@Waiting2exhale - You’re right about not needing to get a perfect score on AP exams - they curve them too. I used to have more stats about that handy from last year when S took A/B Calculus and a few others. He knows that he didn’t get everything right on that exam, and even on CC there was a thread after the test that was basically “What in the (#&$)%&*( was that?!?!” He got a 5.
In the class he’s in right now, there’s NO textbook, and NO real syllabus. They don’t know what to expect day to day, and a few of them have had to correct the teacher, especially on concepts that require Calculus. I think a lot of the kids have agreed to study together outside of class and share online resources they’re finding, and prepare for the test that way. These are seniors who don’t need to be taking the class, and mostly don’t even need the AP test, but the school requires that they take it, and they don’t want to screw it up.
Oh - and … GO TEAM! Um… whichever team! We’re more of a “football” (soccer) household here, but congrats to those of you who supported the winning one (Alabama), and condolences to those who were rooting for the other one. And thanks for the cookies for those of us who are clueless about it all.
Hey everyone! I’ve been told that students are welcome here as well, so I decided to join in on the fun :). I am currently a senior who has been accepted to several colleges already (check the results thread if you’re interested). I look forward to getting to know you all!
I was not able to stay up for the entire game but it sounds like it was a good one! So sorry it did not come out well for the Tigers. I have not yet spoken to DS about it. It remains to be seen if wanting to be a part of all that excitement will override the larger scholarship offers he has from other schools.
FAFSA submitted. We won’t take the student loan but there may be some extra institutional aid. We also heard rumors of work study–she’ll take that if she can work at the student health center or something similar.
@crowlady I LOVED this “And right now S16 is playing homework chicken – delaying the start as long as possible to see who flinches first, his parents or his morning alarm clock.”
TOO FUNNY!
I have 4 kids so have played “homework chicken” many times over the years…I just never knew what to call it!
@Mysonsdad That is sad about the student with autism. Can you instruct to the mother that she write a request for the student to “graduate by IEP” so he can get more time to transition into college or what’s next? If not, this family might sink. Is your school one that implements IDEA effectively or like ours, which does all humanly possible to flout the law and screw the kids? Yea, I’ve got sped PTSD.
@mysonsdad I don’t necessarily see that it is sad – it is still possible to sign up for the January SAT late, and maybe this is part of a well-thought out transition plan. Or maybe not. In any case, you’re in a good position to help. We are reminded again of the middle school math mantra: there are many ways to get to the mall.
“Well, what does she [the teacher] need it for? You can tell from the class time that I know what I’m talking about, so I obviously did the work. It’s my work; I’m gonna keep it. If she wants it, she can do her own.”
Do you think we all have versions of the same kid? In middle school my D refused to submit reading logs. Her theory was that she knew that she reading, I knew she reading, her teacher knew it. Why would she have to turn it a paper that said it. So she managed to reduce her grade every marking period standing up for what she felt was right. I let it slide. There are so many other things worth fighting for… So far, it seems that she’s turned out just fine.
@dyiu13, my school is a parent choice school so we get to set requirements of who gets in and who doesn’t, so w have very few SPED students. I wil, look into the IEP like you suggested. As far as the other stuff you mentioned, I have no idea what you are talking about (I hope I don’t sound rude). But thank you for the great suggestions. I will talk to the mom and have her talk to the counselors. We have a class specifically designed to help seniors with this type of stuff so I suppose he heard it and didn’t tell the mom.
@crowlady, maybe sad was the wrong word to choose, it’s just that this is not the first time she has contacted me about something that her S should have told her, (btw, her S is not my student) so when I read it I guess I felt a little sorry for her because I only saw a scenario playing out at her house of panic and screaming and yelling like it would be at my house. Fwiw, I to,d her she needed to fill out the FAFSA and CSS Profile and that deadlines were approaching. Thank you for an opposing point of view.
@Mysonsdad You could refer her to the wrightslaw website. I hope someone can help her. I’m doubting she’s coming from a savvy place, based on what I’ve seen.
@mugglemom We suffered through reading logs in elementary school but thank goodness they stopped by middle school! I pre-signed a stack for my son to turn in, though I am not sure he always did. My husband signed one “Ghengis Khan” and my son never asked him again. Let’s just say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
We had another discussion last night about the chances that S16 is going to end up being a teacher who must deal with students like him. As he thought about which teacher he’d like to emulate I think I saw a little light bulb flash – the worst teacher was disorganized and mumbled. Even the best teacher couldn’t motivate him to do his homework. DH expressed his reluctance to pay an extra $20K/year for college that my S could have gotten in merit scholarship money if he’d had a better work ethic. The homework did get done last night, at the expense of sleep and probably today’s homework.
@Mysonsdad Lots of kids on the spectrum have executive function difficulties/deficits and can be the brightest kids around, but really don’t deal well with things like deadlines, organization, etc. Our S21 has to be asked repeatedly about bringing home and having us sign permission slips and then reminded again to actually hand them in. .Ask him about the various socio-economic issues that were underlying factors in the US Civil War and he can talk to you for hours and sound like a college level scholar on the subject, ask him where the paperwork is for student picture day and you get a big shrug and possibly a claim that no such paperwork exists. He isn’t fibbing (usually, lol), but things that aren’t important and interesting to him really don’t register, nor do the timelines around things like that really hit home.
We, his therapist and his school Autism support team work with him on this stuff all of the time and he still struggles with it, though he is slowly improving. the student you are talking about may well intend to go to college and might just as well have heard all about SAT’s and the rest in class, but if his executive functioning is poor and not recognized as such, and his Mom isn’t savvy on the college search and application process, it is not surprising at all that things like this could suddenly be upon them and they never realized it.
Good luck helping out and good luck to that young man and his family (-:
We may have discussed this, but I have something that I need to ask. How are you going to handle the inevitable let downs? I don’t mean supporting your kid. You’re just as invested in this process (if not more) that they are. You have hopes, dreams, visions. What happens when they don’t come through and you have to be supportive to your child anyway? Last year my S was wait-listed at a school (his dream) that I knew in my heart beyond a shadow of a doubt he was getting into. A professor who interviewed him said that he’d see him on campus in the fall. And yet, he was wait-listed. My heart broke for him. I couldn’t even talk for 2 days until I calmed down enough to talk without sounding angry at the school for denying my kid his opportunity.
I just found out that one of my D’s top picks is going from a somewhat reasonable acceptance rate to 7-9 % this year. We can’t compete on that level. Of course this was my dream school for her. She hasn’t even been rejected yet and I’m upset on her behalf. As parents, how to you handle the unfairness of the college application results.?
I don’t want to debate why or why not kids get accepted. That’s not the issue. The issue is the emotions that result from less than stellar results. Some of us dealt with this during EA results. I’m looking for advice and those who want to share the struggle with me.
Welcome @frenchtoastlover to our little slice of heaven…we really like all perspectives here - students and parents alike.
We are a little bummed about Clemson not winning the National Championship but it was not unexpected as Alabama is a recognized powerhouse for many years. Clemson fought hard and there is always next year!
Re: Homework Chicken and the funny stories…just love it but didn’t know there was a label for it. Now I know what to say to D who has been done with all applications and just had to finish up one last scholarship application - which she did last night and I realize has started to slide down that senioritis slope as a result. She didn’t hand in a few homework assignments for AP Bio and said “my grade is currently a 93 but don’t worry it will go up a bit when I finally hand in my missing assignments”…Missing assignments I say…“you are less busy now than ever before and NOW you have missing assignments?” And D replies, “relax mom Mr. XXX is ok about it and I still have a 93!” I calmly reply (but inside I am screaming) “but it could be better solely from lack of laziness at least until your 2nd Q report cards come out…No?” Kids…UGH…I know I have to let her rise and fall on her decisions but to get this far and to slip so close to the finish line is just silly but what can you do!
@MuggleMom Its not the same as not getting accepted, but D was not given any merit money at her “dream” school. She has actually been quite accepting of this. We had told her over and over that if she didn’t get merit, she couldn’t go and I think it sunk in. What is interesting is that my husband, who was the most hard line about what we were going to pay, has been trying to figure out how to make this school work. This is the only school she applied to that he visited and I think he loved it more than my D did. It is also the “best” school on the ratings lists and he is very proud that she got in and I think he would love to say to people that she is going there. He is having a very hard time letting it go. D on the other hand, choose to forego the admitted students chat session that was scheduled for last night so that she could get her homework done and then watch the big football game. She has moved on. My H has not.
