<p>yowza ikeail - that’s quite a score (228). If I had her score, I would aim high too.</p>
<p>What a lot of activity today! It’s so hard to keep up!</p>
<p>3girls3cats, I saw your post about your cat and never got to send you some sympathy on your loss.</p>
<p>I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one whose kid is blowing up. And please tell me that I’m not the only parent whose kid acts like we can’t do anything right? I signed my D up for the online Teen Jeopardy test, thinking it would just be a fun thing. When I told her about it she didn’t seem particularly interested but said OK. It was scheduled for 8 pm last night and somehow I just forgot about it. When she realized this morning she was upset and yelled at me, “How could you forget!!” And I thought she wasn’t interested? I just don’t get it…</p>
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<p>That’s more or less how it is here. APs are around $80, $20 if subsidized. We have around 3% of students on free/reduced lunch, if that. </p>
<p>We also have school fees in the hundreds each year that vary by class, with science and languages costing the most (yes, this is a public school…I really don’t get that), but those are also waived for free lunch students.</p>
<p>All students are encouraged to take the PSAT and all must pay for it, but it’s only $16.</p>
<p>PSAT here is optional, even for juniors. It is only $14.</p>
<p>Welcome Ikeail! That’s an incredible score for a sophomore. She’ll probably ceiling the test this year–awesome! PSAT is automatic at D’s school and the school takes care of registering kids for the test. </p>
<p>Crepes, thanks so much for your sympathy. I miss that scrappy ol’ cat so much. Forgetting the Jeopardy thing is exactly something I would have done. Can you reschedule or enter the next time?</p>
<p>3girls3cats and Crepes - I don’t think I’m being nominated for mother-of-the-year this week either. I was worried about my son melting down, but I definitely beat him to it yesterday. When he gets stressed he likes to push the buttons of whatever family memember is conveniently near by. He had me so agitated yesterday that I was screeching into my cell phone at him. I drove home, and gave myself an in bed, time out for half an hour. A nice glass of wine followed when I re-emerged. It was not a proud afternoon for me.
Even worse (or better depending on how you look at things), was that provoking me to excess seemed to calm him down. He had a good sports practice after school, came home like an angel and did his homework. He was in a great mood today. I’m still in recovery.</p>
<p>Not sure when to have him take the ACT/SAT. He has taken practice tests but we are still undecided. Its more stressful trying to study for both and I wish we could just decide on one. Its kind of a toss up for him between needing to study vocabulary for the SAT and dealing with the timing pressure of the ACT, esp. the reading section. I’m not sure which is going to be easier to fix.</p>
<p>I hate to wish time away, but I cannot wait to be done with year.</p>
<p>Aww Stemmmm, you did better than I did! I wish I had thought of that glass of wine 
And even if it’s maddening, how great that he did better afterwards.</p>
<p>We’ll all get through the year intact and we’ll help each other through. </p>
<p>I don’t know what to suggest re: the ACT vs. the SAT. I guess the question is how much vocabulary he needs to study for the one vs. how much practice he can do to increase his speed on the other. I know, I know, that’s the million dollar question. Is there a big difference between the two tests for him?</p>
<p>Our AP exams cost $89 each as well. At the local HS they are $100 each. D got to take one exam at our local HS last year because not enough kids signed up for the exam at her current school. They need to have 8 kids sign up to give the exam (in order to pay the proctor).</p>
<p>Since D is at a math and science magnet, the offerings are quite a bit different from most high schools, and they offer nothing tailored to the AP curriculum, though there’s some substantial overlap in some classes. She’s taking roughly the equivalent of AP Chem and AP Physics C (both semesters) this year and will finish up single-variable calculus this semester. She got closed out of multi-variable next semester, but it will probably work out in the end. She’s slated for 6 AP exams this year, and then none senior year. One of those will be one of the AP English exams, so she may not take that one in the end. We don’t have to decide until February.</p>
<p>I had a melt down yesterday. It’s like I walk a tight rope and if I lean too far to the left one flips out, if I lean too far to the right another flips out. I spend my time diffusing everyone else’s meltdowns that yesterday I had my own. My life is like a game of wack-a-mole. </p>
<p>Ike that is an incredible score!! SAT versus ACT? My daughter will take both in December and the winner will be taken again. If it’s a tie then they will both be taken again. The SAT tutor told me not to be concerned with the drop as she took it at 10:30- I knew he would say that. He gave her an ACT test and an SAT blue book assignment to do. He did not tell me anything about the ACT that was new to me- ie don’t leave any blank and do not stay too long on one question. He told her that she must do the work in the morning.</p>
<p>I think my outburst yesterday scared my husband. Tonight I will be having a glass of wine. We have to remember that this will all work out.</p>
<p>Hang in there 2girls, we’ve all been there. Wine will help. I was nearing a melt down just before school started this year. I decided to treat myself to a movie that afternoon. When I came back home the family was on their best behavior for the remainder of the summer. :)</p>
<p>Stemmmm - SAT or ACT? Like twogirls, my daughter is taking both this fall. ACT in October, SAT in November. Hopefully, one will yield scores good enough for D’s schools (she just has to improve by a non-unreasonable amount). If not, then she gets to decide which one to take again. She took both earlier this year. Her only complaint about the ACT was she had no friend taking it with her (!!) - so this time, I made sure her best friend signed up for the ACT at the same date, same location.</p>
<p>D came home today exhausted. She went straight to her room and slept through dinner (so far). She complained that she was tired because she stayed up until 10:30 last night (gasp!) finishing up her AP World homework.</p>
<p>Homecoming weekend! Beautiful night for Friday night Football. Happy to report we won ( first time this season) The kids are sooooo excited. I feel there will be mischief tonight in our town!</p>
<p>Hope your D has a fun night Sally22!</p>
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<p>Wow, lots to catch up with here since I haven’t fed my CC addiction since Wednesday. </p>
<p>I may have missed an answer to the quoted concern. The reality is that calc BC doesn’t cover twice as much calculus as AB. I’d estimate–from looking at comparative charts–thst AB actually covers about 80% of BC. What’s missing from AB is differential equations and integrals. So it would be boring to take BC after AB since there would be so much overlap, and words cannot express my opinion about taking them concurrently. To put it another way, it should take no more than a couple of months to cover the BC topics that are not part of AB. </p>
<p>And note that when you take the BC exam, you get a separate score for the AP for AB, In addition to the overall BC score. </p>
<p>Just think, when January 2014 rolls around, we’ll be able to say, next year my kid will be in college.</p>
<p>Latichever aaahhh you are right!! This weekend is busier than usual for my kid as she has a 5 hour yearbook meeting right now and she is babysitting this evening. She is bringing books with her. Tomorrow she is volunteering for World Lang HS followed by a practice and another meeting. This craziness is not typical and thankfully her tests were this past week. She got up at 6 am to get work done today and will do the same tomorrow. She has 3 hours of SAT work to finish up. She almost had a melt down this morning but caught herself and realized that even though she has a lot going on she still has chunks of time today and tomorrow to get stuff done. Hopefully the yearbook meeting will not take 5 hours. </p>
<p>Next weekend is Homecoming and my older one is coming home for fall break so it really is a homecoming!</p>
<p>crepes–I have to say, your jeopardy post cracked me up.</p>
<p>S has his first APUSH test on Tuesday (we start school later than most of you, I think–not until after labor day). The teacher is excellent, as well as someone the kids adore. It is funny because he is sort of a curmudgeon too. I always look forward to the anecdotes S comes home with after APUSH. S is actually looking forward to studying for Tuesday’s test.</p>
<p>S had to get up at 6:30 this morning because the bass section had a sectional prior to the regular Youth Symphony rehearsal from 9:30–1:30. He usually takes the rest of Saturday “off”–no homework, etc, which is great because those long rehearsals are intense.</p>
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<p>Similar here. Signed my kid up and remembered 1/2 hour before that the test was coming up. I wasn’t home so I sent a text. Kiddo wasn’t feeling well so he skipped it. He did it before but it’s a real crap shoot. With so many taking the test, it’s something like a lottery to select from top scorers. He did it before and heard nothing. Time was–before the internet–when if you qualified, you qualified. Back in the 90s, I qualified on three different years to be in the contestant pool. I’d show up and they’d give you a ten-question test. If you got 7 right, you’d get to take the 50 question test. If you got got 40 right, you’d get invited to a regional tryout where you’d do mock Jeopardy in front of the show’s staff. Everyone who got the 40 right and went to the tryouts was technically in contestant pool. But they have many more people in the pool than they need on the show. So I was disappointed but not totally surprised I didn’t get to chit chat with Alex. </p>
<p>Re SAT waivers: my kids all went/go to an inner-city school that qualifies for SAT waivers. In my school’s case they give waivers for two each of SAT and SAT 2, regardless of your personal financial situation. Similarly, everyone can get free lunch. I have mixed feelings about getting the freebies when I can afford lunch and SATs, but it is what it is. </p>
<p>Junior year is probably the most stressful. Things to do re college all year. Senior year is stressful but once you get your apps in it’s just waiting. And once that’s done, it’s Senioritis big time.</p>
<p>^^^ Don’t underestimate how stressful it can be writing apps and then waiting. Just look at the essay prompts! The colleges ask our kids to declare their deepest wishes and reveal the most private corners of their soul. And then they sit in judgement and tell 80% or 90% or even 95% of them “nope, you’re not good enough.” It’s brutal!</p>
<p>Waiting to hear back from your kids top choices is very very stressful. I have to say that from now until the day we drop them off our days will be very stressful- some days worse than others. Today I am particularly stressed- more than my daughter. My older one went apple picking today- she is the laid back one. </p>
<p>She is doing an ACT math section and then a SAT math test for the next 2+ hours. My house is a mess but I can’t seem to get my act together to clean it up. </p>
<p>I think I may have a glass of wine with dinner later.</p>
<p>^^I think for some of us, it’s more stressful than what are kids are experiencing. For some, the kids are more stressed. For others, it’s stress all around. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t mind if my kid does ED for my wife’s alma mater (which she would love) and then it’s party time starting December 1, 2014.</p>