their number one choice. </p>
<p>The NM scholarships forum [National</a> Merit Scholarships - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/]National”>National Merit Scholarships - College Confidential Forums) has a lot of useful information. I’ve been supplementing my reading there by googling on “National Merit” site: <website of=“” each=“” school=“” d1=“” is=“” considering=“”> to see if there is any scholarship or other consideration given to NMSFs. University of Maryland, for instance, lets NMSFs apply for free. </website></p>
<p>cgpm59, congrats on the painless essay! The laughter is a good sign for sure.</p>
<p>Does the exact date of graduation really make such a difference? Could you just put the end of the week or month as an estimate? I can’t imagine a kid being rescinded because their actual graduation date was a week earlier! ;)</p>
<p>I would just guess on a graduation date. I’ve always wondered why they ask for a specific date anyway. Seems like June 2011 would be good enough. We only have one HS in our district and that’s one date that is set in stone.</p>
<p>I talked my D into visiting another safety school. I will feel much better if she has another safety on her list of mostly reaches come April 1. This is a lovely school with a beautiful campus and a good reputation. Just a day trip for us, on an upcoming inservice day.</p>
<p>Homework so far has been a killer! She’s not super strong in math but is taking AP Calc. She went back and forth between whether or not to take it, and decided that “hardest curriculum possible” was important to her college apps. So, she jumped right in. I wish I could help her, but math is not my forte!</p>
<p>Graduation date is set here; it’s been on the school calendar since the beginning of summer. You’d think month and year would be sufficient for the Common App.</p>
<p>D just texted me and said she wants to drop AP Calc I told her we would discuss it tonight. She is on track to be valedictorian and doesn’t want to risk getting less than an A in any class, and math is NOT her strongest suit. I get that, but I don’t know if dropping the class is the right thing to do, either.</p>
<p>Hi All! A class of 2010 mom just jumping in. I don’t keep up with your thread, so forgive me if someone has posted this already. I was in Target last night and they had a ton of their dorm 2010 stuff on clearance: xl twin sheets, comforters, etc. </p>
<p>I bought my D a number of things this time last year & was happy to pull it out this past July when it was time to pack.</p>
<p>Can she drop down to honors? If she is not planning on a math or science major than I would encourage her to drop. My S is good in math and science but he would never consider taking taking honors or AP in a foreign lang., art or music. Will it effect her GPA to drop down to a lessor course?</p>
<p>oregonianmom, my D’s HS doesn’t allow kids to drop APs after they’ve signed the AP contract in the prior spring. When my D was struggling in her Pre-Calc class a few years ago, she switched from Honors down to regular, which seemed wise at the time. Is that an option-switching to an Honors Calc class instead or will she have no other math option?</p>
<p>Her school is very small and there isn’t an honors option. It would be dropping math altogether. She wants to be pre-med and will probably major in cognitive psychology or linguistics.</p>
<p>If you have some background in math, but just haven’t used it in years, you could try buying a teachers edition of the book. I have used them in the past to help me explain math/chemistry concepts to my S that he is having troubles with and I need a refresher on. (would never let S use it to cheat, btw)</p>
<p>If APs are weighted at your school then dropping the AP and getting an A would be the same as getting a B in AP. I believe it would be a wash in calculation for val. Since she can not get higher than an A in regular, what are the chances of her getting lower than a B in AP? </p>
<p>Obviously this is speculation. My point being that the A in college prep may be the same as the B in AP. If your classes are weighted, she may be tossing the chance for val out the window if someone is on her heels. Another student may be taking an additional AP and would have that point, provided they get the A.</p>
<p>She should talk to you about the stress level, break it down to perceived vs. real, and try to meet with her guidance counselor to see how this would affect the calculation of val if it comes to that.</p>
<ul>
<li>I hope this made sense. It did in my head…</li>
</ul>
<p>NOTE: I just saw your post regarding dropping math altogether. What would she replace it with? She may want to call admissions of her target school and ask how this may or may not affect her. Depending on where she wants to go, she may have all her ‘boxes checked’ and they will tell her she’s fine. They may say the stronger admissions package would be to have core classes, including math, all years of hs. She can then make a decision, with your help, knowing how it will be viewed in admissions. She’s obviously an accomplished student. Good luck!</p>
<p>oregonianmom, from an admissions standpoint, do you have a sense if the schools your D is applying to will care more about the rigor of her curriculum, or the GPA/val status? Looking even further into the future, will she need calculus at all in college in order to complete pre-med requirements? If she is going to take Calc in college, and she’s looking at pre-med, taking the course now will make things easier for her in college. That will mean a higher grade, which is going to be important for applying to med school. </p>
<p>My D1 concedes now that she made a mistake last year in sticking with AP Chem instead of dropping down to honors. Especially since the weighting in our school would be the same for AP and Honors. Misplaced sense of pride–it doesn’t sound like your D has that issue! :)</p>
<p>Unfortunately, at her school it’s AP Calc or nothing. There is no regular Calc. If another student also has a 4.0 and took AP Calc (and my D didn’t), they would be Val over her. I agree she should talk to her GC. Right now my D’s stress level is very high and she’s lost in the class already. I suggested a tutor and she says she doesn’t have time for that.</p>
<p>Slithey- I am sure she will have to take Calculus in college. Seems like she ought to take it now - it will help prepare her. I’ll check on the admissions criteria. She’s applying to some mighty reachy schools.</p>
<p>SlitheyTove - Thanks for the heads up about the possible early decision dates to inform schools if they are the ‘chosen one’ for NMF. I’d hate to miss out on $17K x 4 if my son chooses that school. Also I did not know about the possibility of a free application fee. Every little bit helps.</p>
<p>OMom - You might want to check on val calculation. Ours is as of the end of 1st semester senior year. I just happened to read it in the school handbook.</p>
<p>Does anyone’s school have regular Calc? There is none in the Texas public schools…the idea is that Calc is a college class, so there is only the AP version. The kids who start Algebra in 8th grade run out of math classes to take senior year unless they do one of the AP Calcs or AP Stats.</p>
<p>^ SlitheyTove - I dislike when schools weight classes the same that are not equal academically. This is the case with our kids in math their Jr. year. The harder class is killer, however leaves them so much better prepared for Sr. year…they coast having covered 1/2 the material the year before. S2 took the harder class, got a B+, so he took the hit on his GPA over his peers who took the easier class and got an A. This year he is sailing and will likely get an A. Most are struggling. He can spend his time on other classes.</p>
<p>Who knows if the rigor will pay off for engineering admissions… Each student has to make an individual choice based on their strengths and goals. The inequality of weighting, when a school does weight, makes you scratch your head though.</p>
<p>I think the video lectures on calculus from Thinkwell are really engaging and well-done. The lecturer makes the material very clear. It has the advantage over a tutor that you can watch the videos on your own schedule; the disadvantage is that you’re working on your own. Here’s a pointer to a sample video: [Calculus</a> | Online Lessons](<a href=“http://www.thinkwell.com/student/product/calculus]Calculus”>Calculus Companion | Thinkwell)</p>
<p>o-mom, In the event that your daughter does drop calc, is there another AP she could pick up that wouldn’t cause as much stress? This would allow her the possibility to keep her rank.</p>
<p>OMom - I’m feeling for you, and for your D. That Val thing is a lot of stress - around here it’s a very big deal because the top 2 kids at each HS get a huge scholarship to UW schools, so dropping GPA even for a good reason is a very big decision.</p>
<p>I can imagine -as at our school - that it’s AP Calc or nothing. If she were going into English, etc., I’d say drop it and deal; I’m sure schools understand those kinds of priorities and won’t look twice. But if she’s pre-med or any kind of science she’s going to need it. I agree with you that keeping at it now is probably the best idea. My college D (science kid) took it in HS and again in college, and was glad she’d had the prep.</p>
<p>I’ll guess this is a confidence blip, and that she’ll be OK. I, too, recommend tutoring, however you define it, even just extra sessions with teacher to help her over the hump. Surely she’s capable, or she wouldn’t be vying for Val. Maybe she’s just not hitting that first concept just right, or isn’t a good fit with they way it’s taught. But she’ll catch on. </p>
<p>Help convince her to get help with it by reminding her that she’s probably putting in a lot of extra time right now trying extra hard to do the work. Someone to do it with her would shorten the time she has to spend on it, and buy her time in the long run.</p>
<p>There will be many of these “I just want to quit” moments this year, guys. Sometimes the kid will be right (eg the football conversation we had a couple of weeks ago) but sometimes it’s just senior panic. We had “maybe I’ll take a gap year” and many other crises like that with D1, but she ended up OK. She was Val, too, and I think there is a little more freedom for a kid who doesn’t have that on their back, although it is common for any senior to have hugely emotional reactions to things we can see calm solutions for.</p>
<p>Best wishes to you both! Hang in there! And read the “adjustment” thread for stories about panic calls from college … it ain’t over for a long while yet for these kids.</p>
I told her we would discuss it tonight. She is on track to be valedictorian and doesn’t want to risk getting less than an A in any class, and math is NOT her strongest suit. I get that, but I don’t know if dropping the class is the right thing to do, either.</p>