Parents of the HS Class of 2012 - Original

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
5401

<p>PinotNoir - Although it is hard to get, where they go to grad school and who hires them are the most important indicators of the rigor of the program. </p>

<p>I would be really surprised if someone in the school (usually the deparment followed by Alumni fundraisers) is not tracking what happens to people after graduation. How else are they going to send those solicitations for money!</p>

<p>General question for the group - How do we go about getting college class of 2016 to our group name? Looks like everyone else before and after us have their year already added.</p>

5402

<p>One way to judge the quality of a department is to see where their graduates end up. Most departments keep that information. Find out not only what percentage go to graduate school, but where, how many are employed at graduation and 6 months later, etc. . .</p>

<p>You can also look at faculty publishing records (Google Scholar) and undergraduate publishing for those more academically-minded. The numbers for u/g will be small. Not everyone wants to grow up to be a college professor.</p>

5403

<p>PN - I think mathmom may have some knowledge about this math major issue. Perhaps she will chime in later. </p>

<p>Good news for DS - AP Physics B final exam was a A! Report cards not done for about 2 more weeks so don’t know GPA but I am so proud of him. He ended up the semester with 5 A’s and 2 B+ (the B+'s were in AP Chemistry and AP English Language) so all in all, a good semester! </p>

<p>Do colleges notice the difference between a B and a B+ on the transcript? I guess a B+ would get unweighted to a 3.0 but perhaps they give extra weighting to them since they are from AP classes?</p>

5404

<p>Wow, what a great report, PN! And I’m glad to hear the campus wasn’t hurt in the tornado. </p>

<p>The question of how to really judge a department is so huge and so difficult. For us it’s theater which couldn’t be further from math of course. I think the depth of course offerings is important-- do they have everything a student would want to study and in enough depth? Grad programs and outcomes in general-- honestly I would like to interview every faculty member, though! They can publish and publish but if they’re not available to and interested in their students, what does it matter? </p>

<p>We have been to a few places where D was welcomed into classes-- and that made all the difference. I understand why that’s difficult for the schools but where it’s possible it’s great. We went to one school that was very low on D’s list-- after 2 classes the school became one of her favorites-- she could see the active involvement of the teachers, the light in the students’ eyes…the best measure of a place, I think, and not one USNWR can calculate!</p>

<p>PS-- yay seiclan!! Your school’s profile probably explains the weighting and the look of the transcript. Ours does differentiate + and -… and they are weighted according to AP etc. A B+ is a 3.3 in a regular class and higher in honors and AP.</p>

5405

<p>Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! I guess we need to call each school he ends up with on his short list and ask how they support grad school applications and where their students go on to grad school. I have looked into where grad students on different schools’ website received their undergrad degrees, and it really does reflect that they went to all kinds of different schools - top schools, state schools, school in other countries.</p>

5406

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<p>As far as academics at Bama it appears to be on a fairly quick rise with a number of high level awards going to Bama students the last few years. And yes, their NMF scholarship program is as good as anyones. For that reason else Bama remains high on the list for DS. Hard to justify spending $100K - $200K for an undergrad degree when you could basically get it for free. More dollars left for Grad school.</p>

5407

<p>PN-- I do agree with GF that you have to look at the depth of the course offerings in the major. I wouldn’t expect it to be an issue at a school with a graduate program, but it could be a deal-breaker at a LAC.</p>

5408

<p>Well, DS just failed his driving test, which makes me a chauffer for a few more weeks. On the positive side, he had straight As in all classes this year.</p>

5409

<p>Currently sitting in admissions b building at Miami university. Waiting for tour to start at 2pm. First impressions: very pretty campus, town has restaurants/ shops within walking distance. As we were getting out of the car there was a baby deer barely unable to walk. Of course the girls were oohing aahhing, but had no intention on trying to catch it or pet it. Well, a gruff woman exiting the parking lot rolls down the window and firmly says, “do not touch that deer.” We felt admonished for no reason and D felt like saying we live in the woods and see deer all the time but of course we just smiled.</p>

<p>Everyone else thus far has been exceptionally friendly and helpful! And the campus is very pretty… I have concerns because as we were driving in D kept commenting on the flat land and how uncomfortable it made her feel. However as we came south off 70 there were small hills so all hope is not lost.</p>

<p>I have been up since 4:30 yesterday pm so if I ramble, excuse me. :P</p>

<p>Congrats mizzbee! On the A’s… though I have to say, you will like when he can drive. D drove more than half the way here so that was nice considering I worked 11-7 shift last night…</p>

5410

<p>This is generic advice, not necessarily just for math.</p>

<p>One thing we look at it what are the course offerings and how often are the courses offered? Is this cool looking course offered every semester, every other semester, or once every two years or never as far as you can tell? Lots of times you can find schedules for past semesters on line. Other times, the department itself will say how often a course is offered.</p>

<p>We also browse the college bookstore and see what books they use for various courses. That doesn’t tell you everything, but it does give you a flavor of things.</p>

<p>Are there course websites or syllabi that you can access? If so, that gives you more of an idea of what is expected.</p>

<p>We look at the depth of the course offerings. If my daughter gets AP credit or placement for X number of courses, does she still have enough courses available in the department to finish her degree and have some choice in her in-major electives? Does taking placement several courses ahead in the sequence mean that there’s a chance she’d have a semester without a course in her major because she’s run out? </p>

<p>How many students come in with Advanced Placement credit in that department? Does the department recommend that its majors repeat those courses or take the AP credit? Why? </p>

<p>If it is a major with labs, does the AP credit include labs or will you have to repeat the lab sections? </p>

<p>What are the opportunities for Undergraduate research and/or Directed Studies in the department? </p>

<p>How many students get accepted to do UREs in the summer? Where? (Or, how many get internships? After which year – freshman, sophomore, junior? What companies? )</p>

<p>What do most of the students do after graduation? Do they go to work or graduate school? If graduate school, then where and in what? If work force, then what types of jobs (titles) and for whom (and maybe where)?</p>

<p>In a large public school with an honors college, how many honors students major in this major? What do the people in the honors college say about the major.</p>

<p>Do students in this major have a hard time keeping the required GPA for their scholarships?</p>

<p>How many people start with this major (at whatever point students declare a major)? How many students graduate with this major each year?</p>

<p>Do many students in this major study abroad? If so, where? Why is that location so popular?</p>

<p>Do students in this major

  • Frequently double major? If so, in what? How were they able to work their schedule to do that (via AP credit or attending summers or super human efforts or…)?
  • Get minors or double minors in other subjects? If so, what? Why?
  • Finish in less than 4 years? How? What did they do next?
  • Finish in more than 4 years? Why?</p>
5411

<p>Yay Mizzbee! A’s beat a few more weeks of chauffering any day. D failed a driving test on a Monday morning, took another 2 days later and passed. I wasn’t ready!!!</p>

5412

<p>mathinokc - That is one detailed list. Thanks for giving it out!</p>

5413

<p>Thanks mathinokc, that is a great list! Sounds like many of us are at similar points with our kids. </p>

<p>S finished his junior year yesterday and is looking forward to lots of free time to hang out with friends. We’re a month or so away from his taking the drivers ed test. He seems to be more motivated to work towards getting his license these days, I think he sees the freedom that friends have and that is appealing. </p>

<p>I figured I’d give him until next week, before I start suggesting he puts his mind towards making his list and thinking about essays, etc.</p>

5414

<p>Wow - mathinokc, thanks! That’s a helpful list of questions.</p>

<p>MizzBee - sorry about the failed driving test, but wow on the straight A’s! I remember taking my driving test - my instructor said at the end, “well, you went over the speed limit once and that’s supposed to be an automatic fail, but I’m passing you anyway.”</p>

5415

<p>I’m pretty sure if you touch baby deer, the mommy deer won’t bother with it :(</p>

5416

<p>Congrats to the 2 new drivers. My S takes the test tomorrrow and we are hoping he passes. Can’t take this chauffering any more! </p>

<p>So cool to hear some of you are touring colleges again. We’re waiting for GPA and SAT till we revisit the making of the list…so, he’s off the hook till the end of the month. </p>

<p>On a bright note, my S got accepted to do an internship this summer at the county offices. Not sure what’s involved but will be in the offices and …start time will allow him to drive ME to work and then keep the car and pick me up later. My co-workers are cooled and have agreed to chaufer me out when I need a breather. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>And on a *teen *note, I asked my S when the last day of classes was and he said he had no clue. He’ll leave when everyone else does!! :slight_smile: Gotta love that kid.</p>

5417

<p>Today was D2’s last day of finals. She was able to take her finals a week earlier because we are leaving tomorrow morning for 2 weeks vacation. When we return, she will be off to her summer program for 5 weeks. There was a lot of packing for D2 tonight. We are officially done with Junior year.</p>

5418

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<p>That’s hilarious…and in its way, quite sensible! :)</p>

<p>We’re done with junior year, too, except for some minor anxiety over this Saturday’s re-take of the ACT.</p>

5419

<p>seiclan - great jr year report! Colleges won’t obsess over the B+s. They will look at strength of schedule and class rank. If your student’s school does not rank, colleges will impute it from gpa. You’re in good shape.</p>

5420

<p>Something that bugs me is that my DS’s school doesn’t give any extra weight to Honors classes, only AP. I realize that all the kids who come from his HS will have the same grading system, but it makes for a slightly lower GPA compared to those from other schools. I know that colleges are aware of DS’s school and its excellent science/tech magnet program, so I hope the GPA isn’t a concern in the long run.</p>

<p>DS finished his last final! One more week of school and he’s finished with his junior year. DD finished on Tuesday and has her senior pics today. :D</p>