That’s really funny about the differences between them once finals are over. I had two super smart college friends who were roommates. They both had equal 4.0 grades, but one was always studying, whether at the library or while falling asleep over books at 2 am. The other seemed to never break a sweat and did a normal amount of studying. Back then I thought one had to work harder to get the grades, but now wth my kids I can see that they both can get good grades but one has to over study to compensate for anxiety.
Luckily for us, most of the teachers in our school are good to amazing. That just makes the stinkers stand out more.
My d will have a little time to watch YouTube videos of Disney/universal vacations and Ellen Show pranks, but then she will be starting summer health classes (the only classes our school offers in the summer for anything that isn’t repeating a class), drivers ed and her new job! In addition to prepping for the fall PSAT/SAT. Her practice score from an at home SAT she took in April was just under 1400. I think with prep (knowing tips, reviewing old concepts) she can score a bit higher but more importantly, it will lessen the chances of her freezing from anxiety.
And, as I’ve mentioned before, my D19 is well above the cutoff for the 3.0–3.4 thread, but has a few shockingly low grades (including Fs) to go along with all the As on her transcript. I really don’t know where she fits in the whole CC world, but I figure I’ll stick around here because she can’t be the only one, and so documenting the journey could be useful.
My son19 is a “normal average”. kid with decent grades and participates in some ECs that are normal like soccer and robotics. He is not volunteering in hospitals all summer, interning for Bill Gates, or coding the next hot app.
He likes to play sports, play video games, snapchat, laugh at internet memes, binge watch shows etc. He has somehow been able to manage decent grades thru HS so far, 90+ average in everything, but he is not going to be the valedictorian or applying to Harvard or Stanford or anything like that. We’ll see how does next year with harder classes and a busier schedule, and trying to figure out how to study and prep for SAT and ACT.
So my kid is just a normal nice kid, like many of yours.
We are in the last few days of school and final exams start Friday. I think he gets out next Thursday.
My son gets anywhere from an 85 and up in his classes. Some of these classes are honors, so they get “weighted”. So his unweighted GPA right now is around a 90, and weighted (with 7 pointed added to honors) is a 94. I only wish he would just study a bit more, instead of being on the computer watching Youtube or playing games. Or even have any EC’s besides Science olympiad. Test scores will be fine though based on PSAT. The hardest thing, as I have mentioned before is that he has zero social skills, and is “Aspie”. Now my D17 got similar unweighted grades, but worked hard for everyone one of them, and had great meaningful EC’s. She has an LD that restricted her taking many honors or AP, but in her final year did dual enrollment. She managed through hard work to get her ACT’s to somewhere decent and did get into her dream school (GW).
With my son, and following CC now since last fall, I have learned to set the expectations to reasonable. Its great to read about all types of kids here. From the 3.0 kid to the 4.0 kid; those who will get into Ivy league, to those going to state flagships, to those going to a good LAC, and even those taking other paths.
@sdl0625 my d’s main EC is also science Olympiad. She’s done it since 6th grade and coached a middle school event last year and this year (and plans to continue the next couple of years). She does some math league and recently did an envirothon, but hasn’t had interest in any other ECs since she tried (and hated) swim team in 7th grade. I figure Sci Oly along with the job she is starting this summer will be enough.
I’ll be curious to see how DS19’s GPA works out.His HS went from a 7 point scale his freshman year to a 10 point scale this year to make students in our state competitive for admission and scholarships in our neighboring state.
I agree with the sentiments expressed already–the parents’ lists have always seemed like a refuge from some of the other craziness on CC. I have participated in two of these threads for my older kids (High School Classes of '13 and ‘16). There should be a place for everyone, and everyone can be celebrated on the parents’ threads for their individuality and for seeking the right fit. I have a high stats 19er, and I always tell him: you’re smart, but this doesn’t make you better. I hope you continue posting, @ThinkOn.
@carolinamom2boys@mom2twogirls We had to wait a week for grades. For S19, I felt like he felt the pressure was off the minute he walked out of his last final. I, however, felt the stress up until the grades were posted seven days later!
Waiting for my son’s grades to be posted as well and so can totally relate. My son is completely carefree, with the attitude of “thinking about it won’t change the outcome, so why not have cake instead”. Thank goodness they announced that going forward, SAT scores will be posted within 3 weeks after they are administered. Having to wait almost 6 weeks to get those pesky SAT Subject test scores was torture. And don’t get me started on the AP scores. Ah, maybe I should bake a cake…hee, hee
D still has another seven days of school, so no final grades here yet.
As an example of why some of us should post on another thread, we are thrilled that her lowest grade for the year appears to be a C- – WOOHOO!
Edited to add: D19 did reach out to her counselor on her own and the teachers are going to be asked to write a statement explaining how/why D19 needs her 504 accommodations. This is instead of a big reevaluation meeting. Far more efficient!
We won’t get final grades for at least two more weeks. Today was the last day of classes but they still have to go in on days they have exams. My d19 had one Thursday morning and three next weeks. They take a few days to calculate everything and then grades should be posted.
I love that there are such strong arts programs in NoVA. I’m sure she had some stuff competition!
S is keeping things suspenseful with his final grades. He could pull out all As and A-s, or he could get two As and 5 Bs if he really tanks the finals. (As in Orchestra and PE seem guaranteed).
@OrangeFish I think we share in your excitement for your daughter’s achievement. Every person has his/her strengths and weaknesses, all of which should be celebrated for its unique achievements. My daughter’s strength certainly is not her sports ability, but anything she can do with a ball is celebrated. I realize that this is a college thread and it naturally lends itself to the celebration of educational achievements, but I think everyone here is open to celebrate finding the right school for our kids based on their strengths and weaknesses. I hope everyone can post things that they would like to celebrate and allow us to join in the celebration.
