<p>@annewhitney, my D. took algebra II and geometry at the same time this year, precisely for the reason of getting AP calc in. She is the only one in our whole county who finishes algebra II as a freshman, together with geometry. She later found out from her CTY friends “if I hadn’t done that, I’d be like a year behind compared to CTY people.” She doubled math this year. There was a lot of homework, but not hard. She may not be really a science kid. But she is a strong academic kid. </p>
<p>Yeah I know things must be so different now compared to when we were in high school - I did not grow up in this country. but from the way my husband talks, (he did grow up here) it’s almost like a cultural gap between now and 30 - 40 years ago.</p>
<p>Yeah, I wondered about that IJD. My D is mature, but sensitive as well so it may be too early for that. I would like to find some more modern fiction (more modern than, say, the Bronte sisters) that would give her a bigger “world view.”</p>
<p>annewhitney - welcome! I don’t have the answer to your questions, but hopefully those in this thread who have older kiddos who have been through this will chime in.</p>
<p>annewhitney–it sounds like the summer program is too good too pass on for this summer. If it were my son, I would fit the extra math in the summer after sophomore year. I personally don’t believe in getting rid of classes during the school year that kids are passionate about. I don’t know how busy his after school life is, but another option would be to take the geometry as an online class, through an accredited online high school. We actually did this with our oldest S so that he could fit 3 years of language in. He also did one year equivalent of language at the Community College during the summer quarter. We were creative to fit it all in!</p>
<p>annewhitney – If it were my kid, I’d encourage him to do the fun summer program and not worry about doubling-up on the math unless he wants to. I don’t think that it is critical, for a non-STEM kid, to have calculus in HS. It’s more important to get a solid foundation, including Geometry & AlgebraII, to prepare him to take college-level math when he gets to college.</p>
<p>annewhitney, I think colleges will find exploring passions during the summer more important than advancing in math. As long as he has enough math to score well on the SAT or ACT, I think precalculus may be enough if his application is not geared towards engineering, math or science. Some great writers end up in TASP or other extraordinary writing or humanities programs during the summer. I really doubt that those kids would be penalized in admissions if they had great scores and GPAs but had only studied math through precalculus. </p>
<p>I don’t have any middle school talent search SAT stories because my kids preferred the ACT. My S’14, who will be S’15 after his “gap year” in China next year, scored a 25 at the end of 6th grade, a 30 at the end of 8th grade and a 34 this year in September of 10th grade. The only reason he plans to test again is because he knows a senior who scored a 35 this year. ;-)</p>
<p>@maxwell</p>
<p>Yes, she should definitely see improvement without any additional effort, and significant improvement if she puts in some real prep time (her scores were great BTW for a middle schooler). However, I really wouldn’t encourage her to do much prep for her sophomore year PSAT. It’s one of the few “official” tests out there that’s truly just for practice. The main issue is that there is a limited amount of real College Board prep materials out there, and it’s not a good idea to burn through them until she’s ready to give the SAT a real shot. If she thinks she’s ready to give it a serious attempt in October around the time of the PSAT, great, but if not, it’s a better idea to leave any prep alone until the following summer (to get ready for the junior year PSAT and October SAT). In most cases, kids haven’t quite had all the math required yet, so it’s hard to give it a serious go until the beginning of junior year. Just things to keep in mind…</p>
<p>For everyone wondering about reading, that’s the one thing all your kids should be doing now to get ready for SAT/ACT. Challenging reading is the absolute best way to get ready for the reading parts of both tests, not to mention picking up good vocabulary along the way. Reading is by far the most resistant section to prep, but your students have plenty of time to do some good work. The CB actually put out a recommended reading list a few years ago. They’ve oddly taken it off their site when they redesigned, but you can still find it here: [The</a> College Board?s SAT recommended reading list](<a href=“http://missyween.com/?page_id=13]The”>http://missyween.com/?page_id=13) If convincing them to read books is a challenge, see if you can get anywhere with newspaper or magazine articles (NYT, Atlantic, Science)…really anything that requires a little thought to understand. Hope that helps!</p>
<p>Re. great summer program deals for next summer, if your child has the scores s/he may want to consider the Summer College for High School students at University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. [Summer</a> College For High School Students - The University of Mississippi](<a href=“http://www.outreach.olemiss.edu/schs/index.html]Summer”>Summer College for High School Students | Ole Miss) I first heard about SCHS on CC, then when I visited Ole Miss with my older daughter for junior preview day and saw how beautiful the campus was and how friendly the people were, I was convinced. My son will go for both summer sessions and take a total of four college courses for credit and the only cost to us is his plane ticket, weekend meals, books and spending money. He’s really looking forward to it.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the good advice and the warm welcome :)</p>
<p>@herandhisMom - I am from back in the day when we were only allowed to take 3 APs and only in the senior year.</p>
<p>@momsings - It is nice to know that people have managed with some of these alternative options like the online and CC classes.</p>
<p>I really do not want him to give up the summer program - nor do I want him to have to give up the class he really wants to take next year. I know he feels the pressure to get ahead, but I think we can find another opportunity to get an extra class in somewhere in the next two years without having to give up something else. Or have the confidence that his other accomplishments will balance it out.</p>
<p>Also, my S is stuck in a language that he does not like - Spanish - while he is taking another language outside of school that he will not receive credit for - Japanese. I am wondering if he can stop taking Spanish at school after his Spanish III next year - which would fulfill the requirement for two years of language - but continue with his Japanese outside of school. And free him up for more APs in the subjects he is interested in. I think he will have the opportunity to take a college level class in Japanese eventually - I would hope that all the years of Japanese would show his dedication to that language - versus taking Spanish at school.</p>
<p>Lots of action around here!</p>
<p>My daughter unfortunately won’t be able to drive until Junior year. :(</p>
<p>Summer will be lots of beach time and training for fall soccer plus golfing-her newest passion!</p>
<p>The test questions are very interesting. She will take the PSAT at school next fall. I really have no idea how she will test-so a lot will depend on her score. I know her brother becoming a NMF was huge for him come decision time since the school he ended up choosing offered a full-tuition scholarship-that Junior year PSAT can be huge or mean little to nothing but it’s hard to say until they narrow down their schools.</p>
<p>Subject tests should be taken right after the highest level of class in the subject is taken. I would advise not to take more than two in one sitting-my son took three his first time-and if you are looking at Cornell, Yale or Penn I know for sure they wanted all the test scores so I wouldn’t take tests until you were ready-those schools will see all the results.</p>
<p>No AP classes for sophomores here and limited offerings for upperclassmen so that isn’t an issue.</p>
<p>I marvel at kids who want to do all these summer activities! My kids love having summer to recharge! Whatever works! :)</p>
<p>I stumbled upon this video in youtube.It explains the case study of an applicant in stanford university by one of its admission officers .Thought i will share with our group</p>
<p>[Erinn</a> Andrews, Former Stanford Admissions Officer, Video Case Study #2 - YouTube](<a href=“Erinn Andrews, Former Stanford Admissions Officer, Video Case Study #2 - YouTube”>Erinn Andrews, Former Stanford Admissions Officer, Video Case Study #2 - YouTube).</p>
<p>D15 is taking writing lessons which is helping her a lot.She has read books which she woudn’t read normally.She finished Inerno by Dante and has started Fountain Head by Ayn Rand.It has made aimpact in lot of ways.Her SAT pratice test score went up by 100 points in six months in writing section.All she did was write,write write.</p>
<p>Found the thread for SAT II chemistry test taking tips.</p>
<p>College Confidential > College Admissions and Search > SAT and ACT Tests & Test Preparation > SAT Subject Tests Preparation </p>
<p>How I got an 800 on SAT II Chemistry–Tips!</p>
<p>If your daughter likes Ayn Rand, there is an essay contest she could enter. I can’t get the link to paste but Google Ayn Rand essay contest and you will find it. It is a nice cash prize. Different grades read different novels.</p>
<p>@swines, Thank you! That’s very good advice. D. will take PSAT with school in Oct. I presume. But I don’t think she’ll take the SAT. It’s probably going to be October next year. </p>
<p>@tripleamom, can you give the link to the SAT II chem tips? I went there but couldn’t find it.
I’m curious about how your daughter thinks about Fountainhead? :)</p>
<p>Don’t get me started on Ayn Rand…;)</p>
<p>@suzy I can almost guess what you’d say, but I won’t. :p</p>
<p>Apollo6, Thank you for the info.I read about it in her school site.They have made a list about all the scholarships and competitions.I think the essay contest is around march,april and kids from grades 9 -12 can participate. The books vary by months.I will find out the exact details.</p>
<p>Thank you tripleamom.</p>
<p>Sigh…D15 just logged into her grade posting and found that she received a B in French III. She had an A all year, but was a bit lax and messed up the exam to dropped her to a 90, which is a B at her school. First B she has received for a semester grade, ever. D15 is freaking out. Wife is freaking out, saying we can kiss scholarship opportunities like Jefferson Scholarship to UVA goodbye. I don’t want to go home today after work. :(</p>
<p>S2, the subject of this thread for me, procrastinated a project due this Wednesday in a major way. This is not typical of him, so it is a great learning lesson for him. He is usually very balanced, leaving plenty of time to get everything done and to have chill time. So, he gets to experience a couple days of fast and furious work!!</p>