<p>Hello everyone. I’d like to join this thread. I have a sophomore daughter. She is already feeling the pressure of “destination college”. I’d like to guide her through this tumultuous period with timely advice and encouragement from what I can learn here. She hasn’t found what she really likes yet, but I’d like her to have as much fun as she can while discovering her path forward.</p>
<p>Welcome PaperChaserPop.</p>
<p>My soph D isn’t feeling the college stress yet but she is feeling stress. She’s in honors classes (no AP til jr. yr.) right now that are keeping her busy along with her fall sport. </p>
<p>She is our second child in high school and yet DH and I feel like we’re starting anew. DS is so different from DD. So, here we go again…</p>
<p>There’s another class of 2012 thread in the parents’ cafe. Check it out.</p>
<p>What, if anything are you ‘doing’ at this age as it relates to the college plan? </p>
<p>In our house, it’s pretty much nothing different for sophomore year. She didn’t have any meaningful course choice but is working away as usual and in honors where available (no APs yet). </p>
<p>She said she’d sign up for the SAT question of the day at my suggestion, but it’s all in good fun and unlikely to stick. Too abstract and far away to think about for her.</p>
<p>She’s dropped band and her instrument (after many years) but has picked up a sport she absolutely loves and has wanted to make room for for a long time. And she’s doing lots of volunteering in school and out of school around things she’s excited about. And is going into her third year of this acting troupe in a nearby city (and also trying out for the school play soon). It’s all entirely driven by fun (if I were to even suggest something is good for her or good for college, she gets turned off). </p>
<p>So the whole college thing is really just me reading this board because I find it so interesting and then mostly it’s in my head alone. I try not to share it with her because she’s really not interested yet and it annoys her, and also doesn’t seem to benefit her to think about it. </p>
<p>She does feel strongly she’ll go into sciences, and it’s her strength. And will definitely move quite far away because it seems more exciting (even though she could go to the school her parents teach at for free, that is the LAST place she’d want to go to school, 'cause it would be ‘sooo boring mom!’).</p>
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<p>I have a senior son and his college apps are keeing me busy. PaperChaserMom reminded me that we should pay more attention to our daughter and help her build up a good resume. So, other than start thinking about what we can do for her, we’ve not done much college planning. My first order of business is to help her find and lock in on what she likes.</p>
<p>My daughter thinks she wants to do Mechanical Engineering and has a list of colleges she’s potentially interested in, but it’s a LONG list.</p>
<p>We’ve had some talks about needing a safety school that is both affordable and acceptable.</p>
<p>She may go for a fun college visit around Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>For now, we’re more focused on lining things up for the application to the state science and math school for next year. :-)</p>
<p>starbright, you may not realize it, but your D is already preparing for college. She sounds like a well-rounded person and that will serve her well on college applications. My situation w/my D is different because she has an older sibling who is a senior. So, she’s heard the “college talk” w/our S. </p>
<p>We’ve also been visiting colleges since they were in elementary school. I know people who applied to schools without ever having set foot on ANY college campuses! It doesn’t have to be a “tour” of the school (boring at this age) but maybe an event that’s going on. We took S to a multicultural fair at a college when he was young - he danced to the tunes of the Peruvian musicians (I wish I had the camcorder then). We’ve attended graduations at USC (fun to watch the Trojan band!) and dance programs on various college campuses. Next, we will be taking D and some of her friends to a volleyball game at a college north of us. </p>
<p>When we’ve gone on vacation, we’ve also visited colleges in the area. While in NYC this summer, we saw NYU and Columbia. My S didn’t care for them (he wants to stay close to home) but D loved Columbia which surprised me.</p>
<p>Your area might also have “college fairs” where you can let her walk around and collect colorful brochures…that’s where it starts sometimes. We’ve been taking the kids since jr. high. You never know what will spark their interest.</p>
<p>the Senior/Sophomore grouping seems to be common! :)</p>
<p>For us it is keeping the schoolwork at a top level. She said tonight this is the hardest year yet (and she knows that next year will be harder, and the year after harder still, etc) but so far she is doing well. She has a tendency to slack off. </p>
<p>I am trying to encourage her to apply for an EC that I think she would do well at and that would benefit her as a person (as well as the “looks good on the apps” which honestly isn’t the main reason) but she is resisting. She prefers choices like “puzzle club”. This is where the “love the kid on the couch mantra” needs chanting…</p>
<p>D1 may go to a college open house on Columbus Day and if so I have thought about bringing along D2 for a fun day. So far she hasn’t gone on any of the visits. I would like to keep it fun for her and not drag her where she isn’t interested.</p>
<p>I’m encouraging my D to try two activities, both outside of school. We’ll see if she finds her passion for either one. If not, the search shall continue. Hopefully, I’ll be able to assess her level of interest by the start of the year.</p>
<p>I am late finding this nice place and just want to say hello to everyone!</p>
<p>I have a son of the HS 2012. He is taking
AP World History
AP Caculus AB
Honors Chemistry
Spanish III
English
GT Band</p>
<p>I am suggesting him to take SAT subject Math II and Chemistry (Or World History) at the end of this school year. I am not sure if he should take SAT II Biology (he too hornors Biology last year).</p>
<p>Thanks for any suggestions and comments.</p>
<p>Welcome dragonboy! I just joined this thread yesterday :).</p>
<p>I’d suggest he take Math II and World History and wait for Chemistry until after he completes AP Chemistry, same with AP Bio.</p>
<p>At our school, SAT II Chemistry is taken after Honors Chemistry. D2 is more of a humanities person, instead of 2 math/science and one humanities like D1 did, she may do history/english instead. Our plan is to take English and Chemistry this year, History and Math IIC Junior year. She will also take SAT I Jan and Mar, 2011, APs end of Junior year. As she’ll be taking AP US History Junior year, taking AP History and SAT II History would be killing 2 birds with one stone. The plan is to be done with all testings by end of Junior year.</p>
<p>jackief, I wouldn’t dismiss puzzle club. I don’t think colleges look down on kids who seek out more intellectual stimulation in their spare time!</p>
<p>Hello, nice to see you all-- I’m tuning in, D is a sophomore, very bright and diligent but so committed to theater that it nearly eclipses school. At the theater she seems much older, she’s so capable, she never lets a detail go. But she dashes the schoolwork off and is happy with a B+. Still, she decided to take the PSAT’s this year before I even mentioned it. I watch, encourage, facilitate, bite my fingernails. We visit colleges too, whenever we can. Unless things change she will be trying for a BFA in acting…such a daunting process, but heaven knows she is committed to it, will happily skip any party in favor of a rehearsal, etc. Anyway, I’ll be watching and learning from this site for the next few years.</p>
<p>Hi everyone, I have a S who is HS class of '12. I get a rock in my gut reading some of these posts (esp the one from dragonboy)-- my sophomore S is taking the following:</p>
<p>Eng
Spanish III
Biology (repeating it because he failed in in 9th grade at another school)
Math 3 (the first half of Algebra II-- 2nd half is Math 4, which will be next yr)
Honors Global Studies (he took World Hist last yr at the other school)</p>
<p>And here’s the reason for the rock in my gut:
Eng - B
Spanish - D
Bio - C
Math - A
Global - C</p>
<p>S just does the minimum academically to get by; and no EC’s, no sports. He does play guitar, but it’s not a passion. It’s like getting blood from a stone to get him to become involved in anything. Of course I am consumed with worry about him. He’s not interested in even thinking about his future or what it will take to succeed. The irony is that H and I have saved enough to send him anywhere he wants to go. I’m fairly certain he isn’t into drugs or alcohol (I keep a close eye and insist that he come home right after school). I feel as though the next 3 yrs are going to be torture, and I see him not being terribly interested in putting together his apps when the time comes.</p>
<p>I can’t be the only one with this situation, can I??</p>
<p>Welcome BfloGal!</p>
<p><a href=“I%20keep%20a%20close%20eye%20and%20insist%20that%20he%20come%20home%20right%20after%20school”>quote</a>
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<p>May be this is the problem. What if he wants to stay after school to join a club or a social event? He won’t be able to explore his interests unless he is given time to explore. If his school has a good list of clubs, encourage him to stay after school and explore.</p>
<p>It seems to me your son do poorly in classes that require a lot of memorization. He is a smart guy if math comes easy for him. Is he on the math team? Perhaps you can encourage him to take a computer programming class or a philosophy class. </p>
<p>When all else fails, give him an incentive that he couldn’t refuse.</p>
<p>IloveLA, it is jigsaw puzzles. I am not stressing it and certainly keeping up the school work is the most important. I am waiting for her to find a passion in an EC.</p>
<p>and welcome BfloGal, although threads like this tend to attract many parents of over-achievers (not counting myself in that category), as the years go on there will be a healthier balance. Please don’t get intimidated, there are many here to share experiences. Remember, “love the kid on the couch”</p>
<p>Bflogal, I thought they broke the mold after my S. j/k There are many parents in the same situation as you - I’m one of them. S is a senior now and is applying to a range of schools. He had a D in his best subject - because he was bored. </p>
<p>Until his junior yr., S could only see today - and even though he understood what he needed to do for his future, he had no sense the urgency. I’m speaking in the past tense because he’s finally coming around in his senior yr. (Thank goodness.) </p>
<p>Educate yourself in what he needs to do at school. Communicate with the teachers and stay on him about meeting deadlines. It won’t be easy. Make visits to colleges fun - watch a football game or whatever sport he likes. Go to a concert on campus. Help him to visualize himself there. </p>
<p>Oh, and lastly, take the time to relax when you can!!</p>
<p>Received a text from sophomore DD today that she did not do well on her advanced Algebra 2 test yesterday and wants to move to regular Algebra 2. Her math teacher last year for Geometry (not advanced) thought DD needed to be in the more challenged in math so DD decided to do the Advanced math this year. Math makes her nervous and she needs more time to comprehend concepts, so I told her to email the counseler tonight about moving math classes.</p>
<p>She is in AP Euro History, Honors English, Chemistry, Journalism and PE along with math. She is an English/History kid, not a math/science kid. AP Euro is turning out to be a lot of work for her and since she always worries in math I would rather she go in a class that teaches it at a slower pace. </p>
<p>DD has started to look at colleges online and would like to major in journalism, but has now decided she wants to go to a school with a NCAA Equestrian team and compete. She rides hunter/jumpers and will spend the next 3 years competing at the highest levels of the sport for a junior rider. We have told her to pick a school that has what she wants to study, not just the riding. She spent two weeks in the summer at a horseshow away from home with a friend from her barn that rides for the Texas A&M team and has decided this is what she wants to do also!</p>
<p>I’m a sophomore in high school and have been reading the thread. </p>
<p>Gwen- I am also intrested in a BA or BFA in acting. I’m also intrested in print journalism and screenwriting, so I am thinking the BA will probably be better for me. I do have NYU on my list though, because I could double major in drama and journalism. I also have Ithaca College on my list for a BFA. I’m not really intrested in a program like CalArts though. I also have Chapman on my list because they have a BFA in Screen Acting and that’s what I’m intrested in. I’m also looking to apply to places just for journalism such as IU- Bloomington and Northwestern. I have liked Muhlenburg a lot and American for BA programs thus far. I would suggest you AND your daughter read the Theater/Drama boards. It is SO helpful and a user named sooziet is a great person for advice. I’m also intrested in some liberal arts schools like Sarah Lawrence, Swarthmore, Reed and Kenyon. I think going to Cali for college would be great, because I could audition while at school. I’m not on these boards as much these days, but I’ll check back occasionally. I had a bad freshman year, so I am really bringing it up this year. I dropped down to regular math, because honors was way too hard and I kept on getting a 72.</p>
<p>To the other parents: I really wanted your advice on something. Would it be smart to take Honors US History next semester online and during the summer? If I did this, I could take AP Euro instead of AP US History. I do not have room to take AP Euro History otherwise and it’s something which interests me. My electives would be Advanced Production and Newspaper junior year. I’m going to take French II online and I’m going to try and take Environ Science at a CC, 4 years of science is required to graduate. I have taken AP Human Geo and I scored a 3 and I’m in AP World History now. </p>
<p>I’m doing very good in honors language arts this year. I have a 99, lol. I also have a 96 in math and an A in honors chem and in drama. I’m struggling in my first year of French, I have a low B and my grade in AP is going up and down. I SO regret not taking Spanish, my dad told me too! When I took my first test in AP, it brought my grade from a 90 to a 77 without the 10 points. The same thing happened last year in AP, but I brought it up. Mid semester really isn’t that far away, I have been in school for a while now.</p>
<p>e_c, as long as you keep up your grades in your core school classes, there is no harm in trying the US History class if Euro interests you more. Only caution would be not to go overboard with the extra classes and lead a balanced life with your theater and other ecs.</p>