@srk2017 I know… :(( Thank you!!!
@HiToWaMom We should mix our kids, well, may be not 
Math 36 English 29.
Thanks to someone on the board, I found some ACT videos.
http://www.onlinepreplive.com/stem/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHpTUbbBp3I
https://www.youtube.com/user/GrockitEducation/search?query=act+math
My D is the kid who is good at STEM, but doesn’t want STEM. She is currently fixated on business. She has always been self-sufficient and motivated to the point that I hadn’t helped her with homework in years, but this year her Pre-Calc BC class has given her some trouble. She has been coming to me for help and since it has been 20+ years since I did this stuff, I have found the next best thing. CalcChat ( www.calcchat.com) has almost any pre-calc/calc/linear algebra textbook you can think of and provides detailed solutions to every odd problem in the book. Has been a tremendous help to refresh my memory and give step by step solutions.
Hope prom was safe and fun for the kids who went! DS says he probably wants to go next year. He asks “Do I have to have a date to go?” I guess I’ll have to ask local moms.
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@itsgettingreal17 That’s weird that TAMU has the old and new SAT seemingly reversed. Maybe there’s an Aggie joke in there somewhere? Or, maybe they wrote it and scheduled it to mail before they knew that the CB released the concordance tables and were just guessing with a large margin for error for the new SAT?
@Mom2aphysicsgeek post #4972, I’m guessing they will convert “new 3 parts to old 3 parts” because it seems like that will be what the bulk spreadsheet does (though I don’t have a same CB input file to run through it). I think the ACT English+Math is kind of like the old SAT CR+M, in that those 2 ACT subscores got looked at more than Reading and Science.
@payn4ward Agree that colleges will be as confused as we are … maybe even more so, since we’ve perhaps obsessed about all the changes for the poor Class of '17 more…
Which colleges will let us superscore across kids? 
Re: dorms
I’d guess that how quiet honors dorms are and how substance-free the substance-free dorms actually are depends on the school. Probably good idea to ask someone.
Re: SATs for NM
S took the SAT first a couple times and got a good enough score the 2nd time. So, we could send that one to NM and will have to send all scores to a number of schools. No need to bother with the new SAT.
He took the ACT after the SAT, and got a 35. He still has the option to take the ACT a 2nd time in June. There’s some pressure at the school to try for the 36 (vs. rival school. Silly, I know), and it seems like maybe he missed that by one wrong answer. He’d like to raise his science score because he’s a science guy (and the essay score, but I’m thinking colleges aren’t going to care about that one much).
@Ynotgo - for DS’s class, seems like most kids don’t have date, but still went for prom. Majority of them are first generation though, so shy to ask or parents don’t approve. We encouraged our son to have the experience. my S’s date didn’t tell parents 
Yes, here too, they go to dances and prom without dates. As a group, for example, 4 boys go toghether, etc.
@RightCoaster I also am not a math or science kind of gal. Always loved doing math: it just doesn’t love me back. Somehow I can add a column of numbers 4 times and get 4 widely different answers, but fortunately I really like just having boxes filled in. S did not get his math gene from me.
Also, we haven’t seen any schools on S’s list (our list for S) that require SAT IIs for engineering, but we’re mostly looking at state universities for Merit.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek I love to read and am always looking for a good book. Can you tell from my user name? Got any recommendations? I’ve listened to some good ones lately in the car, but they don’t always translate into a good read.
Re: SAT scores. S’s score from the March test was lower than predicted by his PSAT score, but we think it’ll be good enough for NM if it comes to that. We are just planning to send his ACT scores to schools as none so far require reporting all scores.
Ok, I feel better knowing that I am not alone in here in the" math stinks" category. When I took the SAT in high school I did far better on english section than math. Like not even close. I had the 2 worst math teachers when I was in high school and that essentially doomed me in algebra. I ended up taking geometry from another teacher and even though he was not a great teacher I was able to grasp it and did ok. Algebra, shoot me please.
I enjoyed english and literature. My favorite classes in high school were Mark Twain, The Odyssey and Business.
I liked reading those stories, and business classes gave me some insight on how to start a career and make $$ as an adult.
Regarding Prom. My son went to Junior Prom 2 weeks ago and had a great time. He had a lovely date and they looked great, super photos! They went to a school sponsored dinner, took a limo. Afterwards they went to a lock in after party where pretty much all of their grade went. The kids all tried to make sure that everyone somehow found a date. It was a fun, safe night and I’m glad he went. I wasn’t sure he was going to go. He usually says stuff like that is such a hassle, but I guess because everyone goes there is some peer pressure to get off your butt and out of the house.
Regarding dorms, I’m going to go out on a limb and think my son will prefer a quiet dorm ( is that such a thing?) and probably one without a lot of late night partying. If there was a dorm named Chill Zone he would sign up in a minute. Chill Zone would find people reading, watching shows, playing on their PCs, studying some, and getting some rest. I don’t think he would survive in an Animal House environment.
Sorry not-loving-math parents, D just got elected as treasurer in their math club. I was peeved that she wasn’t elected VP, as she is one of their best math athletes and VP elected is in AB. D is cool about it, saying most of the kids voting are in AB class and it is a popularity contest. And of course a little bit of boys club. Now I think it is good that she knows how to go deal with situations if she goes in Engineering career.
@IABooks I love to read as well. A lot of historical fiction (I was a lousy student in hs and didn’t care so I feel like I’m getting an education now and I love it). I am currently in the middle of ‘The nightingale’. I have ‘I am Pilgrim’ up next, my hubby read it and enjoyed it (it took a bit for him to get into it though, but then he enjoyed it) and I also have on my nightstand ‘All the light we cannot see’. Not sure what kind of books you like though!
@srk2017 & @payn4ward Thanks. He’d be relieved not to have to ask someone to prom. Girls are scary, I guess. :">
I used to be good at math, but I’ve forgotten it all. Having trouble helping with 7th grade pseudo-algebra, partly because the terminology changed. I think I remember a fair bit of geometry. I’m still good at logic puzzles, though.
I’m a science fiction reader mostly, but I haven’t found anything great to read lately.
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S had an interview at the local UC today for a program where high school seniors can take classes at the UC. (Still have to pay the UC rate, so not free like community college. 
) He said the people interviewing him included associate deans of the 3 colleges at the UC, though they could have been assistant deans, I suppose. Wish he was better at remembering names, but he said the introductions went really quickly, so he has no idea when I ran names off the website by him…
The UC’s fall schedule just came out today, so I’ve been looking at that. I found a free online class scheduling program at http://freecollegeschedulemaker.com that seems to do what I want as far as trying out class schedules. It’s odd trying to fit the HS schedule (MTuF different from W and Th) with the college MWF vs. TuTh schedules. I added “classes” for travel time, too. Also, this UC has 10 week quarters, so I will need to look at their calendar for any vacations. I think I used to do it with little cut out rectangles of paper and my Day Planner.
I think/hope it can work out so he can take his 4 high school classes in the morning and UC classes in the afternoon. His only HS classes next year are AP English Lit and AP Gov’t/Econ plus 2 sections of engineering capstone project.
Looks like maybe Linear Algebra and Astronomy are the best fit at the UC. Linear Alg is his highest priority. Other options are a CS class or Statics (mechanical engineering class).
We think he’ll have to miss lunchtime Debate and Hacking Clubs, but can make it to Math and Science Clubs.
@iabooks Right now I’m reading Le Morte d’Arthur (don’t recommend ) and Til We Have Faces (love!) I am a huge Lewis fan, though.
@sincerelove No apologies necessary. My math skills are limited, but my kids take after their engineer dad. They are all strong math students. (I am just really enjoying have a high schooler who loves literature more than math and science! It took me until my 5th high schooler to have one who finally does.)
@greeny8 and @Mom2aphysicsgeek Thanks for the recommendations! I’ve read All the Light and have considered the Nightingale a couple of times, so I’ll take another look. Haven’t heard about I Am Pilgrim or Til We Have Faces but I’ll check them out. Are you reading the original Arthur @Mom2aphysicsgeek? I always put classics on my list but sometimes struggle to get through them. I decided Moby Dick was really an allegory as I was waiting and waiting for a whale to show up. I’ve started Anna Karenina three times in the past two years. But Pride and Prejudice is my favorite, as typical as that is.
@Ynotgo The last science fiction I read was the Martian and before that Orson Scott Card. Good thoughts regarding the results of your son’s interview coming your way. What an awesome program and good opportunity for him to go through that kind of situation before admissions/scholarship interviews.
I just listened to and liked Letters to the Lost and Amy Snow. We should start another thread, as this is a bit off topic, I suppose.
@SincererLove Congrats to your D. Its too bad even something like that becomes as popularity contest.
@TimEnchanter thanks for the calc chat tip!
Yes, but I am reading them both in teacher mode. My 11th grader has incredibly unusual strong literary tastes. Last yr we read the entire War and Peace. She reads epic poetry for fun. She was ecstatic when we went to an antique mall a few yrs ago and found a 1800s copy of Marmion. These days it’s all I can do to keep up with her.
I’m reading a lot of Terry Pratchett right now. DD’14 left her collection here, but alas! I’m almost out of them!
Neither of my kids took the SAT. We do know someone who got a 1600 on the March test and another with high 1500s but the rest were all lower than those creepy inflated PSAT scores. One friend says they got 1 section that was exactly the same on the March and May SATs. I would hope it was just a test section twice but that still seems weird.
@mdcmom I like Terry Pratchett too but I’ve only picked up random books here and there. I should look for complete sets at the used bookstore or library and read the series in order.
@262mom our April 19 ACT w/ Writing scores are posted (IL), FYI.
D got a 34C again, but now has a 35C for those schools that superscore. 29 again on writing. We’ll take it, but it didn’t help much. :(|)
I put War and Peace on my phone (black berry about 10 years ago) just so I could. Colleague joked ‘are you reading W&P on the phone one sentence per page/click?’ I never got stuck in long enough lines to make much progress.
I loved Ender’s Game, DS19’s middle school English text. Got a few more O.S. Card’s and watched the move.
@2muchquan Congratulations on great scores!
No score here.
Pony Express must be pretty delayed with all the rain and hail we are gettng. 8->