@me29034 your son knows UMass Amherst is way more rural than UVM right?
My older older son did not want to go to schools surrounded by trees, so he was fortunate to get into Northeastern.
@momtogkc I almost ordered another copy of DSâs summer reading assignment book because we could not find it at the end of summer. At the last minute, a week before school started, I found it. :!! Next summer I am not getting summer reading books in May, I will order them in August. :-w
@Gatormama, Iâm not depressed from hearing about these scores, but actually kind of relieved that my D19 (who hasnât taken the SAT or ACT yetâFebruary, probably) isnât targeting the sort of schools where an ACT>32 is the bar to possible entranceâshould make for a much lower stress level in the house for this kidâs application process than the last one.
Wow! Awesome scores @homerdog @NJFL123 @ThinkOn !!! I think I would faint if my kids had scores like those!
@homerdog @NJFL123 congratulations!!! Those are fabulous scores and would definitely be one and done unless the kid was pushing to do better on their own. Impressive work ethic over the summer for both of your kids. Congrats!!!
I donât see 1500âs in our future but I also donât think we will bother with the SAT. Since heâs not prepping for the PSAT, I think we will just focus on the ACT. I still donât think we will be in concordance territory there though either!
@Gatormama whenever someone starts it lol! I can start one if folks think it is time, I obviously have all the info from the 2017 one.
Big congrats to the high scorers @homerdog @NJFL123 @ThinkOn!
@homerdog My S19 also had a 1360 on the PSAT so we can see the comparative effects of âdecorative prep booksâ and the occasional 10 minutes on Khan Academy versus actual prep. Although, honestly, if he got 1450, I would consider him âone and done.â This is a kid who canât name more than 3 Ivy League schools and doesnât know the difference between University of Cincinnati and University of Chicago. Prestige is not on his radar.
He did mention that a friend/acquaintance of his scored a 1550 on the August test so he looked at Khan for the first time in a month today, haha. Maybe that will light a fire under him to get him to that 1450 in October.
S19 has now been sick for 5-6 days and missed three days of school. He has strep and canât seem to get the fever to stay away. He will have SO much work to make up if he misses one more day. UGH.
@ninakatarina If we visit any LACs with S19, we might start with Gettysburg (itâs an easy 90 minute drive and they would have opportunities for music on the side). I have a feeling that most LACs are going to be too preppy for his tastes (plus that pesky foreign language requirements), but I want him to at least visit one.
My DS took the SAT in August and I think is one and done as wellâunless you count the fact that he already took the ACTâthose scores will be out on Wednesday. So I guess itâll be two and through, since he was pleased with his SAT score, which will allow him to apply to the lottery schools he has identified as well as several other safeties.
Congratulations @EastGrad ! =D> =D>
Talked with D and she wants to keep trying. I was gentle and gave her the option of settling for the range sheâs in, which, of course, means throwing out pretty much all of her OOS colleges and going to one of the PASSHE schools here in PA.
I left it totally up to her, told her sheâs always going to have my love and admiration and I will always be proud of her no matter what.
She said she wants to keep testing, with the ACT up next, since she did about 100 points better in a practice ACT test
I told her no more expensive test prep, though. We just donât have the money.
@Gatormama My older kid was in the low 1100s on the (old) SAT and managed a 30 ACT without prepping for it. Your D might surprise you.
@Gatormama I love your message to your D. Sheâs a lucky girl.
Thanks, @payn4ward, you are generous and kind. I guess itâs time to say that what Iâve loved about the other parent lists Iâve been on (2013 and 2016) that ALL kids are celebrated, and that the list is about great choices for our 2019 kids, all of whom are very special, and they are whole complex people who are represented by more than their scores and grades. :x That being said, a super big congrats to all those who were very happy with their SAT scores.
Congrats to everyone with high scores . Anxiously awaiting the thread for average students with average scores .
Thank you all for your well wishes. As @EastGrad has eloquently stated above, our kids are more than test scores and grades. We have athletes, musicians, actors, linguists, and so much more that round out our community and bring interesting and value perspectives for all to consider. I understand that ACT scores are coming out this week as well. Hope to hear good news from those 2019 kids waiting for results.
Add my voice to the âwhereâs the average kids thread?â as D received her ACT scores back. ACT composite of 30 (E 27, M 28, R 34, S 30). Not sure what sheâll do about additional testing.
Congrats to all with exceptional scores!
A couple of the schools on our list say that you only have to submit the SAT/ACT scores if you really want to, so those act as very soothing stress relievers.
I did a bit of a deep dive last night into admissions by gender, and discovered that a lot of LACs admit a lot higher percentage of male applicants than female, engineering places admit a lot higher percentage of female applicants than male. And they still end up with a gender imbalance. So I told my kid that this gender change thing was a great idea for getting into a humanities school.
I donât think he appreciates my humor yet.
We met with Dâs school counselor today for her scheduled 504 plan meeting. D asked her counselor what her thoughts were on the ACT scores. The school counselor suggested a retake, especially to counter not-so-great GPA, and offered to setup a meeting with the schoolâs college coordinator. D seems pleased with that idea.
I am pleased I kept quiet and D took the lead in deciding where to go from here.
On a separate note â how does a Class of 2019 average student thread get started, anyway?
Hey @OrangeFish a 30 ACT is not average, in fact it is well above average. I think the average at our competitive MA Public HS is 26. The folks with kids scoring above 1500 is a very small percentage nationally. With an ACT score of 29-33 kids can get into some pretty selective schools, especially if they have some interesting extracurriculars.
I would definitely suggest your D take the ACT multiple times, if it doesnât stress her out. Some kids just have to get used to the timing of the tests, and little tricks to score higher. Some kids are just whizzes from the get go and score super high the first time, but I think thats the exception. Most of my older sonâs friends took the SAT/ACT multiple times, and from what Iâve been told, they almost all scored better as they got older.
My son had a really hard time with the science section of the ACT 2 times, before he figured out some tricks and was fortunate to get an easier section on his 3rd attempt. It ended up being one of his higher sub scores and pulled up his average. He went from a 29 to a 32. His scores I think were 29 1st, 30 2nd, 32 3rd. So maybe keep trying??
Thanks, @RightCoaster â I appreciate your knowledgeable post.
D has anxiety about testing in general, but she does have accommodations, so it helps with the timing pressure of the ACT. At this point I think she agrees with you 
and I followed @Gatormamaâs fine example and said whatever she decided was fine by me, and I loved her no matter what.
I also told her none of this has to be decided today. I did suggest she think about doing some math prep for the PSAT (set for three weeks from tomorrow) as she scored so well on the reading, she would likely benefit from some focus on the math. She liked that idea (is there a shocked look emoticon?) and is planning to schedule in some math prep sessions.
My D has some perfectionism tendencies and I donât want to fan that flame if I can help it.