<p>wherenext
I think the Physics falls into a STEM and will be seen as math heavy. I know my son’s school recently began offering engineering courses and are permitting the kids to use it to meet the HS Math or Science requirement (but they can’t “double dip” for grad requirements).</p>
<p>MWMom - My son has an easier time with <strong>some</strong> AP courses. Like your kid, EF/ADD issues. My son completes hw, but just doesn’t always hand it in. This means he gets the material and learning, can do fine on tests, but the zeros in HW bring down the grade. Some of his AP courses don’t count HW in the grade and he actually does better in those courses. I think your kid should talk to the teacher NOW and find out the requirements. Our AP Lang and Lit have heavy summer homework. My son only half completed and it really killed his first semester grade.</p>
<p>Longhaul–have you asked if he can email homework to his teachers? Would that help? Our school in general has gone to turning in and doing most homework online, emailing papers, etc. If they type a paper, they just attach it to an email to the teacher, for example. The idea is to cut down on paper usage but I would think for kids that have difficulty remembering to turn in work, our oldest was one of those kids, the online option would be fantastic. If it is a worksheet or something you could scan it to a PDF and email as well.</p>
<p>SteveMA
Thanks for the recommendation. He has an education plan that states as much material as possible should be handed in electronically. However, it is a private school and they don’t have to stick to the Plan. So, for half his classes he does turn in electronically. The school has had many IT issues this year with a new system.</p>
<p>I had a major melt down this morning re paying for college. Based on the overtime DH has been getting I expect we won’t get anyway near the FA we need. Add that to news health care premiums are going up again. Looking back, financially we could have planned better, but not by much. Too many moving targets. So, how do I guide kid for choosing schools? </p>
<p>He’ll apply to at least 2 financial safeties, beyond that, is there anything else to do?</p>
<p>Longhaul-apply to more than 2 financial safety schools . It’s tough. We told the kids how much we would help pay, would not could. That number is not very high so the kids have reasonable expectations of where they will be able to go. Our oldest made it through college with minimal help from us. He got a couple small scholarships, he was not a high achieving HS student by any means but did well enough on his ACT to get some money there. His summer job was enough to cover his costs after that (and taking some loans) and we paid for books and a few things. Our next two are much better students. Their grades and test scores should put them in line for some nice merit aid. We end every conversation about college though with the “it will come down to who gives you the best package” so it’s on their mind, a lot. If they had a meltdown over paying for college, our assistance would quickly go away and they would be left to fend for themselves. DH and I put ourselves through college, paid for every penny (with some scholarships) and graduated with “high” loan amounts for the time. We managed just fine, so can our kids.</p>
<p>Longhaul, we are facing the same situation here. Just recently have begun making money (I was part time forever). We ran a fafsa calculator and will not qualify for anything. Again, we could have planned better, but for the longest time we were just getting by. I keep telling D she is luckier than most since we do have a certain amount we can give her each year. We have explained it to her and I believe it is setting in. (although it is depressing for her) Our college search is now focused exclusively on financial safeties. </p>
<p>I figure we will apply to at least three financial safeties (SUNY schools, and some very generous privates). </p>
<p>We have a trip to NYC planned for the spring. We have removed visits to colleges that are not financial safeties (ex. Fordham).</p>
<p>Much like you Nellieh, my current income does not reflect on the past 19 years (I went back and got my masters degree & went back to work FT in 2008.) So there’s an assumption that we should have saved x amount but the reality is that we lived in a state with one of the highest housing costs & property taxes for the first 10 years of having kids and did it on one income. So no college savings then. </p>
<p>We’ve been blunt with both kids about how much we can really actually pay out of pocket per year. Which would allow them to go to any in state public school including room & board. And I’ve been explaining how merit aid works. Luckily, both D’s test well & it looks like we’ll end up with two NMF’s. We could probably squeeze a little more blood from the stone if there was an excellent reason for it, but it still doesn’t come close to being full pay. They’ll still have excellent choices even if they can’t make the dream school work out. And as I often tell my family, these are first world problems. It isn’t a question of IF they can go to college, just where.</p>
<p>This was her first time, she studied for the math section, and it took her awhile to learn to write how the scorers want you to, but very good for her first test. :)</p>
<p>RobD~ If you don’t mind me asking, how old were you when you went back for your master’s? I am dying to go back, and know that I can, but sometimes I feel too old!</p>
<p>Midwestmom2013-nice scores. Is she applying to schools that superscore the ACT? There aren’t many out there but some. That 29 will qualify her for merit aid at a lot of midwest schools if her GPA is up there (which I assume it is with those scores). When is she taking it again?</p>
<p>SteveMA~ Her GPA should be at least a 3.5 UW by the time she applies, she had a rough sophomore year, but definitely showing an upward trend. She is taking the SAT on 3/10, so I am not sure if she will retake ACT in April or June. I wish I could figure out something to improve her math score. Basically, the online math prep she took from our local CC helped with stratagies to answer the questions, but maybe if she takes it in June after completing the year of Alg II she can score a little higher. Maybe some one on one ACT tutoring. I think she can also do better on her essay. I’ll have to think on the date…</p>
<p>It’s going to be tough to bring up the math score too much without having some calculus background. Did she sign up to get her test booklet back so she can review the ones she got wrong? If so, that would help. Her stats are good enough as they are to get her into most colleges around the country so that is nice. If she could bump that ACT up to a 30, it would just give her more options for $$$ from schools!! If she was my D I would wait until June to have as much exposure to math in school as possible–unless your school gets out in say mid-May, then take the April test.</p>
<p>Morning all! Congrats on the ACT scores Midwestmom! We didn’t wait up (I didn’t even realize they were coming out today until yesterday, for some reason I thought they came out Wednesday.) D & I looked at them this morning. We’re both pretty happy but as with the SAT she is consistently lobsided. I think it’s an accurate picture of her but only in the rarified air of CC would I sigh at her math score. I’m trying to wrap my head around match & reaches when her CR/English/Reading is well above the 75% for all schools but her math scores at the higher ranked schools are toward the 25%. First world problem ;)</p>
<p>In response to grad school: I applied to grad school before D1 was born, tried to go when she was 4 months old. Didn’t work out. Went back when D2 was in 2nd grade, then moved & had to transfer. Finished grad school when I was 44. You know if you’re thinking that it’s going to take you 3 years and you’re going to be x years old when you’re done…well you’re going to be that old anyway in 3 years so you may as well go back. One of the better choices that I’ve made.</p>
<p>I am thinking June, too. After testing in Feb and March, she may not be too keen on the idea of studying for another test in April. We will see how she does on the SAT in two weeks. She has been going over her PSAT online and working through the ones she missed in math, plus doing her online math review. If she scores high enough on that maybe there won’t be a need for her to retest. Honestly, she may need to practice a few more science tests and try to get a little higher in that. I heard, though, that this science test was a hard one. If she can just get that one more point…</p>
<p>I can’t remember if she ordered the test booklet, I will have to check. I would love to see it. Although her score was only a 22, she had two subtests in the 60’s percentile and one in the 74th, and that is a big improvement for her. There is a possibility of her getting extra time, but she didn’t think she would need it because she said that some things she doesn’t know and was not going to know even if she sat there longer. After sitting through the test she felt the same way. That is something we may have to discuss. </p>
<p>I am still very proud of her. Her scores in english and reading tell me that she did not rush through, she took her time. She is very used to being the first one finished, and I am so glad that she paced herself and used her time wisely.</p>
<p>Thanks RobD! Glad to hear that your D was happy with her score. That is such a relief. My D was so nervous, which I was actually glad to see since she has been somewhat lackadaisical about this process so far, that she had me check them for her. Her reaction was great, she was very proud :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the response about grad school. I applied years ago, but it didn’t work out. I am definitely ready to go back, and I have the same thought that you expressed…I’m going to be three years older anyway. It’s nice to hear about people who went back in their 30’s and 40’s, inspiring!</p>
<p>SteveMA~ My D’s teacher for alg. II also taught her geometry last year in which D struggled terribly. Thankfully, she has been a great, supportive teacher to D, and really seems to care about her success. But, I know that she will be very glad for D to move on to College Algebra with a different teacher! Little does she know that I have a son that she will be meeting very soon! ;)</p>
<p>My grandpa went back to get his BA after he retired at age 65. He kept taking classes until he was 85 years old. It was a great way for him to spend his retirement years. I will probably do something similar, taking classes anyway, I have a BS already.</p>
<p>That is great about your Grandpa! I love going to school, and starting this process with my D has me envious! I already have a BS, but have always wanted to get my master’s.</p>
<p>I know that a couple of tours we have been on I have thought, “I wonder if they have explored the option of opening dorms for old people like us” :). I can see retiring to a college campus, taking in all of the football and basketball games, eating in the dining halls, etc. as well as taking classes.</p>
. It’s tough. We told the kids how much we would help pay, would not could. That number is not very high so the kids have reasonable expectations of where they will be able to go. Our oldest made it through college with minimal help from us. He got a couple small scholarships, he was not a high achieving HS student by any means but did well enough on his ACT to get some money there. His summer job was enough to cover his costs after that (and taking some loans) and we paid for books and a few things. Our next two are much better students. Their grades and test scores should put them in line for some nice merit aid. We end every conversation about college though with the “it will come down to who gives you the best package” so it’s on their mind, a lot. If they had a meltdown over paying for college, our assistance would quickly go away and they would be left to fend for themselves. DH and I put ourselves through college, paid for every penny (with some scholarships) and graduated with “high” loan amounts for the time. We managed just fine, so can our kids.</p>