<p>I agree with the advice to send all the scores. We’ve all invested so much (with much more to come) in this process that it makes sense to provide as much positive information as possible. I was thinking about how pleased I am we only had to send ACT scores this round so Collegeboard did not profit from us, but then I remembered the SAT test we cancelled too late for a refund.</p>
<p>CS: I’m glad that your finally got an answer and it’s not too serious.</p>
<p>College Board doesn’t own Naviance – Hobson’s (owner of CC) does!</p>
<p>We included all the scores and APs (though didn’t pay for AP scores – kids self-reported) because they helped demonstrate that they were in very tough courses which took a toll on the GPA, but they were at the top of the heap in terms of nationwide standards. We were also too lazy to figure out which schools were test optional, didn’t require every sitting, etc. 
Will admit that this decision was made easier because both did very well on the standardized testing and there were no bloopers in the mix.</p>
<p>Novelisto, I didn’t feel like it was a negative experience comparing the students on Naviance, more like a guiding hand. Seeing numbers and scores made it hard to judge if the school was a good fit for my D, but seeing the graph and where she was on it, helped us pick our safety, match and reach schools. If your school offers it, it’s worth checking out. Our school has an info session for juniors and their parents, but I do wish I had known about it earlier.<br>
Oh well, there’s always D #2!</p>
<p>collegeshopping: So glad that you have a diagnosis! I’m hoping that your daughter is feeling better very soon.</p>
<p>OWM: I’d send those great SAT II’s! It certainly can’t hurt, and if that’s the one thing that gives him the nudge in the direction of a great scholarship then it was worth doing.</p>
<p>madbean: I just need to say that I am envious of you. Your GC’s have some amazing experience – something we’re not seeing here at our little public school. One GC here also happens to be the head football coach – now where might his priorities be throughout the fall? Another is said to be pretty sharp, but of course our sons were not assigned to her. Because of the way the alphabet falls, our sons have been assigned the kindly gentleman who has been at the same job for about 100 years. Okay, an exaggeration, but he is a retire/rehire and has spent his entire career at this school. He’s very nice, and obviously experienced at our school, but very under-motivated. Sigh. That’s why it’s nice to have CC – otherwise I swear we’d be clueless!</p>
<p>Cshopping - So very glad you got some answers! I know it will take some time, but as long as you know what’s going on, you can make a plan and focus on recovery…not worrying. Very low Vit D levels is more common than you would think and can mask as a host of other problems, or add to existing ones. It’s not included in your regular blood work for a physical. ASK for it! It can make a big difference!</p>
<p>We have used Naviance and found it to be a good guide. We have a large hs so for many universities there is a large amount of data. We are from a more metropolitan part of the state where stats for admission to many schools must be higher than from a school from a more rural part of the state. We just keep in mind that it is only ONE part of the process (it doesn’t show essays, LOR’s, EC’s, etc.), and you have to omit outliers that are either the result of data entry error, or a major hook. We also consider that the data is from the last 6 years, however admit requirements continue to rise, so you need to be looking to the higher grouping of data points, not the avg. calculated.</p>
<p>I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of other things. I skimmed several pages after being MIA for a few days. Good luck to any of ‘our students’ who are taking tests tomorrow!!</p>
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<p>OMG, what a terrible combination for the seniors…can’t imagine that he gets much “college” stuff done at all.</p>
<p>I’ve been pretty much staying out of this thread in order to keep my stress levels low. But I saw your student already had an acceptance and a housing deposit down, missypie. Wow! Congratulations! That must feel wonderful.</p>
<p>My son has four apps done. One acceptance at our state U which was a formality, two schools he will hear from on later, and a nice handwritten note from the fourth which really boosted his spirits. He has his first scholarship app completed also.</p>
<p>missypie: Yep, and the team made the state playoffs this year, so the season didn’t end until today. I’m sure his students have suffered and I feel for them. So, even though I’m not thrilled with our assigned GC, it’s probably a better situation than having the football coach.</p>
<p>D just found out she got accepted Early Action from her #1 choice, UGA. That is it for us no more apps…just sitting back now and waiting on the merit aid packages. What a relief!!!</p>
<p>Congrats to ga’s D! How nice to go into the holidays knowing the college stuff is done.</p>
<p>Thank you all who answered the word count question! my son’s is now about 570 and he’s going to leave it alone. I think in retrospect the misinformation about needing to keep it to 500 was a blessing! it made him cut to the chase.</p>
<p>I’m new to this thread but I am so exhausted from all this. Two weeks and we’re going to be done with all of it. It is really too too much.</p>
<p>good luck, everyone</p>
<p>Hi again - wow I’ve missed a lot in the days I’ve been away from posting!
Collegeshopping - So glad to hear your not-too-serious diagnosis for your D - hopefully some good rest and good meds will have her feeling much better and stop the weight loss!
GaMom and Missypie - woo-hoo - can’t quite imagine being DONE - but congrats to your whole families!</p>
<p>Here we are having a different conversation tonight. In the past three weeks S has had his IB extended essay (4000 word research paper) a big internal assessment in calculus, a big internal assessment in IB Biology, finished 4 college apps, and 2 scholarship apps.
He is scheduled to take the SAT again tomorrow and he just. isn’t. into. it.
Do you know what I mean?
It was his idea to sign up for a re-take, but now he is stressed, under-rested, and afraid his score would go down rather than up and not look good. He currently has a 2090 or 2100 - can’t remember which - with a large discrepancy between math and CR.</p>
<p>I do think he is right - unlikely to improve much, if any, and a drop wouldn’t look good. He’s happy to repay us the funds, and I’m fine with him making his own decision on this as his thinking is sound. But it surprised me. He just needs a break. As soon as he made the firm decision, he planned an evening with friends over tonight and he gets to do his favorite community service tomorrow morning instead of the test. Sunday he has an interview with his #1 school, the following weekend another interview, and a third during the week in between. I think it was just all too much. </p>
<p>Have any of your kids “hit the wall” like this?</p>
<p>It’s great to see him happily looking forward to hanging with friends tonight, but I hope he doesn’t regret his decision.</p>
<p>My DS decided against taking the SAT IIs in Oct because it was just too much. It was to be his first sitting and they were recommended, but not required. He hasn’t once regretted not taking them even though, presumably had he done well, his scores would have strengthened his applications. </p>
<p>I’ve said this before in another thread, but watching DS hit the wall in Oct. convinced me he should take a gap year. In my day, senior year was a blast. I look at DS struggle through this process and say, when does the fun begin?</p>
<p>p.s. Congrats to new admits and relief for a physician’s answer to a mystery ailment</p>
<p>Congrats ga mom and student. What wonderful news!!! </p>
<p>Just wanted to share my experience with S1 3 years ago–the rough ride extends until the end of this semester and it’s a bear as we all know. But nothing but relief and rest and fun for 2nd semester. Still have all those APs etc, but nothing like the work of 1st semester and I hope it’s the same for S2 and all our kids. They get a big break and often find themselves excited and re-energized about college when the (hoped for) good news arrives.</p>
<p>We are very grateful to have good GCs and so I do try to pass along some of their wisdom here, FWIW. Of course–this advice comes with a pretty massive price tag (private prep school), and after years of that expense, we are left hoping for some miraculous merit aid to come through in the pinch for college. Always something. :)</p>
<p>puma - S hasn’t hit the wall, but he isn’t playing football this year either, so he has loads more free time than usual. I think your S made the right decision, he has a great score and unless he felt it was going up significantly, I don’t think an additional 40-50 points makes a big difference when you are over 2000. Good luck with the rest of the apps.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reassurance - I know intellectually that ya’ll don’t know any more about my S and his decisions than I do about your babies - but somehow it just feels nice to have other parents to talk to who have their minds on the college thing.</p>
<p>Congratulations gamom!! Very exciting news 
I hope the EA school does well with $$ in the spring making it a clear winner!!</p>
<p>Bluejr hit the wall right before ACTs last spring. With SATs, AP exams, SAT2s, finals, and ACTs within 4-5 weeks he lost it right before the test. It didn’t help that there were two proms mixed in there. I actually suggested he not take them a few days before because of the stress. He ended up doing better on the SATs so the ACTs were not used. They weren’t bad…just one lonely low(ish) score that brought down the composite. It was a rough, rough spring.</p>
<p>He did take the SATs & one subject test this fall, but focused on one section only which made it easier. Sometimes it really is not worth the extra stress and frustration! Our kids don’t have mid-terms until late January so there is a bit left to go. I keep reminding him it’s the LAST piece of the puzzle. I’m all for getting rid of anything that adds extra weight right now!</p>
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<p>Congrats!!</p>
<p>From the posts I’ve read so far on this thread, here’s some advice regarding sending SAT/ACT scores (from my own experience):</p>
<ul>
<li><p>While this is not a confirmed thing (aka the testing agencies don’t go public about it), from what I’ve saw, SAT and ACT scores are delivered twice a month - in batches - to colleges that students designate to receive the scores. This was somewhat evident when I sent my scores in to my colleges at the beginning of November; all scores were confirmed “received” by the 3rd week, if not, sooner.</p></li>
<li><p>And rush reporting may not work at times as intended; some schools explicitly state that they will not accept any rush scores. They prefer to receive it all at once during the regular delivery period(s).</p></li>
<li><p>If your son/daughter has decided on a final list of colleges, by all means, unload all of their SAT/ACT scores and send it to the colleges that they’re applying (or that you’re about to apply) to as soon as possible! That way, you won’t have to worry about missing test scores in your son or daughter’s file when the application arrives at the admission office. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>One exception to this advice is if your son/daughter is taking the December SAT I/II and/or ACT exams and having that sent after its scored. Do note the risk with this; things can happen, and there may be cases where the testing agency could forget to send one or two scores out of the batch of scores you requested to send. That could jeopardize college admissions for them. </p>
<p>In short: Don’t wait till December to take all of the tests (especially SAT I and/or ACT). Have testing done during junior year and/or early senior year in case scores from earlier testing periods may have to be used in college apps.</p>
<p>WillDaSnail, I think your post may have been more appreciated or timely for the parents of the class of 2012 thread or this one three months ago. I think everyone on this thread understands how SAT’s work now. It’s great to have students post here, but it’s just a bit weird when you give advice about some of the basic stuff. BTW, congrats on your acceptances!</p>
<p>And congratulations also to all the parents with new acceptances - great news!</p>
<p>We seem to be at a lull right now, college wise. We haven’t gotten any mail for about a week, no colleges will be giving son decisions for the next couple of weeks and a couple won’t tell until next year. Son, of course, is busy with Real life. :)</p>