@dfbdfb No summer programs here either. Probably a summer job and possibly Boy Scout Camp.
I think there is a wide range of healthy for summer plans.
Summer plans. Who knows. Not at all on my radar right now and donāt expect that to change. Numerous variables that wonāt settle till after the new year.
Regarding educational camps. If there is something that makes sense for S19 to attend that allows him to explore a major area of interest and is helpful, we would consider it. S17 did a one week class at a local university, received college credit for it (which amazingly actually did transfer in) and it was beneficial in helping narrow down his major area of interest so overall money well spent.
What it did NOT do was give him a real taste of college life. These kids are minors and as such, supervised within and inch of their lives. It was much more like camp than college. That said, the college it was held at remained in his top 2 till the bitter end so it didnāt hurt his opinion of the school and I do think, for some schools may have helped him. Not so much in an admissions boost kind of way but in a kid looks to have consistent interests and passions kind of way.
What I do know is that S19 wants to be far less busy this summer than he was last. He had very little down time, and hated it.
I am with everyone who has no idea what their kids are doing this summer. Thereās so much going on this year, that Iām taking it one day at a timeā¦
No summer plans here other than workingā¦she has lots of artistic interests (CW, lettering art, etc.) so I imagine she will keep herself busy. Jr. year is already turning out to be a bear so I imagine she is going to need some significant downtime to recoverā¦and so will I!
I was really hoping that just one of my four kids would choose an āeasyā major when searching for colleges, but turns out I was not that lucky. I had no idea how many variables there were to researching secondary educationā¦you have to look at the actual subject they want to teach, how much āreal worldā teaching experience the program gives students, do they want to stay in state or go elsewhere (licensing requirements), etc. etc. As much as everyone loves to teach in IL, itās amazing how few colleges actually are āgoodā for sec. ed. And then there is the affordability issueā¦staying instate would be very helpful, and UIUC is the preferred school around here, but no way we can afford that. Looking at a couple of privates that have been recommended but not sure we can swing there costs eitherā¦they would need to be super generous!
First world problems I guessā¦just glad we started this journey early!
@ILMom13579 Have you considered Illinois Wesleyan? Not sure how generous they are but they offer an Education degree and I know a family who sent all three of their kids there for nursing and they all loved their time there.
Last year, D19 took AP US History as on-line summer school. I donāt think sheās going to do that again. A 40 week class crammed into 8 weeks was SO MUCH work. And to top it off, she most likely wonāt be ready for the AP test given in May, since she finished the class 9 months previously.
She originally thought she needed to take a 9th grade social studies class and was just going to take it over the summer. so she wouldnāt have to be a senior stuck in a class full of freshmen. (We moved to TX from AZ and AZ did not require 9th grade social studies). But we now believe that thereās a 12th grade social studies class she can substitute for it.
So our summer plans are completely up in the air. Possibly just mixing in visiting family with visiting nearby colleges. Thatās actually the best part about college visits so far. I saw my uncle who I hadnāt seen in 10 years because we visited colleges near him. And weāre going to see cousins we havenāt seen in 20 years because there are colleges near them that D19 is interested in.
@gusmahler yeah, after d19 took the compressed summer health classes last summer, d22 has decided she definitely wonāt make herself miserable doing that. Maybe if they had been taught and organized better but they were awful.
Our school doesnāt offer AP classes in the summer (our summer online classes are only 5 weeks long, so options are limited to a selection of regular level classes). S19 took a required personal finance course pass/fail last year and basically just took the quizzes and tests without looking at the material. I canāt imagine cramming an AP into the summer!
Thanks @homerdog - havenāt looked into that school. I think the hard part is the outside classroom experienceā¦many of the schools just donāt tell you on their website (or make it VERY difficult to find). That is what I think D should really pay attention to and it just isnāt something the schools do a good job at communicating. Once she has a better idea of size / location / type of school she would like to focus on phone calls or emails may be necessary to really get some perspective.
summer plansā¦ i get to pay for the privilege of S19 being a counselor in training at both a computer gaming camp, which he did last year, and also at a regular science and technology sleepaway camp. At the same time he will finally take 9th grade lit. Very long story short, I had him skip 9th grade lit, based on him exceeding on the end of course test, and that year the state had a new test, and scores did not even come out until December, and for everyone they did not count, except for the kids who wanted to place out. I was told that they would be out in Oct originally, so I made the decision to put him in 10th grade lit honors. Now to graduate he has to go back and take 9th grade lit. Discussions with the State of GA have gone nowhere all this time, so we gave up and he will take this summer. He will have to explain this on his college applications somewhere. The fact that my son was successful in 10th and 11th grade lit honors doesnt seem to make a difference. A "rule is a ruleā, even if that year it was ānot a rule for everyone elseā.
Hello everyone! I have a D16 who is in the class of 2019. She has a 4.2W GPA and has not taken any of the tests yet. I have 2 other children-D21 recruited for Womenās Crew @Cal. She is a senior now. The other S18 Computer Sci @UCMercedā¦freshman.
This will be a very different voyage for us. She is a French Horn player-principal in her local Youth Orchestra and principal for the last two years in District Honor Band. She went to Tanglewood BUTI last summer and Idywild Summer Program the year before. We are currently trying to take lessons for various horn coaches in the schools that she is interested in. So far-Colburn and Rice.
Oddly enough, we were told by a very knowledgeable teacher/player/ connected in the profession that she should not take any AP classes or super hard classes. She should focus on practicing and getting Aās.
We are in CA but are willing to travel. She is interested in -Colburn. Rice, Curtis, Jacobs UI, UCLA, USC, NEC,. Are there others that you would recommend?
Oh I forgot to addā¦ she is interested in a Music Performance Majorā¦not so much a double major in something elseā¦but she is open to that
Hi @mperrine You should probably pose your question in the music major forum, although Iām sure there are some parents in this thread who have been through the process for the top music schools. The parents in that forum are very knowledgeable and could certainly weigh in on the importance of APs and probably French horn-specific questions.
My kids arenāt very musically inclined so I donāt have a lot of knowledge except Iāve heard some people I know who do have kids interested mention Ithaca College and University of Rochester. Both are in NY though, so I donāt know whether they would be good enough to be worth that much travel.
@mperrine FYI, the norm in the parents forum is that the number after D or S refers to the graduation year, not the age. So your kid would be D19, not D16.
@mperrine have you looked at Oberlin? My alma mater but I was in the college not con.
SAT score release day! Annoyingly, S19 has a message in his account saying that his Oct. 7 scores are in but there are no actual scores posted. They claim that they will upload most scores throughout the day, so hopefully the message at least means that he will be among the people who get scores today.
I was hoping they would be available before he left for school because I do think he should see them first. I doubt that Iāll be able to stop myself from refreshing that page periodically.
Yep. D said we are supposed to wait for her for after school but thatās like the marshmallow test. And my husband is home from work today soā¦
@eh1234 @mom2twogirls You guys are better than me! I couldnāt wait! I just thought that S19 didnāt really care if I knew his scores before he did, so I didnāt have to lie when he asked me if I already knew his scores. And it was kind of nice to know the score so I could prepare in case I needed to console him. Fingers crossed for your kids!