<p>I am puzzled by the AP physics change as well and wondered how it is going to apply to all the high schools. In our HS, biology, chemistry and physics can be taken for two years of study per individual choice. First year of these courses are required for graduation and offered via regular or honors/pre-AP level and second year (as an elective) via AP level. I am glad that AP physics change will not affect S2. He has signed up for the first year of physics next year. In senior year, I don’t think he will take either physics B or C.</p>
<p>My S1 (an engineering major) took physics C and calc BC the same time senior year. That was a good thing that he did that because the rigor of those courses really helped to prepare him well for college.</p>
<p>Oh I see LOL !! She is going to study for the SAT/ACT this summer and start tutoring for both in August. I figured she would take the October ACT and November SAT and then take them both again in December or January if necessary. Of course my plans may change… Stay tuned!! I figured in the fall there are no midterms, finals, or AP tests. She took the PLAN ACT this year and did well, so we might as well give it a try. A lot of kids in her grade already started these tests this year to get a " baseline." She did not.</p>
<p>I think every family uses slightly different testing strategy in terms of timing, how many, and which test to take. For us, we put a lot of focus on PSAT prep and not to take SAT/ACT until kids are “fully” ready so they don’t have to take it too many times. This strategy worked out well with boys and D is on the similar path. Then again, what worked for us may not work for others.</p>
<p>Yes FromMD I agree with you. My older daughter ( a college freshman) began her tutoring in November and took the ACT in Feb, SAT in March, ACT in April, and SAT in May. Then she was done. Many kids here take each test 3 times. My current sophomore will be studying and taking practice tests in July and August and will have 2 1/2 months of tutoring before the first ACT and PSAT. I want her to learn PSAT strategies- I did not do that with my older one- only SAT. I am confident that she will be ready by the fall, but if she isn’t then we will just postpone the tests by a month or two. When my older one took her first ACT I followed the rules: no food or water bottles were allowed in. She was begging to take a water bottle but I told her no because the ticket specifically stated no water bottles. Well… It turns out that every kid but mine had food and water bottles. One kid brought in a large paper bag filled with all kinds of snacks. I was so annoyed that I called ACT and filed a complaint. They offered her a free test but that was not the point. Nobody followed the rule except me. So… This time around I will send her with a small snack to keep in her pocket and I will tell her to take it out ONLY if everyone else has food too. It is probably not the right thing to do given that the ticket specifically stated no food or drink ( unless things changed), but it’s not fair if everyone gets a small snack or drink except for my daughter. I am sooo not a complainer and I am a total 100% rule follower, and this really got me.</p>
<p>Since I am on a roll I might as well continue to vent LOL. When my older daughter was a junior they posted another kids SAT score on her Naviance account. It got straightened out. Then this year guidance was handing out transcripts ( back in October) and they did it in groups. Some kid pulled my daughter’s transcript out of her hand and started passing it around for everyone to see. Lastly, for some reason the health teachers keep giving my kids the wrong grade on their report card by mistake. I had to fix this 4 times. Always with the health teachers. Ok venting session is over. I am looking forward to the summer. BTW is anybody planning to go to any college fairs? We have a big one around November. I would like my daughter to go and introduce herself to a few admissions reps IF she will leave her books for a little while.</p>
<p>twogirls, we went to a college fair last week. It was held in the gym of a nearby college and had 300+ tables/booths with college reps. Some of the tables had huge lines that we didn’t even try to get into. Most of the reps had scanners and and we had D’s barcode from her online preregistration scanned at tables for schools that might be prospects. She wasn’t that much into it but perked up a bit when she saw a friend (a junior, an oboist who sits near her in band)
We didn’t stay very long, maybe 45 minutes–we went late so she could finish homework and I was looking at it as just a chance for her to get her feet wet. She did have a few conversations with college reps at lonely tables who gave her advice on thinking about majors, small LACs vs. mid-size vs. large, rural vs. urban. And then after being asked by several reps what she was planning to major in and saying “umm…I don’t know…” she actually told one of them “Maybe pre-med.” Which was news to me!</p>
<p>Stem that is very exciting! My older one graduated last June. I thought that I would be teary eyed at the graduation but I was not. The crying started about a week after we dropped her off. Anything would set me off- songs, commercials, seeing mothers at the drugstore with their teenage girls. It took me about 3 weeks to get used to it. My younger one ( current sophomore) did not seem phased by her sister leaving, which struck me as odd. Maybe it’s because when my older one was here she was never actually home for long periods of time? I did notice that the two of them would speak a lot at night and Skype, etc. many times I would go into my younger ones room and I would see her sister on the computer screen looking at the shoes we just bought. Crepes- my experience with these college fairs is that they are large and crowded. I am not sure that my daughter will even want to go, but I will try to get her to go for at least 30 minutes. Stem- once again congratulations to your daughter! This is a very exciting time!</p>
<p>@twogirls and others who have kids in college, that day for me will come in two years and I feel really nervous to think about it, even though at times I feel it’s time for her to get out of the house and start a “life” of her own. When I was that age, I couldn’t wait to get away from my parents. :p</p>
<p>We went to a couple college fairs when D was a junior. Like other people have said, they were crowded. Long lines at the “popular” schools. She did have a very nice conversation with a rep at a less well-known school. I do think it got her started thinking about college and we collected several brochures. (Not that she ever looked at them again. lol)</p>
<p>We finally decided to visit Princeton in June. D. keeps talking about it, yet she really knows almost nothnig about it. So we will go take a look, follow a tour, and attend the information session. So far that’s the only thing we’ve planned - also because we’ll visit some family friends near Princeton. This will be her first college visit, except for some random walk-bys. I always thought we shouldn’t visit any schools like Princeton until she gets her SAT scores. But because it’s on the way, it doesn’t hurt to take a look and learn something about it.</p>
<p>@Max - Hope your D has a good visit to Princeton. I think HYPS will be out of my D’s reach even as “reach” school but I am sure she will give it a shot. Let us know with your impressions after your visit. Would love to hear back from you. </p>
<p>@twogirls - I can’t even imagine taking each test 3 times (total of 6 ACT/SAT?). My S1 and S2 both took total of 3 each - S1 (SAT, ACT1, ACT2) and S2 (SAT1, SAT2, ACT) and I thought that was enough. I hope D will take no more than 3 as well. It just takes so much time and effort to get kids ready…</p>
<p>My older daughter took each test twice and then she announced that she was done. Many kids in her grade took the SAT 3x. My younger one will probably take each one once, and then re-take the one that she does better in… I think!!</p>
<p>My fondest hope is that D will take the SAT in November, once, and that will be it for her. Lol! We shall see. I’m probably dreaming.</p>
<p>I’ve also decided to hold off on college visits for the foreseeable future. The more I think about it, the more I think it’s better to have a clearer idea where her scores and her junior year grades will shake out and to see whether she’ll have an emotional growth spurt. If I were to take her on visits now she’d be obliging me by going. I want her to be the leader and I’m willing to wait until she is ready.</p>
<p>@FromMD, I will let you know. Honestly, I think it’s out of my D’s reach too. But since she keeps talking about it, it doesn’t hurt to go visit. At least it might be a humbling experience. I told her it is HER visit. She will have to ask questions and so on. We’ll see how it goes! :p</p>
<p>@3girls, I think my D. will take the SAT in November. She took it once in middle school to qualify for CTY camp, but that didn’t really count. I’m sure your D.will do great. I remember she did really well in the PSAT.</p>
<p>Our DD '12 took only the ACT and only took it once, June between Junior and Senior year. She scored well enough to get over the hurdle of any school she was interested in.</p>
<p>DS '15 will probably (hopefully) follow suit a year from now.</p>
<p>Mine too, but SAT instead of ACT. For NMS you need an SAT score. She never regretted not taking ACT. I may make D’15 take the ACT, but there’s really no good time to do so.</p>
<p>My DD took a full practice SAT and ACT with the school last year. Hoping for NM qualification but if she doesn’t, she will probably focus on the ACT. She did much better on the ACT than the SAT.</p>
<p>Obviously, one and done would be an ideal situation. Many kids, including mine, may not have that luxury… Just curious but at what point would you say the score is good enough so that the retake isn’t necessary? If you child got 2200 for SAT or 33 for ACT, would you suggest retake?</p>