<p>I’m glad I found this thread.
It’s been a frustrating week with my daughter! She’s taking a Dual Credit Class and failed the midterm this week. Now she has to get an 80 on the final to get a B in the course. She is totally capable of that academically, but has other issues that make me scared.
Trying to decide which is worse getting a C on her transcript (HS and college) or a W and retaking it next semester.
Any opinions?</p>
<p>I’ve spent the last few weeks browsing through many of the forums and was finally prompted to sign up when I saw this thread…so that I can say “thank you”! Living in Europe for the past 20+ years, I’ve realized that the college scene has become a whole new ball game and this site is the perfect orientation - thanks to all of you who take the time to post.</p>
<p>Welcome Connie & earthmother!</p>
<p>Definite changes since 20 years ago.</p>
<p>Connie - I have no answer for you. I’ve heard the C and working thru a tough course can make for a good essay. However, as we look in depth at scholarships, I wish I would have been more proactive in having my son protect his GPA.</p>
<p>Finally got my taxes done and have spent the day running Net Price Calculators. I ran 25. We are in the high end of the middle class donut hole. I expected to see swings of $10k. The actual results were up to $30k! This is suppose to be actual packages, so results were EFC plus GAP.
I know the calculators are still so new that I can’t depend on the numbers, but the big swings now have me in even more anxious about affording college. I did see a pattern – OOS publics without many OOS scholarships should be eliminated; LACs in the 75 - 120 had the worst aid and were hit or miss on scholarships. End results is I think Oxy needs to come off my son’s list. Their determination of our need was just much higher than others. I think son should give Muhlenberg serious thought.</p>
<p>I also played around with his GPA for scholarships on the calculator. A .1 difference in his UW GPA will have a huge effect. He is at 3.6 UW currently.</p>
<p>The colleges that included scholarship info on the calculators gave great info. One stated the courses and reweighting the college does; others stated only UW is reviewed; others stated what years considered (9th - 11th; 10th-mid 12th). </p>
<p>I need another hobby. Spending most of Saturday running calculators really has illuminated how obsessed I am.</p>
<p>Welcome anniezz, connie and earthmother! It’s going to be a fun year! I have a DS12 that is waiting to hear back for reaches, and DD13 just took her first SAT today. The process begins again!</p>
<p>DD13 said the that most of the SAT was “easy”, but some sections (2?) were hard. She said there was no inbetween. We shall see how she does and then start picking colleges based on her scores. Very exciting!</p>
<p>Welcome to all the three newbies to the thread. This is a nice group of folks and a nice range of kids. </p>
<p>I can’t believe we are midway through the third quarter. Blows my mind. Graduation dates have been set: Baccalaureate June 2 and Graduation June 3. Yeep! D’s grades so far this quarter are very good. I am especially proud that AT THIS MOMENT she is doing really well in Physics. I was scared to death of her taking that class because I’m not a math person and struggled with “Physics for Jocks” in college but she is handling it really well. In many ways she is like her Dad. I can get really freaked out by a tough challenge but she thrives in that environment. </p>
<p>Longhaul, I am with you on worrying about the financial aspect. We will not qualify for FA and cannot pay for my D to go to a really good school full pay. So, we are either looking at schools we can pay for in full or schools in which D can get merit money, which eliminates schools that would be reaches. I feel badly about that, to be honest. But, we can’t reverse time and we started saving later than most. Agh, the things I would go back and change!</p>
<p>We’ll be looking at a few colleges over Spring Break, then D will take the SAT in May, her APUSH exam and then get ready for final exams! Time is FLYING!</p>
<p>Longhaul, I’ve been freaking about my son’s gpa lately. It just dawned on me that his 3.0 is actually much lower if just looking at the core academic classes. It’s closer to a 2.0 then. His school doesn’t even weight (they don’t offer advanced classes anyway), so it is what it is. I’ve pretty much given up on the calculators. I have an NCP in the mix that just mucks everything up. He just informed me that he’ll be retiring from the military this year. UI have the obvious safeties on deck. Now it’s just a matter of finding some realistic hail mary schools (how’s that for an oxymoron) to add. I’ll start looking for “matches” once the final test scores are in. But basically, if the school doesn’t offer excellent need based aid, there’s no point in his even applying. He is not getting any significant merit.</p>
<p>Vandygrad, I keep checking my school district’s website for next year’s calendar. I don’t understand why it shouldn’t be up by now. Don’t they realize I need to start planning???</p>
<p>vandygrad87–why feel bad? She will still get a great education at any of the 2200 other schools around the country. We are considering one reach school for DS and only because that has been his “dream” school since he was about 5. After that we are specifically targeting schools where they would come in high on the merit list. Every school we have looked at has been fantastic. Most have higher placement rates into medical school and better employment rates into DS’s program than the “top” schools so why not. The one school we visited-every senior in DS’ program had landed jobs for after graduation by NOVEMBER of their senior year. Nope, not worried about that program at all. It will probably be where he goes if he doesn’t get into and get big bucks for his #1. We are still looking at schools so that could change, but I doubt it. It has everything he wants–much like his #1, just a much smaller scale.</p>
<p>In talking with DD, she is now waffling on wanting to visit Truman. We will see if that changes in a couple weeks when we were supposed to go. Part of that is that they are not open for visitors on the day we wanted to go (according to the website). She needs to call but their admissions office closes before she gets home from school-you have to call before 2:30–what is up with that?</p>
<p>I just realized the time change. I was wondering how I managed to sleep in but felt no more rested than usual.</p>
<p>Oh and I’ve been reading up on my son’s myers briggs type, which is infp. And how funny is it that each of the career areas that he’s shown an interest in, is listed as ideal for his type?</p>
<p>Good morning! Happy Sunday! I hope all the SAT takers did well!! </p>
<p>S3’s show was sold out all 3 nights, so rumor has it they are adding an additional show next week. The past two weeks have been 15 hour days at school (leaves the house at 7:30 AM, goes to school, then tennis, then straight to drama). Luckily, with state testing for the sophomores, he gets to go in late Tuesday and Wednesday. My DH and I have been practicing being “empty nesters”. Tennis is going well. The good news is that he and his partner have won all their matches, the bad news is that his partner annoys him. Oh well, hard to make a 16 year old happy.</p>
<p>Hello and Happy Sunday to all </p>
<p>DD called after the SAT yesterday and said she felt good about it. She didn’t eat enough for breakfast (usually doesn’t) and her stomach was growling during the test which embarrassed her - but she felt good overall. That’s what I’ll have to hold on to until the scores come in. </p>
<p>Anyone know how long they usually take to be available on-line?</p>
<p>My D was among the Saturday SAT takers. The March scores are supposed to be available online March 29.</p>
<p>I’m trying to decide what schools to visit over spring break. Wish I knew those SAT scores now.</p>
<p>Hi All! Welcome to our new members (or should I say those who have unlurked 
Anniezz, Connie1995 & Earthmother1965! </p>
<p>Hoping that all who took SATs yesterday get good news at the end of the month!</p>
<p>D2 visited D1’s school on Thursday. It went well despite the fact that she wasn’t feeling well. It was the first time that she did more than the standard dog & pony show info session & tour. She met with the recruiter for the honors college, head of the special liberal arts program (takes 100 students a year) and head of the honors english dept. The size of the school is still an issue for her and she thinks of it as her sister’s school, but she did like the liberal arts program (she said she’d definitely apply to it) and one of the profs mentioned that although they didn’t have a creative writing major (just a minor) they’d encourage her to craft her own major via their New College initiative. </p>
<p>Two interesting things from the visit: one of the profs asked her where else she was considering. After she listed the schools he said “you definitely seem like the type of student who will succeed wherever you go, and you’ll end up going to grad school. I may be shooting myself in the foot, but really you should go with whomever ends up giving you the best financial package.” Which as D2 & I said as we were walking out would probably be this particular school, but it was an aha moment hearing it from a faculty member. 2nd thing: when doing our rack & stack post visit review, D2 mentioned that she still liked UNC-Asheville a little more than UA. I asked point blank what her reaction would be if she got a minimal scholarship from UNCA (which is likely as they’re not generous with OOS $$$) vs. a full ride from UA. Without hesitation she said she’d pick UA. Which made me breath a deep sigh of relief. I feel a little better about the stress of next Spring.</p>
<p>Welcome to the newbies. Hope all the SAT takers (and parents) get the scores they are hoping for. Take a deep breath-the SAT wait is much shorter than the PSAT wait.</p>
<p>We are in the middle of a college swing for Spring Break. Looking at a few schools in the mid-Atlantic states. Have to cut it short as S’13 has to be home by Th to travel to the state French competition. So we fly home late W and he is on a bus early the next day. When does this all slow down?</p>
<p>My son took the SAT yesterday and said it wasn’t too bad. That was good news, considering he came out of the last ACT complaining about how difficult the science section seemed. We’re planning on visiting Univ of Montana, Montana State, Gonzaga, and Whitworth during the last 4 days of our spring break.</p>
<p>RobD~ Do you mean U of Alabama? My D has that somewhere on her list, but I worry about the size of it. I have read that they give good FA to OOS, but haven’t looked into it too much yet. We will be driving through Asheville this summer, and are considering a visit at UNCA, but D’s stats may be a bit off. I apologize if you have said recently, but is your D planning to be a liberal arts major or STEM? </p>
<p>D is much more relaxed today after all of the preparing for and taking the SAT yesterday. I know she felt the pressure. My own experiences helping her go through the red and blue books make me wonder which test D will connect with more. She did not seem as prepared for the SAT, despite the practice, where I did think she seemed as ready as she could have been for the ACT at test time. For some reason, I found the SAT harder to prepare for. </p>
<p>Count me, too, as obsessed with the net calculators. I have done MANY.</p>
<p>I too have run many net price calculators. Has really helped us narrow down some LAC choices.</p>
<p>I think S has a basic visit/prospect list done. He is still unsure about a large or small school.</p>
<p>We have visited Iowa State and will visit U Minnesota this spring. If he decides to attend a large school it will probably be one of those.</p>
<p>For small schools, the NPC’s have been a great help. We will have our 2nd and final visit to Truman State next month. Summer visits may include Wooster, Rhodes, and/or Centre.</p>
<p>The more I read about Centre, the more I like it. We will see what S thinks.</p>
<p>Midwestmom: yup to u of Alabama. Both my kids are liberal arts kids; d1 is a history major with an Italian minor but she is starting a second major in operations management within the B-school. D2 is a future English major hoping to focus in creative writing. Problem for d2 is that she’s cut all schools smaller than her hs (2000) so a lot of lac’s are now out. I think she can make UA small enough by participating in their honors program and Blount undergraduate initiative.</p>
<p>We loved UNC Asheville. Such a great town.</p>
<p>Haystack: I toured centre with d1 and liked it; ultimately it was too remote for her & d2 won’t look there because it’s too small. Our hs’s ap history teacher has a child there and has lots of good things to say.</p>
<p>One thing that I was trying to discern from UNC-A is whether or not it is a “suitcase” school. If my kid were going there, as OOS, would there be enough to do there on the weekends? Just a thought. </p>
<p>I wish my D enjoyed obsessing about different colleges with me. I love looking at all the different options, the viewbooks, the virtual tours and imagining her there. Of course, it’s about her, not me and all the pressure is on her and not me, which makes it much less fun for her. Still, there are so many times when I see or hear of a college and I really want her to look at it but Nope! Not gonna happen!</p>
<p>Sacchi - Thanks for the score info. March 29th is MUCH better than the 2 months we waited for the PSAT scores to be reported by DD’s school! </p>
<p>Haystack - I don’t know if you are local, but just a heads-up, U of Minnesota is a major suit-case school. Born and raised in Mpls and did my Master’s Degree at UMN. Great school but filled with kids who definitely go home on the weekends! : )</p>
<p>laurendog–there are over 40,000 students on that campus, 30,000+ undergrads, there are plenty of kids that stick around on the weekends. There are several kids from our school attending there and none of them come home on weekends.</p>