<p>Our experience was that the college treated our 17 yo D in exactly the same way they treated students over 18, including not granting us access to any of her records unless she expressly permitted it. All of them, regardless of chronological age are considered adults for all purposes.</p>
<p>17 year olds in my daughter’s school are treated the same way as 18 yos. </p>
<p>My daughter is remarkedly calm today. Her quizzes were moved to Friday and next week rather than tomorrow- that helps. She is calmer about physics ever since she learned that a lot of kids are coming from regular chem. That’s quite a jump.</p>
<p>My S2 is very young, our cutoff is Dec 1, his b-day is Nov 16th. It was a tough decision at the time, but he was ready.</p>
<p>Since he’s on the water polo team and has to be in the pool at 6:00 am, bedtime is 10:00 but by the end of the week, he’s usually falling asleep before that.</p>
<p>Wolverine86 - I completely recognize the “He can but he chooses not to”, that is a perfect description of my son.</p>
<p>How much SAT/ACT prep is everybody doing now that school is in full force? Mine does two hours during the week and three hours on the weekend ( practice sections). Then she studies vocabulary a little bit each day, sometimes skipping a day… Or two!</p>
<p>I tried to push a lot of studying during the summer, but she was really busy doing other things that kids should be doing- like working at camp and and practicing with her team. She did some vocabulary at night. </p>
<p>When do you stop testing ( she has not even started LOL)? Last year a kid got a 2340 and decided to test again for a 2400- she got it ( super scored). Is re-taking a 2340 really necessary? It seems silly to me. I know kids who re-take a 34 ACT. Is that necessary? </p>
<p>I am sorry if this has been discussed already.</p>
<p>I’m hoping S makes at least a 2000 and a 30. We’ll find a college for him with mid range scores. He’s under enough pressure with the high demands at his school so we don’t discuss scores. I think he’s doing a good job managing his ECs and test prep and thats all I can ask for.</p>
<p>twogirls, when is your daughter taking the ACT/SAT? If your daughter is studying five hours a week that’s really good. D was studying about an hour a day until school started in earnest, now it’s probably 3-5 hours a week.</p>
<p>D’s goal score is just 2100. Trust me, of she got anything close to 2100, there will be no retake. But she’s not aiming for Ivies or top 40 schools. </p>
<p>I always thought conventional wisdom says that scores over 2270 were essentially the same. I certainly would not retake a 2340 or 34. My nephew scored 2290 and did not retake; he’s now a senior at MIT.</p>
<p>On another topic, D has not yet started driving. How are people surviving the student / new driver?</p>
<p>SlackerMomMD, I am loving having D drive! It’s just incredibly convenient not to have to cart her around everywhere, plus she helps get younger D to soccer practice, etc. </p>
<p>D is taking SAT and ACT in October. She isn’t really studying much - maybe two hours a week, and one of those hours is with a tutor. (Honestly, the only reason she goes to the tutor is to get tips, and so that she at least cracks a book once a week.) We really haven’t discussed a goal score for either test, but there’s no way she would retake a 2340 or a 34.</p>
<p>Slacker my daughter gets two hours a week of tutoring and then spends about three hours a week completing the assignments. If somebody assigns her something she will do it- it totals about 5 hours weekly. I won’t push for more than that. She won’t apply to any Ivy’s but will apply to schools just below Ivy level and many schools under that. </p>
<p>She got her permit 4 months ago and is supposed to be driving all over with me- as per the driving instructor. That does NOT happen because most of the time we are rushing!! I do try to make time every week for some driving as she is determined to get her license in November. I doubt this will happen - she does not have enough experience yet. </p>
<p>Baseline tests without any tutoring got her respectable scores so I am hoping for no re-takes. I suspect she will end up taking each test twice regardless.</p>
<p>The answer to the question is 0. No minutes studying anything test related since fall sports started and summer homework was wrapping up. She also had the National Honor Society application that she just handed in so I really didn’t want to push it. She is aiming for the Dec. test dates. I’m hoping after this weekend’s tournament and homecoming that she has some time to add it to her week without me insisting on a study schedule. She is so responsible about her school work and I never have to nag her so I think that she really doesn’t get how important these tests are.</p>
<p>Driving…she has had her permit for just a few days. I’ve had meetings/open house every night and she has driven around the block a few times after I’ve gotten home…in the dark lol. The first night she wanted to use the brights and I wouldn’t let her. Last night a car came in the opposite direction and she looked right into their headlights and couldn’t see. She is doing well but it’s probably the most nerve-wracking thing I’ve ever done!! I really don’t want her to dent my car.</p>
<p>The cut off here is Dec. 1st, he is a Nov birthday and I did not want him to be the youngest, so we kept him back. He will be 17 in Nov. We are in week 3 of school and he is still not having that much work to do. He has never been one to study (hoping that doesn’t come back to bite him in college), and is doing a couple of hours of work per night. So far we have had a pretty peaceful year. Meltdowns have been girlfriend related, not school related!</p>
<p>My eldest had a 2290 and stopped. She sat the ACT once and scored 35. Statistically these scores are the top 1%. She was happy with these scores. Good enough for her to be nominated for the US Presidential scholars from our state. D2 is aiming for 2100.</p>
<p>Loving her driving. She has been driving for 2 months now. I was in the laundry room with the window open and heard her start her car- the starter motor was " screaming" H also heard it and we both headed to the driveway. H explained when you turn the key and if you keep turning it the starter motor makes that noise- which is not good. No one had told her. When she was learning in my car, she pressed a button and the car started.
As my kids would say # firstworldprobs!</p>
<p>twogirls - it’s an interesting question. I think there were some discussions before on this thread and general consensus at the time was to not to retake…</p>
<p>2340/34 is son’s (S1) old test scores. He kept SAT but retook ACT and got 36. IMHO, whether to retake or not depends on what your final objective is for your student - if IVY is your goal (or other schools with “holistic” admission policy), I don’t see any reason to retake 2340/34. It is well within mid-50% or above. On the other hand, if you are looking for “significant” merit scholarship (i.e., full tuition or full ride) at flagship state schools (IS or OOS), I think the numbers DO matter. I can easily see a situation where different merit amount is given to a kid with 34, 35, or 36 or 2340 vs. 2400. </p>
<p>I don’t know where D will end up. We are hoping for “one and done” (aren’t we all?) but not sure if she will get there. I think she is ready for this Saturday though. She worked hard over the summer to get to this point… She told me yesterday she is worried but not stressed about the test. I think it’s a good sign.</p>
<p>Or, as the admissions dean at Davidson told us, “If you’ve taken the SAT so many times that it’s starting to feel like an extracurricular, you should probably stop and do something else with your time.”</p>
<p>FromMD, Good luck to your D!!
Your S’s scores are amazing! Which school did he end up going, with what kind of scholarships? </p>
<p>My D. is taking US history SAT in two weeks. Then we’ll have to decide if she’ll take the SAT in November or December. With the school work, she does not have much time to study. That’s why we were thinking about December. However, I wonder how much more she gets from that one month, because it’s a busy school month. Sometimes I feel she just has to go like this, because she’s always going to be busy. </p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>SomeOldGuy…love it!!</p>
<p>HerandhisMom…I think it really depends on their calendars and schedules. D plays fall and spring sports but just has club sports in winter. Once I saw the playoff schedule I knew the Nov. test was out. Jan. is out bc that’s midterms for us. But I agree with you, at some point you just have to pick a date and go with it bc there will always be something.</p>
<p>I’m amazed at these test scores from your older kids. Wow, that is just fantastic!!</p>
<p>S2 is old for his grade, too. He has been driving on his own for almost a year and I love it! It is great to have his help to schlepp the other kids! Regarding the 2340 SAT. That was S2’s score for the June test sophomore year. I assumed that he would be one and done (that is what S1 would have done), however, he wants to take it a second time in October to see if he can improve the one section that was 740. He will not be taking the ACT. Once he takes the SAT in October, that will be it…he’ll then just focus on the SATII and AP tests.</p>
<p>Wow! Reports of lots of high scoring kids here - congratulations to them!</p>
<p>Good luck to the kids taking the ACT on Saturday! Does anyone know how long it takes to get the scores back for the various tests? That wait is going to kill me.</p>
<p>herandhisMom - Thank you. D will need it this weekend!</p>
<p>Both of our boys went to our state flagship - UMD-College Park on scholarship. S1 got full ride and graduated last year (08). He is currently at UC Berkeley doing engineering PhD work with 35k/year support from the school. So, his education’s been mostly “free.” When he got into Berkeley, we gave him the money we saved (his 529 plan). We figured he “earned” it. </p>
<p>S2 got Presidential Scholarship (slightly lower test scores than S1 but mostly comparable) enough to cover his tuition and small fees. S2 is thinking med school so as long as he keeps his GPA up and does well on MCAT, I don’t think going to state school will hurt his changes. We continue to put money into his 529 so it will help him with med school expenses. </p>
<p>So, low cost strategy worked out pretty ok for us. It hurts your (and kids’) ego, but deep inside we know this is the right approach for us and our kids. We did not want kids to graduate with loan debt. </p>
<p>Suzy - I believe ACT will start posting scores on Oct 9 (for 9/21 test takers) with writing scores lag behind couple weeks.</p>
<p>someoleguy- love it too!</p>
<p>Suzy- PSAT results are given out by the school. I remember talking about it last year and some school holding results to report cards/ parents nights etc</p>
<p>Colllegeboard dates on their websites</p>
<p>[SAT</a> Score Availability - SAT Score Delivery Calendar](<a href=“The SAT – SAT Suite | College Board”>Getting SAT Scores – SAT Suite of Assessments | College Board)</p>
<p>Thank you both!</p>