Parents of the HS Class of 2014

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
6001

<p>For DS 14, visiting colleges has been pretty good. We’ve seen Wisconsin, Macalaster, Rice, and Washington University in St. Louis. Rice was was the favorite, and Wisconsin and Wash U were hits too. My wife and I loved Macalaster, but it didn’t click with DS '14. During the tour, the varsity football coach walked up and introduced himself, but the tour guide kind of ignored him and talked only about the vegan coop located under the stadium bleachers. </p>

<p>For the family finances though, it’s been a bit tough. In the first trip, we visited some schools on the way to camping at Glacier National Park. We had an old Honda Odyssey that had more than 150, 000 miles, decided it had enough of this trip and thus it grenaded the transmission near Nowhere, SD. We found a great little towing service that had the owner’s wife offer to drive us back to Fargo with the van. However, while being taken to the Honda dealer, the tow truck driver backed the van into another car. That’s right, our ruined van was wrecked while no one was driving… </p>

<p>On the next trip, we had a rental van that valet parking at the hotel dented the van. Of course the damage was equal to our insurance deductible. And then there was the incident with the Bad Burrito, food poisoning, and the hotel room cleanup worthy of Mr. Wolf from Pulp Fiction…</p>

<p>Oh Dear, what will this trip to the East / Mid-Atlantic bring?</p>

6002

<p>Got a great surprise today, DS got 5s on his APs! One of the AP teachers promised an AP bump, so should get a tiny boost to the GPA, too! That GPA could use a boost.</p>

6003

<p>DaveN - no offense, but we’ll bow out of joining you on trips. :wink: You should have GREAT stories to tell for future years though! Enjoy your travels.</p>

<p>Our planned Labor Day week trip may be off - S may have a new job and it isn’t generally recommended to get a job, then tell them you have to leave for a week - esp over a holiday when they are likely to be busy. The next time he’d only miss 4 days of school would be in Oct. That should still work out. He’ll just have to apply first, then visit for some schools (Eckerd is rolling and starts notifying in Oct).</p>

6004

<p>I wish teachers here would give bumps for good AP scores! But I’ve never heard of a high school in our district that does that.</p>

<p>I think we are nearing the end of our road trips. Simply no time in the calendar what with summer job, fall sports practices in August, and other commitments. DS will apply blind to some schools and just visit if he gets accepted and the school is a true contender. So far nothing has bumped Wash U from the top, but of course it is a lottery school these days. DS will have a few those on his list I think, including Dartmouth after our visit. His little sister fell in love with it too! </p>

<p>One comment he made about Dartmouth is that he felt that the atmosphere there was like his high school, meant in a very good way. His HS is a very tight knit community despite its size (1800 students) and they really rely on each other to get through a challenging course load. They collaborate on study guides and form study groups all the time, and there are a lot of shared experiences that shape the community. He felt like Dartmouth was the same, especially since almost every freshman participates in pre-orientation outdoor adventures and sophomores are required to stay on campus for Sophomore Summer. Hanover’s rural location adds to that sense of community also.</p>

<p>We also visited WPI which is a neat school, although not for everyone. Pretty campus, with a lot of construction going on. They are building new upperclassmen housing, and in recent years have upgraded the library and built a new recreational center. The athletic fields were very nice for a school its size. The dorms were old and a little shabby, so that was a negative. Again, after seeing the luxury digs at Wash U we have yet to see a dorm that compares. DS stayed overnight at Wash U and says the Tempurpedic mattresses are indeed very comfortable! WPI’s academic calendar runs on 7 week terms, with three classes each term. It’s a very hands on, project based curriculum which is right up my guy’s alley. The male/female ratio is pretty skewed so that is a negative, but Holy Cross is in the same town so that may help a little bit. DS will apply to WPI since it seems like a match academically although it is not an ideal fit.</p>

6005

<p>Dave_N: So sorry about the travel troubles. My oldest son loved Wash U and seriously considered attending. The food was awesome, he said.</p>

<p>Minnymom and vvs2010: My son would cry if he knew that teachers gave a bump for a 4 or 5 on an AP exam. The two exams that he had the scores, well, he missed A’s in the classes by less than a point. And, his teachers do not round up, nor do they offer the bump. </p>

<p>Meanwhile, Son '14 was thrilled with the 5 on the BC exam, but over the moon with a 3 in English. It is not his best subject, either. Because I’m on staff at his school, he telephoned his BC teacher, who was equally thrilled for him.</p>

<p>2014novamom: Here’s hoping my son starts those apps soon. His older brother told him that he should try to get most of his apps and essays done before fall sports practice starts in a month. Senior year, he added, is too busy to wait.</p>

6006

<p>I was released from the hospital around 1 pm on the 4th so our visit trip to Oberlin for the 5th was on! My ex-husband decided to join us which was a little bit of a relief to me. I was concerned that my energy level wouldn’t hold or I might have an issue and my son would be driving us home with me in the backseat of the car in pain or something- him nervous about it. I have Crohn’s Disease and had been in remission for 6 years but had an acute exacerbation on Monday leading to hospitalization. </p>

<p>Going in, I should mention- My ex is all about “go to college to get a career in something specific” and I am all about “go to college to get an education and do something good with it in a career”. He is conservative. I am liberal. His undergrad degree is in Accounting which he did while working 30 hours a week, going to both community college and a commuter state school. He finished his MBA in finance at the same school just before BarnardGirl was born. While unemployed for 3 years from 2009-2012, he finished an MSIS degree from the same institution where I’m in grad school now. He got a contract job last October but lost it on Friday. My undergrad degree is in Occupational Therapy and I specialized in adolescent behavioral health. After 13 years, the mental health system was in shambles, jobs were becoming scant in adolescent psych and I decided to do something completely different because my employer was saying that when they closed our program, they would put me in a physical rehab job at entry level pay (because of my lack of experience in physical rehab). Computers had become a passion so I took some courses online, set up a home computer network to practice and earned a microsoft certification. I transferred within the same health system to an IT windows administrator position. I became more and more interested in IT security and am almost done with a master’s degree in it now- working in strictly InfoSec now. </p>

<p>Oberlin- It was a busy visit day for them, being the day after a holiday. They split us into three tour groups for a 10 am tour. Our tour guide reminded me a lot of our son- similar interests, same majors he is interested in, very similar ECs. I knew my son was getting a good vibe already. The tour was interesting and even though it started raining during the tour, the campus was beautiful. The dorm room they showed us was huge- easily twice the size of my daughter’s room! The tour guide did say something about not going to college to get a job but for personal growth and I could see my ex-husband cringe. Everything on the tour was impressive from the environmental science building to the art museum and jazz building. </p>

<p>We got back from the tour and it was time for the interview. The interviewer found S in a busy lobby and he went for his interview. A housing/dining info session started while he was in the interview so my ex and I went to that and the interviewer brought S in after they were done. I was excited to hear how that interview went but had to wait until the housing session was done. He felt he connected well with the interviewer. They had discussions about his Eagle project and other ECs, The Great Gatsby (his summer reading for AP English), the Emergency Financial Manager situation in Michigan, and redistricting of congressional seats in our state. It sounds like it was a great interview, if S is judging correctly. He is well versed on those topics and passionate about those issues. </p>

<p>I was tired from the walking tour (after 3.5 days laying in a hospital bed and not able to eat real food other than eggs and yogurt- surprising how weak you get). Our plan was to find food and come back for the general admission info session. I told my S and ex that I’d ask to see what kind of information we’d get from that last info session that we hadn’t already heard and we could decide whether to stay or not. My S said “it doesn’t really matter what they say, I’m definitely applying here!” with much enthusiasm. My ex groaned out loud…lol. We decided to stay for the afternoon session.</p>

<p>We walked to the little downtown area- so cool! I love little downtown areas like that with all the local businesses. The only chain we saw was a Subway. We ate at a little cafe that had all organic, mostly locally produced foods and I was able to get eggs for lunch- a very good thing, although I had Ensure in the car in case I couldn’t find food I could eat. Over lunch, the debate about ‘type of school’ and ‘type of major’ continued. We discussed finances. I shared with my ex how I’m doing it with my D and what I plan to do for my S. He has not contributed a dime to anything but feeding them when they’re with them for almost 4 years now because, well, he couldn’t. He calmed down some after that discussion when he realized I had a plan in place. However, this debate will continue on and on until S has a job, I think. </p>

<p>I think we could have skipped the 1:30 session. I was disappointed the same student who did our tour was the student in that session because we heard the same story over again. It would have been nice to have a different perspective too. It was just chance that we’d been in that tour group too though. There were some good questions from parents and I liked the answers I heard from the admissions counselor running the session. </p>

<p>We drove around the rest of little Oberlin and headed home. S called his sister (who was VERY sad she had to work and didn’t get to see this school- she didn’t know about Oberlin during her search and, although very happy at Barnard, would have loved Oberlin too for sure). The talks continued about what other colleges are on S’ list and we’ve agreed to explore Bama and Notre Dame to please my ex. My brother lived in Alabama for a while, went to UNC Chapel Hill for grad school, and lived in the rural south for a couple decades. We’re seeing him at the end of the month so we intend to talk with him about how well my S would fit at a southern school. He will be able to give us insight. </p>

<p>We met a great family on the Oberlin tour who are from our area. The husband works for my former employer but in the same office complex where I currently work. His D is also very interested in Barnard so I talked with him about Barnard some and how great my D’s experience has been. They have a D’14 and an S’15 so both kids are exploring these schools. There was also a family from Seattle in our tour group. I asked that mom how she came to explore Oberlin from Seattle and she said the professional college counselor they hired recommended it. </p>

<p>Overall, it was a great trip although I was totally exhausted when we got home. Then our power went out before I could post all this so I just went to bed. </p>

<p>AP scores are up this morning and are higher than I thought they’d be- 2 5s and a 4. S will be thrilled when he wakes up. Few kids from our school ever get 5s. I don’t know of any from my D’s class. Have I ever mentioned that five years ago, my S did nothing but play video games (and Boy Scouts)? He used to be fine with missing a few assignments as long as he still had an A- in the class. He has completely blossomed in the last couple years and I couldn’t be more thrilled or proud of him for recognizing what he was capable of and finding the motivation to do his best.</p>

6007

<p>Good morning! </p>

<p>@Dave_N, wow, I’ll join Creekland in declining future trips with you! Sheesh! May the next trip go better.</p>

<p>DS took 1 AP, and we don’t have access until tomorrow. I’ll be tempted to peek but I’ll TRY to let him log on first (with me watching - lol) this time. I’ve peeked at everything else before he got the scores and I’m kind of feeling helicopter-y and want to see if I can back off a little.</p>

<p>He has his target colleges picked out, and they are 1 safety/match and 2 safeties, so he’ll only apply to 3. Having this settled has helped the stress level considerably! Now he is working on the Eagle project. </p>

<p>For those of you with sons in scouting, we just found out something that affects DS and that we didn’t know, so thought I’d pass along. As of January 1, the BSA is adding Cooking to its required MB list, taking away an elective and leaving the other required MBs in place. If your son has filed the Eagle paperwork by December 31, he will not have to do the additional badge. If he files January 2, he’ll need to do the badge. The Cooking badge is gnarly. Because my son turns 18 in early 2014, we had been counting on a little bit of time to get the paperwork in. Essentially, he lost several months of time to do his Eagle.</p>

6008

<p>It is curious that some teachers raise grades in AP classes and others don’t. Since these classes are marketed as a prep for the AP test and supposedly are taught with same curriculum and content, it is reasonable to give a grade bump if a student earns that 4 or 5. On the flip side, I wouldn’t want a grade lowered if a 4 or 5 isn’t achieved. Grading is so inconsistent among schools. </p>

<p>Calla- what is your reasoning for only applying to all match/ safety schools and limiting it to 3? Some people go crazy with 14 or more schools. DS11 applied to 7- 3 reach, 3 match, 1 safety. He got into all but two reaches. He is attending his dream reach and is very successful there. I will encourage DS14 to apply to up to 4 reaches, along with 4 matches and a safety as I think he may get offered merit money at some matches and ,based on older brother,reaches sometimes offer admission.</p>

6009

<p>calla, how wonderful that your son’s desired colleges are not reaches! That saves a lot of unnecessary angst and stress.</p>

<p>Dave, I hope you got your bad traveling luck out of the way forever!</p>

<p>BarnardMom, wow! You are really a trouper, going on college vists just after hospital discharge. I hope you get a chance to take a good solid rest now.</p>

6010

<p>Just as an aside, I teach AP Chem at a different school than S attends. I work hard to statistically match the class grades to the grade I predict on the AP exams. 95-100 is a 5, 90-94 is a 4. 85-90 is a 3 etc. I’ve done a pretty good job matching it up so far. BTW, a 93 is the lowest A and my school weights AP at 1.3. So a 90% earned. I’d a 117% weighted (which I think is a bit much).</p>

6011

<p>Minnymom, his dream colleges just happen to be a safety/match and a safety. :slight_smile: Both are excellent in his major.</p>

<p>We want the school which will be the best fit for him, and prestige has never been a factor. Aside from being known for his major, these schools aren’t the ones you usually see listed as standouts on CC. One has a party school reputation and one has a stoner rep - both unfairly, IMO. Well, maybe not unfairly, but you will find a solid core of students who don’t party at both schools. DS is a STEM student with Aspie tendencies. He needs a school at which he feels comfortable, and he is very comfortable both places. And I, as his mother, am comfortable that he will get the environment he needs at both schools.</p>

<p>The third school he’ll apply to is a CSU very close to us. This is a backup in case we decide, for some reason, that it would be better for him to remain close to home. The other 2 schools are within reasonable driving distance. </p>

<p>It is VERY nice not to be stressing about colleges right now, though the essays are still looming. The Eagle project is giving me enough gray hairs for now!</p>

6012

<p>Quagmire- your match for grades/ AP score seems consistent. How accurately. Do the results of test correlate to grades as you analyze data the next fall?</p>

<p>Calla- it sounds like your family has thoughtfully figured out the best path to help your kiddo launch a successful college path. It is helpful to hear insight from others when piecing together a plan for such an important decision. There is no one right way to do this.</p>

6013

<p>Thanks, Minnymom. You’re right, we each need to decide what will be best for our individual offspring, and they are all individuals, that’s for sure!!!</p>

6014

<p>They do. Each year I go back and revise the data points and fit a new curve to the cumulative data set. My students are a little surprised when getting 70% of the answers right can get them an A. But you have to develop tests that are the same rigor as the AP test or they won’t know what hit 'em. Actually you only need about 65%of the points on the test to get a 5. I thought Chem was a bit easy this year.</p>

6015

<p>Looks like we will never know d’s AP scores. She left her log in instructions in the living room for the last two on this and of she can’t find them. I probably recycled them because, oh I don,t know, they we laying around the living room like garbage? </p>

<p>I am so ready to completely give up on getting this kid to college. Her ACT scores aren’t great, but she won’t retake or study. She’s picked ONE of the colleges on her list. the reat have been my suggestions. I’d say community college, but I don’t want to deal with two more years of last minute Larry.</p>

6016

<p>My oldest never had any reaches as all the colleges he liked (3) were comfortable admissions safeties for him. We were concerned about finances as the economy dropped that year and our income fell to about 1/2 of what it had been… but finances worked out so all was well.</p>

<p>Middle’s only reaches would have been lottery schools as he was comfortably in the top 25% of stats pretty much anywhere. He aimed for merit aid instead and is doing well loving where he is at.</p>

<p>Youngest will only have a reach if he opts to apply to U Miami and that’s really iffy as he likes other schools quite a bit. Again, finances are our biggest concern as our yearly economics have improved as the economy came back, but we blew through a bit of our savings during the 1/2 - 1/3 of our income years.</p>

<p>There’s really no need for reaches unless a student wants them IMO. It was nice with oldest knowing where he was going and that he’d have enough $$ in Feb rather than April. He had all of his acceptances by Christmas. He’s going into his senior year this year, but so far, all of his senior friends have graduated and gotten decent jobs or gone to grad school (by design, not lack of other opportunities).</p>

6017

<p>Creekland: My youngest son does not have a reach school, unless he tours our flagship, UVA, and decides to apply. He has been happy with every school we toured – he still has one more to see, and that happens in two weeks when he attends cross country camp. He filled out and e-mailed in his app to Alabama last night. He has about five or six other schools on his list. We went for schools that had what he likes and offered merit money. Our college counselor (who is an Alabama grad) said that he probably will be teased for his college choices, but he is not the kind of kid who really cares what others say.</p>

<p>The older son applied to 11 schools, and several were reaches. But that was his choice. He had his share of disappointment, too, with the decisions. He encourages high school students to consider merit money a priority when applying. He graduated debt-free, because of his National Merit offer. But, he knows plenty of students who will have mega debt.</p>

6018

<p>Looking for advice on where to start research for my nephew. Here is the background:</p>

<p>He will be HS class of 2014. He lives with me now and attends a private school in my town that has a “focus” program for ADD. At his large public school in Ct. he was doing terribly. After one semester in the private school he has turned things around. His mother is paying for it, which is about 40K per year with the focus program.</p>

<p>She wants him to attend UCONN at Storrs b/c she feels that is all she can afford. He and I think that is way too big of a school for him. Even though they do have a program for LD students. I am wondering if there are some small east coast schools that he could get money from, so the cost will come down. He currently has a 3.3 GPA unweighted and a 32 on the ACT. Next year as a senior he should be able to bring his GPA up even more. And I think he will write his essay about switching schools.</p>

<p>So? Any suggestions of small schools specifically? Schools that require lower stats so he can get some money? Any resources that you can suggest, for me to do research? Any advice welcome. Thanks!</p>

6019

<p>Just wanted to clarify, that our only AP bump is not a full letter bump, but a 2% bump, so it would only benefit the kids that had come very close to the next letter grade and had a 5 on the AP test.</p>

6020

<p>My kid would also be very jealous if he learned that other kids get a grade bump for good AP exam scores – all of his class grades are quite a ways below Quagmiro’s goal ranges for his exam scores. :-/</p>