CSU: This my D’s in-state affordable safety and I’m happy to say she really likes it. Visit report: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19596021#Comment_19596021
We did another special visit day after this and found everything just as appealing. There really is a warmer more welcoming feel at CSU than at CU-Boulder. They have a very nice rec center with two pools, one with lanes and one recreational/fun. The food was great and they had some of the best dorms of any school we’ve visited. The only real down-sides for my D are that she would like a small school and one further from home!
@brazos21, with his amazing stats and EC’s I wouldn’t be surprised if your S was accepted to those highly selective schools, but it’s always good to have safeties!
@JerseyParents First, my son has been in advanced math (basically a year ahead of his class at an honors level) since 6th grade. So, when he took the ACT as a sophomore he had already taken Pre-Calculus. He is taking AP BC Calculus as a Junior. That has helped him be prepared for the standardized tests sooner than others. He has prepped with practice tests primarily. He definitely took it seriously and was prepared…he didn’t take cold. He did take an SAT in 7th grade for Duke TIP and an ACT in 8th grade for a Stanford summer program…neither of which carry over to his permanent record. I think taking those tests early prepared him to take a real ACT in 10th grade…he was comfortable with the logistics etc.
@brazos21 I agree. My D took the ACT in 7th grade for Duke TIP, then for real in Sept of 10th grade. When she took it Sept of 11th grade, she’d worked her way up to a 34 (only having gone through Algebra II). Success with the standardized testing hinges greatly on being comfortable in that high-stress, fast-paced environment. Practice tests at home are not nearly the same, IMO.
I’ve been off the grid for awhile. Go2boy took the SAT Saturday–hoping for a solid score. At the very least, it will give us an idea of what schools are truly within his bandwidth. He’s a humanities kid all the way so he’s looking for a smaller liberal arts experience. His school’s college counselor sent home a 4 page questionnaire for the students to complete. I was stunned with how articulate and thoughtful he is about what he wants out of his college experience. So nice to see a boy maturing! go2girl is now a junior in college and will be heading to a study abroad program in India in mid-January. She wants to “expand her world view” and while, I just want her to be safe, I realize that she is never happier than when she is stretching her boundaries. With her being gone all semester, it will be imperative for her to find a great internship/job opportunity for next summer. So pressure all around (now in the depth of finals). One thing I might say as a parent of a student of a top 20 school, make sure your student really can handle the stress and the workload. go2girl was used to pulling all nighters but as of yesterday, she still had 6 essays and 5 tests to go before the end of next week. Even for the most capable kid (and I would definitely put her in that category), these schools can be huge pressure cookers. go2boy is very aware of his low tolerance for high stress/competitive atmospheres which means we will be looking at a different tier of schools. It’s actually a relief for me!
@JerseyParents , my son has also been a year ahead of his classmates in Math. This year he is taking AP Calc ab. He did 2 practice tests for the ACT, scoring 31 and then a 32. When he finally took the actual test, he scored a 35 ! He told me that he thought that the PSAT was by far harder than the ACT. He will be taking the SAT in January.
So I think we have next year’s senior schedule figured out.
For three years she busted her butt, and now has the “problem” of filling her senior schedule. She hates art (I tried to talk her into at least art appreciation) and is locked out of band or chorus because she took a few years off. Sooo…
She will take English (requirement), Honors or AP Calc, dual enrollment Physics, honors Spanish, and the following 1/2 year classes: Child development, sociology, economics and sociology. That leaves room for two - count them, TWO - study halls in her schedule. The counselor swore up and down that colleges would not think that was a big deal. One study hall she could swap for teacher helping, which in our school means you find a teacher of any level/subject and help them in the classroom. She could even be a lab aide in anatomy, her favorite class/teacher right now, which made her ears perk up.
I don’t mean to make you jealous, but I think our guidance counselor likes me best. He called me at home last night around 7 p.m. to go over a few ideas - that’s after talking to my daughter about it at school. He is one of the good ones, and he better not retire until I get my second through school!
I highly recommend it. D18 is doing that this year (it’s called “Independent Research” but it’s basically grading papers, lab aide, and writing a couple of papers). She loves it. Getting involved with the teachers more got her recommended for an exclusive summer program at StateU.
D18 is also trying to figure out her senior schedule. She wants to maintain rigor with three APs (anyone else sick of “rigor”?). Many students at her large public HS take the minimum four courses then head home around lunch time.
@droppedit , I wish she could come home like that! Currently, seniors have the option of coming in late/going home early if they have a study hall 1st or 8th period. Guidance counselor said they are trying to eliminate that option because too many kids wanted their schedules that way (I don’t blame them!). I doubt the scheduling gods would favor her that way, anyway, but it would be great.
There have to be 8 periods accounted for, and only two study halls allowed, unless you are taking college courses on a college campus.
I can’t imagine how great next year could be with two study halls …
@JerseyParents D17 missed the NMSF cutoff by 1 point in our state. She used Magoosh to study for it. She ended up scoring a 33 on the ACT in one sitting and a 760/730 on the SAT in one sitting, so I’m happy with that method. I have D18 using Magoosh as well, but she does not like it as much as D17 did, and I’m not sure what her score is going to be on the PSAT.
We may have to find another study method for her for the upcoming ACT/SAT tests this year. Typically she scores around what D17 does on standardized tests, but as they get older D17 is working harder than D18, so I think I may see a divergence of scores as the differing academic attitudes come into play.
@bearcatfan – D18 goes to school late (3rd period) as a junior because she’s taking two easy classes online (English and US History). Last year she was tardy all the time, mainly because she’s a slacker but also because of the heavy traffic around the school. It was mostly students combined with rush hour traffic. It would take 20+ minutes to go less than two miles! Now she drives right up to the school in a few minutes.
Any other parents very frustrated that their schools won’t share their PSAT results? It’s annoying b/c it would be nice to put it behind us. For us, I just want to put the pressure to rest (assuming D18 did not make the cutoff of approx 218 if last year is an indicator, b/c she was stronger in ACT than the practice SAT tests she took). Her practice SAT tests were 1430 both times.
But b/c she scored a 35 composite on her (real) ACT first try Sept of this year (Junior year), the school “expects” her to be a NMF and has made such comments. I would much have preferred for her to fly under the radar.
Of course we are thrilled with the 35 ACT but cannot wait until this PSAT is in the rear view mirror.
Anyone else feeling bad for their kids about the pressure of expectations for these tests?
Anyone here know if the GC is the one who puts the PSAT scores into Naviance, or is it automatic? As of last night, my D18’s scores weren’t in there. /
Yes, I feel bad about the pressure on my D. Her older sister was NMF and I know she’s feeling pressure about that, although I try to get her to not compare herself to her sister or anyone else. It would be great if the school would give her the scores, but I think we will have to wait until next week.
@Kayak3, how did the school know what her ACT was? That’s too much pressure on ANY kid to “expect” NMF.
@Kayak3 sounds familiar. Just put us out of our misery! My D16 absolutely bombed PSAT even though she got 34 on ACT. Won’t be surprised if S18 is similar.
