<p>^^^ It’s not just a 1500 SAT that might derail a kid. It might be something as un-predictable as a really bad cold during finals week that turns a couple of As into Cs and drops her out of the top decile class rank.</p>
<p>@CT1417 & all thanks for the advise regarding #6, but . . . .</p>
<p>D has no desire to attend HYPSM or Top 40 schools outside of Grinnell & Macalester. We may add Wellesley & Mount Holyoke to the list, but do not want a bunch of HMFR schools. Most of the schools that interest D are not on most CC parent/student radars.</p>
<p>We may hire the counselor earlier than spring of junior year, but may not be necessary, at least not according to the counselor I plan to hire, since I’m doing most of the leg work, and D’s test scores are not too bad. We need help mostly with our final list, packaging & essays, and this person is good at that with B-to-B+ students. She already gave me a list of what to do to reduce her bill along with a list of schools based on 2 GPA spans & corresponding test scores. I want her data base! So, we’re doing it since I paid for the advice-grin.</p>
<p>D already sat the World History (770) & Latin (800) SAT IIs this past December. I want her to sit the Chemistry (right after finishing Adv. chem) & Literature SAT IIs next January & March (if scores not great) and the Math II in April & June (if scores not great). </p>
<p>I know 5 SAT IIs appear over the top, but we’re using them as a means to boost D’s rising, but not so high GPA of 3.2 after 1st semester. D is working hard towards all As from here on out & hopes to finish junior year with a 3.7+ GPA. School does not weigh grades for advanced or honor courses.</p>
<p>D’s school uses the ACT for annual testing. D scored a 28 already with the science section robbing her of a 30+ composite score. D never studied for the ACT, and is why I plan to have her do so this summer.</p>
<p>Our goal is to raise her science score from a 24 to at least a 28 and be done with testing next winter, as the majority of the potential schools D applies to, a 30+ will earn her merit aid. If she can pull a 32 or higher, that would be a little more icing on the testing cake. If D cannot score a 30 by January 2014, then we’ll bring in an ACT tutor, but I don’t think it will be necessary since D already scores in the 30s on the English & math sections. </p>
<p>We’re looking at schools with decent merit aid as I’m asset rich, but income poor & attempting to keep our costs at or below my EFC.</p>
<p>3girls3cats: I tried to approach the subject of college readiness yesterday and this led to a torrent of tears and then screaming and slammed doors. So, no visits here yet and definitely no clear path of study in sight.</p>
<p>Oh woman, I feel for you, I really do. D was like this up until very recently. I swear it was her getting the college mailings (as meaningless as they are) that has turned the tide, as I was hoping. (OK, the frisbee she got from Carleton was pretty cool. 
) Maybe there is some outside thing like this that will turn it for your D as well.</p>
<p>As to the rest of you planners and spreadsheeters, you all are making me NERVOUS. :P</p>
<p>@ Suzy1100- D gets something from Carleton almost weekly, but no frisbee. I’m jealous!</p>
<p>BunHead–fantastic SAT II scores! Just FYI–SAT II not administered in March, although SAT I is. And, SAT II is administered in May & June on same test dates as SAT I. I believe the ACT has an April test date, but we are not ACT takers in this household.</p>
<p>Sounds like you have the perfect counselor if you have found someone who will let you do the legwork to reduce your eventual bill. Since your D has scored so well on SAT IIs, is there a reason she is not taking the SAT I instead of the ACT? (Perhaps her school’s annual testing includes the W section of the ACT and therefore saves you an additional out of school test cycle.)</p>
<p>One of the first things we plan to do once the school is out is have D tested to find out how she performs with ACT and SAT. Some kids do better with one test than the other. I think it’s helpful to find out how your kid performs with each. In our area, testing prep places usually provide that service for under $100. But, I think you can do your own assessment at home using SAT and ACT prep books. Just a thought.</p>
<p>@CT1417- thanks, looks like December & January for the Chemistry and Lit SAT IIs, and May & June still works for the Math II tests. Looks like D will have to review for the Chemistry SAT & take it before the Adv/chem class is finished.</p>
<p>The April 13th ACT is paid for by D’s school & all ready set. Next year’s testing dates for the ACT are not posted yet. D can sit the September, December & February ACT dates. I just entered reminders 45 days before last registration dates to register D based on this year’s dates. </p>
<p>Oh Vey! So much to remember & track. Where are the days when kids sat the test spring of junior year, picked 3-5 school and that was it? I don’t think I planned this much for my own wedding!</p>
<p>@FromMD- We did that at one of the free Princeton Review testing dates last summer. D did better on the ACT than the SAT. It might be because she was more familiar with the ACT than the SAT. Don’t freak out if the scores are low. D already took the ACT and we knew her score, but through Princeton Review, D scored 5 points lower. But, I knew that was going to happen as my BFF told me how her D’s prep school stated the companies low-ball the scores so parents purchase tutoring packages. </p>
<p>Then child takes courses & tutoring company shows that child gained 9 points! So, Caveat emptor!</p>
<p>We’re going to do a few of those “free” testing sessions again so D has more exposure under testing conditions without sitting the real deal.</p>
<p>FromMD–the head of the tutoring firm I hired last summer told me that I should have my son complete two full length practice ACTs and SATs at home under timed conditions, score them, and then hire his company to tutor my son for whichever test was the better fit for him. As he said, you can pay me to test him or you can handle that yourself at home. </p>
<p>Of course, I didn’t bother and just had them start in on SAT prep, but it was his advice. Confirming your own thoughts.</p>
<p>I think I will have my daughter do a timed ACT and SAT during the spring break. We have the tutors lined up to begin mid August. I have the SAT/ACT test schedule hanging on my wall- crazy.</p>
<p>Yes I can see a crazy year ahead of us. esp. for those of us whose oldest is 2015. I’m so glad I have this group to talk to. </p>
<p>D. will start doing some review (maybe). But she won’t seriously start study for the tests until August after we come back from our summer vacation. She is planning to take the SAT in October, close to the time of PSAT.</p>
<p>I am looking to have this all done by January of junior year, hopefully. SAT tutors ( at least around here) keep telling kids to take the tests senior year as well because most of the time these scores are highest - they are older and have had more time in school. I did not do senior year testing with my older one and won’t do it this time- too stressful.</p>
<p>@BunHead and CT - Thanks. She wants to take both ACT and SAT like her brothers did. She has taken a number of timed practice PSATs but only a couple of SATs and 1 ACT. So, I have a pretty good idea on where she is and which areas she needs to address over the summer. We are not doing any test prep work until school is out thou. First priority is to get thru the school without hurting her grades and taking May APs/SATII… Over the summer, I will get her assessed and get her some help.</p>
<p>One last thought on ACT - one timed test she did, her Science score was pulling down her Composite score. I think one of the common mistake kids make is spending too much time trying to understand the data. My guess is this is what my D is doing. If Science is pulling down your kid’s score, he/she may be doing the same thing. Just FYI.</p>
<p>And, yes, so much to do… so little time.</p>
<p>BunHeadMom – how much Latin had your D studied before scoring 800 on the SATII Latin? My D1 never took SATII Latin (no need for her to do so), but my D2 might want to do so. Our HS does Latin1 → Latin2 → H.LatinIII → APLatin(Virgil). But they actually switch to reading Virgil the second semester of H.Latin3, which for my D2 will be halfway through Junior year. So would that be the right time for her to take the exam??</p>
<p>I always think a foreign language SAT is extremely hard. A foreign language AP is unthinkable. But then there are all these kids who have Chinese families get 5s in Chinese AP…</p>
<p>Has anybody taken SAT II French or Chinese?</p>
<p>@CT1417- We’re in the Midwest where the ACT reigns king. D’s school is an SAT testing site, but very few of the school’s students sit any College Board tests outside of SAT IIs and AP exams. Also, D just does not like the SAT since she’s been exposed to to the PLAN and ACT tests since 8th grade. </p>
<p>@mihcal1- That is about right–D said anyone finishing 2nd or 3rd year Latin can score well on the SAT II test as long as they covered ALL the grammar. D is in her 4th year of Latin, year 5/6 in level (strictly translating Vergil, Ovid & Catullus). Her Latin teacher does not want them to sit the Latin AP exam until Senior year. Makes no sense to me, as they will only review material, but I guess they all will receive 4 & 5s. </p>
<p>For the Latin SAT II, we used <a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Latin-Subject-CD-ROM-College-Admission/dp/0738610763/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362905017&sr=8-1&keywords=SAT+latin[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Latin-Subject-CD-ROM-College-Admission/dp/0738610763/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362905017&sr=8-1&keywords=SAT+latin</a> & the exam from 3 older SAT II subject books.</p>
<p>@FromMD- D always read the passages, which slow her down & she does not finish the section. So, our studying will deal mostly with scanning the graphs & data & answering the questions WITHOUT reading the paragraphs, excepting for the one dealing two differing views. D thinks she will miss important information if she does not read everything, sigh. </p>
<p>I hope by the time we finish Barron’s Science Workbook, D understands she does not need to read anything out side of the graphs & questions & trusts her answers.</p>
<p>@BHM - I think ACT is becoming more popular here (Maryland) but it’s still more of SAT area than ACT.</p>
<p>As for your D’s Science section, we may be talking the same thing. When S2’s SAT score wasn’t improving as we had hoped, we took him in to get “professional” help from local test prep place. We ended up having him tested for ACT. On his first assessment, he scored pretty well in 3 sections but only 28 in Science. During his post-assessment discussion, we found out he was spending too much time trying to understand the data before moving on to the problems rather than learning to extract info he needs to solve the what the problem is asking. This approach made no sense to me but, apparently, it worked for him b/c his score improved from 28 to 36 in slightly more than a month. My D’s first timed ACT showed the same trend - Comp of 32 but only 27 in Science. I am pretty sure she is doing the same thing. S2’s tutor told us that this is a common mistake for ACT takers on Science section. </p>
<p>I am not sure how helpful this is but, hopefully, it gives you something to think about as you help your D prep for the test. Best wishes to your D.</p>
<p>@suzy, thank you for understanding. What was it about the college mailings that turned things around for her?</p>
<p>@herandhismom, I wouldn’t go near the Chinese SAT II except as a native speaker. For that matter, one of my older girls took the SAT II in Spanish and while she earned the highest score in her school, it barely cracked 700. I assume the same thing goes on with all world languages.</p>
<p>I should add that the Spanish Literature AP was easier to score well than the SAT II. I hear that CB has abolished the French literature AP going forward and if the only option is Language, it may well be more difficult.</p>