<p>Igloo, have you taken a look at your HS’s profile? It’s the document schools typically send to colleges along with the transcript explaining, among other things, the school’s curriculum. When I was a CC newbie with D1 (college class of 13), I looked over the profile the summer before her senior year, and convinced the HS to make several changes. For example, our HS is very small and, although they offer several APs, many are only offered once a day in the same period making it is impossible to take a full or nearly full AP load. but The original profile language didn’t explain that, so an AdCom could get the mistaken impression that a student didn’t take the most rigorous curriculum possible.</p>
<p>D2 will follow the same testing regimen described by others - first SAT next fall and a couple of SAT IIs in May - probably US History and Math II.</p>
<p>Welcome to all the '10 veterans! I’ve followed your camaraderie all year and you remind me of the friendly, supportive group on the Parents of the College Class of 2013 thread.</p>
<p>Iglooo, your daughter could also self-study APs if she is motivated and feels it would help her. My 2012 daughter self-studied psych in 9th grade after taking a summer course and then self-studied human geography and U.S. govt in 10th grade while taking AP world at school. It went pretty well. She ended up with a 5 in psych, 4s in WH and govt and a 3 in HG. She decided that she wanted to try to be a national AP scholar by application time so she’s aiming to have 8 or more 4+s and an average of 4. She took this year off to be an exchange student in S. America but is self-studying for the AP art history exam because she found the art history course at her Spanish school to be interesting. She had planned to take the AP Spanish language exam (despite never having studied Spanish before this year) but the American school where she will take the art history exam didn’t have room for her due to the demand of their own students. At the end of her junior year she plans to take the English lit, Spanish, Biology, Environmental Science, Macro Economics and either Statistics or Calculus AB exams, depending on whether she tests out of precalculus this fall after studying it in a Spanish language school for the last year. She’ll take macro economics online this summer and self-study the environmental science exam because in addition to the above courses, she’ll be taking beginning Chinese and a multi-disciplinary social studies course next year. I’ll be interested to see how she does on her art history exam this year. She is spending plenty of time hanging out at the beach with the other exchange students. We’ll see if taking all these exams makes any difference at admissions time.</p>
<p>Hello everybody, Just found you…I’ve spent so much time lurking and rarely posting elsewhere on CC! Oldest D is 2010 and is all but decided. I intend to be so much more organized with our 2012 D. My best advice based on the past year is to be as organized as possible, be honest about expectations and finances, keep calm and have fun!</p>
<p>Welcome GLAW, our first kids are usually the guinea pigs, aren’t they? </p>
<p>I’ve learned that even though I think I’ve learned a lot from helping my S’10, there’s more to learn for D’12. They’re very different and want very different college experiences. So, in many ways I feel I’m starting over.</p>
<p>Thank you for the welcome. So true about the firstborn. DH and I are firsts too. So, not a lot of family experience to guide us with the first grandchild to go through the journey. Although our two girls are similar in many ways, I’m really looking forward to finding out what will be different this time. I feel like we learned so much the first time around. This time, more test prep & earlier college visits. Class schedule, check…EC’s, check…community service, check…leadership, check. I plan on using all the great CC tips for finding more merit $$.</p>
<p>Lilmom - I can relate to the feeling of starting over. Seems my two sons are polar opposites! </p>
<p>S1 is currently en-route to first choice school visit 1500 miles (at least I know he made his connection in Chicago). Independent, confident, unbelievably organized but no idea what he wants to “do with his life” anything from glass blower to doctor. Uncommunicative with me. Through the college process kicking and screaming.</p>
<p>S2 wants to stay close to home, still a little clingy, still a little socially awkward, ADD big time. Pretty certain he’s set on math/physics related field. Tells me Everything. Wants to know when we can start choosing schools for him.</p>
<p>skier29, your boys seem to be total opposites! My S is off to a school only 3 hours away. He didn’t want to go out of state and ended up at a state school where he won’t get any FA. I only learned about the merit $$ process through CC and it was too late for him. He had already made his choices. OTOH, D12 wants to go far away. She’d live in NYC or east coast if she could but she is aware that our $$ won’t stretch that far without merit $. How could 2 kids turn out so differently? </p>
<p>D12 tried something different this week - procrastinating. She didn’t pick up her English book all spring break and had to cram for a book report due today. She started working on it when she got home from school yesterday was up until 2:00 A.M. In the morning, the printer wouldn’t print and DH had to fix it. Murphy’s Law. And I didn’t say a thing!!</p>
<p>Fingers crossed the Class of 2012 benefits from the improving economy and slight decline HS graduates that year. I posted on this in the past, seems to me it was about 300,000 less in the US in 2012.</p>
<p>It’s great to be surrounded by new parents and veterans from 2008k,2009 and 2010. These last three years have been challenging, so our joint knowledge and humor should help make this thread enjoyable.</p>
<p>When are you going to have your '12 Ds and Ss take their SAT’s and ACTs? What is the best month? Are most of them waiting for the Spring of '11? Are any that have heavy spring ECs thinking about taking the SATs earlier in the year?</p>
<p>My dd had to take the ACT this year for admission to our state science & math high school. The school (if she gets in) requires them to take the SAT and ACT 3 times: twice in junior year and once in senior year.</p>
<p>My son will take the SAT 2 in Math this June. He will take the SAT in October and January and if needed, in May or June. He will take a second subject test in either May or June of Junior year too (dep on when he takes the SAT). He will take the ACT in February and April. That’s the plan Stan.</p>
<p>mathinokc, I wonder why the science and math high school requires so much testing. I’d think once a year per test would be plenty - especially since they will inevitably be taking plenty of AP tests. When will you find out if your daughter got in? The minimum sophomore SAT to enter our state’s boarding school for gifted juniors and seniors was 1500/2400. I thought that was pretty low. My 7th grader exceeded that. I can’t remember what his 2012 sister scored on the SAT but I know she scored a 32 ACT composite as a sophomore. It was the third time she took it. In 9th grade she scored 30 and in 8th grade 28. She’s hoping to hit 36 after a couple more years of math. So I guess I do think practice helps, but twice in one year seems a bit much. It’s kind of a pain that kids have to practice both tests if they are likely to be National Merit contenders. I know my kids do better on the ACT than the SAT but they have to do both.</p>
<p>I’m not sure the exact theory behind having the kids take the test so many times. It’s just one of the requirements. The SAT is offered on campus, so it’s not very inconvenient. Technically, they say they have 5.5 days of school each week – Saturday mornings are frequently test days for classes or SAT/ACT days.</p>
<p>The interview day for the science and math school is Saturday; just being invited to the interview means she survived round #1. We won’t find out about admissions until mid-to-late May. I don’t know if the waiting is worse for her or for me.</p>
<p>My daughter is done with SAT subject tests – she took Math Level 2 in November 2008 and French, English Lit, and Chem in October 2009.</p>
<p>My daughter does better on the ACT than the SAT, also. </p>
<p>I agree that 1500/2400 doesn’t seem particularly high, even for a sophomore score. Is that the only admissions requirement?</p>
<p>Hi! I am a new user. My son is in HS class of 2012 in India. so he is an international student.
He is planning to take SAT in Dec and SAT physics in Jan.He has already taken AP Physics C, both sections after his freshman year in May 2009( 5 bands), and will be taking AP Calc BC and AP Bio in May 2010. </p>
<p>Hi! I am a new user. My son is in HS class of 2012 in India. so he is an international student.
He is planning to take SAT in Dec and SAT physics in Jan.He has already taken AP Physics C, both sections after his freshman year in May 2009( 5 bands), and will be taking AP Calc BC and AP Bio in May 2010.</p>
<p>Some students do better on the ACT than the SAT. The ACT is more common in the midwest US, but I can’t think of a university that requires the ACT instead of the SAT.</p>
<p>The difference in what states favor what tests results in some interesting statistics – our state SAT average is high compared to our state ACT average because really only the best students who are going out of state or trying to qualify for National Merit take the SAT.</p>
<p>Chickoomum: It is not necessary to take both the SAT and the ACT. The ACT tracks the USA high school curriculum and some students do better in that than the SAT. the vast majority of colleges in the USA will accept either one.</p>
<p>Hi. I did this once before. Have one at UCLA. Based on that experience, I would recommend the SAT first time in October, and repeat in March of junior year. That way there are no tests in May (except AP tests) followed by the subject tests in June. (yes, UC won’t require them for this class, but the privates do.) My D is taking two subjects her sophomore year, but only because she is in two AP classes this year as a sophomore.</p>
<p>As for the ACT, my D did some checking into that. She said that it seems schools in the middle of the country tend to like the ACT (though they accept the SAT) and the schools on the East and West Coast favor the SAT. She took the PLAN (which is the PSAT for the ACT) and did very well because it has science and she is in AP Chem already. She is considering taking the ACT in her junior year just to see how she does.
Most schools accept both, and then if you do better one one, you send that score and not the other.</p>
<p>I too like the idea of having my D work on her SAT review all summer and then take her SAT before the PSAT. She has had high PSAT scores, so I am hopeful for at least a National Merit commendation for her.</p>