<p>Wldtrvr- Great Story! One year, when I was teaching a 10th graders, I made a list of every famous successful person I could find whom didn’t graduate from a “Big Name” school (example - Oprah = Tennessee State.) The kids were flabbergasted that all wealthy and successful people didn’t attend places that they 1. had heard of or 2. were impossible to get into. ha ha Loved seeing those MN schools in your story. Makes me homesick. </p>
<p>Congrats to all the Lucky 13’ers for being elected to just about everything! Hooray! Hooray! </p>
<p>my3gr8boyz - Wow! Excellent SAT scores! Really fantastic! Major, major kudos to your S! </p>
<p>Walker - OMG! I absolutely worship the fact that you said she ‘made BANK’ with the nanny job! LOL! </p>
<p>89 Wahoo - I think you are spot-on with the Superscoring discussion. I haven’t encountered one college that will Superscore the ACT. Oh wait - I see Mama posted something about U of Chicago doing this. Well, I stand corrected - and it certainly isn’t common practice…</p>
<p>Bit of interesting news. Step-D’s mom called today and said that through family tree research, they have authentically discovered that Step-D’s great-grandmother was Cherokee Indian. I do believe the great-grandmother was registered with the Cherokee but am not certain. Apparently that side of the family has some documentation and paperwork so we’ll have to see what that says. I’m of two minds about this discovery. 1.On one hand, Step-D is not actively engaged in a tribe at the moment and is not (in her daily life) ~culturally~ Native American. However, 2. her mother’s side of the family does have a long and painful past, including some of the historical battles that Native Americans have faced and are continuing to face. This discovery actually may explain some things that have always been curious/depressing/un-spoken in that family history. I have no idea if Step-D will end up pursuing this genealogical journey and I have no idea if this will even be mentioned on college applications or to admissions officers, but I do find the entire thing fascinating.</p>
<p>Thanks for that info - My dd will probably qualify too - taking ACT in June but if she does as well on that as SAT she should be fine - since her school doesn’t rank - not sure about the 3%.</p>
<p>Congrats blushoe’s D, YDS’ son, Walkers d13a, 89wahoo’s d, My3gr8boyz s (welcome back)! Bappy1’s d, did I miss anyone? So much good news. Even if things started on a bad note, there tends to be a positive. We have some wicked aweome kids!!!</p>
<p>Oh and S landed safely in Vermont. His flight was about 45 minutes late in arriving though. It started pouring right when they were ready to take off and the runway flooded. He texted me from the plane and said that he thought Lake Champlain was in VT.</p>
<p>I’ve enjoyed catching up with the news while I’m home with a sore throat!</p>
<p>my3–There is absolutely no need for your son to retake a superscored 2360, and many colleges don’t consider the writing section anyway, so to them your son has a perfect 1600. The admissions officers sometimes don’t even see how many times the student took the exam, as scores are sometimes superscored by computer or by a student working in the admissions offices, as I understand it.</p>
<p>correlation b/t PSAT and grades–My D’s AP statistics class analyzed her class’s PSATs and GPAs and found a strong correlation (I can’t remember exactly what). The top four scorers on the PSAT were the four students with the best GPA (all were 4.0 unweighted and over 5 weighted).</p>
<p>CBG- D has told me about the kids at the very top in her school. I feel so bad. There are several first generation students and these kids take education seriously. One student has bragged that she is not longer on social networking and hasn’t hung out with friends in months and wakes early (4 am) to study. What a waste of youth. I love my B+/A- student- she is a leader and really knows how to have fun. Somehow, I am much more confident in her future than these kids who are piling the stress on. </p>
<p>D attends an honors school that is consistently in the top 25 lists nationally. It takes a ton of work for an A± but an A- is doable. </p>
<p>As an employer I worry about the race for better test results. There is something very powerful about social skills. My slacker friends from college are really some of the most successful adults I know.</p>
<p>I have a good friend who is a President of a multi million dollar company that always says “A students work for B students”. He should know since he was a B student! Sometimes that is true!</p>
<p>I’m not to sure about that…my H went through all of HS and his first 3 years at USC in the Marshall Business School with straight A’s. He went in for Real Estate Development (mid-80’s) and ended up starting a clothing company.</p>
<p>Jr works his tail off to get A’s, but he also puts just as much work into his sport. For him, it’s the perfect balance of the 2.</p>
<p>LOL- YDS. That would be great. Maybe her could displace D’s current BF- not so fun. </p>
<p>AHS- I love that saying. A former employee once told me “C’s get degrees.” LOL. </p>
<p>Finearts, that is an interesting approach to Val. I wish I know how adcom’s looked at these things. Our school simply does not have a Val/Sal (according to my D). </p>
<p>Congrats and condolences to all with the test results. </p>
<p>Lot of health concerns. Take care everyone.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies to my AP test results question. It’s good to know that we could actually go and schedule reasonably early and still get credit.</p>
<p>Next, I have another dilemma on my hands. D’13 has taken the ACT test four times. She has received a 25/26/27/26. I am trying to convince her to take the ACT one more time in September hoping to receive/increase merit aid. She will be pretty busy this summer on an 8-week internship at Ford. I feel like I would be pushing her to study in all of her free time over the summer. (I know I wouldn’t want to study over the summer after working an 8 hour day.) Should I just let this go…thinking the 27 is the most that she is capable of? Or should I keep pushing for that 5th test, summer studying, and possible merit money?</p>
<p>professionalmom= I would surrender but I know those decisions are hard. And we are also debating a surrender on the SAT. Sounds like she will be pretty busy.</p>
<p>Four times is a lot for the ACT. I would say that she is consistent with her scores and is it realistic she will bring it up more? Check and see if the schools she is considering super score for merit aid. A few of the schools we are looking at do and that could make a big difference for your DD.</p>
<p>AP Chemistry teacher does not want to give the kids a retest. In a way I am happy because son is learning a valuable lesson- life ain’t always fair. In any case, out of three major tests, he took the first one. He was given an exempt in the second one because he was taking an AP test. On the third, he and the class were not told they were suppose to use formuale written on the board. So they wasted their time trying to solve problems that could not be solved with the given info and probably didn’t spend enough time on the ones they could. Thank God for AP test scores and SAT/ SAT subject tests. In the event his grade suffers, I think, I am going to make a copy of the online grade page and attach it with his college applications, to show the colleges how this school came up with his class grade; and that will be the end of it. Thanks to both SteveMA and Vandy for suggesting I not speak to the teacher. The last thing we need is an angry teacher who has to grade him on the final exam.</p>
<p>ProfessionalMom- I too think that four times is enough. My D has taken the SAT two times and I would like her to be done. Ultimately I will let her decide, but she needs to do something very compelling to take it again, like go take a math review class at the CC and maybe an SAT prep class as well. Otherwise, I’m just not sure we will see enough improvement and I’m not sure I like the message it sends the colleges. My hope is that her grades and other accomplishments will help. It does kill me a little bit in terms of what it will mean for merit aid for her and thus for her choices, but what can you do?</p>
<p>perazziman- Your solution sounds like a good one. I’m glad my advice was helpful. My son came home today with a story of life being unfair… and it was. But, sometimes it just is and I told him his attitude in how he handles it is more important. We’ll see how he handles finding out tomorrow that he wasn’t chosen for the Memorial Day All-Star baseball tournament. Whoo hoo- I can hardly wait… Ugh!</p>
<p>Hey folks, D just came home. Apparently there was an awards ceremony today. She won the St Michaels Book Award for being a Scholar, Leader, and engaged in the World around her. Something like that. Sheesh. You think she would have texted. She is just frustrated that she already owns the book. Me thinks she is done with school.</p>
<p>Ds is so done with school. Came home today and slept three hours. And yesterday said that normally he 's a little sad when schools over but that this year he’s ready. He will, however, miss his many friends in the Class of 2012.</p>
<p>Hi All…wow I could barely catch up today…
YDS…Lyme disease…fever, not feeling good etc etc…my D got it with only a rash that we noticed, No Tick bite…it’s worth checking out…a simple blood test if nothing else shows up…</p>
<p>D’s school…No Val, No Sal, No GPA, No Ranking…I know strange…
but no Competition either…all the kids (for the most part ) Love each other…very few disciplinary issues…and the kids get into Great schools…that are Right for them…not all Ivy’s… but a few do get in…</p>
<p>Too many post to comment on…but I Feel all of you guys…and I’m right there with you…</p>
<p>I gave up being upset about the SAT Subject test results…she realized Today…that she should have studied…so she is going to take them again in June instead of the SAT…and then the ACT in June again as she did SO much better on the ACT…of course she studied a little for that but she needs 2 SAT Subject for her dream school…they are only recommended…but we know that means…do them…</p>
<p>I hope everyone is having a Great evening…I’m Reading everything and Loving it all…just working tooooooo hard to post a lot…</p>
<p>I think …The Odds Are In Our Favor…cause we have each other to learn from and vent to…
Mimosa anyone???</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies about GPA/Rank vs. Test Scores. Sounds like sometimes high testers are top students, and sometimes theyre not. </p>
<p>Great post wrldtravlr - I too know lots of success stories of people with shockingly low ACTs . . . and some of people who barely graduated high school let alone college! (Im married to one!)</p>
<p>My3gr8boyz I wouldnt take the ACT with that SAT score. S did it the other way around did great on the ACT so didnt bother with the SAT. The way that I understand superscoring is that you select that all test dates be sent, then the school looks at the best section from each date you cant cherry pick a section from each test to send and hide the rest though. You only get the free reports up to a couple days after the test is taken if you dont add schools at that point, then the free reports are forfeited. With the SAT, you only have to pay for one report for each college that can include all the scores. With the ACT, you have to pay separate for each test date to be sent to each college which, as I understand it, is why many schools dont superscore the ACT as it puts lower income families at a disadvantage. We did not take advantage of the free reports since we werent sure how hed do. Lastly, my son has a big ole Osgood-Schlatter bump on the growth plate on his tibia under his knee it doesnt bother him though. </p>
<p>WTG, Blueshoes D! Good for her for continuing to try!</p>
<p>Walker, your posts crack me up. I could not pull off saying fo shizzle! Congrats to A for GSP! And ewww to B for spider bite!</p>
<p>Ahsmuoh the article said 34 ACT, but Im sure they accept the SAT equivalent. Ive read on CC about how GCs give a sort of rank even if the school doesnt rank. I know theres some way around that.</p>
<p>I’m watching The Gladiator. I am Maximus and that weirdo Joaquin whats-his-face is my nemesis, The Great and Powerful College Admissions Process. I shall be triumphant!! Lol</p>
<p>Looking forward to a long weekend of home maintenance and thankfulness for the veteran who resides here. </p>
<p>Speaking of veterans, is there any other scholarships related to the children of vets other than the Yellow Ribbon project? DH is using that right now for his MBA. He is checking but he may be entitled to one semester that he can gift to one of our kids.</p>
Me thinks she is done with school.</p>