<p>GeminiMom: thank you for the recomendation. I ordered the prep book for APUSH. It should reach here by the end of this week.
Here, teachers don’t teach to the test per se…but now that they have covered all the material they are doing practcie tests in class and as homework too.</p>
<p>Ama308: Since your D wasn’t familier with the format of the test, probably why she had a low score. As she does more practice tests, she will be able to raise her score. She has two more weeks and this is the preparation time. I am sure, with couple of pratcie tests, she will be able to pull it up. Encourage her to review the concepts and that helps as well. Wishing her all the best. If she is doing SAT math 2, then she definitly has to review pre- calculus concpets and it is quite different from the AP CALCULUS test.</p>
<p>Regarding AP Scores: My understanding is that the commpn App asks for AP scores. May be we can choose to not report them.</p>
<p>^The Common App does ask for AP scores, but it’s a self-report, so I don’t know why you’d have to report them if you didn’t want to.</p>
<p>CBGMass, 2 more school thoughts: William & Mary & University of Richmond. Southern, so probably not quite as welcoming as some others, but judging from the students I’ve known at both (DH is a teacher/coach), probably on a par with Emory.</p>
<p>We found that AP scores didn’t help D11 at all, in fact many top tier schools will require the student to retake the courses in college particularly if they are part of their major’s core. It did help a little after D got in with her course selection for gen ed requirements. If your kid is on scholarship, in a demanding major (engineering, biochem, etc) I would recommend they retake the course as a GPA booster so that if they have trouble in other courses the stress of maintaining the 3.4/3.5 GPA required for many scholarships is minimized…</p>
<p>Wahoo, ooooh, that one made me cringe poor guy. I hope the oral surgeon can get him fixed up quickly and with minimal pain. Youre not kidding about this weather cold again in NE Ohio too the poor flowers dont know what to do! </p>
<p>Apollo, that just breaks my heart. D22 had more mean girl drama in KINDERGARTEN than most teenagers have. As a parent, you want to teach them how to deal with these situations in a non-violent way, but at the same time youd really just like them to clock the kid! In Ds case, she just had to learn to ignore the ringleader who was only trying to get a rise out of her. It took her awhile to understand that if the girl didnt get the reaction she wanted, she and her posse would eventually move on to someone else. I hope the experience thickened her skin a bit . . . and I hope she never shares a class with the little . . . again!</p>
<p>Fineartsmom, I doubt the finances would work for us, but CMU definitely sounds like a place my S13 would fit right in. He would be in heaven surrounded by techie types and artists - I call him my Renaissance Man.</p>
<p>Agree with DONI that practice makes, uh, better, if not perfect. Ds’s first practice BC Cal test was an 85 just last week. Then an 85, then a 92. This last test, he got a 96. That’s really helped his confidence.</p>
<p>boston also makes a good point. It’s great to take these tests and could help with college admissions and may place your kid out of courses, but each college is so different and so is each kid, so this really is a case of YMMV. Ds1’s LAC wouldn’t take all his APs; they limit how many classes you can get out of with APs. If he’d gone with his no. 2 choice, a state uni, he would have entered one class shy of sophomore status. Knowing this, I let ds2 skip one test that he didn’t feel super-confident about. APs are great, and doing well on the tests is great, but it’s not a make-or-break thing, IMO. </p>
<p>Also, the only academic trouble ds1 has had at his LAC was using his 5 in BC Cal to jump right into multivariable. Big mistake for him, and he questioned his adviser about it the summer before he started. Ds had, yes, gotten a 5, but it was his junior year, and he opted to take AP Stats senior year rather than MV Cal, so he was rusty. Adviser assured him that he’d be fine. Well, he wasn’t! That’s the only class he’s dropped, and he is meeting his math requirement another way.</p>
<p>CBGMass, Oberlin was the first that came to my mind too so surprised its not on the PR list. Getting to the city (Cleveland or Akron) would require a car and 50-60+ minutes depending on traffic. </p>
<p>APs last year S13s teacher did not prepare them at all for APUSH he did self study and got a 5, but most kids got 2s and 3s. This year, AP Euro and AP Art History teachers have been doing practice tests and DBQs/FRQS throughout the year. One is doing after school study sessions starting this week. These teachers have a good track record with high scores. Physics teacher is new this year and they are not even done with the material, so S13 started self-studying. </p>
<p>S13 is apply to a wide range of schools. Some top schools wont give much AP credit at all, some will give tons of credit. Hes planning on engineering/CS, so no need to retake history, art, English if he doesnt have to having AP credit will allow him to take less credits per semester or take more interesting electives. Physics B credit will be useless as an engineering major, but taking the test is a requirement for enrolling in the course. If the HS offered Physics C, he still probably would have retaken it in college.</p>
<p>AP tests: S2 got a 4 in AP Eng Lang with the absolute worst teacher on the planet and no prep. And he had an A+ in AP CALC AB and got a 2. It did not seem to hurt him with admissions. I don’t remember reporting scores, but since he had a certain number of 4’s (also got a 4 in AP Bio and AP US) he was considered an “AP Scholar” or something like that which we did include on the common application. </p>
<p>Wahoo: OUCH!!! S2 had to have oral surgery because 2 of his teeth were growing horizontal instead of vertical. They attached a chain to them and then attached the chain to his braces and slowly brought them down. </p>
<p>Apollo: I am so sorry about the bullies, it breaks my heart to hear those things. </p>
<p>MDmom: Go on a tour of a local college, even on a weekend, even if it is one he is sure he doesn’t want to go to just to get a feel of a tour. Probably with his sport he has been on a lot of college campuses? It is ideal to do tours during the week, during the school year, but life is too busy for that sometimes. Since you are in Southern California maybe you should try a school or two in the Claremont Consortium? My mom took S3 and said they are beautiful. </p>
<p>Mommydearest: I like the term “Renaissance man”. S3 has A LOT of interests (school newspaper, drama, tennis, cross country, student government, sailing, etc…). I always said I should have named him Jack (for Jack of all trades, master of …).</p>
<p>TX5: Thanks for the advice Working on a late summer trip for the east coast over a long weekend. He has taken all TX schools off of his list and has added UCLA which some-what pains me as we are a USC family.</p>
<p>S13 has asked about FL schools for some reason…does anyone have any suggestions for a Track athlete with a 4.8 GPA???</p>
<p>CBGMass
Pitzer was the first school that came to my mind. Meets full need with loans. It is part of Claremont Consortium (which I love). Pomona may also be good, but Pitzer goes beyond the norm. They even have transgender housing.</p>
<p>PghMom
Based on all you are saying, I may have son add OU as a financial safety. Please do post your impressions on the National Merit sub-forum. </p>
<p>My son has called it quits to college search for now, but I haven’t. Been going through the mail and running NPC daily. Difficult enough to narrow down schools he likes. Impossible to find he likes AND hopes of affording. His low unweighted GPA really hurts at many LACs as so many of their NPC states merit is based on unweighted. You can be sure I’ll teach my younger kids to protect their GPA.</p>
<p>MDMom1314–track scholarships are few and far between and then if you do get one, it MIGHT be a 1/4 scholarship. Often track kids with high stats do better with “merit aid” at DIII schools. If a D3 school wants you badly enough, they tend to find money for you to go, especially if they are a highly ranked program…just saying…</p>
<p>MDmom: Plus “recruited athletes” tours are different than “regular” tours. you might get VIP treatment!! Have you guys been on the USC tour? Maybe that would change his mind?</p>
<p>Yea, that reminds me. UCSD was hosting two groups the day we were there in January. One for regular folks, like DD, and one for athletes. Maybe they said they were moving from D2 to D1? The athlete group was pretty large, if I recall. </p>
<p>Anyway, successful ACT today, according to DD. It was state testing, that is why it was on a Tuesday. Onward to May 5 SAT.</p>
<p>Wow, you guys ARE active! For the other newbies like me, my coping strategy is to catch up via the weekly summary I get in my email - makes for a good break from work I’ve become a big CC fan, I’ll tell you that - you all give great insights and have made it so much easier for us to find a good summer science program for our son. I almost wish he were leaning more towards US universities instead of the UK (although since we live in Belgium, I have to admit I want him closer to home…). Still, I’ve convinced him to register for the SATs, just to keep all his university options open…but don’t laugh when I tell you he’s taking the May tests and has done practically zero prep! I can’t figure out why there aren’t summer dates…</p>
<p>Hi Everyone,
I have a question regarding the amount of time for EC actviities. My dd does an outside activity for approximately 11 hours per week, 11 months a year. During competitin season (basically late December through July), there is an extra 18-20 hours per month.
I noticed applications often ask for # of hours of participation. Is it better to just average it (saying she does 16 hours per week), or try and explain it?
Any comments are appreciated.</p>
<p>THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE for your sagely advise about the AP tests and their meaning…you all have helped me calm down…</p>
<p>This whole process is so unnerving and the kids work sooo hard…when the teacher who is head of the math dept can’t see that they need extra help and they don’t tell the parents…that is a Travesty…</p>
<p>Again Thank You All…I’m so Glad I found you…</p>
<p>VBC mom: I don’t know the answer to your question, but if I remember correctly they ask number of hours per week and number of weeks per year. So maybe you just want to put the 8 months of competition season?</p>
Working on a late summer trip for the east coast over a long weekend. He has taken all TX schools off of his list and has added UCLA which some-what pains me as we are a USC family.</p>