@MotherOfDragons Math SAT II – That’s why S17 took that test at the end of his sophomore year. When he had finished taking Pre-Calc and the material was fresh in his mind. He found the actual test easier than the example tests he took. He did very well. Now it seems that none of the schools he is applying to even care about the SAT Math II test, but we didn’t know at the time. If your DD can do Calculus well… it will just take a bit of practice to remember the material she needs for this test.
@STEM2017 When S17 completed the “Real ACT” book which was recommended by his tutor, I asked if he suggested Barron’s or another practrice book and he had a very strong (negative) reaction. He suggested using practice exams from the ACT site and said to keep away from the Barron’s book. Sounds like your son may have already done those.
So help me out. On the list of schools ranked by ACT, how are you all using this. I assume you are looking for an act below your kids to know where merit would be likely, right? If so how much lower? My D has a 30, so should I be looking at the 27s? It is so hard because I feel like the lower the act goes the bigger the school is, so the competition for the merit awards would be greater. Is that true?
Update on DS17’s AP Computer Science. The school is using an online course that college board wrote or is a part of. There is no teaching by the teacher. The kids are assigned what needs to be done each day but they can work ahead if they want. They have had the course for a week. One kid is already way ahead. Obviously that kid already knows how to program. DS is keeping up and is working ahead this weekend because he has EC’s every day after school. Last year all but 3 kids passed the AP CS exam so I guess the online course must work. I just wish they had been able to do the summer homework DS would be way ahead by now.
@curiositycat333 You are probably doing this already, but since your son did very well on the Math II test, I would send that score even to schools that don’t mention wanting SAT II scores.
@MichiganGeorgia Sorry to hear about your DS’ AP CS class. But, it sounds like they can learn it from this online course. Even though the teacher isn’t teaching, are the kids able to help each other? I would recommend that in a situation like this. 30+ years ago I took a BASIC programming class in high school with a teacher who didn’t know much besides how to boot the Commodore 64s we had. (Cassette tape drives – ick!) We learned from each other and the couple guys in class who had done programming on their own.
DS has learned lots about debugging by being one of the kids in his engineering classes that other kids ask for help. He has learned to be faster about spotting problems and to come up with more simplified ways of accomplishing the same task than his solutions, which are perhaps more advanced or more elegant.
Also, just wanted to reassure you that the AP CS test doesn’t go all that far into programming. Even without summer work, I expect he will have learned more than enough by May.
@MichiganGeorgia, is there a knowledgeable teacher in charge of the AP CS class? My D’s robotics class last year used a “flipped classroom” model last year. The teacher taped all the lectures ahead of time and students watched at home. Then they would do their work in the classroom and get assistance from the teacher as needed. It was self-paced and worked very well for D. I would not have been too happy though if there hadn’t been a qualified teacher available for questions and needed assistance. I hope your D’s class will work out well either way!
@stlarenas There is no “given” as the correct answer. Once a student is in the top 25%, I think the analysis for scholarships (beyond automatic stat based ones) is far more holistic. It is why you will see things like “any student above XX threshold score and X.XX gpa is eligible to apply. Last year’s students’ stats were on avg XX and X.XX.” The threshold is a given. Awards are more complex. (I know a lot of awards are not just based on GPA and test scores b/c our ds would not have been awarded as much $$ as he was. His test scores were the weakest part of his application b/c he is severely dyslexic and tested w/o extra time. He was still a high scoring student, but in the 98th% range vs. 99.9th%. But he had As in multiple 300 level classes and professors who wrote LORs stating that he was in the top 1% of students they had encountered in their entire careers–they told him they were thrilled to write him letters and what they were going to say. (I think LOR like that probably carry far more weight than another applicants test score w/nothing but typical high school achievements.)
FWIW, I would want my student to have a few schools where they are significantly above the 75% # if they didn’t have any significant achievements that would stand out above other top achieving kids.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek so is my idea of looking a couple points below her act score correct?
Another thing. If you run a NPC and it asks for ACT/Class rank/gps ets - and the grant$/scholorship amount still isn’t enough to close the gap do you rule it out even if you know your kid is in the top 25%? Or are you all hoping that there will be merit above and beyond what is listed in the NPC?
@MotherOfDragons My D had the same experience with diagnostic on the Math2 for the exact same reasons as your D. This is why she went ahead with the Chemistry and US History subject tests in June and saved Math2 for October, because based on the diagnostic… yikes.
@WhereIsMyKindle and frankly I’m glad to hear other people agree that the Barrons book practice tests are pretty tough, because that was my Ds experience too, and she found it discouraging.
I also found (it had been linked here on CC a long time ago) this study guide some enterprising kid made for the Math2 subject test a while back - it might be a helpful review for kids who haven’t seen some of this stuff since middle school:
https://www.scribd.com/document/40379671/Schoolisfun-s-Math-Level-2-Subject-Test-Guide-and-Formulas
@stlarenas I would recommend looking at the collegedata.com breakdown of scores so you can see exactly what % of students are in each score bracket. The smaller the percentage in the bracket in her range, the stronger she is in the applicant pool. The ACT score range is 30-36, so that means you would want to see a small percentage in that category.
@stlarenas …yep, I would put it up on the tippy top top reach shelf. What you do next depends on you and your
kid. Is it a school your kid is in love with?
Just saw your 2nd post. I only keep it in if I know my kids have something that makes them incredibly competitive. For example, ds was really interested in CBH. He had been doing research at a university with a professor as a high school student and had attended SSP. I knew those would make him a strong applicant in their pool.
Dd is looking at global fellowship type scholarships. She has regional and international language awards, so we are hoping that they will make her a strong candidate.
@stlarenas For S we were just punting any school that any automatic merit left us too big a gap. He’s got no hooks so there didn’t seem to be a point in magical thinking. He may still plan to apply to some of these schools but that’s between him and H.
My D hasn’t had the opportunity to fall in love with any school that the NPC doesn’t work for us. She is only working from a list of schools that the NPC is in our favor. I keep hearing about how you should target schools where kid is in the top 25% but nearly all of those NPC are not affordable for us. (mostly because they don’t meet need and the merit just isn’t enough - the schools that meet need put her in the middle 50 or below) I keep thinking I may be missing some options…but I think probably I am just over-analyzing at this point.
@stlarenas I take the pessimistic/realistic view in that we will need to pay * at least * NPC or more after merit/aid if accepted.
@stlarenas It could be more of a factor that her score doesn’t break that magical 32 for automatic merit.
@stlarenas We have the same issue. All reach schools are off the table as the NPC gap is too large and merit will not happen (and I am not allowing him to apply to mythical merit). Ones where he is at the 75th percentile and above are not worth the downgrade in school versus the 50th where merit may be sufficient. We are at a much lower starting point though so our pickiness at the 75th percentile is a bit different. We only hit “need” at very very few overpriced LAC’s anyway and all that does is level the playing field from the starting price.
So…to your point, no, S is not allowed to consider schools where it is clear the gap it too large. If the NPC and CDS indicate there is a chance, it can stay on the list but I am requiring a minimum of 2 financial safeties. I keep thinking I’ve missed something too, spent a few hours last night looking at lower reaches and they remain just that. Financial reaches as well as academics.
Ya’ll are making me nervous about missing schools. D got most of her homework done. She still needs to finish up the 2 essays she has in progress for the week. I finished her to do list for the rest of the essays and have set a first submit date of September 14th (after NMSF release) and September 18th for second submit date. That will leave only the honors essay for NC State, if she gets an invite. Then she can focus on the rest of her year.
I think the reason I feel like I missing something is not really because I’m not happy with our list, it’s just a nervousness because I’m at a point where really there is nothing more I can do…my D needs to start taking action. And she is just not as concerned about the timeline as I. We talked some this weekend and she assured me she is going to carve out time to study for the ACT (which she cares about more than me…but I did pay for it) and work on essays. She asked if we could sit down together one night and try and just knock out a bunch of the essays. She considers herself a “basic” writer and is not confident at all. I think once she just gets started on them they will come easier than she thinks.
It could also be because I don’t feel like she really loves any of the schools on the list. But I think that is just a nervousness on her part. This is very overwhelming to her. I need to keep telling myself adding more to the list isn’t going to help this.