@labegg That is a very interesting story that provides me another reason not to enroll in a SAT prep class.
@RoonilWazlib99 I’ve heard that many IB kids actually take the ACT over the SAT as it aligns more with what they learned. Actually I believe the whole point of changing the test was for the SAT to be more aligned with what students are learning in school, which is something the ACT does very well.
@LOUKYDAD I should really take your point into consideration. I didn’t know that the ACT included trigonometry. I won’t be taking Trig until the second semester of next year. I’ll try to do the ACT a little later then. Thanks for the advice. Also thank you for your advice about track. Tryouts were yesterday and I honestly felt like throwing up a little after running the mille. I didn’t help that it was 30 degrees and we saw some flurries falling. We practiced from 3-4pm, the shortest practice we’ll probably have, and by the time we came in, if you had touched my hands you would’ve thought I was dead or dying. I ran pretty well, but not that well. My times could definitely improve and they need to as we are expected to run 400-meters in under 1 minute. If I’m unable to do that, I’ll likely do shot put, like I did in middle school. I’ve also been watching my diet and I’ve gotta say I’m doing pretty well.
@labegg Wow! I wish my current Algebra II teacher had us do that. We just recently took test that I felt confident about. I honestly wish more teachers assigned projects like that. It would definitely get us talking about the SAT/ACT and colleges. We just recently did course scheduling with our counselors and I actually picked:
Engineering Explorations I/Robotics
AP Economics (Micro and Macro)
AP Chemistry
U.S. and VA History
Functions/Trigonometry (Pre-Calculus) Weighted
Spanish II
English 11
@RoonilWazlib99 I actually like that plan very much. My family and I are actually planning on taking a few college trips this summer as well, specifically to GMU and Virginia Tech.
Although my son is not eager to start his own college tours, we decided to ease into it by going to two locals over spring break just to get an idea for size (Oxy and USC). It’s convenient for us that he’s taking AP review sessions at UCLA so he’s getting an idea of state flagship. He thought it was huge. We want to steer him toward SLACs like his sister chose because he’s the type to get lost in the crowd.
@ak2018, are you absolutely positive about this? “My first choice college actually superscores the ACT with the SAT to make the scores you send to them the best possible scores they can be.”
I have never heard of a school do this. What school is it?
@suzy100 Virginia Tech. They actually take the best score from the reading and math sections of either tests. So if you took the ACT and SAT and did better on the ACT Math section than the SAT Math section, they would convert your ACT Math score to an SAT Math score, which could bump up your scores.
D18 just finished course selections for next year:
AP Biology
AP Calculus AB
AP US History
Spanish III Honors
English III
Digital Photography and design (to fulfill arts requirement)
Re: college tours…she’s been on every college visit for S16 (about 8-9 schools), but currently insists that she did not like any of the schools, locations, etc. so I think we are starting from scratch. I thought she’d be more specific about preferences, but she has not been able to formulate a list of “musts” and she shoots down every college I suggest we visit.
@RyanG1207 Sounds like D18 is telling you “I’m not ready to think about this, talk about this…” I’ve read here on CC that sometimes it helps to start with a list of “don’t wants.” Give her some time. My S18 went on every tour we took with D15, but he really doesn’t remember much. We are starting out more slowly with S18 based on what we learned about teens from D15’s search.
@1518Mom Maybe consider asking your S18 to start with listing certain college characteristics he might like or dislike. For example, would he like to go to a college in a big city, on a suburban campus or a campus near a small town. What size of a school: over 30,000 students, 15,000 to 29,000, 8,000 to 14,000 or smaller. Also, would he like to go to a school with big-time (D1) football and basketball or not?; within easy driving distance to home or a school far away. That can really narrow it down without having to consider specific schools. It is just a process that has helped others we know.
@glido I think you mean @RyanG1207. My S18 already knows he wants more urban/suburban rather than rural. We’re not entirely sure about size, though we think smaller is better for our kids, thus the local visits to Occidental and USC over spring break. For him, big time sports is a non-starter even though he is an XC/T&F athlete. This past Super Bowl was the first time he watched a football game because it was his friend’s birthday party :-?? I know USC doesn’t really fit the bill, but we can try to get him to focus on size, academics, student activities, etc., even though I’m sure the athletics will be a notable part of the tour.
Sometimes I wonder does kid really know what they want? Big university or small schools? My DDs don’t seem like having any clues… Should parents’ financial situation also be considered? I mean education is really expensive, but room and boards, other expenses, all add up!
I think a parent’s financial situation should absolutely be considered. A student shouldn’t get their hopes pinned on a school only to realize too late that their Expected Family Contribution is too high and the school is financially unattainable without crippling loans.
I come from a single parent household. My mom told me how much money she could put toward my education per year and that informed my decisions. My dad and stepmom did the same for my stepsiblings and told them they shouldn’t look at schools that would require more than $10k/year for the family.
Thank you @RoonilWazlib99 for the calculator… I was also told it’s easier to get merit aides from private universities… And sometimes it will end up cheaper than public colleges because private schools has more budget…
@jjkmom, I don’t think it’s easier to get merit aid from private universities. Many public universities offer merit aid. It is true that privates can end up cheaper than publics, particularly if the private is a “meets full need” school.
The Net Price Calculators are pretty accurate unless you own your own business, are divorced, etc. I absolutely recommend running the NPC at any school that is on the list.
I also think it’s very important to discuss with your child up front what you can contribute for college so that there are no unhappy surprises down the road.
S18 is still pretty clueless about college but we are making progress. He is dead set against going far away, like his sister did. I asked him how close he wanted to be, and he replied within reach of home if he wanted to come in for the weekend. I drew him a circle of a 3 hour drive radius around our city, and when he saw the scarcity of choices he was forced to expand his geographical considerations! LOL
Next year he is taking:
Christian Morality
English IV H(onors)
Analysis H
Chemistry I H
Latin IV AP
French III H
PE/Fine Arts
Does it have to be within driving distance? If you can get to campus on a direct flight or on a train it is easy to come home for the weekend.
DS14 goes to school a 6 hour drive away and was here last month on an overnight visit for a summer internship interview. Landed at 8:35 pm, left home the next day on a 10 p.m. flight so he could have dinner with us otherwise he could have flown home late afternoon or early evening.
DS doesn’t usually come home just for the weekend because he plays a varsity sport but we often fly out to campus to watch him play. DH flies to every home game and to away games that aren’t within driving distance because he hates to drive (I drive to the away games within driving distance). We fly in for father/son and mother/son weekends with his fraternity and random other visits. We’re in the air 45 minutes. We live 15 minutes from the airport and everyone in the family has Global Entry so security is quick. Door to door we can make it to campus in 4.5 hours, faster if we use Uber and forego a car rental.
D18 registered for her junior year classes this week. Assuming she gets her first choices, her schedule will be:
AP English language
Honors Analytical Geometry & Calculus (weighted as an AP class, kids can take the calc AB exam afterwards but most just wait until senior year and take Calc BC exam)
Honors Biology II
AP Biology
AP French 5
AP European History
Honors Economics & Personal Finance
Leadership & Peer Mentoring
She’s going from all honors and one AP (chemistry) this year to 5 APs next year. Will be interesting I’m sure.
DS turned in his course choices for junior year this week also.
AP Calculus AB
AP Biology
Anatomy
AP US History
AP English Language
Intro to Humanities (1st Semester - dual enrollment with CC)
Public Speaking (2nd Semester - dual enrollment with CC)
Study Hall
He has a goal to be a National AP Scholar by the end of this junior year. AP HG (freshman year) and AP Physics I, AP World, and AP Psych (sophomore year) taken to date, so it is still theoretically possible if he can score 4 or higher on all exams.