@mtrosemom S is applying to test optional schools as well. I think it is better to have the option to apply to certain schools rather than last minute scrambling. He can also receive course credits at state schools based on the subject test scores.
D got 760 on Math II, after pre-cal in freshman year. I hope 800s on math on both PSAT and new SAT will help offset that? Bio/Chem both 800s after AP classes. US history also 760. No retaking for Miss.Once and Done! She does help save some money for us as we already sent scores to a bunch of schools using free scores available, especially love CB features to send historical scores to new schools.
@CT1417 – Thanks so much for all of the inside info & perspective on Cornell – REALLY APPRECIATE IT! Any idea how stressful it is to pursue CS or engineering there days? Cornell has quite the reputation so that’s a concern - we’ll try to investigate current environment, support etc - but the programs & facilities seem very strong. And it is driving distance (4+ hrs) which is a pretty big plus as well. Our school does pretty well - know some do better - we have 12-16 or so acceptances each yr. and good amount are RD - yield is very solid too for them.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek To my knowledge a TA has never taught a class (for my DD14 at UF). When I went to school in the 80’s, I remember them running some of the labs, but now labs are handled by a Prof (or lecturer) and several TAs.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek As to not being a professor. What do you mean? Is a professor someone who has a terminal degree in that field? Many universities now have many classes taught by lectures, who only teach part time. Some universities you only need a masters to teach and others a PhD.
But despite this the answer is yes. But that’s because of the nature of my DD’s degree and her school, she attended a school of art & design. Several times she had teachers for her classes that were notable & successful in their field but who were only brought in to teach for one or two semesters and who may not necessarily have a terminal degree.
S17 took Math II after sophomore year and got a 780. (Just finished pre-calc) I suggested he take the Chem test, but he took a pre-test decided he was missing a few topics and wouldn’t do well without a whole lot of self-study. (He was in regular Chem, and had a bad teacher.) He refused to take the test because he wasn’t committed to putting in the self study. He didn’t take the Bio Sat II in June and now regrets it. (He was very burnt out on tests.) His friends all said it was much easier than the AP which is got a 5 on…
But the reality is NONE of his schools will look at it. The 1-2 UC’s he applied to might glance at it but they don’t require it. He doesn’t need it and it’s extra stress he doesn’t need.
@CA1543 – I think Engineering & CS are a lot of work by their nature (labs & problem sets). Cornell always had that cut throat reputation, but I did not find that to be true. Then again, I wasn’t an engineer!
I will say that is a kinder, gentler Cornell than in my day. My son has taken a couple of the same classes I took. (They are still in the same lecture halls!) His two largest courses, Intro Macro Econ and Intro Psych both had an online component to the semester grade. I will probably get these figures wrong, but in Econ, the weekly online quizzes represented 10% of the course grade and students had two chances to take each weekly quiz. (As in, if they did not like their score, they could retake w/o penalty.) That course also used this iClicker device that profs would use to post questions on the ‘board’, perhaps to gauge comprehension? Perhaps to ensure the students attended? Anyway, the iClicker score was worth close to another 10%, so a student could ensure that close to 20% of his grade was an A. The remaining 80% of the grade was two prelims and a final, and those were curved so still plenty of opportunity to stumble. But when I was there, two prelims and a final represented 100% of the grade, hence, my kinder, gentler comment.
Sorry this is not answering your question about Engineering. There were engineers in my sorority and they attended parties, had jobs, volunteered, and had lives outside of classwork.
I also learned that free tutoring sessions are offered for many of the large intro classes on Sundays and I think other weeknights up on North Campus where the students live. 9pm, short walk from the dorm, available every week. Students can just drop in as needed.
The driving distance is key. While Cornell does not satisfy my ‘along the Amtrak’ line, the university runs a ‘luxury’ Campus to Campus bus four times/day in each direction between Ithaca & NYC. An outside company runs a bus directly to White Plains, NYC, Long Island, etc for every break, so travel is very easy in the tri-state area.
@curiositycat333 I am referring to grad students who are paid to be TAs as being the actual instructor for a class. My kids have never had that experience (across 5 pretty average public universities). I was just curious if it is an actual common practice to have grad students teaching and we have just been lucky or if the most universities do have professors as the instructors.
@payn4ward I know it’s a real email lol. My kid has a hard enough time managing one email account. Once matriculated you’d have to update and merge or remember to check/forward or keep managing 2 which just is more than we want to deal with lol.
@WhereIsMyKindle,
You mentioned Texas if you could afford. Not sure if you know, but Texas is one of the few states/schools, where it is possible to get instate tuition after one year. It involves buying a home, or working 20 hours a week off campus for a year. There are many loopholes, and ways to do it, just have to be creative. I know many who have done it successfully. In fact, Texas has an office that gives answers to how. We did it for D1. most of her OOS friends in her sorority did as well…
@WhereIsMyKindle, from the texas site.
Requirements
If you are independent for tax purposes, you may gain resident status if you establish domicile in the state. If your parent(s) claim you as a dependent on their federal income tax return, they must establish domicile in the state for you to claim residency.
To establish domicile, you or your parent(s) must meet the following criteria:
Live in Texas for 12 consecutive months; and
Establish and maintain domicile for 12 consecutive months, as evidenced by:
Gainful employment in Texas;
Note: Student jobs do not qualify as gainful employment.
Sole or joint marital ownership of residential real property in Texas by the person seeking to enroll or the dependent’s parent, having established and maintained a domicile at the residence;
Ownership and operation of a business in Texas; or
Marriage for one year to a person who has established domicile in Texas.
You can buy a rental property in the state in your childs name as one way. You can be cash flow positive, and make money on investment. …or you can have them employed. There are creative ways to show employment. People use a temp agency to hire their children. Pay the agency a fee, and they pass thru the money to the student as income. Since Texas has no state income tax, it doesn’t cost much to do…Worth saving over 90,000 dollars. they must have income for one year…or buy
@CT1417 — oooh love that campus to campus NYC metro transport!! For along Amtrak - think RPI is a good possibility - for us and schools in Boston or near Philly.
Thanks so much!!
@eandesmom No planned update and merge of our college account. Total abandonment in favor of the account assigned by the school to which matriculating. But, I’m the only one checking it now. 
Well, plan B looks like epic fail, so we are back to plan A. At least today no one is an emotional basketcase and everything seems like no biggie. (Ah, the joy of having 5 daughters and many of them hormonal at the same time!)
SAT II timing:
D17 decided not to take Math II because it had been too long since Precalc and she thought she could do better with other subject tests given the limited time that she had available to prep. Had I known then what I do know, I’d have had her take it when that material was fresh in her mind.
She took the SAT II US History test and used the Larry Krieger Insider’s Guide to the APUSH exam (as recommended by some posters here). Her school does not offer AP courses and their USH class this year trailed off at around 1960. She supplemented with youtube APUSH videos for material that hadn’t been covered. Very happy with a 750.
She also took the Spanish SAT II and her prep consisted of a couple of practice tests. That was her strongest result - a 780. She has taken Spanish for 6 years and Latin for 3. Nobody in our home is a native speaker; she has a knack for foreign languages.
Speaking of Chicago, we visited there today and then drove to St. Louis. Campus visit report is coming soon. Swag consisted of some UC sunglasses, a fan (heat and humidity were terrible), and a car decal.
Today’s mail from U Chicago was kind of cute, a post card with your child’s name in a kind of calligraphy stencil. Almost worth keeping.
@2muchquan lol.
I already have two email accounts to check and that’s more than enough. Neither of our older kids use/used the school accounts assigned to them they kept their original emails so I don’t see the younger two doing anything different. They have an email account through the HS they don’t use already.
I can definitely see where it makes sense from a junk mail standpoint but frankly I get so much junk mail both in my work email and my home email that to have one additional one to sort through just sounds like a giant pain LOL
@Mom2aphysicsgeek, I liked the way “only professors teach” was explained at one of our recent visits. Without my notes at hand I can’t remember if it was UofR or RIT, but anyway… All new material is taught by professors, which means all classes and labs. Recitation sections are run by TA’s, but are optional and only intended for support and review. I think it’s pretty common at many colleges for TA’s to teach labs. I’m not sure if recitation sections are usually optional.
Hello all! I haven’t been around in a while but I recognize some names from the 2015 thread. My older daughter is now about to start her sophomore year at Scripps (I’m happy to answer any questions about the Claremont consortium) and my D’17 is currently avoiding brainstorming about essay topics. 
We visited UC Berkeley today, even though in the summer the campus is much less crowded and we weren’t able to sign up for a tour (not clear whether they were all full weeks ago or they just don’t offer them in the summer). We just pulled up a map of campus and walked around; after going on so many college tours I can do it myself. “Oh, that building says Student Union; we should go check it out!”
D’17 really liked the campus and said it was much prettier than Stanford’s. (We live in Silicon Valley and D’17 just completed a 2-week programming camp on the Stanford campus.) She is thus keeping up her record of saying “I like it here!” about EVERY SINGLE CAMPUS we’ve visited. 8-| It’s hard to narrow down the list when she likes every campus! (Can’t even knock off Stanford – she said she might apply there because it would be convenient to be so close to home.)
What schools has everyone here visited? How did your kids like them?
Welcome @dustypig!
D17 has seen:
- WUSTL (like now no like)
- UMich (like)
- UIUC (no)
- Duke (ok)
- UNC-CH (no)
- Elon (yes)
- Davidson (no)
- Furman (yes)
- Clemson (no)
- U of S. Carolina (yes)
- MichSt (yes)
- NU (no)