<p>dadotwoboys–my senior year prom, we went over to one of the boys’ house and were watching movies in their basement, about 10 of us there. About 3 in the morning the girls all left because we were worried his parents would be mad that we “slept over”. Come to find out that his mom had it all planned had this HUGE breakfast for everyone, but we were not there to eat it.</p>
<p>Welcome, CBGMass!
Concerning college visits for D13, I’m afraid that she’s only seen the local options! They are both safeties but good schools and I think that she would be happy. She’ll see Chicago when we go out to drop her brother off in September, and will probably do a trip further east in October. Anything else will probably have to wait for acceptances and the spring. I don’t think she’ll have much time in the summer. It may also depend on the coaches who are interested. So far she hasn’t wanted to spend too much time online checking out possibilities. She’s afraid that she will fall in love with a school and then be rejected so she hasn’t even looked very much beyond the majors offered at various schools on her list.</p>
<p>wahoo: yikes about the tooth! I remember hearing a similar story IRL. Hope it gets resolved quickly & as painlessly as possible.</p>
<p>Welcome to our newest posters! CBGMass: First school that came to mind for me was Oberlin. Then UNC-Asheville. Maybe Milsaps & Hendrix? Tulane (I know it’s not an LAC.) I’m not at home, but one of our college books mentions something about the LGBT community for each school. I think LAC’s in the south tend to be heavier on the Greek & preppy side, which doesn’t always translate into “accepting.” ETA: the book we have is Ultimate Guide to America’s Best Colleges 2012. </p>
<p>Pgh: thanks so much for all that info about OU & their Honors college. I think it’s good to spread the love for more than one school. Wish I could get that kind of info about Arkansas.</p>
<p>CBG - Welcome! Welcome! “May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor!” (we’ve started saying that around these parts lately. 
) At any rate, I second the choice of Macalaster. Great, great school, very LGBT friendly (as is the Twin Cities) and just a gem! Also - I wouldn’t waste time and $ on another ACT test. That’s an incredibly high score and if your S’s heart is not into a re-test, he my actually do worse if he’s over it. Unless there is a ‘specific’ scholarship or other reason that is necessitating a 34 or 35 (what that would be I can’t imagine) I’d give him a big hug and say YOU’RE DONE!! :D</p>
<p>I’ve had an interesting day setting up visits for Step-D and myself this summer. So happily surprised that the schools where we are going to be on the Sunday of our visit BOTH are going to try to find us a tour guide! Wowsa! Red Carpet treatment. I figured we’d be wandering around on our own. Also major kudos to San Diego State U for finding an available tour guide for Step-D and H over Memorial Day Weekend. I wasn’t expecting that one at all! So happy with today’s developments. </p>
<p>Also…to continue our “lucky” theme in this thread - I called Marquette today after seeing that they didn’t have anything scheduled for when we were going to be up there (a Saturday) and they said they not only had something scheduled but it was a special “Wisconsin Private Schools Week” or something like this. It’s going to be a GREAT day to be on campus! Wow! So Lucky!! Yay for the Lucky 13ers! </p>
<p>PGH - After reading 2 pages of references to the U of Rochester visit, I just have to find out what went down! Congrats to your S deciding on OU. One of the truly beautiful campuses that I’ve seen.</p>
<p>laurendog, you can check the '12 thread for the full scoop, but the crowning event was getting locked out of the dorm when he went for a walk and spending the night in the entryway. :-(</p>
<p>Welcome CBG. Re: question on gay students. D did a summer program at American (loved it). I know it is not liberal arts but they have a large gay population. About ½ her friends in the program were gay. </p>
<p>Anniez, D is doing back to back tests SAT and ACT. I have agreed that she can take ACT cold with no prep. I do wish there was summer testing. These decisions are so tough between ECs and testing. You are going to second guess yourself no matter what. </p>
<p>PGH just read about the overnight for your 12er. How horrible. D and I are visiting Uof R tomorrow.</p>
<p>New here too…
I so agree about the lack of summer testing for ACT and SAT and SAT Subject tests…with AP tests and regular class finals the kids are overwhelmed…I just found out D only got a 2 on the mock AP in Calc she took and it’s counts on her grade (she has been getting a B in the class) …she studies and gets extra help…so am I crazy or is it the teachers fault? They do not teach to the test at her school and I think that is a big mistake…There are 14 days left till the exam…she’s a great student in every other class and I think this will hurt her College transcript…
She has 2 SAT Subject tests on May 5 that she also needs to study for…
She is a nervous wreck…
Any suggestions on a great prep book for the AP?
Will this hurt her College app if she only gets a 2?
thanks for the help…i enjoy reading everyones posts…</p>
<p>CBG…any school with a Theatre program will also have a Gay population and Gay is very accepted these days…not like the old days…at least up here in the north it is…</p>
<p>Ama - I think the most relevant part of your post for CBG is “at least up here in the North it is.” I’d be wary of sending a Gay student to any of the big southern schools. I lived in the South for 9 years and let me tell you - the ‘Bible’ in the ‘Bible Belt’ is alive and well in some communities. Now, if we’re talking University of Miami in Coral Gables, that’s another story…but by in large, I’d say the South has some catching up to do in acceptance of diversity in all forms. </p>
<p>About your AP worries, you never have to send a student’s AP score to any college or university. Step-D did not do very well on her 2 AP tests last year, and we don’t intend on making either score public. Does your school send their AP teachers to the AP seminar over the summer? I’ve found that this step makes a big difference in whether or not the teachers understand what the AP is expecting/ looking for at the end of the year. Step-D’s school does not do this, and it certainly is reflected in the avg scores her classmates seem to post every year. (sigh) </p>
<p>Also - I wouldn’t worry too much about the SAT Subject tests. If your D is preparing for AP tests/ finals, she’s likely already studying these subjects. Step-D is taking 3 Subject Tests on May 5th and I’ve told her not to focus on them exclusively. She’s got AP tests and finals all at the same time and I don’t want her taking time away from her school classes to try and prep separately for the Subject Tests.</p>
<p>Ama308: My DD will be taking her AP in lit on May 10. She’s doing very well in the class, but her teacher is not preparing them enough for the exam! I told her not the sweat it and just do the best she can. If the schools your D is applying to ask for her scores, definitely include it, otherwise it will look like she took an AP class but didn’t take the test, which IMO, would look worse than reporting a 2. I don’t think her score will hurt her. AP scores aren’t considered in admissions.</p>
<p>Oh! and - PGH - I read about that debacle. The whole thing sounds like a nightmare. I’m surprised the school didn’t do a better job initially of matching your S up with someone whom was remotely like him. U of R isn’t THAT big of a school - is it? At any rate, I think the fates must have intervened to send him to beautiful (and warmer) OU! He’ll love it there!</p>
<p>SteveMA (and others): Regarding Butler, what would you say the real strengths are? I love the size. High admission rate. Happy kids is a plus!</p>
<p>AP scores are not part of the “application” process so I wouldn’t worry about it too much. We have the Kaplan AP study guides that we got for free from Nook and Kindle a couple years ago. I would not blame the teacher. Some kids just do better than others on these tests. Now, if every single student in the class was getting 1’s and 2’s ok, but is that the case? Keep in mind, rigor of the classes varies from school to school and you can’t really go by grades to determine if a student is “doing well” or not unfortunately. One B is not going to hurt her transcript, especially in a higher level math class.</p>
<p>From what others have said on several threads here and in our experience, the best way to study for AP, SAT, ACT type tests is to take as many practice tests as you can. Get familiar with the types of questions asked and learn how to do any questions you aren’t familiar with. Also, learning how to take the tests are as important as knowing the material. Make sure they are watching out for words like not, always, except, etc. Those are score killing kind of questions. We told our kids to read each word in their mind, so they don’t miss those types of words. Who knows if they really did that though. My professional licence has exams similar to these tests and the wording of the questions is very similar so I tried to impart my wisdom and test strategies, however, I’m just a parent, what do I know:D.</p>
<p>editor–I don’t know that not taking the AP test is a hindrance on an application. It really depends on the school. Some of the schools our kids are looking at don’t give credit for AP tests and they can’t be used for placement in their major so there is no advantage to taking those tests, the schools know that.</p>
<p>vandy-we have only looked at Butler on paper. I would like DD to look at it up close and personal but I don’t think she will. Size, environment, etc. are all the reasons I want her to consider the school.</p>
<p>APs= our teachers do not prepare the students but D did you test prep books and it made a difference for her. For the AP LIt exam she focused on having a couple books and characters really known to her including quotes. She worked through a number of scenarios and examples. She got a 4 so we were pleased. She was only one of three 4’s and no 5’s in her school- again no prep.</p>
<p>Teachers do prep for the test here, but it does depend in part on the teacher (and perhaps the school). Some of the teachers have been through the material and prepping for several weeks now. Others seem to only now be getting through the material and starting prep work. The best of the teachers have been using “AP tests” throughout the year to get the kids ready for the look and feel of that particular test.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. She can’t take the SAT in May - she has a conflict and she won’t have time to prep for it, so I don’t think it would be worth it.<br>
DS actually got alternate (make up) tests for the June SATII because it was the same day as the ARML competition, but a sports event wouldn’t qualify for that (I don’t think.)</p>
<p>I absolutely agree that these tests should be given over the summer - it would make things so much easier!
For AP tests, DS’ school didn’t have any AP classes but he took the tests for 5 or 6 subjects (I think??) He used both Kaplan and Barrons books, and maybe princeton review too? I think the Barrons books were the most useful ones.</p>
<p>Re AP test prep: the teachers tell the kids if they need to get a prep book & if so, which one. I know that the AP US History classes have good success records so they’re well prepped in class. D2 had some practice AP Language tests she’s done for homework in the past week or two so I’m sure they’re prepping in class as well. In general, our AP teachers have pretty good pass rates, so I’m not worried. </p>
<p>21 days of school left here, which includes 2 AP test days (off site) and 4 exam days. So really only 15 days of class left. Holy…</p>
<p>Son is taking a practice AP exam today. His teacher gave out AP practice books at the beginning of school and they have used them along with the textbook. For the past 3 weeks she has held afternoon sessions to study. Son gave me the rundown of how many questions you have to get in the multiple choice and how many points you need to get in the free response to get a 5. I can’t remember the number for free response but for multiple choice you need to answer 22 correct. I’ll check the number for response if anyone is interested.</p>
<p>Wow, this thread is rocking.</p>
<p>Ama, ds’s Cal teacher also counts the practice tests as grades. In fact, it’s practically the only grade in the final six weeks. I would be a little concerned if she had a B in the class and then a 2 on the test. For the other side of the coin, my ds has a B in the class and now is making 5s on his practice tests in class. The teacher is a taskmaster. Do you know how kids have done in the past? She might need to get a practice book and work outside of class if she wants to do well. But, yeah, she doesn’t even have to report the score.</p>
<p>Interestingly, there’s a split on our campus between those who want teachers to teach to the test and those who don’t.</p>
<p>CBGMass: now that you mention it, D told me that her English teacher said that if they got over X on the practice test (I think it was 30) that you were in good shape (I don’t know if that was to get a 3 or above, or a 5. Guess I should ask.)</p>