@Dragonflygarden @mommdc @3scoutsmom @2manybooks Thank you all for these helpful suggestions. This teacher is only interested in making sure the kids get 5 on the AP exam but grading so harshly that the 5 will do them no good when they may not get into the colleges of choice. So frustrated. My H spoke to the math coordinator about this today. Apparently, 28% of the class got a D on the midterm but she said that would be a 5 on the AP exam. How can that be okay to grade the kids this way? The kids in the class were identified back in middle school to take double accelerated math. So they have been on this math track since 6th grade. This group is the top 5% of the math kids in the class. I feel so badly for my S. The 2nd quarter grade and midterm together is making this class have a low grade for him, which is ruining the GPA that will be sent in the midyear report to all the colleges.
Booked trip to Pittsburgh for the last weekend of D16ās spring break. The Admissions Gods were smiling on me because the accepted student preview day for Pitt is on Saturday and the accepted student preview day for Duquesne is on Sunday of the same weekend! Only D16 says that was not a blessing because there will be not time between the visits to digest and decide, sigh! Well, it was a blessing to my wallet and sanity!
Thank you @LKnomad We were proofreading in preview together. I am afraid to look now, since nothing we can do at this point.
@labegg - Other than location, I donāt think they have too many attributes in common?
@PAO2008 - For what itās worth, the actual exams really are scaled, sometimes pretty heavily. S knew with the Calculus A/B exam that there were whole sections that he didnāt get, including a couple problems that included concepts heād never seen before. The CC thread about that exam last May was filled with people complaining and freaking out. I donāt know what his raw score was, but know he left at least a couple answers completely blank, filled in nearly-random dots on a couple of others - and got a 5.
So donāt lose hope - but I totally agree - it doesnāt need to be torture for the students. If a D on the midterm would be a 5 on the exam, then scale it up to a higher grade. Donāt jerk the students around. All my best to your S. When mineās back, Iāll see if I can get more insight into the different things heās using. I do know that there are often group facetime chats among a few of them at night, and a lot of texting, as they work together on Calculus and AP Physics. Their school is OK with collaborative learning (since itās individual testing 
) - so if your S has that as an option, it might help.
Finally got DS20ās prescription for Accutain. Each pill is separately packaged with a picture of a pregnant woman with a line though her in a no pregnancy notice. In order to get each pill daily you have to look at the picture of the pregnant women. They are not kidding with these warnings! It is kind of bizarreā¦
On a happy note, DS16 is getting better and will be able to attend the upcoming Doctor Who convention on the 12th! His one big event each year.
@LKnomad Glad heās feeling better. Pretty cool about the convention. My S13 was a huge fan.
Ok- DS has completed his share of scholarship applications so far & we just picked up another local one to fill out.
I found it very strange that part of the essay instructions state-
No less than 300 words & no more than 500 (specific about that) but, then also include:
āMust be footnotedā
āMust be in APA formatāā¦
Anyone else ever run across a scholarship essay like that? :-/
@petrichor11, whoa, that is a great scholarship!
No but for a Girl Scout scholarship they want
A 500 word Personal Essay explaining at a minimum:
a. How you will use your education to make the world a better place, career and educational goals.
b. A description of the community service (girl scouts, church, civic, school) you have
performed.
c. Your greatest challenge, and the impact it had on you.
d. Possible major/special interest in advance education, or career goals.
e. What girl scouts has meant to the applicant, how it impacted her life.
f. How the applicant intends to pay for advanced education.
How the heck can you get all that in 500 words!!!
Wow- @3scoutsmom - could probably write a 500 word essay on each of those topics!
Thatās a ton to fit in 500 words! Best of luck to your D with that! @3scoutsmom
Ok. About that 14-meals-per-week meal plan. The college says only a handful of students run out of meals before the end of the semester. Mainly male jocks. Iām still suspicious because so many dormers go home for weekends and donāt need meals from Friday afternoon to Sunday night.
Oh, well. I guess itās just going to have to be a wild card, and we wonāt really know how it plays out until the first semester is over.
@texaspg ā¦yeah not a whole lot, lol and therein lies the problem! She has been accepted to Duquesne for the BS/DPT program, plus she can minor in Music with a good music program. Pitt is the ātraditionalā college experience. She has been accepted into the Dietrich School of Arts & Science from which she will apply to a pre-applied health degree in Rehabilitation Science as a sophomore. They both cost nearly the same amount of money for her to attend. Which would you do, a guaranteed direct entry BS/DPT or the ātraditionalā 4 year experience and have the graduate school admittance looming in the future?
Last interview happened today. This was her fourth one, and sheās enjoyed them for the most part. She said todayās interviewer was a little different though. The gentleman was late 40-ish, and spoke fondly of his history as a āparty animalā at the school after applying on a bet, and then bouncing around from major to major. Also brought up campus police choosing to ignore students who drove drunk on campus. Well, okay then. LOL. This was that selective āSā school on the West Coast 
For everyone having problems with math, try Yay Math on You Tube. I think they have Calc . My younger son used them for Geometry and they were helpful.
@petrichor11 Congrats to your daughter .
Hi Everyone!
I think everyone is working on the IDOC stuff. It hasnāt been as messy as the CSS Profile. We had to make revisions to it 
@petrichor11 , congrats to your D!
@LKnomad glad your son is feeling better!
We got emails today (1 to D and one to parents) from Fisk saying that deposits are refundable if you change your mind before May 1. Iāve not seen any others that are refundable. Weāre going to go ahead and do it, since itās a reasonable amount and it will hold Dās space in a very small class. We should know long before May 1 if we can afford it. It also allows her to go to āscholars weekendā in April, where she would get to register for classes early, stay with students, learn more about her major, etc. Parents are not required to go, but those who do can get 1 on 1 help with FA and other questions. We have plenty of time before we book anything for that too.
Still waiting on other financials. Two local scholarships go in early next week, then several over the course of the next couple of months. And Fisk has sent us a list of all kinds of scholarships for kids with different majors, home states, backgrounds. Some are ones we did not find in other scholarship searches.
@labegg - It looks like BS/DPT is a 6 year program but I am not sure how long it takes if you go through the traditional degree route?
It would make financial and duration sense to take years off of the expected time frame if your D is certain this is the career choice. However, if it is possible she will change her mind or is considering other career options, then the traditional route offers the flexibility to consider other choices. I noticed that Duquesne offers two degrees at the end of 4 years as a termination point if needed.
FWIW, @labegg I planned to major in pharmacy when I applied to college, intending to one day take over my fatherās drugstore. My father insisted that I apply to colleges with many options in case I changed my mind. āI was CERTAIN, 100%, that I would NEVER change. Guess what happened? I had a new major by the 2nd semester. I would have your D go the 'traditionalā route since cost is about even. Why? Because her other interests are in a completely different area-as mine were-and having options in case she changes her mind might end up being better for her.
My dad was a little disappointed, sure, but in the end, the big chains came in and wiped out the small owners anyway and he changed careers. I still got a great education and I wouldnāt change a thing. And my sister, who majored in phys. ed? She never changed her major, but never worked a day in her field. Sheās now aā¦pharmacy tech.