Check out the policy for late payments: (copy/pasted from son’s school website)
*Late payment or late registration results in a cost of $190 for one test and $140 EACH for 2 or more tests per College Board
I am not a collegeboard fan, for various reasons, but they are filling a need, that is not otherwise fulfilled: namely a standardized measure of proficiency in a baseline of subjects (speaking of the SAT here).
Honest question: If not CollegeBoard (or ACT), who would you have fulfill this need?
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted…swamped with work and start of school stuff!
@DavidPuddy and @1822mom - finally got an answer to the problem of reporting a summer college class under courses and grades. I spoke to a knowledgeable private college counselor and she said this section is brand new on the CA this year and there is a glitch (obviously!) The workaround is to click on the “writing” section, when it opens at the very bottom click on “additional info” and add the class there. Be sure to add all the details including the term, credits and grade received.
@HeliMom74 - if there was a “dislike” button I’d be pressing it now!
Do you know the impact that the resistance at the state level (in many cases) has in this scenario? I presume it is a significant barrier. This is not a simple “fix” for those wishing to “fix” it.
Luckily our school doesn’t seem to be part of this CB early payment thing. Now I could get on board if they offered a nice discount for very early registration, but I don’t believe for one second that parents paying months earlier than usual for the exam is going to lead to better student outcomes in the classes or exam scores.
@traveler98 I truly expect it to be widespread if CollegeBoard feels they get the results they want come July, 2018. Be prepared.
@HeliMom74, ha ha! CB won’t catch me in this one! S is an only child so this is my last year of dealing with AP.
“If not CollegeBoard (or ACT), who would you have fulfill this need?”
I don’t have a problem with the existence of College Board per se, but they do seem to make policies designed to nickel and dime people. Examples: (1) Making kids pay to register for AP Exams before they can possibly know if they want to take the AP Exam, like this pilot program that others have been discussing. (2) My kid can send four free reports if he designates the recipient schools before a certain date, which is always before the scores come out; after that date, score reports are no longer free. If he can have four free reports, why does it matter when he sends them? I get putting a limit on the number of free reports per test sitting, but the rule that you have to pay if you want to know what score you are sending seems designed to take financial advantage of kids who prefer to know what their scores are before they decide whether or where to send the scores. (3) Delaying scores from a previous administration of the test for so long that my kid has to sign up and pay for the next SAT before he knows whether or not his previous scores were good enough that he doesn’t need to take it.
I’m sure there are plenty of other examples I haven’t encountered yet.
That’s why I hate CB.
Agree with @gclsports. I do see value in standardized testing but some of CB’s policies are blatant money grabs.
@gclsports
I agree, there are plenty of reasons for annoyances at CollegeBoard. I am just not sure I “hate” them.
Head-scratching moment of the day. S was accepted to UNM and that’s where he plans to go, right? So I’ve been trying to figure out how to put down an enrollment deposit because there’s no button for it and none of the pre- or post-acceptance materials mention it.
So I emailed the AO who says they don’t do enrollment deposits. There will be orientation fees, but that won’t happen until August.
So… how do they know how big their freshman class is? How do they know who’s coming and who isn’t? So they don’t figure that out until a couple of weeks before classes start? Is this normal?
I am mystified. This will probably take a phone call if I really want the answer. For now I’ll content myself with “there isn’t one.”
Wait to you are all finished with the process, @DavidPuddy. I predict there will be hate. 
@DavidPuddy I completely understand your comment about the resistance at the state level, and have 2 comments.
One is, how is the best way to reign in someone who is grabbing more and more control? That’s to remind them that they can be reigned in, and hard. CB needs to see that it’s in their own self-interest to contain themselves a little more.
My second comment is a lot more political in nature, so sorry. It seems to me that is important for our economy that parents be able to move freely from state to state in order to follow job opportunities etc. So for any topic that builds upon existing knowledge base (such as STEM classes, grammar, and certain basic vocabulary in foreign languages) there needs to be a uniform expectation as to what the kids will know at the end of the course. I think CB has recognized that there is this clear need for a standard knowledge outcomes for certain classes and uniform testing of that knowledge.
I guess my observation is that in all of our squabbling about common core, we’ve created a vacuum, and CB has seen a financial opportunity to step into that vacuum and in doing so is creating policy for what the next generation of Americans will learn. I question whether this is such a good idea to have a private company (that we have no control over) set policy, rather than our government.
BTW, I live in AL. In my D’s bio class there was a real discussion of whether evolution exists and kids were allowed to express their religious views. After that discussion the teacher let everyone know that the curriculum required her to teach evolution and the kids’ had to learn it, but they didn’t have to believe it.
@DiotimaDM, isn’t there a place in the UNM portal to accept their offer of admission? The UTD portal has that, and I don’t think there are fees immediately associated with the student accepting the offer. I can’t say for sure because S hasn’t actually clicked the “accept” box yet,but once he does even if there’s no money exchange UTD will include S in their planning for the fall 2018 cohort.
@suzy100
I have two older children.
I don’t like paying for stuff more than anyone else. But Collegeboard is the reality, and I operate within it. I don’t hate them any more than I hate my auto mechanic or my plumber (who I think charge too much and sometimes do suspect work).
The frustration, which I understand, is there seems to be no choice for us. I get that. But the other options offered (let the DOE run it) also don’t give us choice.
@davidpuddy I guess saying that I “hate CB” is really more of a shortcut for saying I believe CB is in a relatively unique position to line its pockets; it takes advantage of that position by gouging the unfortunate souls who need their services; and I hate it that I am one of those unfortunate souls.
@HeliMom74 except for a political downside for College Board, can you see any financial downside? I guess some Seniors could choose upfront not to take the tests, whereas they might have taken them if they could have waited until the Spring. But I think it will have the opposite effect. More Seniors will sign up to take the tests because they don’t know if they will get into a college that will accept the AP credits or not. And, they get the time value of the money; this is HUGE when you are talking about the tens of thousands of kids who will be taking the tests. And they’ve already built in a big (percentage wise) penalty if kids decide to take it in the Spring afterall. That’s why I was focusing on the political push-back.
My S attends a private school… Muslims, Catholics, Atheists and Jews all attend. They all must learn religious subjects every semester, but they don’t have to believe it. :)) By the way, they gladly do learn, and are encouraged to discuss their views…
DISCLAIMER: I am not one of those kids arguing against evolution in your Ds class!
For me, like @DavidPuddy, “hate” is too strong a word for how I feel about CB. With the way education is so unevenly administered across the country I think there is value in standardized testing. CB has many opportunities for improvement but I believe they offer a valuable service.