<p>Give my daughter the information she needs to make class choices and study choices for standard exams to enable her to be a qualified candidate for the schools she talks about-right now those schools seem a bit unrealistic to me based on what I learned going through this with her brother but that is not for me to decide-I can only give her the facts as I know them-she is a very pragmatic young woman and I trust she will understand the basic facts about each of these schools as she does her own research.</p>
<p>When she brings up colleges and continues to mention Stanford tell her that is a wonderful goal and I wouldn’t bet against her getting in anywhere but the odds of an unhooked student getting into that level of school are extremely long so as good as it is to have goals it is also important to understand you need to have several options available when the time comes to chose-if you get into one of the schools you really think you want to go to against long odds that is wonderful-then if it is affordable the decision is made. If both of those things don’t happen even though you will be disappointed in the end you will have other really good choices and you well end up at a great school that is right for you. </p>
<p>In the meantime do your best in what you chose to study but also try and have fun-if something interests you then do it whether or not it will look good on an application. If you are really good at something but don’t enjoy it then stop! Find something else you would rather be doing and enjoy that even if you aren’t the best at it. </p>
<p>The most important thing I want my daughter to learn over the next couple of years is that it isn’t the school you attend that makes you. The person you bring to whatever school you chose is what will make you-and yes I truly believe that can be anywhere-if she is happy and confident as she enters college the sky is the limit for her-no matter what the name of her school happens to be. </p>
<p>This can be such a fun time in addition to being stressful-it is about how I try and help her approach it. I know when I stay calm and upbeat she feeds off of that-just as she does when I freak out and worry. I need to always be aware of that as I am very much a glass half-empty person by nature!</p>
<p>Very wise words Pepper! (And I think I remember you from the Class of '11 thread. )</p>
<p>This is my first post but I love what you said so much I figured this was a good time to begin. Although I went through this once before, my kids are so different that it will be brand new all over again. It’s nice to have companions on the journey.</p>
<p>AP tests - DD will be taking 4 or 5, I believe. In two of them - Calc and Bio - the material for the year has been covered and the teachers are beginning test prep. We already have all the books she needs as her older brother took some of the classes. As for time - her two main activities, debate and mock trial, are over so here is hoping she will have some more free time to get ready…</p>
<p>One AP happening here, Euro. I’m glad it’s just one because next year there will be 4.</p>
<p>The Euro will require studying beyond class…the teacher isn’t that great. Unfortunately she’s heavy into LAX season now so time is limited. Que sera, sera.</p>
<p>Based on limited sampling on this thread, it seems more kids are passing AP this year than I thought. Good luck to everyone taking the test this year. </p>
<p>@Kelowna - 4-5 APs for a 10th grader? Isn’t that, well, a bit much? I can’t even imagine what kind of schedule your kid had to take that many APs @ 10th grade. </p>
<p>Decisions and rejections… For us, it was the most humbling experience we ever had. When S1/S2 went thru the process, we thought our boys were pretty well prepared - good stats/test scores, NMF, pretty good GPAs…etc. Between S1/S2, boys applied to about 20 schools - about 1/2 accepted and 1/2 rejected. I think we received all kinds of rejection letters – from simple “no” (H/P), deferred then “no” (MIT), waitlisted then “no”… Looking back, it was a learning moment for all of us but, at the time, it was very difficult. Then came the $ question…</p>
<p>My son was like Kelowna’s D, he took 2 APs in 9th and 5 in 10th. For some kids, especially at large urban publics, there really aren’t any other options for bright kids who want to be in classes with motivated kids. I’m just sorry the teaching wasn’t better. My son did his best but came out with 4s. I don’t know that anyone from his school scored 5s.</p>
<p>Apollo, that’s pretty wild. Is he out of school now? If so, how many did he end up taking in HS and what are your thoughts on how it helped him with college process?</p>
<p>No, that was last year. He’s in the class of 2015 because he’s currently in China doing a gap year with NSLIY. He’ll take the AP Chinese exam this year with the other Americans. If he finishes high school at an AP school, he’ll probably take 6-8 more before he graduates. If he finishes at an IB only school, he’ll just have the IB diploma. He’s waiting to learn of his boarding school admissions at the end of April.</p>
<p>He’s applied to the UWCs with our state boarding school for gifted 11th and 12th graders as a safety. I’m hoping for the former but the admittance rate for Americans is less than 10%. We’d pay a nominal fee for either option and he’d be much more challenged than our local public. Where does yours attend?</p>
<p>He’s in Europe. He also has a friend from the US who is in the UWC and loves it. He met him last summer at the Oxford summer school.
It’s impressive that your son took a gap year to China at his age. He sounds like the perfect candidate for UWC.
Good luck and keep us posted.</p>
<p>Thanks! This is the second year he’s interviewed so I’m hoping he gets a place this year. If not, he’ll have a different kind of adventure at his alternate choice. He will be 19 when he graduates high school but he didn’t want to squeeze high school into 3 years so we’ll see how it goes.</p>
<p>So many kids with impressive accomplishments on this thread!</p>
<p>Haven’t had time/energy to post much, but have been lurking along. Many thanks to those who posted on my Waitlst thread in College Admissions or PMd me. My friend’s son is now <em>in</em> at another of his Dream Schools, but will stay on the WL at a top STEM school. Overall, his journey has been more eye-opening than even the stories here on CC. This young man is one of the top students (Stats & ECs) in our large Midwestern district, but college admissions have still proved challenging. DS isn’t qualified to compete at that level, so I’m not stressing about admissions. I <em>am</em> stressing about our EFC, however. Once I finally connected the EFC-and-college-financing dots last November, it was not pretty. </p>
<p>DS will take AP Euro exam and will (hopefully!) begin cracking that Crash Course book I bought him in August. He’s extremely busy, so we shall see. He did not make the 10th grade team for his HS Spring sport, so that was very hard on him, and us. He took it better than most boys, though. 10th is the big <em>cut</em> year at his HS and he was the only <em>cut</em> kid who even went to school the next day! DS did make the All-State Orchestra, so that was a neat accomplishment. I’ve posted previously about his crazy Orchestra teacher and that has only gotten worse, so he will probably not continue the class next year, which is a real shame. </p>
<p>Overall, DS is focusing more on our state flagship (Alma mater for DH & me), but it’s very large - and the destination for many of his HS classmates. Hoping to help him find some options to explore, just so he makes an informed decision in the end. Cost is also a huge factor. We will probably go along the lines of that Mom of Texas thread here on CC.</p>
<p>@Apollo - Sounds like your son is on an interesting path - definitely non-traditional path compare to our kids. I think it takes a very talented kid to take on 5 AP exams at age 15/16. Clearly your S is one. </p>
<p>@GoAskDad - Congrats to your friend’s son. Based on our PM exchange, I know he has a win-win situation. Hope he ends up with his first choice school. </p>
<p>I think college admission process is difficult even for high performing students because they have to compete with thousands of other high performing kids. Sigh…</p>
<p>Congratulations to your son on All State orchestra, GoaskDad! Sorry his teacher is unbearable. Would he have an outside youth orchestra he could join if he wanted to continue (or just continue with private lessons until things get better)?</p>
<p>Herandhismom, the SAT IIs are just one hour multiple choice tests so they aren’t nearly as taxing as the APs. Might as well do both at the same time, IMHO.</p>
<p>Goaskdad,congrats to your s on his all state orchestra. We found a voice coach for D for her speech.She had her first lesson and we could see a huge improvement in her speech.We have scheduled more sessions with the instructor.</p>
<pre><code> And as far as AP exams she will be giving AP Euro and AP Bio.They are behind schedule inAP Bio.As she has a tutor for Bio,she is done with the syllabus.With AP Euro she has started studying with her friend over the weekends.
D had her scheduling today in school.She will be taking AP Eng,Environmental Science,Calc AB,US his,Chinese 3 and Journalism.She will take performing arts and AP Psychology online.Most of the kids are taking AP Physics this year and APES senior year.I feel the other way is better.
</code></pre>
<p>I am surprised by all of the APs!! In our large district the kids can take their first AP sophomore year ( AP US). My daughter started taking high school honors classes while in middle school, but AP begins sophomore year, and there is only one. Junior and senior year is when they take all their APs, although my daughter has a friend who is self studying for a few.</p>
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