For 6 and 7, just change the final number in the url.
Re: Princeton Review - I have heard (which means I hold this as an unconfirmed rumor) that some of the prep companies give an artificially difficult initial test because it makes for more dramatic improvement when they give a different test at the end of the prep. I don’t know if PR does that or not. Aside from the free practice test at S’s school (offered by Princeton Review), we never tried any prep companies.
And, at least at our local Princeton Review, they never use the real SAT practice tests. They only use tests that they have written themselves. I’m not sure people really know that. We are going to stick with the real practice tests, Kahn practice, and a private tutor after our son has figured out the spots where he really needs help.
Re: wisdom teeth. Both older kids had xrays taken at orthodontist at 15-16 so we knew they had bony impacted wisdom teeth and no space for them. My D got them out summer after junior year, and my S18 is supposed to be evaluated soon and we wll try and get them out this summer.
@LOUKYDAD The PSAT is out of 1520 because the PSAT is a little easier than the SAT. Its meant to measure how you would preform if you had taken the SAT the same day. The concordance obviously breaks down once you get into the 1470ish-1520 super high range but for most scores its supposed to be accurate.
@LOUKYDAD – D18 took the Oct PSAT and the Nov SAT a couple of weeks later. Her scores were 10 points apart. (-10 in EBRW, +20 in Math) Pretty good correlation, imho!
S18 just got the lead for the school spring musical! He has worked really hard over the last few years and put in his dues with the theatre group. Going to be quite the challenge for him to keep his grades up over the next few months, but it will be worth it.
@astro77 - Her stats look fine for in-state options. I would only worry about her math score if she has to directly apply to an engineering program. Have you checked the Common Data Set? That will give you a very good handle on the low/high scores and acceptance rates at your public universities.
In general, I ALWAYS cross-reference any schools on my list with the Common Data Set. It’s very useful in terms of getting a sense of where a kid fits in on the merit aid spectrum (if offered), retention rates, and test scores.Simply google the name of the school and Common Data Set.
@crazy4info Both my kids had their wisdom teeth out at age 15. D15 needed them out early because she will need maxillofacial surgery and needed at least a year for the bone to heal before even considering a surgery schedule. S18 had them out last summer because his surgeon recommended finding a week last summer or next where nothing was planned and scheduling it then. I already knew what our schedule was last summer so we went for it. This particular surgeon likes to take them out before the roots really start forming, 15 minutes a tooth.
@go2mom, I checked University of Maryland’s data set, also the engineering school’s. My DD PSAT Math score needs to come up some, her R/W score is fine. Hopefully her hard work in prep will pay off! Hate to see her limited in choices after all those A’s! UM-CP has gotten quite selective.
Hi @Astro77, my S16 is currently attending Salisbury, and my D18 is planning to tour Towson, UMBC, and St. Mary’s which is near the Chesapeake Bay. My S loves Salisbury, but his scores and GPA are very close to what the average scores were there so I think he is well-supported for his learning style. He is very bright, but didn’t really study much in HS. So he’s now learning how much studying it takes to do well in college, but because all of the classes are small (no more than 35 students in each, even for intro to History and Statistics), it keeps students more engaged and they feel more comfortable going to meet their professors. I would suggest you check out Towson as an option in MD - it is similar in size to UMD College Park, but not quite as selective. My S16’s friends who had very high test scores, GPAs, AP classes, and were on varsity sports and some honor societies got into UMCP but only for the spring semester because it’s so selective now. The spring semester option actually means they can start in the fall, but they can only take afternoon classes, I think? His friends seemed to enjoy it, and did well, so they are continuing there. I took both D18 and S16 to tour UMCP since I went to school there, but neither were too impressed with the campus. Also, most dorms are not air conditioned, which made for a tough start for the freshmen this fall! Salisbury seems to be a school that is becoming more selective, and is really focused on students. It emphasizes internships in the senior year, sometimes requiring them. UMBC tends to be more of a commuter school, which is why my S16 decided against it. However, the campus is very nice. I’m looking forward to checking out St. Mary’s this spring with D18. I’ve heard the campus is beautiful, but they have less than 2,000 students so it may be too small. Good luck with your search, and please let me know if you find other good options in the area you’re searching since we need to start exploring with D18.
So, yesterday I met with my DD’18 College Counselor. Very nice person. She handed me a copy of DD’s transcript and booklets on the SAT and ACT. She told me that some students do better on one test than the other. She then opened up the file she had and said, “Oh, your daughter is doing very well.” I am thinking to myself that she has a lot of students to work with and just doesn’t have the time to get familiar with any one student, unless the student is in academic trouble. Just to emphasize the point that we need to be proactive for our kids. This is our 3rd child going through this. We are so grateful for everything we have learned on CC. We are a lot less stressed than we were the first time going through. Knowledge is comfort.
Saw today that BU had 60k applicants. 2nd highest number for a private school. For the past few years I have been seeing record numbers so I wouldn’t focus on that too much. Yes it is very competitive to get accepted to top schools these days. People who don’t have HS kids can’t believe S17 doesn’t have his pick of schools with good GPA and test scores and well rounded kid. When acceptance rate is 5,8,even 20% nothing is certain. Just take a breath. There are lots of schools out there. It will work out (if you do some research and have a balanced list).
Those who are full pay (or close to it) and have high stat kids may want to research Canadian universities. Tuition is a relative bargain, especially for some programs at McGill in Montreal. The top three in Canada: McGill, U Toronto, and UBC in Vancouver have top notch academics (all in the top 40 worldwide by most metrics), yet admissions is not nearly as competitive as at top US schools. Of course there are cultural differences, and there is little hand-holding at Canadian unis, but for the bright, independent, adventurous student, it could be an option worth considering.
She is interested in UMBC as well, and Towson. A big issue is she wants to go somewhere that has lots of majors available, as she is undecided. She is interested in engineering but doesn’t know if she will (1) get in, or (2) like it if she does. So she’s thinking to apply undecided.
The trouble is that so many great colleges don’t have engineering. I feel like she’s going to jump through hoops to get to a school that has engineering but then decide not to pursue it, lol.
I like the idea of Salisbury but it’s a bit far for her (we live in Frederick County).
How are the dorms at UMBC? Campus life?
Have you considered any of the privates like Loyola of Maryland, McDaniel, etc?
