Our oldest son was home over the break and I think W2exit (daughter leaving out in '16) overheard me telling him to apply for a set of scholarships that I found for the already-matriculated undergraduate as I think he’s got a good shot at getting both of them.
After that it seems like something clicked in her head and she began to peruse this really big book of scholarship opportunities that sits smack dab in the middle of the living room, and she also began making a more concerted effort to do online looking.
I think she is just starting to actually get that we are trying not to stress at how to swing two tuition payments, even with expected financial aid. Maybe she has figured out that we will stress and that she can make her options turn into opportunities once acceptances are in and decisions must be made.
“@LKnomad I perked up as soon as I read FM system since I have hearing loss and have used an FM system since kindergarten and will continue to do so in college.”
Count me in as another person who perked up. S16 has no hearing in one ear, and wasn’t diagnosed until midway through kindergarten. He worked his tail off to go from being nearly a year behind in all of his academic milestone testing to now taking some of the hardest math and science classes available at his high school. He now uses a CROS system (routes sound picked up by the receiver worn on his bad ear and wirelessly transmits it to a HA he wears on his good ear), and currently doesn’t use an FM - but we may be looking at adding a FM when we buy a new system this spring. We’re also getting a LiveScribe pen - have you looked into these? It was recommended by 2 different Disability Service offices as we’ve gone through the college search process, and we’re getting one for him to start using in school this week.
@readingclaygirl: I think you’re thinking of the processing speed component with the psych evals. WISC-IV is one of the common ones, and it looks at Verbal, Non-Verbal, Processing, and Perceptual. You can have off-the-chart scores in Verbal or Non-Verbal and see a significant difference between those scores and your Processing score that reflect real world challenges.
@ChicagoSportsFn Unfortunately, it is a taxable event. However, it is taxable for the child, not the parents. If I remember correctly, we filed a tax return for each D. Pretty sure there was no federal liability due to child’s non-existent income. They only owed money to our state.
@4kids2graduate Completely forgot that AP exams begin May 2. D will be taking 3. Although that is all on her Also for those UTMA accounts, they were completed liquidated and then closed with the assets being deposited in the 529s. No additional penalties.
Best to check with your account or broker as I am neither!
With AP exams starting May 2nd, our high school has moved “Decision Day” to the previous Friday. Because of our demographic, they’re also encouraging kids who’ve signed with one of the service branches to wear shirts saying USMC or USAF, and encouraging the CC-bound kids to wear shirts with the CC name. Given a low grad rate and only a bit over half of those bound for anywhere specific after graduation, the guidance office is trying to plant seeds for the underclassmen: do something.
I never expected my kids to be the ones going down to the wire with announcing their decisions, but it may work out that way since S won’t even know whether he’s gotten into 2/3 of his schools until the end of March. I’m a planner by nature, as is he, and this is not fun…
@EskiesAndBoys Yes, that is what I meant. No I have never heard of Live Scribe. I do know the disability services office mentioned potentially adding a note taker as an accommodation. Not sure how I feel about that, it’s a really small college- around 600 undergrads and all the classrooms are small. I realized pretty early on in the search process I wouldn’t be able to deal with lecture halls not even the “small” ones at the local CC’s.
Add my D to the list of AP Exams starting the beginning of May and she is taking 5 of them! I suspect she will be studying, reviewing and preparing throughout the month of April and right down to the wire on each exam. She may even add in some tutoring sessions (especially for Calc AB since as she is always the most insecure about important math exams). My S14 has suggested to her that even though she is taking AB she should strive to take the BC exam as they break up the scores and if she does well she may even get credit for BC as well as AB. He hasn’t convinced her yet but he keeps trying because he knows she understands the material well, its just her typical tendency to be insecure about math subjects that is holding her back.
@readingclaygirl Yes, the AP schedule is out. I think my D16 will take 0-3 (not sure–may depend on where she is going to college!). S18 will take 2 for sure so I know I’ll be out some $$ either way.
DD is not stressed due to AP exam because she’s taking only 1 AP this year. She took 1 AP last year too.
She still have to submit one more app and I don’t think she will submit until the last minutes before deadline (Jan. 15). But she is scheduled to do alum interview this Friday.
My D16 is taking Physic C (which I get to pay for two test fees for), German, Music Theory she’s opting out of taking English Lit because she got a 5 of English Language last year and taking the Lit exam won’t give her any additional credits.
S18 Is taking Physics (both one and two) and world history.
I don’t know if DD will need to take AP tests. Some schools on her list do not give any AP credits. State schools do, but she already took 9 tests plus DE classes. It is difficult to make decision without knowing where she will land. She paid for 6 tests last year out of her earnings.
D has five APs, which she took mostly because the teachers are far better than the regular version (except Spanish, because it’s the only option after Spanish 5). With CC being an even chance, she’s definitely taking the tests.
S has only two this year. He’ll take them, though whether or not they’ll apply at his school depends on where he ends up.
We are on the fence about APs. In our school, the teachers are ‘graded’ for lack of a better term on how well the kids do on the tests, so the teachers really want the good kids to sit the test. Some schools D is applying to don’t accept them and of course not nearly all acceptances will be in before we have to register for these. Last year, S15 had to register for his APs just in case. We found out 2 days later we heard from his eventual school and couldn’t get our money back. I’m guessing we’ll register and then not worry about it if she goes to a school that doesn’t accept them.
My son will take 4 to 6 AP classes (he could take both macro and micro econ, and submit an art portfolio but in my mind these are optional). He does better on AP tests than grades and may need the credits.
Does anyone have experience with flipped classrooms? I thought S16 would be able to do well but he’s crashing and burning in physics because he’d rather listen to lectures in class. Hoping that this approach is not the norm for college science classes these days
D16 has 5 AP classes this year, yesterday she definitively told me that she will not be taking the AP Economics/AP US Government exams and probably will not take the AP English Lit and is on the fence about the the AP Calc because she plans on taking the class in college regardless of the exam score. She did say that she will definitely take the AP European History exam. Makes me happy as it is less $$$ out of my pocket!
Good luck to all those taking the AP Music Theory exam. D16 took it last year and says it is the hardest AP exam IHO. She has passed the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music Theory exams through level 7 all with distinction (which would count as AP does for a European university) and had a solid 99% A in the class and actually helped teach after school tutorial for the class and she only managed to squeeze out a 3 on the AP exam.
Senioritis has definitely set in…she is usually eager to get back to school after the holiday break. This morning she was really dragging. Even a reminder that she had finished AP Econ wasn’t enough to put a smile on her face.
Regarding AP’s: Some schools that don’t give credits towards graduation may nonetheless accept the AP course as a prerequisite (for another course), may allow the student to use it to satisfy distribution/“core” requirements, or may use an AP language to satisfy a language requirement.
And I can’t remember who posted it (sorry), but if credits are given, even if the student doesn’t plan to graduate early the advanced standing is a huge leg up for course registration.
Also for those UTMA accounts, they were completed liquidated and then closed with the assets being deposited in the 529s. No additional penalties.