Parents of the HS Class of 2018 (Part 1)

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
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DS16 took regular DE classes in the evenings after school, DS18 has taken regular DE classes over the summer and on line DE classes during the school year. For the on-line classes he has to go to the college testing center to take the tests but the testing center is open evenings and weekends so it hasn’t been a problem. I don’t see how breaks not lining up would be an issue.

If my kids wanted to they could take on off period at the end of the day and leave school early because of DE classes. junior year one period early and senior year two periods early if they have a late lunch they can leave campus then essentially giving them three periods off a day. None of my kids so far have taken the off periods that they were eligible for because they wanted to take other classes.

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We visited Emory the morning following their spring break and found the campus quieter than I would have expected. Perhaps the kids were rolling in that day or just worn out and sticking to class schedules (or just sleeping in). But it was lacking some energy that day. It definitely affected his opinion which is too bad because it has a lot to offer, particularly for pre-med students.

Got home this week from a long car drive up the east coast to drop S’18 at his summer program. Made a few college stops. Was particularly impressed with BU. Very urban, but not as urban as NYU or GW (which we did not visit, but know from prior experience). But definitely in the city (3 train stops on campus). The thing that makes it still feel like a college campus was having so many students out on the streets and in the shops and restaurants, etc. So even though you were out on a city street, you felt a young person kind of energy (if that makes sense). He really liked that. He also felt like school spirit was evident from all the kids wearing BU t-shirts, backpacks, rain gear, etc. I’m not sure if that’s a good measure, but I guess it’s as good as any. The tour guide said everyone is into the hockey team, so the lack of a football program is not as much as a “school spirit” dampener as may be the case at other schools. Feel free to PM with any specific questions about impressions.

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@dadotwoboys That urban energy really appeals to my D, too. The question is, would that busy urban-ness still be appealing when the student is under tremendous stress during the school year/finals? A seasoned CC poster posed the question to high school seniors: “What college setting do you want to be in when you are having a really bad day?” My D is coming to the conclusion that as much as she enjoys the city campuses, it will be in her best interest to choose a quieter, more peaceful setting. Of course, YMMV.

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@ShrimpBurrito I get it and wonder the same thing about urban environments. Of course, this is a kid who has said since he was very little that he was going to live in a big city one day and hasn’t shifted from that perspective. We always remind him that he has the rest of his life to live wherever he wants and that the off campus environment should play a back seat to a variety of other considerations. But it does affect his opinions of schools, regardless. I would personally prefer a campus with access to urban amenities, but not in the middle of the city.

All that said, the final decision will rotate around affordability. Most OOS schools (more urban than our in-state public
options) will likely not be affordable for us without good merit $. He knows that.

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For those interested, @AP_Trevor has tweeted the percentiles for AP Calc and AP Lang.

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@BingeWatcher AP PHYSICS algebra based is not offered at our high school. Honors might be similar but no one takes the AP exam so I have no way to know.



At our school you have to have completed Algebra 2 and PreCalculus before you take Honors Physics. Also Calc must precede AP physics C.



AP chemistry only requires a “strong math background” but only seniors get in.

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@planner03 , S18 school has very limited dual credit classes offered. All of them are done completely online through t a local college. For every dual credit class you take, you have a period during the school day where you are in a computer lab. You log on and work on the material but have the option to work on it at home online.

They do not have any science courses where they are allowed to do this, only ones where there are no labs so time is not a factor. They never have a need to go to the college campus. They are self paced in that you watch lectures etc as you work, but there are due dates for papers and discussion writings. The exams are taken online and are timed.

The dual credit classes he is taking are ones that have nothing to do with his intended major. So he will be done. For instance, he is taking Freshman Comp. He won’t need any other English classes for his major. So he is not concerned about missing some foundation that will make a class taken at university difficult.

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@planner03 Thought of some more info. :slight_smile: This coming year, S18 is taking 4 dual credit courses. two each semester. So he will have 2 periods during the day where he goes to computer lab and works.

They do not monitor them or check up on them. They just provide a quiet room with the computer to do work on. Last year was S18 first year to take dual credit and I liked that they just let them do their thing. He had full responsibility for being disciplined to work at school and at home as well as contacting his professor via email or text for questions.

And yes, he did have a few times where he had an assignment due at 12 AM & he was 11:58 PM clicking submit. :-S But he learned to budget his time better which I hope will make for a softer landing at college in 2018.

Regarding the schedules not lining up. His school started before college did, so he would report to his lab and used it as a study hall. In one class he had, he needed to read an assigned book. Even though they didn’t know what needed to be covered on the paper, since they had purchased the book, he knew it would need to be read. The clever time manager students used those 2 weeks to read that period or work on AP Chem work. There was always AP Chem work!

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@planner03 at our school, the local university offers DE classes held on our campus. They send their profs to our school. This does require the school to make some scheduling accommodations (apparently the university profs don’t want to teach on Fridays, lol).

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Not a parent, but at my school juniors and seniors have the option of doing “dual enrollment” (its called running start) full time or part time at a CC or the local directional 4-year university. The state pays tuition so there’s a limit on how many credits you can take depending on how many high school classes you are taking but unless you’re taking an online class you take the class/labs at the college with the college kids. If you’re taking any classes at the high school, you do have to schedule the time around that and there can be conflicts with breaks and finals and stuff. It just is what it is. For online classes you just do it on your own time. My school doesn’t really do structured free periods for that sort of thing (they do have after school “seventh period” to make up high school classes kids failed online).

I’m doing full time running start and will be taking college finals the week after I graduate high school. Yay.

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There also are a few classes that are “running start in the high school” where a high school teacher teaches a approved class for dual credit but my school lost funding for that because we don’t have enough kids on free and reduced lunch or something stupid like that.

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Our DD’s school has teachers who are credentialed to teach the community college courses at the high school. Each student has to register for the class at the community college (on-line registration) and pay the fees to the college. The classes are all at the high school. The credits are useful depending on which college the students ends up attending. Our DD is considering the state flagship, so all the dual enrollment credits will apply if she goes there. She is not taking any dual enrollment classes that would apply to her prospective major.

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S’s first HS had two kinds of DE, and they made the process super easy. Certain DE classes were available on the HS campus, namely two semesters of Freshman Comp / English, several high-level math classes and some odds and ends such as Medical Terminology. Students could also fill out a simple form to register for online or on-campus classes beyond those taught at the HS. In terms of rigor, DE English was considered to be more rigorous than AP Lit/ AP Lang. Same with the math options - DE was considered more rigorous than AP.

At the second HS, DE is like pulling teeth, and the local CC has a bad case of rectal-cranial inversion compounded by a bureaucracy that is scatterbrained and seems to think competence is something one does with leftover food waste. Example: DE students have to go through the entire application process for each term they want to enroll in, as if they were a brand new applicant each time. Nothing carries over, not even demographic info. Forms (several pages of them), transcripts and recommendations have to be submitted several months in advance of registration. That’s right, a completely new - even if identical - HS transcript for each different class the student wants to take.

On top of that, students are told that if they miss the deadline for their DE paperwork, they won’t be admitted, end of story, no exceptions. Said paperwork has to list the class the student wants to take, complete with course number, meeting times, etc. But the catalog that lists the courses offered, including the course numbers and meeting times, tends not to come out until 2-4 weeks after the DE paperwork is due.

I tried to explain this to someone, that S couldn’t fill out his DE course request without the catalog info, which wasn’t out yet, but the deadline was today, so what should we do?

Answer: Well, the catalog should be out in a week or two.

Me: But that’s after the deadline for the DE paperwork.

Answer: blank look, shrug

I finally had to go to a Dean, who accepted S’s paperwork late, but good gracious, I can’t even imagine how many kids just never sign up for DE when the school makes it that complicated.

Fortunately, the prior CC is fine with S continuing his DE courses there even though he’s in a different HS and a different CC district now.

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Two tidbits for anyone else considering UNM.

  1. For scholarships that require 15 units per semester, there’s no wiggle room at all. You can’t take 14 units one semester and 16 the next to equal 30. If you have 14 units, which would be two lab sciences at 4 hours each, plus two classes at 3 hours each, you have to find a one credit class to take, or you have to suck it up and take 17 units.

  2. If a scholarship student graduates with time left in their 8 semesters, the student may not use the remaining semesters for graduate school. The only possible exception, which I have not directly confirmed, might be a 4-year combined teaching credential program, things like grabbing an MPH, MBA, or a year of med school are definitely out.

This is not a gripe. :slight_smile: Just info for anyone looking at the school.

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Saw a post today that University of Michigan will have a driverless shuttle to get students moved around specific bits of the campus. I’ve long suspected that my kids will never have to teach their kids to drive, and I’m fine with that. I for one welcome our new AI driving overlords… if you’ve lost just one close friend/relative because of a needless driving accident, it’s too many. I’ve not pushed our kids to drive early and probably scared them off it a bit. I want them to be fully functional adults, but I didn’t get my license til I was almost 19 and in my last year of college… and I turned out fine! It’s unfortunate that the autonomous driving revolution is a few years too late for them to never have the stress of a commute, but within 3-4 years there will be multiple vehicles that will do 90% of the driving (if not more) for you. May make a nice college graduation present :slight_smile:

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Things have been busy here! I love how this group is taking off! :x



In my corner of the world, D finished off the school year last week with much relief. We spent the next week and a half cramming in a full summer of activities before her foot surgery on Friday. It all went great and she seems to be doing well so far in the recovery process. We are now in the “summer on the couch” phase. I should be able to keep up here a little better :wink:



Among our planned activities as she is feeling better are college list finalizing, common app starting, and essay writing. Turns out her friends are all interested in these activities as well and are clamoring to join us! So we may have quite the college party going on around here after all! :D/

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@DiotimaDM That’s very helpful information. It’s really important to look at all the details of a scholarship.

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We visited Trinity University yesterday for their Trinity in Focus Open House . I won’t comment on whether the place is “good or bad”, but I will say the “know what they are doing” and executed the day very well. They indicated that response for the day was an overwhelming record. Expected roughly 600 registered visitors and received 750.

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Thanks @DavidPuddy. I’m taking D and S20 to Trinity in August for a quick visit. (Bribed them with a stopover at Schlitterbahn.) I hear great things about Trinity.

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Yes Trinity has been on and off our list. I doubt we’ll get there for a visit so I welcome the first person accounts whether or not it makes the final cut! :slight_smile: