<p>Our goal is to visit UPitt. If we have time we will walk around CM because I hear they are next door (?), but we will not be taking an official tour.</p>
<p>D is still not showing much interest with college visits and we have not done any. I think her mind is set on our state school where older brothers went. Other than that, she will working on ACT/SAT prep - ACT numbers looking real good, SAT numbers not so. Taking first PSAT practice test this morning… School starts on 26th. Junior year just around the corner.</p>
<p>S1 is coming home next week. He is doing his PhD enginnering work at Berkeley. Even though we talk just about everyday, we have not seen him since Xmas vacation. Looking forward to seeing him for a few days. D is very excited about seeing her brother.</p>
<p>My daughter survived the Driver’s Ed course this summer and has her permit-I cannot wait until she can drive!</p>
<p>She is having her wisdom teeth out next week.</p>
<p>She is very busy with soccer and is trying to finish her summer reading. Her schedule isn’t right but that will probably not be fixed until the first week of school.</p>
<p>She has decided not to study for the PSAT as she doesn’t think she can get her score high enough and I think she is correct. I am happy with her reasons and even happier that she isn’t trying to be her brother-he has his strong points such as standard testing but she has hers as well-she has made a lot of progress over the last few months growing up and I am very pleased to see she understands who she is better and that she doesn’t have to be anyone but her-if she does her best she has nothing to regret.</p>
<p>It’s possible to get a permit at 15-1/2 in CA and to drive by 16. D expressed interest but hasn’t taken the next step. I’m relieved. My gut tells me that next summer is a better time for her to start thinking about driving.</p>
<p>Her schedule came out in July. All courses are in order and she doesn’t yet know about the teachers. Well, except for two whose reputations precede them. Not good. And just yesterday the AP Comp Sci teacher sent the kids an email telling them that they will start with a language D hasn’t covered. They offer a “boot camp” before school starts but given that she’s been doing this coding program all summer, we figured she’d have enough grounding to start without it…and we’d like a vacation. D seems not to be concerned. She thinks it follows the basic logic of other languages she’s learned. I hope so. It’s still annoying. You’d think an immersion class aimed at rising juniors and seniors would cover enough for them to enter AP Comp Sci without being at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>Sbjdorlo, I think I am in the same boat with you guys and the SAT. D looked at a practice test and the one area that really sticks out as a problem for her is that essay. She just isn’t able to complete it within the time allotted. I’ve encouraged her to make some lists of books she’s read and have resonated with her and areas she’s studied in depth so that she can create a mental catalogue of examples that can be pulled out for many different prompts. I’ve also counseled her to look at themes that pop up over a bunch of tests and see if she can home in on the types of issues she should highlight from her readings/study. </p>
<p>I forget who recommended “Ready Player One” but we both read it and loved it–I particularly found the blend of virtual and actual worlds alarmingly realistic. I explained to her how I’d use aspects of that particular book for answering one of the prompts and why it would be easy to pull it up in my mind pretty quickly.</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m not so sure about the fall SAT now. She’d be fine but for that dreaded essay, lol. It’s really odd that this is the stumbling block because this is a very verbal girl whose strength is her writing! Oh well. We’ll see how things progress and see how she feels about it as the time draws nearer.</p>
<p>IJustDrive…we could never wait to drive until college. I am looking forward to have someone run to the store for milk when S1 drinks us dry!! Love your username btw, that could be me…had 35,000 miles on my car in 15 months :o.</p>
<p>We also don’t get schedules until the week before school starts. Want it more for my boys than for my D. She knows most of her teachers as there are only a few who teach AP and honors in each subject. We did get the dreaded call from GC a few weeks ago saying they couldn’t make her schedule work so she decided to drop AP Bio and take it senior year. Frustrating but it is what it is. Good news is she is taking another class with the same teacher she had soph year and she’s the one we want writing her rec letter. Teacher will know her for 2 years and can write someone amazing lol.</p>
<p>“Something amazing”…I should proofread before I post lol.</p>
<p>keepmecruisin - I hear you. At one point I was putting 300 miles a week on my car. But we really have structural issues that prevent the kids from taking some of that driving off of my shoulders (and when D’12 headed off to college, the driving became much more streamlined, if not actually less). Part of our financial planning is based around no new cars until we’re done paying tuition.</p>
<p>Pepper I envy you- we still have a few more days of drivers ed left. My older daughter had her wisdom teeth removed at the end of June. On the first day I was questioning why we did it because she was not having any problems prior to removing them and after they were removed she was swollen and in pain. The good news is that they really are back to normal in a week even though it’s hard to believe. Mine had hers removed on a Monday and by Friday she was eating out with her friends.
FromMD- mine goes back and forth between showing an interest and not. Sometimes she refuses to discuss it while other days she talks for hours. The good news is that she is willing to make the visits. UDel is back on the list after I told her repeatedly that she would be applying to their honors program- my neighbor’s daughter is in the honors program, is NOT a partier, and loves it. There are a lot of kids from our HS who are going in as freshmen, and they are huge partiers. These kids are also not the type to study much. This is a big turn- off for my daughter, but she has recently met some kids who will be applying and these kids are more like her- “nerds” who study a lot and don’t party. She is starting to recognize that kids party everywhere and she will find her niche. Just because she applies to a school does not mean that she has to go. It’s just another option for her. Everyone I know who goes to UDel loves it. The list has 20 and I want her to narrow it down to at least 15 ( and that’s still a lot).
In another week she will have to step up a notch with the SAT studying- junior year here we come…</p>
<p>I just sat D down and told her that if she gives SAT/PSAT prep 15 minutes a day what that will add up to by test time. Then told her how many options she would have for college/full tuition/ride scholarships if she could get above 700 on each section. How she could be done with testing at that point if she chose. How we don’t know how much merit and financial aid will be available to her so some good guaranteed options will be huge.</p>
<p>She’s got the timer on and is working at the kitchen table right now :D</p>
<p>In addition to poster “xiggi”'s prep, there is this here on CC: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/955109-silverturtles-guide-sat-admissions-success.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/955109-silverturtles-guide-sat-admissions-success.html</a></p>
<p>DD had her wisdom teeth removed on Monday. She looks like a little Chipmunk. </p>
<p>She finished her vocabulary words on Sunday. She will continue her PSAT/SAT review sometime next week. She has visited UMD-CP, Barnard, and Columbia. She loved UMD and it is her safety school. She liked Barnard but it just didn’t feel right. Columbia was ok but she didn’t like the core program. After attending the Exploring College Options, she really liked Penn. We have scheduled a quick weekend trip in mid-September to visit the uni and check out Philly. It’s only a 2.5 hour drive.</p>
<p>^ I have been reading that religiously LOL. My daughter has been studying vocabulary since the end of June almost on a daily basis- I am very very grateful. It hit me recently that she should be doing PSAT prep. Meanwhile I just got off the phone with Pitt and they told me that the Sept visitation schedule " should be posted by August 19." That seems late to me.</p>
<p>PSAT and SAT prep are basically the same thing, with the only real difference in the writing section…</p>
<p>D2 registered and received her schedule today. She has on balance a good schedule. She has the " good" Math and Physics teachers. Her Math experience in HS has not been wonderful (we paid for a tutor ). Happy she has a strong teacher. Had to switch from AP stats into AP Psych. She will work AP stats in her senior year. She didn’t get the best Spanish IV teacher- but she has had 3 fabulous teachers with whom she has a good relationship, so I am not worried. </p>
<p>First softball game is tomorrow. D1 is holding off heading back to college till after the game. College girl doesn’t get the opportunity to watch D2 play in HS. I love having my college girl 90 mins away. I really encouraged her to move out of state, but I am glad she chose not too.</p>
<p>Our HS doesn’t tell the kids their classes in advance. The kids put in requests in the spring, but those get confirmed or modified by teacher recommendations – the kids don’t find out until fall. They all have to show up early and stand in line for their schedules on the first day of school!</p>
<p>Twogirls…we are also reconsidering UDel after a friend and relative talked our ears off about how much they loved that school. Maybe we’ll fit in a visit next time we’re traveling in that direction.</p>
<p>Mihcal does that get hectic? How long does it take to correct mistakes?
Keep- we will probably do a day trip as she gets closer to her senior year- it’s a 3 hour trip and many parents here do it in a day- of course that assumes that it stays on her list. The problem that my daughter has with the school is that this particular year they seemed to have taken everyone from our HS, many of whom are very different than my kid- that does not make them bad kids, just different from my daughter, making her think that she won’t fit in. Thankfully she met a bunch of kids applying who are more her speed. Based on what I have observed this year, it appears as though she has the ability to get decent merit aid. My neighbor’s daughter got a ton of merit money and she is like mine, both academically and socially. Time will tell.</p>
<p>I’m curious to know if you take your younger children on college tours. I am not planning on taking my 6th grader as he is not mature enough and will complain the whole time but I’m considering taking my 8th grader who is mature and on the older side for his grade. Worthwhile or waste of time in your experience?</p>
<p>Reading in here is like looking in a metaphorical mirror. So much similarity.</p>
<p>DD got her wisdom teeth out last Spring. It was a rough few days and then back to normal. </p>
<p>She’s been driving now for about a year with her permit but still only has about 10 hours. She needs 45 to get her license. At first it was really horrifying to be in the car with her, especially because around here the roads are curvy and narrow and there is no shoulder at all. I kept fearing we’d go into a ditch on any turn. Then I convinced her to drive on the interstate and she was amazed at how easy that was. She’s now able to drive around in town through traffic pretty well and I’m fairly relaxed. I would imagine that after the full 45 hours, she’ll be totally comfortable at the wheel. Me, not so much.</p>
<p>She got her class schedule and it’s everything she signed up for. However, the school just changed their policy on how many year-long classes they can take. It was 2 and now it’s 4. That opens up more options about her classes and she wants to take Latin, so we’ll be requesting a course correction. I’m so glad they made this change. With only 2 year long slots, the kids were really limited in the number of AP classes they could get in.</p>
<p>And finally, SAT prep hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. She’s had all summer and she’s studied math nearly every day, but never got around to the writing sections and has avoided vocabulary altogether. I don’t think she’s going to be in range for the NMF. I’m wondering if she should aim to take the SAT in November or wait until the Spring. If she had been studying more, I would have pushed for the earlier date but now I’m wondering if the extra junior year experience and mental growth will count more.</p>
<p>Laclos – The first 10 hours are really the worst. D’15’s drivers ed teacher won’t take them out for their required road time until they had 10 hours behind the wheel with a parent. (In our state, you can get a learner’s permit when you start drivers ed, as early as 15, and can drive with adult supervision immediately.)</p>
<p>keepmecruisin - We did not take the younger on college trips with the elder. They are 3 grades apart. I see lots of younger siblings on tours, but we decided that it wouldn’t be fair to the younger to take her along. We’ve had a lovely time this summer just the two of us.</p>
<p>D needs 50 here (10 of which have to be at night) and she’s probably got 100+. </p>
<p>Last week we went to a party deep in the hills and hollers of southeastern Ohio and I let her drive. She’s done interstate, city, town, burbs, but not curvy back roads that are sometimes gravel and have no lines. She did really well but she created her first roadkill - a bunny 
She avoided several others (I’ve never seen so many rabbits out and about as I did this day) and 3 deer and a couple of groundhogs. I was glad to see that she braked for the bunny but did not swerve, as she has been taught. Around here hitting animals is a constant danger, especially deer, so it’s an important part of driver’s ed.</p>
<p>When we left the party there was thick fog so I drove us out of the hilly backwoods part then let her take over for the highway part. </p>
<p>I feel like I want her to experience all the hard driving situations while I’m still sitting next to her, so I let her drive as much as possible.</p>