@Collegecue Thank you!
And thanks for the UMD visit report. That is one of D’s top choices. She won’t visit, however, unless she’s accepted and she gets the merit aid. But D has communicated with several folks at the school and they have been the most encouraging school thus far regarding her interest in double majoring in accounting and Arabic. Crossing my fingers that it works out for her as we think it’s a perfect match for her for all the same reasons you mentioned.
@nw2this re: Yale book – uh oh is right. It’s my husband who is becoming enamored. [-X I have to admit I am curious to see what’s in the book and am going to try to pry it out of husband’s hands.
@MotherOfDragons ohh I have a whiteboard in the garage somewhere. I should fish it out and mortify the kid.
@MotherOfDragons The writing score is based on the 4 writing domain scores which range from 2 - 12. My son got 11 on each of the 4 domain scores. They gave him a writing score of 30. I think it’s ridiculous that he lost 6 points off the 36 point scale with a 44 out of 48. I was on the fence about asking for a re-score but I’m guessing he was penalized for sloppy handwriting. It’s legible and obviously it was as they were able to give him 11s but I decided I was okay with it since the colleges will give the report which shows what each of domain scores is. If I am wrong, then I’m fine living with that as well.
@itsgettingreal17 I would love it if my son ended up there too since its the closest to home but I’m not sure the money will work unless he decides to take a ROTC scholarship. Maybe they’ll be there together sharing Accounting classes. LOL!
As someone who teaches several online courses each year, though, I totally understand why faculty use those programs—the level of cheating in online sections can be…interesting.
@fun1234 My son took AP Psych online. As @itsgettingreal17 said it was anything but “lite”. My son took 7 credits last year because he doubled up on history (he took APUSH and in addition to AP English Lit he took a writing course). AP Psych was a ton of reading, assignments, group projects (with kids who don’t have the same schedule as other kids in the group) and tests. The online class was in session even when my son’s school was not. You want to look at is the curriculum, but also the other factors that will effect your son such as the schedule (is it session based or independent based, when does each week begin/ end). The online AP psych class my son took had certain assignment deadlines during the week so it was more structure than an independent learning course. Taking the AP exam was a requirement, not an option. It worked out well for my son because he loves reading but he did tell a couple of friends that he did not recommend it. Lastly, and probably the most important of all of this is find out how that online course reports their grades. My son had a couple of friends who took some AP courses online as electives (ap music theory and ap art history). My son’s school requires 1 full year of Art credit which they mandate in freshman year so this wasn’t to meet the requirement and the courses were more time consuming than that expected them to be. For juniors, they survived it and were able to rebound by the end of the year. Transcript only reports year end grade so no harm, no foul. This is not the same for seniors who need a transcript sent at some point by January. My son had some friends who were seniors who had GPAs slip because they focused on apps and essays and weren’t thinking about transcripts and the kids who took an online course had to live with the grade from the first quarter because second quarter online grades were not going to be ready to be submitted to meet app deadlines. I understand your concern; I’ve struggled with figuring out where the line is that might be too much or not enough. In the end, it will all work out just fine. Just be sure before committing and look into the financial aspect of dropping the course and mark it on your calendar.
no Yale book. hmm - did not requst one but now I am curious!
Son’s flight to Atlanta for FBLA got cancelled! - east coast corrodor weather! The team is taking a bus from NY to Philly for a 5am 2-stop flight. LOL
So sorry to hear about the illnesses some kids are experiencing!
Re UMD – on our list - but have not visited – does it not feel huge??
Huge WELCOME to our new members - thanks for joining & participating in all the questions, feedback, experiences - this is a great thread & I have learned a lot and feel we have a most amazing community going.
ACT writing - guess it is good the scale will change - I think they are confused internally - many raised scores on rescore requests. I think many colleges are ignoring SAT & ACT essays - from what i hear but how about you all?
PSAT/ NMSF – September is now not feeling so far away – if DS turns out to be an NMSF (on the bubble - not at all comfortable) but not seeking a scholarship should he still take the SAT for a confirming score – helpful on college apps for rather selective colleges?
@CA1543 the NMF wouldn’t be official until after Feb so too late for applications probably? But might still be worth taking the SAT (if DS can fit it in the schedule) for a shot at one of the NM $ awards.
I guess this girl who took it on line where he would take it said it would be so easy it is nothing but reading. He did take AP stats on line and it was very easy. He never saw the teacher. There was a schedule for quizzes and homework’s but it was very relaxed. If something else for a test came up the same day he’d let him take it the next day. I know AP chemistry and anatomy and physiology would be a lot of reading plus he is on the academic decathlon team and he said, he gets not a grade, but independent credit .5 to 1 credit depending if he goes to nationals so maybe the guidance counselor can put that on some how because there is a history section he does each year along with lots of other topics. I guess he knows his limits and I guess if Rice doesn’t want him them it is his risk to take. I know he doesn’t want to let the AD team down either. They depend on him to score well. He did talk with someone that goes to rice. He said it isn’t how many AP classes you take necessarily. It was more important that the class was interesting and If they don’t offer AP then it was fine. One of his friends that did take 5 AP’s last year he said was getting 3-4 hours of sleep a night because he had so many essay’s to write. My son would be in the same boat this year with essays. Two per night one in English and one in Latin plus college essays. The school should not penalize him anyways because every period is full.
My D2 has visited UMD, UMBC, and UAH. If anyone has questions, I can try to answer, especially about UMD. I live in the midwest now but worked at UMUC, which is across the parking lot from UMD, for seven years.
I saw one question about its size. It is a very large school, but D2 was told that between honors, scholars, LLC floors and the smaller groups that form in each major, it can seem a lot smaller.
Regarding medical considerations: yes, that is now on our list of “must haves” in a school. UMBC is near Johns Hopkins, UMD is near a couple of hospitals I trust, and UAH has a really good hospital and a group practice specializing in digestive disorders.
The other thing we’ll need to keep in mind is that I want to send her with a car, so we need to make sure freshmen can have them. If she were to have a flare and no bus service were available, I’d want to know that she could at least grab a friend to drive her to the ER!
As for the poster who went through the senior year checklist – great job! You will also have to follow through for any schools your child applies to and ensure that all materials (transcripts / recs) were sent. My D1 had an incomplete application for a LONG time because her school dropped the ball! I think it was mentioned on her earlier today, but it’s a good idea to order an official transcript for yourself, so you know what the schools are seeing.
Welcome to all the Newbies. Boy am I glad my S did not take the ACT. this is a tough year with all the changes. He was done with Old SAT in January. The very limited, long shot of an upside was not worth the effort. Hearing about all the stuff, reinforces that…Now just waiting on SAT2 score, and AP next week. My S is away for the summer. Working at a camp. I don’t expect writing of essays until late August. I must admit, that gives me angst.
@Collegecue, we visited both UMD and UVA. Both very nice campuses. My son loved UVA. Just so hard for OOS to get into. You have quite an admission swing between UVA, UMD, and Kentucky. Assume that is reach, middle and safety.
After reading here about merit and aid(we need one or both), I am thinking we have too many OOS publics on the list. Called one today. No FA for OOS. The merit would be around 10k. Too Much. May need to add and drop a few off list…UVA gives OOS aid. So does UNC. they will stay or add. need to talk to more FA officers over the next couple of weeks. Mama full tuition looks better and better.
@2muchquan, hope you had good travels. Wondering how your fake tinder profile is doing? getting lots of swipes? I think college application process should be like tinder. If you and the college both swipe right, you get an instant acceptance…once you have a date, you are done…Call it AdmiTinder…another CC business…
@CA1543 re: UMD my son just said it didn’t feel that big when he was there. As a reference he thought Wake Forrest was “too small” and dropped it off the list earlier in the year. I think he just likes schools where it’s large and there are a lot of opportunities but still feels like a real campus.
@itsgettingreal17 Congratulations on your job! I hope you still contribute to the board and enjoy getting back on the corporate ladder.
@dfbdfb You inspired me to send in the $50 check for the ACT essay re-score. My DS’s essay scores are very far off from his other scores and his handwriting is abysmal. It’s worth a try. It certainly can’t hurt at this point.
Are any of the kids with diagnosed illnesses considering Rice University? It is right across the street from Houston’s medical center. The rheumatologists that worked with my sister to diagnose her autoimmune disease literally saved her life. I am so sorry that some of you are dealing with that and this college application process. It really puts things in perspective for me and reminds me not to complain so much.
@lemetz My son has a medical condition and yes, to an extent, it is affecting the selection process. My son does not want to stay local and after consulting with his doctors, college counselors, and advisor, we are comfortable with letting him go away to school. What I am considering in this selection process are proximity to a hospital, proximity to the airport, housing accommodations, quality of the gym on campus, ability to ride a bike on or near campus. We have received excellent guidance from my son’s doctor who had a very candid discussion with him other kids who went off to college and were home before the first semester ended because they didn’t listen to their bodies and didn’t do what they needed to do to remain healthy. College Counselors and advisor gave him and a buddy good advice on handling medical accommodations at college. Medical documentation that is up to date is key. Housing and priority registration are available to kids with medical accommodations.
@BigPapiofthree LOL yes these schools are very different but what’s most important to us are major: Accounting and Russian double major (you’d be surprised how quickly this lowers the number of overall schools on a list), merit aid for higher stats (but most likely not NMF) and ROTC (he is very seriously considering this for his end goals). H wants a larger school with lots of extras. He loves performing in theater, singing in select choir and trying new things so we are exploring LOTS of different schools and hoping to find the right fit for a price we can afford.
All the best to everyone with kids who have chronic diseases. We had our stint with asthma in earlier years but luckily my DC outgrew it as predicted by the pediatrician. I remember the scares of impending suffocation and distinct treatments and am not sure if it easier to get a three-year old to use diverse inhalers correctly or a hormonal teenager to watch the diet or take meds on time? Another scare we had was a MRSA infection in elementary school, one that didn’t clear up easily and had been misdiagnosed first as ant bites. I keep you all in my thoughts!
Report card and course request confirmation arrived today. No surprises but we are grateful that a “no-first-period request” was honored. Sleep is so essential and for our household starting the day at 7:30 am over 6:30 am makes a huge difference for all household members, cats included.
@fun1234 Don’t overload your kid in senior year. That one AP won’t make a difference to admission committees but it will make a difference to burnout or lower grades or rushed-through college apps. However, AP Psych was one of the courses that my kid enjoyed tremendously and where so much was learned. We had the best dinner conversations over AP Psych content. I think Psych or Psych Honors or AP Psych should be made mandatory 
@saillakeerie I wonder if your kid is at a German Gymnasium that it is the end-of-the-year slump? Just like HS here when all AP and state testing is done and even the most rigorous teachers relax and let them skip class or watch movies. My junior kid had two AP classes with mostly seniors and was told by the teachers to just not come once the APs were over. Seniors were excused automatically.
Happy summer camps to all your students. Mine finishes a creative one on Sunday, followed by some family travel and then another camp, this time academic and out-of-town.
My DD also has a chronic disease (Crohns) and it does impact school selection. Access to healthcare is key, and a less stressful school preferred.
Thanks for all of the well wishes. I am just happy that we got an appt before the long weekend.
I am keeping her health in one as we are looking, but I am actually far more concerned by the idea of multiple study abroad sessions than the schools she is looking at. At least here, I know that I can get to her. Russia? That does freak me out just a little.
I am so sorry that so many kids on this thread are struggling with health issues. It is just such a heartbreaker to watch them stuggle.
Welcome to all of the new people! (And we invite the rest of you lurkers to join in!).
@lemetz I think there are now 4 homeschoolers on this thread. Your Dd sounds incredibly advanced. That is a horrible predicament to be in. Do you have extended family near other schools that would open up more options for her? Several of the schools we are looking at for Dd have grandparents, aunts, uncles, or close family friends within a couple of hrs or so of the universities. I really like that safety blanket. Stress is my absolute biggest worry bc stress definitely triggers her symptoms. Definitely no pressure cooker schools on her list.
@itsgettingreal17 Hope your job is one that you enjoy!
Can’t keep up with all the other thoughts.
Yale book arrived! (I was feeling left out.)