We bought a bunch of study books and my d19 is planning to study on her own over the summer. She isn’t taking RGE August SAT because we will be on vacation right before it. She will take both the SAT and PSAT about a week apart in October instead.
We are running out of time. OMG, the world has sped up so much!
We are going to the Firefly music festival and a quick beach camping trip this weekend. Three weeks later we are going to Yellowstone for three weeks. Then D19 has her intensive SAT prep, plus she’s volunteering as stage crew for a local jazz festival. We might be able to shoehorn a local visit somewhere (maybe even UMontana??? - I hear it’s pretty cheap for OOS?) … but it’s looking doubtful. Then there is the s***show of September, as I’m sure everyone can relate to. And then PSAT and serious school work. So much for starting early - the colleges we visited last spring might be the only ones we see before NEXT spring!
@Acersaccharum My advice is to take test preps practice tests online over the summer and get a practice ACT book. She can do it in her free time and have all summer to prepare. My S stays very busy over the summer but finds time to fit things in here and there. A couple hours on the weekend plus on plane trips etc…
@Acersaccharum she might want to try both a practice SAT and ACT (I think ACT is there) on khan academy online. My daughter did well with the practice SAT on there and a practice pencil and paper ACT at our library in the spring. She did a little better with the SAT though and was more comfortable with it. She doesn’t have trouble focusing for long periods and likes having more time like you do for the SAT. However, from what I’ve read some kids do better on ACT and it’s better to focus on one or the other for prep.
We poked around on the SAT prep forum here to get ideas for workbooks. It seems pretty unanimous that the Erica(Erika? I forget offhand) Meltzer books for reading and grammar are very helpful. There seem to be more variety in recommendation for math. We chose the panda math. Partly because it seemed highly recommended and partly because the pandas were cute
Hi all, back from our trip and can’t convey how interesting these visits are. Although classes weren’t in session for us to get a full flavor of the campus, you do get to see the grounds, get some of the vibe based on its location, and see how the schools choose to go about presenting itself to potential students and their families. The only comparison we had was to UPItt last summer. And what I find so interesting is how D19 chooses to focus on one thing when concluding that she does NOT like a school, yet is unable to successfully articulate why she DOES likes a school. For Pitt, she didn’t like the focus it places on it’s football games (e.g., they close down the entire blvd. on Friday nights to shuttle the students to and from downtown for the games). Forget that PITT has the most NIH grants for the multitude of health related facilities and programs on or near campus. On our way to RI, we drove by Yale to see the grounds and had lunch there. No official tour or info session, but just a quick stop as she was curious where a friend will be attending next fall. Once she gets some more official scores back, she can decide if she wants to come back for a detailed visit. Brown’s campus felt cozy and the students who spoke to us seemed open and knowledgeable. Providence College was delightful. BU’s presentation was aggressive (apply early everyone!!), and she wasn’t bothered by the campus (or lack thereof). The attraction of having the city of Boston right there accessible by the T and just minutes away is undeniable. Tufts had an AO just talk to us at a podium for an hour which at times it seemed rambling (and made us pay $8 for parking), BC’s info session included a student panel of 5 that answered questions and tired their best to provide meaningful experiences (and validated our parking tickets). Not that $8 is a big deal, but these final touches seemed thoughtful. We wanted to squeeze some in before she leaves for her summer research program next week. Have a great weekend all and thanks for letting me share!
I’ve read the thread before where people write about the things that their kids focus on about a school and it makes me laugh (too many hills, too flat, building smell old, etc) . Although, I wonder if I will find it as funny when my kids do it! Lol.
I love reading trip reports! We’ll definitely visit Pitt at some point - I grew up in PA and have somehow never been to Pittsburgh! I’d love to see some schools in New England but they just aren’t on the radar (for now).
D16 visited a school that made us pay for parking two years ago (CU Boulder) and my husband still occasionally complains about that!
My S19 is doing the PSAT and SAT in October, too. (I wanted him to take it in August but he is adamant about taking it at his own HS, which is not a testing location in August). No prep class planned but he has some books and I guess we’ll just cross our fingers and hope the PSAT is actually predictive of the SAT score in his case.
S19 and I leave for college tours this week to Princeton, UPENN, Harvard and Yale. He’s excited to see some urban colleges to get an idea. Previously we had been to some rural and suburban schools that he seemed to enjoy(Princeton, Duke, Cornell and Dartmouth). We should have a better idea of fit after this visit.
So far we’ve stuck to YouTube videos. The only selective one we will probably see without waiting to apply and hopefully get accepted is cornell. The two big reasons being that we don’t need to waste time and money going to colleges super hard to get into unless we get in (which makes them a good use of time and money) and because I don’t want her falling in love with a college she might not get into and then having the colleges that do want her to suffer in comparison.
Although, that might not even happen if we did tour. My d22 loves to think about college stuff and though Brown would be her reach school someday. Until she saw a YouTube video of a freshman dorm. She’s decided she will search for a new reach school now because it was really bad.
We are also sticking to visiting mostly schools that are matches or safeties according to our GC and stats posted by the schools. S19’s list won’t really have any true reaches since almost all of those types of schools don’t give merit so he won’t apply. (At least that’s what we’ve decided for now.)
The only exception will be Davidson since we are hoping S19 will be considered for merit. We still think he will be above the 75th percentile for admission but don’t want to be full pay so we would only send him if he gets some money there. I’ve already told our GC that we are interested in him being nominated for the Belk Scholarship. Maybe it’s early to ask but I thought I’d throw it out there early so maybe we are the first to ask. Honestly, we only have two or three kids even apply to Davidson each year so he may have a good shot at the nomination. I want to take him for a visit so he can make sure he likes it and so that he can write good essays about why.
Speaking of NC, though, does anyone know much about Elon? Our GC suggested a visit if we go down to see Davidson and Richmond. Apparently, Elon threw additional merit money at students from our high school if they went to accepted students day. Some of the kids were on the fence but the additional money helped them choose Elon. Not sure I like that they felt like they needed more money in order to be persuaded. And I have a friend whose daughter still chose Indiana even after Elon increased their merit. Thoughts?
@homerdog Have you checked the Elon section on the Colleges and Universities section of this forum ? I think it’s a fairly active section.
Happy Father’s day to all of the dads .
I don’t know much about Elon, but I would take the GC advice into consideration. It sounds like your friend’s daughter ended up choosing a school closer to home. Maybe that’s why the money didn’t matter for her. Others maybe have been having trouble deciding between two schools and the money would help them choose Elon. I don’t think that would bother me at all.
my d and I have talked a lot about how the reasons others have for choosing or not choosing certain schools may not apply to her. That’s why she doesn’t want to tour any with friends.
We visited Elon with my older daughter and she has two friends who go there. I think they are happy but I’m not sure either is getting merit. Both were good, but not exceptional, students. As for my D, she was more interested in an urban school, and the town Elon is in is really tiny so she didn’t apply.
Just searched Elon and found multiple kids this year who received emails in late April offering additional merit. Hm. Wondering if that means they were feeling anxious about their yield at that point.
I think many schools were worried about their yield recently . Elon is used as a safety for some selective schools , and when kids are applying to schools in the double digits, yields are going to suffer. It is also not uncommon for schools to offer additional merit late in the year.
@mom2twogirls I get that, it makes good sense. My S is being recruited at those colleges so that’s why we’re going but in the end he might not go to any and choose a larger school. Still as a parent it’s been good memories and amazing to see some of these historic college campuses.
What activities are your kids doing over the summer?
Actually I might get a better response if I make that a QOTD (can I do that?) so: What activities are your kids doing over the summer?
My D19 is spending 3 weeks in Madagascar on a service trip. We just got back from a vacation in the PNW, which she loved but we didn’t see any colleges, it was a simple 100% vacation sorta trip. However, I live in Los Angeles so I might take her to see a few local area universities. In a few weeks I might also take her with me to Montreal – a lovely, European-feeling city, she’ll love it – since my spouse and I are going there anyway and I feel like a lot of her summer time will be 90% beachgoing and hanging out with friends.
I’ve probably said what my d19 is doing too many times already, so anyone who remembers can just skip this lol.
She has 2 weeks of Health one classes (9 days) and 2 weeks of health two classes(another 9 days). These are the only classes offered by our school to get ahead in the summer (other summer classes are for if you failed a class). She would like to knock the required to graduate classes out of the way so she has more options and space in her schedule next year and senior year.
Every Sunday is drivers ed, plus an as yet to be determined which day instructional driving time, all through AAA.
She had a new pt job as a lifeguard/swim instructor, about 10-15 hours a week.
We are going on vacation for a week in August to Disney/ Universal.
She has lots of P/SAT prep to do.
This is probably the busiest her summer has ever been. We’ve done a week vacation before and maybe a fun Rec class here or there, but mostly we usually just lounge around all summer.
She’s looking forward to having extra spending money for vacation.
S19 is spending his second summer learning a foreign language on a college campus (same language, different campus). It’s an immersion type experience where all the students are encouraged to live on campus and speak the language at all times. Most of the students are in college, but glad that there’s another high school student in the dorm. Very cute that a college sophomore who lives on the same floor asked me permission to drive my son down to the local CVS to buy snacks (they have bonded over music as both play the piano and sing all types of songs). He returns next month to start his Jr. PGA tournaments. It’s his 5th season with the league and he still seems to enjoy it and sets goals for himself. I so enjoy watching him on the course playing a game he started just as a young boy as a father/son bonding activity. They still play regularly and are very close. I heart that.
D19 is leaving next week for a university summer research program (she’s completed all her AP assigned homework, attacking it right after her last final). It’ll be her first experience away from home and she’s very excited about living in a dorm, meeting new people, and being in a new place. I’m a little nervous having her fly out alone because there are no direct flights, but hopeful there won’t be any snafu type situation for the connecting flight. After this program, she’ll head to another university where she’ll join a research group on a topic that has been of interest to her. She wrote them and they invited her over, very kind of them to extend her this invitation.
Both will be prepping here and there as time permits for the August SAT. My guess is that D will find the time, while S will wait until the last minute.
I’m with you @mom2twogirls , this is appearing to be the busiest summer ever for them. S has a golf tournament the week of the SAT, and D won’t even return home until a week before the SAT. Hoping that it all comes together and things work out. Glad that both have the opportunity to pursue their interests.