@Ynotgo – I feel for you son re the robotics team and engineering changes!! Even though I am a mechatronics & maker fan I do not see why there has to be EITHER that or robotics. Total bummer when there is not a discussion and some shared decision making. My DS has done both --and I can see pros / cons and challenges for both of them.
Class trips – I do not think we have a senior one per se but the foreign language classes and orchestra often take trips so I think those will happen.
On the wisdom teeth front - still icing the swollen cheeks - decided to use a very stretchy rubber exercise band (finally found a good use for it) held together with a big binder clip. Just could not use a bra!!! Binge watching Mythbusters & Big Bang – I am totally caught up! But he is off the major pain killer and has been eating ice cream and some soft foods. Hopefully tomorrow he’ll have less pain and be more mobile. A top tooth was rather involved so that might take a bit longer to heal. But all in all good so far!! Did others’ kids feel mostly better after 3-4 days or did it take longer??
@jmek15, no, your composite score can increase by a whole number if it goes up by just a quarter point—a 32.25 gets reported as a 32, but a 32.50 gets reported as a 33.
(Saying this as someone whose child’s composite missed 34 by a quarter point.)
@CA1543 day 2-3 were still kind of slow and not completely better but ready to start emerging back into the world. She could not have been ready to play a sport or anything like that.
But also, her was a super easy removal and nothing impacted.
That just SUCKS! Yeah, they’ll spend all this money on the football team and huge stadiums, but god forbid they spend money on something that the kids can actually continue doing into adulthood and might provide them with a great pathway to a career. So chaps my hide.
They did this to one of the high schools here-the teacher left and went to the magnet program, and the robotics program just went away. All the kids that were in the robotics program in the middle school suddenly had…nothing…for high school. We were lucky that we went IB and could go to a school that had robotics, but a lot of those kids were really sad about the loss of the program.
I don’t see why it has to be either/or, either. BEST Robotics is right now, FIRST comes right after, then VEX, then a lot of the maker/animatronic stuff in the spring. THey all pigeonhole fairly nicely into one another (although there are some interesting pinches of stuff at times). D18 decided not to quit the BEST or FIRST team and is now the treasurer, and is part of an animatronics team as their designer. I can’t imagine what the girls would do if they didn’t have robotics/maker/animatronics-they’ve been doing it since elementary school. D17 is focusing more on software stuff within the robotics group.
My history of graphics arts online class requires me to answer all questions in a “REMINDER: Frame Online Discussion(s) by following the PRES Model for Constructing Discussion posts: P = Point, R = Reason, E = Examples, S = Summary.”
I’m totally rankling under this constraint. How about P=present a R=rambling E=experience and S=socialize with the other online classmates? I like that better.
Hm, have been wondering about the ACT superscore thing. My D got 33C twice, but it was 35E, 33M, 35R, 30S the first time and 32E, 31M, 32R, 36S the second time (she was recovering from a flu, and her goal was to “fix” her Science score - which she did! But at the expense of her other sections.)
So, do schools actually re-calculate the composite from highest sections so her superscore is a 35? (35E, 33M, 35R, 36S)? I’d been thinking we’d only send the first score since it’s the “higher” 33 (as she did best on her E & M subscores and those count more? Am I right about that?)
@thermom …I did’t check that list just now, but have checked it before and Pitt was on the list. I don’t know if your kid is even applying to Pitt but they say they no longer superscore the ACT for merit purposes.
** ACT superscore**
The prepscholar link is NOT comprehensive or up to date. If you don’t see a school listed and can’t find a clear answer on their website, email them. To be fair, the prepscholar list is focused on more competitive schools than we are looking at but that rounding up can make a merit difference at many schools depending on where you are at and worth the extra $12 to send more than one score if it’s an option. Granted, our scores are low and we need every bit of bump we can get!
I contacted several schools and learned that the following DO superscore though it is not stated on their website nor are they on the prepscholar link.
Not listed but confirmed directly
Allegheny
Ursinus
McDaniel
Listed but says contact school, theses schools confirmed that theydo superscore
Ithaca
University of Puget Sound
Princeton Review states this one does but I have not yet confirmed as I expect it to come off the list anyway
Juniata
on that same note letters of reccomendation
my spreadhseet shows the following as needing 2 letters, and none of these schools are on @payn4ward nice long list.
@Ynotgo I am so sorry about the robotics team, that is so disappointing.
@itsgettingreal17 wow, that is quite the trip! No senior trips here, band does a trip each year. 2 small, one medium and one large (Ireland) and then S will have a mid winter break drama trip to NYC so he’s in great shape.
Just to clarify re: the senior trip, the entire senior class isn’t going. :)) It’s a big class and the trip is pricey (~$4k). There may also be a fine arts trip and foreign language trip this year as teachers are allowed to organize whatever they want and the fine arts department has a trip every year, alternating between a big trip (fly) and a more local one (bus) each year. The foreign language teachers have a big trip every other year. Lots of travel opportunities at D’s school if the family is able and willing to spend the money.
Superscore - I understand how the actual superscore is calculated with standard rounding, but colleges have their own methods (maybe even equations) of looking at scores when trying to distinguish between 30K applicants. So, I was wondering if a college might be interested in that .25 difference or in that one section that was 1 point higher. I’m trying to decide whether to bother sending scores from two sittings to show a 1 point higher science score and a .25 point higher composite.
That IS a $12 question =)) since ACT charges each test report unlike SAT charges one report fee for many test dates.
Seriously, you all are making me doubt myself. :-?
Superscoring would not change DS’s composite score but raise it by 0.50 if I spend additional $12 (per school.)
We do not have a Robotics team at our school, however, the sports teams have won an embarrassing # of county championships. Private fundraising for turf fields, electronic score board, concession stand with bathroom…but no Robotics. Son is not interested in the hands-on aspect of programming so he does not miss it, but it should exist.
@stlarenas oh my word, I’ve been reading that one. It’s scary, While I do think mom may have gone a bit defcon and made things worse, the fact that the girl dropped all friends is a very very bad sign of an abusive/unhealthy relationships, especially in the light of him dropping out of school entirely and that having zero negative impact. There is something really unhealthy going on and my heart breaks for them.
@snoozn that is a riot. That would be so me, to find out decades later. Oh wait, it is me. They were just unofficial trips I wasn’t cool enough to be invited on.
Actually I am not sure a thing has changed in that area.
@carachel2 Thanks! She hasn’t singled out Pitt, but in general it’s a great point to check to see if a school superscores for admittance but not for merit! And @eandesmom Yes, the PrepScholar link is a good general reference, but I would definitely check each and every school before blowing the extra $12 to send the 2nd score report.
And thanks, all for the congrats to D17 on her superscore - she did all the work. I did actually talk her out of taking a 3rd crack at the test - she felt like she “should” want to put it all together to get a “real” 35C but I convinced her that her time/energy was better spent getting ready for the upcoming school year and the SAT Math2 in October, plus all the essays and applications that lie ahead. The only place she really has for consistent improvement is the math section (the 33M she got in April is the best she’s ever done) and unless she wanted to hit that relentlessly to find 1-2 more points without losing a moment of concentration on any of the other 3 sections, under time pressure… She finally got what I was saying and agreed to stand pat with her current scores. I think she’s relieved. Parenting, man… #-o
@stlarenas Zoiks, I read that thread with sympathetic horror as well. I’m glad my kid does not have a SO at this point!
@CA1543 Re post-wisdom-teeth-removal: You’re probably beyond this stage by now (sorry for not responding sooner), but we used a big, old t-shirt wrapped around the head and tied at the top to hold ice packs in on both sides of face. Maybe too late for you all, but perhaps this will help someone else. For us, mostly back to normal in less than a week. Good luck!
Sorry to hear about the robotics team. Not sure what my S17 would do at this point if this happened to his school’s team. It’s his only in-school EC.
Is anyone still adding or taking schools off of the list at this point? S is considering (after some late summer tours) to replace one school with another.
I did actually talk her out of taking a 3rd crack at the test - she felt like she “should” want to put it all together to get a “real” 35C but I convinced her that her time/energy was better spent getting ready for the upcoming school year and the SAT Math2 in October, plus all the essays and applications that lie ahead. The only place she really has for consistent improvement is the math section (the 33M she got in April is the best she’s ever done) and unless she wanted to hit that relentlessly to find 1-2 more points without losing a moment of concentration on any of the other 3 sections, under time pressure… She finally got what I was saying and agreed to stand pat with her current scores. I think she’s relieved. Parenting, man…