@Fishnlines29 I second the Kahn Academy approach. I just took a look and there are dozens and dozens of AP Physics videos. They are produced just for this purpose.
My son has been blessed with a teacher whom he really enjoys for AP Physics. Sounds like your teacher needs to retire or to get the boot. Good luck!
Two events yesterday. S submitted his ED application. While he is happy and hopeful, the realist in me thinks he has no chance. In the meantime, got his Kelley direct admission notification from Kelley. This is a very viable backup offer. Waiting to see the Merit they offer…Hoping he gets out two more EA apps this week. That will bring his total to 8 apps complete, with a bunch more to do in the month of november. I want all his apps done and out before christmas break. I also got done his Fassa and CSS. I had a consultation with a financial aid advisor before filling out. Very helpful. Had me move some money around to help. Nothing illegal, just prudent.
@Dolemite - you definitely should check into the Native American thing. It may be too late for your kiddo to get tribal papers, but it would certainly behoove him/her if s/he could. Talk about an URM!!!
As for left/right justified/ragged, I’m all for left justified ragged right. And indented paragraphs. How do y’all feel about those? (They seem practically optional these days as well).
@BigPapiofthree Congrats on Kelley! Great option. One kid’s viable backup is another kid’s treasure!
@eandesmom Well she decided to apply ED2 to her top choice so she could take the SAT again on 11/5 and hopefully increase her score by 100 points before submitting her application by the ED2 deadline which is Jan 1st.
I can’t find out for sure just by online searching if they will want the 1st semester grades (which don’t come out until the end of January) - but I assume they might want them.
@ct1417 I don’t think they do but I’d better find out!
@4beardolls yes, I guess I might have to suck it up and get a tutor. It’s $160/hr. here. The amount of money I spend in the past six weeks visiting colleges (weekends away), application fees, SAT fees, CSS fees, etc. rough month!!! The sad part is I know it’s all nothing in comparison to the college bill I’ll be facing next fall!!!
@STEM2017 - just saw your comment, will def check that out, thanks for the tip
This is for everyone: As far as RECS go on Common App and Naviance, we had an issue with this. My D requested recs for 3 schools on Naviance. However, we noticed on Common App, that the recs were submitted for all schools listed on her dashboard. Since she didn’t get that far, I contacted CA and this is how they responded: “The way the Naivance system does the recommenders is that they will send an email notification and provide them with a list of ALL the colleges on your list. Unfortunately, Naviance does not make it clear to the teachers which school they need to submit to. That’s why it’s always good to remind your recommenders.”
Meaning once you ask for a recommendation from one teacher for a particular school in naviance, that teacher will receive an email saying they can submit their rec to ALL schools on your common app dashboard. It’s up to the teacher to stick with what you tell them or what’s in naviance which has to be utterly confusing for them!
You all are cracking me up about “ragged right” and “full” justification. Personally, I do not like full justification because the spacing between words varies and can look “off” to me. I vote ragged right. Also, I put two spaces between sentences. That was beat into me when I was working on my masters thesis (on a word processor thank goodness). One of the advisors/reviewers ranted about the one space between sentences and I had to go back and add a space throughout. Now it is automatic and I am not going back. Also, I find it much easier to see where a new sentence begins this way. 
Also, If you can’t put a full space between paragraphs, by all means indent. I am a scientist, and all of the documents I get have a space between paragraphs but do not indent.
AN ACCEPTANCE!! I just peeked at S’s ASU protal and it said CONGRATULATIONS! We knew he’d get in, but it is so nice to have one in the pocket. Now he can apply to the Barrett Honors College (the only way he will go to ASU.)
@Fishnlines29 Ugh, my D got off to a rocky start with AP Physics this year too. Her teacher answers questions by saying things like “I’ll have to think about that…” and trailing off, never to actually answer the question. Pretty frustrating! Her whole class bombed the first test so badly the teacher wound up curving it (thank goodness!) Maybe yours will do the same?
Fortunately, D has managed to have something click and she’s making her way pretty well now. I second the rec for Kahn Academy as a supplemental resource, though. Before my D got over the hump herself, that was her #1 study aid, since her teacher was pretty useless. Good luck to her, and hugs!
We are also in some surprising situation. D struggled with AP Spanish big time… This really comes as a surprise, as she never had anything less of A+ on spanish (1-4) before… But for AP Spanish, she is currently at a B+ (catched up from somewhere in the C range earlier). She said there are more native speakers in this class than prevoius ones. She seems to be fine now but I am not sure if she has enough time to pull it into an A by end of the marking period (a couple of weeks left).
On the other hand, D is doing great in her AP Physic C class. The teacher is very organized and efficient. He recorded bunch of videos himself for the kids to look over. Last year, he was D’s AP Physic teacher and also the adviser of D’s moody’s math competition team. Last week, D baked a birthday cake for him. Why isn’t he writing D’s LOR???
@thermom yes, apparently the whole class is doing terrible but no curving in our school. Well, thanks for the kind word, you give me hope! I will check out Kahn this evening.
@Fishnlines29, tutor or study groups. Also D had me borrow Princeton Review AP Physics book already, so I guess it is helpful to her. I actually didn’t ask why…I. just borrowed. Hope that helps.
Washington U is on D’s list. She is on the newsletter DL. How important is to visit? Any other universities with “no visit no admissions”? We have a no school day this Friday, want to see if we need to make a field trip anywhere.
@mtrosemom Congrats on the first acceptance! It’s a great feeling for the entire family.
Now prepare yourself to be bombarded with "Now that I’ve been accepted to college can I have a [fill in the blank]…?
For us its usually extra Xbox time, money for an inappropriate movie, etc, etc. I usually say give in (especially when mom isn’t paying attention).
Maybe a silly question, but can I pay tuition bills with my AmEX? Get some extra mileage points?!
@mtrosemom Congrats on the first acceptance! We are so in need of one, but won’t till December…
@Fishnlines29 I think most colleges won’t take CC…But I have yet had a kid in college…
Since my D17 has managed to meet all her 11/1 deadlines, basically by dropping the remaining ones from her list, I now have a moment to strategize for D20:
Many of you had the forethought to get your kids into summer programs at various colleges when they were younger. D20 is interested in MechE/BioE and anything having to do with robotic/mechanical prosthetics. She’s an athlete, and was originally thinking PT, but likes engineering and thinks this is a good area to merge the two. Any suggestion of MechE types of summer programs?
Feel free to PM me if you have a suggestion. Carry on.
@Fishnlines29 – I think the answer to that one is no. Colleges will accept CC, but levy a surcharge, defeating the purpose of your mileage points. Exception would be if you opened some great new card and needed to spend $50K quickly in order to earn some reward that had a value greater than the surcharge levied by the college.
My parents paid younger siblings’ tuitions via CC and racked up miles.
@whataboutcollege — sounds like son’s AP Physics C teacher. Has known teacher since 9th grade for an Engineering competition and then had him last year for the first C course and again this year for second C course. He is writing son’s LOR but has not yet finished, making me just a dot nervous given the uploading issues referenced for UMD.
This physics teacher is wonderful and is tailoring the curriculum to the few students who decided to enroll in both C classes concurrently. He has had to shift some of the content from first semester to second semester so that those who are taking the first C class are not at a disadvantage.
Son is starting up the Moody’s Math competition club b/c the newly-hired MV calc teacher had run it at his prior school. I had never heard of it, but son seems excited about it and the access it provides to Matlab or something like that.
@mtrosemom Congrats! I can image the relief to have one in the bag 
@Fishnlines29 D struggled silently in AP Physics last year as well. The teacher was not good. She finally took me up on my offer of a tutor and I found a fantastic AP physics teacher in our area on a tutoring website called Wyzant. D went from a B to an A with her help and then did well on the AP exam. She was very reasonable at $45 an hour and D worked with her 1x per week and 2x a week just before AP exam to review. Not sure if website has tutors in your area or if it’s local. I’ve now found a great MV calc tutor on the same site to review with D before exams since the class is entirely online. Also similarly priced.
@mommdc Thanks for the link. My mom has a contact in the BIA and had me try to contact her earlier this year but we never got together. I might have to try again if my D qualifies for thing s because of me/her grandmother.
@LoveTheBard We decided not to bother with the NA status since we are so far from the tribe and has no cultural involvement. She’s Hispanic due to my wife being from South America which she is very culturally ingrained so that’s fine.
Sent in the WUSTL app last night. Had been holding off waiting for a fee waiver but since they sent her a travel grant we’ll get her out there to visit. I think the Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology program is very close to what she is looking for in a major. My D also sent an email to the GC asking to be nominated for the Danforth. Not sure she’ll apply but might as well see about getting nominated in case she does. I don’t think anyone else at her school will be applying to WUSTL.
@Fishnlines29, The answer to the ask is yes you can pay the college tuition using a CC (we get the monthly statement for D15 along with the payment choices), but they do tack on a fee for using the CC. I had to pay a $15 charge on D’d account via CC because she forgot to go to the bursar and pay it with cash. It cost me an extra $5. She will not be lazy like that again.
@hadmeathello When I get chance later I’ll send you a starter list of summer programs.