@labegg@suzy100 My son’s school removed class rank starting with his freshman class At first I thought it was lame - he was #1 in 8th grade - he’s getting cheated out of his chance to be #1 again. Boy was I wrong.
HS has be great time for him. He still took 8 APs but he got to take Drama, Songwriting and Guitar classes. Now he’s going to major in that area in college. Why on earth did he need to take AP Chem or Calc B/C if he’s a musician?
School will still honor him for his 4.0 uwGPA at senior night and they put all the kids with a 5.0 wGPA on the plaque at the school (instead of the top 10 like years past) All the benefits and none of the stress
Nothing other than actual science/SS/math/language courses count towards GPA at D’s school. So you can take three electives each year that will not impact your record. I like this method, the only thing I would change is add the ability to take “extra” core courses that will not count - my kids would like to take anatomy or a third language but they are not honors and will hurt their GPA.
Just got a letter from DD’18 H.S. principal providing all the details for the graduation ceremony in May: fee for cap & gown, rehearsal schedule and the limit on tickets per family! Hard to grasp her high school years are almost over.
@txparty…We moved to Texas when our eldest DD was in the 8th grade and honestly we had no clue about the Auto Admit rules here in Texas until at least 1/2 way through sophomore year. We really didn’t know the parameters to play accordingly.
It didn’t impact us too much because DD had self selected mainly weighted classes, but we did miss the boat on Honors Latin as a freshman and she choose 4years of band and by necessity and choice a few unweighted classes. By the time DD2018 hit HS we were well aware of the “tricks” that people play to game the system, still we choose to follow a similar course as DD2016 because she faired well in her admissions process. I guess we figured if it’s not broken don’t fix it, lol. We tweaked it a bit for DD2018 and she did manage to move up about 25 spots in rank in comparison to her sister, despite nearly identical grades. Things we didn’t know about initially: taking Biology in 8th grade so you can squeeze in an extra AP/honors STEM class later on; taking Spanish in 8th grade to open an extra spot for an AP class; taking classes that you do not excel at as dual credit or summer school because that doesn’t count in the GPA or just taking summer classes so you can have more room in your schedule to fill with weighted classes.
The whole gaming the system thing here in Texas is out of hand, IMO, and auto admit policies are just as bizarre.
@glido We had to already buy cap and gown, diploma case, grad pictures and grad invites. Got the date first day of school. The only thing we don’t know is if they limit the guest. I doubt but you never know. We hold it at the local flagship college in the arena. It’s getting very very real.
Already bought the cap and gown package. Decided against the announcements and some of the other stuff.
Luckily, they put the date out a couple years ahead, as they approve school calendars.
Our graduation is held in the local university’s athletic complex. It’s pretty big, but I think they give each grad 8 tickets (class of about 350). There are usually kids asking around if anyone has extras.
The local newspaper used to publish pictures and short bios with college selections for each val in the metro area. They stopped it about 5 years ago, as more and more kids tied for val and the number became unwieldy. S18’s HS does not rank but they still select val, and this year I think there will be 8-10 vals. S18 was never in the mix for that but will still graduate in the top 15-20 out of 270 (though school does not officially rank, the students are arranged on the graduation stage by GPA, so if you can count you can figure it out). Effective next year they have switched to numerical grades to determine val, so if two students are tied and one gets a 97 in French IV AP and the other gets a 96, then the 97 student is ahead for val. Sounds incredibly stressful to me, but then again we are not on the VAL OR BUST wagon train.
@labegg@txparty the whole gaming rank thing in Texas is the thing that has me more freaked out about our move than anything. For D18 it just wasn’t an issue I ever worried about. Her school ranks, but they don’t publish the rank, the kids have to go in and ask to find out for their apps. Her school is not competitive, at all, in that way. Now, moving to Texas, with D22 starting HS next year, I feel like I’m swimming in a whole different pond and no clue how to navigate it. H just says we won’t worry about it and let her just take the classes that are right for her to take and that she wants to take and let the chips fall where they may. But I worry this attitude is going to cost her and I hate feeling so clueless. Another aspect is D18’s school is an IB school, and so I’m very used to how regimented IB is, she just had a certain set of classes she had to take each year, with limited space for electives. But with D22, I’m looking at the info from the school and it’s AP, and it seems like the decisions and choices are limitless! I can’t believe some of the elective options available. Then in Texas there are the “endorsements” as well and that’s a whole 'nother kettle of fish! ~X( 8-} :-S
SO worried I’m going to mess this up, even though there is a part of me that knows (from my experience here) that it will work out regardless… :-<
@1822mom …I will just say both of my kiddo’s took band and cheer and soccer and theater and a few career exploration unweighted classes DD2018 is even enjoying her two off periods this semester! I would say they both have faired well in the college admissions process despite our “mistakes”! So, don’t stress about it too much! (If you think you will only be targeting UT and/or A&M then undoubtedly you do have to be on the ball a bit more).
As for the endorsements; they are meaningless outside of Texas and even in-state I am not very clear on the value! Common sense tells us if your kiddo is planning on college, they need 4 years of math, english, social studies and science with 3 or 4 years foreign language. DD2018 picked Multidisciplinary 4x4, but she is dual qualified for Arts & Humanities with a Social Studies concentration and we are currently trying to figure out if she is qualified for a distinguish achievement supplemental (honestly I am not sure it even matters except in the UT AI equation!).
Thanks @labegg it is reassuring that even Texans are confused by the system! :)) I don’t think UT or A&M will be on our radar but who knows? :-?? For D18 they would have not been in the picture at all, just as the UCs were not, but they are different kids, and I honestly don’t really know how this kid is going to turn out. She’s very different from her sister in many ways, but similar in other ways. Ah well, I suppose I do not do anyone any good worrying about it do I? I guess we’ll just roll with it and I’ll do my best to pretend I’m not worried.
I really dislike the endorsements in Texas. During a time when kids should be exploring their options so they have some idea of what they want to do after high school I feel like the endorsements try to lock them into a major too soon. I wish I could go back and just let DS choose the multidisciplinary endorsement instead of engineering so he could have explored more. We will be going that route with DD23.
@BIRDIE3 336k - Well now, my 2002 is a baby, it needs to stop whining (literally)!
Have you done any “major” repairs" My Ody has only been scheduled other than the tranny early on under warranty
@1822mom, The TX endorsements is really no big thing. D21 meets the endorsements with math, science, and
Multidisciplinary 4x4, She is taking the classes she wants. Like @labegg said, Multidisciplinary is easy to meet for a college bound student. as long as an endorsement met, one can take any class that interest them.
The ranking thing is a pain in the butt for sure.
You know your D22’s personality. I think a sit down with the counselor and your D would be really helpful.
I don’t think they are even doing the endorsement thing here with the class of 2018, I think they are starting with the class of 2019. DS20 just showed me his paper work for it tonight, he’ll get the Multidisciplinary, Arts and Humanities and STEM with the classes he’s had on his list since 9th grade. It’s silly, just more paperwork!
We arrived in Texas just in time for 8th grade. I still don’t have my head wrapped around all the B.S. that goes on and frankly, I got to the point that the admins saw me coming and got out of the way since I refused to play the games and bow to the extreme competitive nature. I took on attendance, Athletic Training Coaches, IB Advisor etc.
We are just not that competitive, laid back is more her style.
The ranking IMO is harming hard working, well rounded kids who dream of ivy league schools. The Auto-Admit policy to the Flagships here in Texas are also leaving a lot of really well qualified kids out. I get the concept but I wonder if its time and place has run its course and its time to let it go. I do know the % was lowered for the class of 2019 which is going to make it all that much more competitive. So many families here are either a LongHorn or and Aggie and its hard to see these great kids not be able to attend BUT there are so many other great schools. A&M / UT are not the end all be all.
DD started off pre-IB with athletic training which she really enjoyed. She is not an athlete, hates marching band and has no interest in the whole cheer/dance scene. She plays the Sax but only in a concert program, the heat alone was enough to deter her from marching band here. The band kids here in Central Texas are the hardest working of all the groups IMO and she tends towards lazy.
We refused to stick with an endorsement and let DD wander around as she saw fit as long as she had the requirements she would need to get into an average University.
We supported her decision to drop IB Diploma Status down to IB Course (her adviser still glares at me and I still think this was the best thing we ever did, IMO IB Diploma is WAY overrated in the “doors it opens”)
Yes, I know, she’s bright blah blah blah BUT IMO high school should be fun! We all talk about our high school years, we revisit in our memories and I didn’t want those memories to be of drudgery.
I know many many many successful people who went to “average” colleges or their state schools and did just fine. We never had the “oh you must attend X or you will fail at life” attitude. I also don’t give a rats butt about the two state powerhouses here UT / A&M - A&M is steeped in tradition, yes, its pretty cool but not the end of the universe. UT has awful colors!
Frankly, I would have been happy to see DD return “home” and attend the Univ of Nevada Reno like her brother.
@SnowflakeDogMom Nope. No major repairs. Did the trans early on like everyone else. (got it 50% off) Just oil changes. It did have it’s alternator go out on our last trip so since then it is a local vehicle. Currently, though the power steering is leaking but we are not replacing just refilling the fluid as needed. I love my van!
2018 U.S. Presidential Scholar Candidate names have been added to the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program website. We haven’t received a letter yet, but a friend told us that D’s name was included on the candidate listing.
No monetary award for this one, but it’s a nice accolade to add to the student resume and to include on the mid-year reports that are due to a couple of her reach schools.
@LMHS73, congratulations to your daughter! I’ve never understood this program. I read on the website that candidates are chosen based on ACT or SAT scores or “their nomination by a Chief State School Officer.” Is that the only way kids are chosen?
