Parents of the HS Class of 2011 - Original

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
4361

<p>I agree - sometimes they choose things for more of a challenge, and sometimes they choose things to make their lives more sane - they are gaining the understanding of how to make that balance.</p>

<p>My D surprised me on the Common App: When listing her top 3 possible majors, the first two were easy … then came the third … she puzzled. Theater and English and …? She’s thinking of being an elementary teacher, but she didn’t want to put elementary ed (which surprised me, but in retrospect I think it was smart, since not all of her schools offer it - except I think she didn’t put it because it isn’t in her top 3 <em>academic</em> interests). Then she found “Languages and Literature” and put that in.</p>

<p>I’ve been thinking about that, especially in the context of this discussion. She was always excited about taking languages when she was little … the choices in our district have dwindled, and she ended up with Spanish as the only option in 8th grade. She was planning on going all 5 years, with a goal of “really” learning a language in HS.</p>

<p>Fast forward: she stopped Spanish as a sophomore. She couldn’t get better than a B, and she knew she wasn’t really learning it. Why? Some of it was her study habits, a lot was weak teaching, and maybe Spanish just isn’t the language she wants after all. </p>

<p>Last year she had one hour open, and pondered whether or not to continue Spanish. She’d heard Spanish IV was a rough course - not well designed and not well taught, and after all she hadn’t done well in II and III. So she took Art instead. She tried studying on her own, had a native speaker for a tutor for a while, but she still couldn’t get into it.</p>

<p>This year she had an open hour again, but she chose immediately not to pick Spanish back up. Of course colleges like as much FL as possible, but it just didn’t work for her. So she’s taking more Art, and TAing for choir, and doing Yearbook. All fine with me.</p>

<p>My Humanities kid whom I completely expected to drop science and math senior year is having a breeze in AP Calc and Honors Chem, but never got anywhere in FL. Who knew? But she’s telling colleges, hey, I might study languages with you after all - life isn’t over. </p>

<p>As a parent I wonder if an adcom might go - dropped Spanish in 10th grade with a B average and she might major in Languages? But if they asked me, I’d say, why not?</p>

<p>Maybe we should start a thread like the “What crazy thing has your college kid said/done” one called “What surprisingly mature decision did your HS senior make?”</p>

4362

<p>

Blueiguana, please tell your son that he DEFINITELY gets credit for those accomplishments, at least from momofsongbird.</p>

<p>(And tell him I use a heavily weighted scale, so even though it’s one credit, I’m recording it as 10!!!) </p>

<p>Here’s to new-found wisdom, maturity, and self-awareness in our kids!</p>

4363

<p>HI All
Lunch was fun…2 hrs 25 min each way, was not bad…and we had fun. It is cool to match and face and voice with a screen name CC friend.</p>

<p>You all have been busy–4+ pages today!</p>

<p>ROBD Thanks for the tip re Target. I had been thinking of going by Target or BB&B to see if sheets etc were on sale–and just pick what I KNOW would be basic things kiddo would definitley use</p>

<p>Ah FAFSA…my blood pressure goes up just thinking about those forms…</p>

4364

<p>S told me he dropped intro to Cal/Stats in favor of AP Stats- what? And he “thinks” that is all he is changing. EEk, I go away for a few days for work… I think he should take intro to Calc since he most likely will have to take Calc 1 in college. I also think 3 APs is a little crazy Sr year for someone who isn’t looking at the top 50 but the schools he is looking at most likely will give him credit.
I also gave him the worst advice ever(so his teachers tell me) Freshman year so I don’t insist I am right.</p>

4365

<p>I think APs for kids below the top 50 are important for just that reason - many of my D’s schools will accept 3s and 4s, whereas the top schools mostly take 5s. She’ll probably get more AP credit than my Valedictorian kid!</p>

4366

<p>First Acceptance!</p>

<p>Hope you all dont mind a brief change in subject. Our Class of 2015 daughter received her first acceptance this afternoon to LSU!. One of the most important lessons we have learned from CC is the value of a rolling admissions safety school. Still a long way to go with more applications to complete, but she thrilled to know that no matter what else happens, she is going to be a “college girl”. </p>

<p>Good luck to all as the decisions start to come in!</p>

<p>Geaux Tigers!</p>

<p>NJ Paladin</p>

4367

<p>Congratulations to NJ Paladin’s D! This is cause for a celebration! Cheers <em>raises glass</em>!</p>

4368

<p>Hurray! This is a huge moment! Enjoy!</p>

4369

<p>^^ Yay!!</p>

<p>Congratulations.
Such good news.</p>

<p>Just think a year from now we will have a “launched” post for all of our students–it is going so fast!</p>

4370

<p>Fabulous news NJ Paladin!</p>

4371

<p>Yes, that first rolling admission is great. If only I could get S to finish his essay! His rolling school doesn’t even ask about EC’s which is great because he doesn’t have much in that area.</p>

<p>Isn’t it time for a sticky thread at the top of the Parents Forum for 2015 acceptances? That 2014 one should be replaced!</p>

<p>So, I’m catching up on today’s posts and chiming in to say that our HS has something like regular calc. They call it “college in high school calc” and I think it’s weighted like an AP, but instead of taking the AP test they take midterms and finals from a college and can get credit from that college, which may or may not transfer. It is considered easier than the AP class.</p>

<p>I was looking at the press release from NMSC and it appears our school had no semifinalists this year.</p>

4372

<p>Very big congratulations NJP!
My niece graduated from LSU this May. She was far from home, didn’t know a soul, applied on a whim, and in the end that’s where she went. She never second guessed a single second of it! It was a great experience. She had wonderful internships.
That’s very, very exciting news for your daughter!</p>

4373

<p>Congrats to your D & you NJP. My s has an early match acceptance as well and it is a great feeling!</p>

4374

<p>Congrats NJ!</p>

4375

<p>Congrats to your D NJP! How nice that must be to know she is going somewhere! Now if I can only get S moving…</p>

4376

<p>Congrats NJP! I need to get my daughter moving also.</p>

<p>Our school offers GT Calc 1 in addition to AP Calc AB and BC. It is weighted the same as the GT calc classes, but is more of an introduction to Calc. My daughter took it and was pretty well prepared for calc in college, and she’s not a math whiz. She is at a selective school that only gives AP credit for “5”'s in some courses, but she found that even when she didn’t get credit, her high school AP classes really helped prepare her for her college classes. My younger daughter is having a tough time with AP English Lit right now, but she’s trying to hang on.</p>

4377

<p>That is so good to hear. It’s only September! Congratulations on getting all that application stuff together. I wish the schools my daughter favors had rolling admission. She’s an essay shy of submitting her Common App, which means we might make it by December.</p>

4378

<p>Congrats to NJP and Idinct and their students!!</p>

<p>We should start Parents Forum for 2015 acceptances thread. Oh my, oh my, it’s our time!</p>

4379

<p>Thanks for the well wishes. </p>

<p>Like BlueIguana’s neice, our oldest D Class of 2013 picked LSU almost at random - wanted good academics, wide range of majors, school spirit, big time football, sororities, warm weather, etc. As a NJ girl she stepped on campus knowing not a single person. Wanted the adventure of living someplace different and she loves it. We of course loved the nice merit scholarship they gave her. </p>

<p>Although D2 is thrilled to have an acceptance in the bag, I seriously doubt she will end up at LSU with her sister. I’m sure she will want to blaze her own path someplace else. Of course, that means she too needs to finish all of her common app and supplemental essays for five other schools! </p>

<p>I agree that it is time for a 2015 Acceptance thread</p>

4380

<p>Wow, congratulations to the recipients of acceptances!!! What a great way to begin senior year.</p>

<p>fog, loved hearing about your lunch - a great idea to finally meet.</p>

<p>OregonianM: I agree w/ the posters above who recommended hiring a tutor and sticking with AP Cal, particularly b/c your daughter is applying pre-med. while the val honor is wonderful, demonstrating to the colleges that she’s willing to challenge herself, take a risk, I would think is worth more. and she will most definitely need CAL in college. she’ll have a better chance of getting the A in college if she’s already familiar w/ the material. and as others have pointed out, that A on her college transcript/med apps is more important than the high school grade.</p>

<p>as for us, my son rewrote his common app essay much of last Sat and Sun after getting feedback from my cousin and a college counselor, and resubmitted it to his school counselor on Monday. i have to say, while the first one was well written, this one is gripping. He walked by his counselor’s office at school yesterday and she pulled him in to tell him that she thought the second version was amazing, such that she told her colleagues about it at lunch and is giving them all a copy. What a r-e-l-i-e-f!!! Man, in the course of a week, it’s been such a roller-coaster ride.</p>