<p>^thanks! My daughter’s schedule will be the most rigorous with the exception of US/global, which will be honors. She is fine with it most of the time- sometimes she wonders if she made a mistake because she truly enjoys the level of discussion that AP brings. This year she basically dominated the discussion in her global class leaving little time for others to speak. She is such an intense perfectionist that I hesitate to push her into AP US- her schedule is intense enough. I think it’s fine and it will keep her stress level down- ha!</p>
<p>^What I meant is that this year in her honors global class she had a habit of dominating the class; the other kids used to call it the " Suzie and Mrs. T show" ( insert their names). This is why she should be in APUSH instead of honors during junior year- she prefers the level of discussion… However, her schedule is rigorous enough and choosing honors US over AP will keep her stress level down considerably, which is very very important and ultimately what is best for her. She will have more time to focus on the SAT LOL! I can’t believe that I am obsessing this much just because my kid will have one less AP class… Oh brother- I was so not like this with my other one! Ultimately what is most important is mental health - so this is the right decision for her and we are sticking with it.</p>
<p>@twogirls - if things happen as planned, D should have ~10 APs and 2 IB SL by the time apps are submitted. A few more APs and 4 IB HL in her senior year. </p>
<p>Spoke with test prep center director about timing of D’s ACT/SAT tests based on her assessments. She said D should consider taking September ACT… I think it’s way too early.</p>
<p>We’ve been in and out for weeks because of home renovations, 2 road trips (one including a wedding), and of course college visits in all forms, ranging from drive-throughs to tours, to full info sessions with tours.</p>
<p>Schools we crossed off the list: GWU (programs looked interesting but the campus was too urban) and American (cheesy video; ho-hum info session and guide; rude receptionist at tour desk who scolded us “You have to sign up for these sessions in advance!” when she couldn’t find our name on her list even though we <em>had</em> signed up, luckily D was able to pull up the confirmation email on her phone, but we didn’t get an apology or anything; lots of focus on government and public affairs which D is not interested in)</p>
<p>D’s favorite school so far: Brown. Beautiful campus and engaging, funny, offbeat guide. Which of course is a big reach 
but maybe the possibility will keep her motivated to do her very best. I’ll have to keep repeating that it will be like winning the lottery. And even if she does get in I don’t know if we can afford it–I’ve run their NPC twice, once it told me that we would get 20K in grants/loans and another time the figure was 2K. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong with the numbers.</p>
<p>Her next favorites: Cornell and Northeastern. I was actually a bit surprised that she liked Northeastern after saying a definite no to GWU but the setting really does seem less urban than GWU since they have a well-defined and nicely landscaped campus. She was also impressed that there were families who had come from all over to attend (Brazil, Jordan, California, Alaska, Hawaii and not that many New England & mid-Atlantic states). Their info session was very professionally run and made their academics and the coop program seem exciting–one parent said “I wish <em>I</em> could come and study here!” and got smiles and nods of agreement.</p>
<p>SUNY Binghamton was a hit as well–after the tour she said she had gone in thinking “dumb safety school” and came out looking at it as a definite possible. She liked the campus (including one of the new dorms) and we had a personalized tour (just our family) with an articulate and enthusiastic guide, a senior just back from a national conference where he had presented a research project and told us about classmates who were planning on going on to med school and law school.</p>
<p>We did drive-throughs at U of MD-College Park and she thought it looked ok. U of Delaware she also liked; lots of kids from her school and our neighborhood apply there.</p>
<p>She did a week-long camp at the DNA Center at Cold Spring Harbor and is settling down to serious SAT/PSAT prep now. Also coming up are 3-4 days of shadowing a family friend who’s a chemist in a lab that does food testing and a week volunteering at a camp for kids with disabilities.</p>
<p>Thanks for that report! Northeastern is on D’s list to check out and Brown…she studied there for 3 weeks last summer and fell in love but we all know it’s a lottery at that level. Cornell…maybe but I wonder how many reaches should be on the list…</p>
<p>Ahhh September? Wow that is early, but if she can study and feels ready then go for it! Mine will start testing in December. She will have 5 AP classes, one two- year English HL IB class, and two college classes when she graduates. This is typical of what the kids take who have a rigorous schedule. The rest are honors and advanced honors classes ( one year ahead honors). Our school permits only one AP class freshman year ( global) and one sophomore year ( US). The remaining AP classes can’t start until junior year. I bought a PSAT book before I realized that it was a waste to study for the PSAT. I was going to return it but decided to give her the math test just for kicks. Maybe I will ask her to do the whole test just out of curiosity. It might be " fun" to see how she would do if she took it today!!</p>
<p>^ studying for the SAT basically covers the PSAT as well.</p>
<p>OHMomof2, glad the NEU report was helpful to you, ask if you have any more questions. </p>
<p>As for how many reaches, our school’s GC advice sheet says 2 reaches, 4-5 matches, 2 safeties, no need to apply to more than 10 schools. I know Cornell is a reach but not on the same level as Brown–in fact the Naviance results for D’s school say that 32% of their applicants to Cornell were accepted. Also she’ll probably apply to one of the Land Grant schools (since we’re NY residents), I think College of Human Ecology is the most likely, and their acceptance rate is around 30%.</p>
<p>twogirls, we have the SAT blue book as well but we’re also specifically targeting the PSAT math section since that was the lowest of the 3 sections and want to do some intensive work on it from now until October.</p>
<p>I am glad you had such a great experience at Northeastern. We went during spring break and my daughter did not like it. It was PACKED ( spring break) and the speaker at the info session was impossible to hear. After the info session we all split into groups with the tour guide. The groups were huge- they did not provide enough tour guides. Usually my daughter stands up at the front, but she was so turned off by the size of the group that she stayed in the back. There was no microphone and once again we did not hear anything. We walked the campus with our group of 75-100 people ( no exaggeration) and tried to make the best of it. Every tour we have ever taken had 25 most- not 75-100. On this particular cloudy and chilly day, the school had a " cold" feel to it ( not temperature). Everyone was scurrying around kind of like they were late for work. I stopped a student because we had some trouble finding a building- she told me that she liked the school, but her one gripe was that once you start the co-op program you don’t see your friends that much anymore during the day- because of this your friends to hang out with during the week are always changing. Sometimes she has nobody to eat with because all her friends are on co-op. I suppose this forces you to make some new friends, which is not a bad thing. Other than that she liked the school. She did not get merit aid with a 33 ACT and high GPA ( although the kids at our hs with those stats did get some merit aid, so who knows - she volunteered this info I did not ask LOL…). On a positive note, we liked the fact that there is a campus despite being in the city. The dorm we saw was very run down but this is typical at many schools, unfortunately. I think that many of the issues that we did not like at Northeastern had more to do with the organization of the tour rather than the actual school, so we will make another trip.
Crepes- we went to Binghamton and my daughter liked it and said she would go, but she was not OMG in love with the school. She felt it had a " high school" feel to it but she understands that she may go. The school is great and has a lot to offer. The new dorms look beautiful. This will be one of her safety school and we will make sure to visit again. I am a bit nervous that they will defer or wait list her if they think she is using it as a safety, although I have not seen that happen at our school. She did not like Geneseo- too quiet. Cornell is gorgeous!! After the tour my daughter ate lunch with her friend. Although her friend likes the school, she is not 100% happy and does not love the school. Cornell is VERY VERY intense- and according to this kid the drinking is out of control. She told my daughter that she feels very uncomfortable because she does not drink- it is becoming an issue for her. That being said, drinking occurs at many schools and you really have to find your niche. If my daughter applies, she will apply to the land grant school as well. Due to the high intensity she may not apply- she is intense enough. We will think about this one.</p>
<p>Does anybody know if the Princeton Review practice PSAT test is realistic of the real PSAT? My daughter did the math section last night only because I had the book ( I should have returned it but did not). If the test is realistic I will give her the critical reading and writing sections this week- otherwise we will just stick to the blue book and vocabulary.</p>
<p>On reach Ivy level schools. An interesting perspective from the SAT prep class parents meeting.</p>
<p>Rough stats …</p>
<p>If applying to Ivy ( or top tier school) admittance rate can be as low as 4% ( and most kids have the stats to apply to these schools) Statistically you should apply to 20 schools at this level to have one that will fall your way.</p>
<p>Not that I am recommending this approach. D1 applied to 2 lottery ( Ivy ) schools. 2 safeties, and 6 meet schools. Don’t forget the financial safety school… and make sure your kid " loves thy safety"</p>
<p>Crepes, thanks for the trip report, I really appreciate hearing kids’ reactions to various schools. </p>
<p>Sally, that’s a pretty sobering statistic. Personally, I think the stats are kind of meaningless. They allow you to buy that lottery ticket and not much more. This will sound strange but I kind of wish the tests were harder or grades less inflated so that there would be more clarity in where kids stand and maybe more predictability in admissions. I know, I know, it’s not all about grades and test scores (it’s pretty clear from naviance that many of the successful admits to reach schools at D’s school are athletes) but it would be easier if every applicant wasn’t clustered at the tippy top. The way it works now I’m guessing that D will not be an attractive candidate to the reachiest schools. Chances are she’ll probably have the grades, test scores, and awards, but being an introvert, she’ll definitely not be the club president or captain of the sports team. Given that she comes from an overrepresented area and hails from three overrepresented groups, the odds are very much stacked against her. My emphasis for her will be to look at interesting, high level academic schools that aren’t as well known or popular. </p>
<p>Twogirls, D’s school is a private school that’s deliberately moved away from APs. She will probably have 5-6 APs and several more advanced classes.</p>
<p>Hi, first post here. Just found this group and there seems to be a lot of great discussions going on. We’ve visited a few schools, nothing formal, just walked around on our own and went into buildings that were unlocked. I can’t believe we are at Junior year already, time sure does fly!!!</p>
<p>I have a question about ACT dates…I see that the test is not offered in NY in February which would be the perfect time for my D to take it. Do they allow you to take the test out of state if you’re a NY resident? We could head to CT and do some college touring while we’re there.</p>
<p>Looking forward to chatting with you all.</p>
<p>^ hi welcome!! Yes you can take it outside of NY. We live in NY as well and my older one took her first ACT in NJ.</p>
<p>Crepes—while numbers mean nothing, the female admit rate to Hum Ec was 32.8% for the Fall 2013 starting class and 32.6% for Fall 2012, so even better than you had thought! Our HS’s admit rate is not as high at your HS’s, but we are not in NY. </p>
<p>I haven’t drilled down on Hum Ec, but some of the individual colleges outline the geographic distribution of their enrolled populations. Granted, not the same thing as admitted, and I would guess that the yield for NY admits is higher than for OOS admits, but interesting to read. </p>
<p>I am forever attempting to make this a data-driven process when it really is not!</p>
<p>crepes, thanks for the info on school visits. Northeastern will be a school on D’s list and we hope to visit. Would love to see Brown too!</p>
<p>keepmecruisin, welcome! I can’t believe the kids are starting junior year either. I have a feeling things are just going to speed up from here! </p>
<p>OhMomof2, D may take the ACT in September as well. That scares me a little though.</p>
<p>My D will probably have 8 AP exams by the time she is finished, maybe 1 or 2 more. In most (maybe all) subjects that offer AP, there is no honors offered - it’s either “regular” or AP.</p>
<p>It seems like some GC’s will mark “most rigorous” even if the student takes a lot of rigorous courses, but not the most rigorous in each subject. So just to take a poll: is that true for most of the kids of the parents here? Wish that were true of D’s school, but it’s not.</p>
<p>And a belated thank you for those who chimed in with info on the APUSGov and APPsych classes!</p>
<p>My D took 2 AP’s soph year and will take 3 junior year. Not sure how many she will pick up for senior year. We also have some courses through Syracuse taught by the HS teachers.</p>
<p>Our school checks " most rigorous" if your course load consists of all honors and/ or AP classes. We also have some " college in the hs" classes taught by the SUNY schools and Syracuse.</p>
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<p>It is true at D’s school according to her GC. As long as she is taking MANY of the most rigorous courses, she doesn’t have to take ALL to get that “most rigorous” designation.</p>
<p>D already assumes she probably won’t get in to an Ivy and she seems perfectly OK with it. So, we don’t get too stressed over Ivy stuff. She will keep pushing forward and we will wait and see how things play out. Honestly, knowing we won’t get FA, I’m not sure if we are willing to pay 250k for undergrad work anyway. This college thing is totally out of control, IMHO.</p>
<p>I agree with you about college being out of control. I am not paying $200,000 + for two kids ( $400,000+)-that is absurd. Mine will not be applying to the Ivy’s because we will not get FA and I can’t afford the $57,000 price tag. Would she get in? Maybe, maybe not - but it does not matter cause she will not be applying. Mine is applying to our state schools and a bunch of OOS and privates where she can possibly get merit. When all of her acceptances are in we will analyze things and she will pick a school that we can afford. If she plays her cards right she will have many affordable options. I am not concerned- I know they will get in someplace. Honestly, in my opinion the most important thing is fit- that part may be tricky for us. My older one goes to a state school that costs us $18,000 a year and I have to say that she is totally in love with her school. It can be done!!</p>