@ninakaterina the ACT math is so fast paced and seems to have a lot of geometry questions?
Maybe try one SAT math.
I found a bunch of YouTube videos that had a walkthrough of different SAT sections with tips on how to approach the problems and solve quickly.
Kiddo was convinced to try the ACT because the math portion was 1/4 of the score, while on the SAT itās 1/3 of the score. I just found out that heās going to have to take the SAT with the rest of the junior class in April whether he wants to or not. He just has math test anxiety. Heās currently maintaining an A in AP calc, so part of this is that the tests are covering math he hasnāt had to remember for 2, 3 or sometimes 4 years.
OMG. Iām reading the 2018 thread tonight. Lots of ED decisions coming in. Totally nerve racking! This time next year, some of the 2019 kiddos will know where they are going to school. Not usā¦no ED for S19 but maybe an EA or two.
I think thatās why Iām stressing on the ACT so much. I teeter between wanting to push the chick out of the nest and trying to stuff him back in the eggshell.
Famous cc sayings ālove the kid on the couchā - this is my 4th kid going thru this circus and merit is near and dear to my heart. That being said, aināt nothing worth killing my childās spirit. College admissions is a marathon not a sprint.
@ninakatarina Math is 1/2 the SAT, not 1/3rd. (Itās 1/3rd the PSAT selection index).
The scholarship D19 is shooting for requires either a 33 ACT or a 1490 SAT. She got a 32 on the ACT, only one section point off of 33. But her SAT was 1390.
So math being only 1/4th of the ACT is a boon to her. Because she can regularly get 98 to 99th percentile (on practice tests) on the three non-math sections of the ACT, those bring up her relatively lackluster math grades. But her 99th percentile English/reading SAT isnāt enough to bring up a mediocre SAT math grade anywhere near where she tests for the ACT.
However, some people have trouble on the science sections. So the fact that math is only 1/4th of the ACT isnāt of much help if your science grade is also low.
AHA! We have our verbal meme for this group: Climbing Mt. Fuji! No use getting there if you canāt enjoy it and itās dangerous getting down. Exactly right, @mom23travelers and @ItsJustSchool. Itās hard to see the end right now as mid-year juniors but good to have the perspective of those who have made it up Mt. Fuji once before. We had our own Mt. Fuji with D16 and piano. She was a superb pianist. She hated every minute, however, due to a relentless and (I have to acknowledge) actually mean teacher. There were lots of tears at the piano bench, but we pushed on. Guess what? She has nothing to do with music now. This was my biggest parental mistakeāat least from the mistakes I can see right now. We figured it out in time for S19 and changed teachers to someone not as demanding or prestigious but much nicer. He is not as good as D16 was but he practices without prompting and loves to play.
@RightCoaster Stressed is a nice way of saying it! It was a very tough year. D17 is working hard but does not love the school sheās at, and I am not sure if she will try to transfer. The young man from her high school who got into D17ās dream school is currently suffering from throat ulcers due to stress induced GERD. I told D17 to stay put where she was and thank God for a balanced life and enough sleep. LOL. I donāt think I can physically go through what I went through with her.
In a weird turn of events S19 was asked to join two teams today, the Football team and the Math team. He chose the Math team - he plays a club sport all fall and cannot play Football. It was a great confidence boost!
I should have added above that I also agree with @carolinamom2boys. Nice to see you pop back into this thread, Carolina! 
@gusmahler Those are exactly the scores my son is hoping to get (maybe itās for merit at the same school). And weāre in a similar boat - he got a 1480 on the October SAT. Heās taking the ACT Saturday and got a 33 on his first (and only) practice test, so the fingers are crossed.
On the other hand, this particular school is the only one he has seen. I think he liked it enough that he would apply if he meets the bar for merit, but there will probably be other schools that he ends up liking more anyway. He doesnāt even remotely have a ādream schoolā and probably never will, which I think takes a lot of pressure off.
I think I was more anxious about this whole process a couple of years ago. When d19 was entering high school and had to do course selection, it seemed so overwhelming to her and to me. Weāve muddled through though and wouldnāt change much, if anything.
It helps that she already has the SAT score she needs for the college she is most likely going to end up with. She had a goal she hasnāt hit yet, but thatās solely for her. Itās not an impossible goalā¦ 70 points from her October SAT. The tough part is that itās almost entirely in reading, which is her hardest area and seems to me the hardest to really study for. If she didnāt hit it at the December test, she has a good shot with August, I think. That type of reading is really what many of her classes (AP Lang, APUSH and AP Chem in particular) are full of. Iām not pushing her to study at all any more. She has all the basic skills, just needs to polish them with her challenging classes. I noticed that before the December SAT, trying to directly study for it was stressing her out more. I actually told her I thought she should not try to do more (this was about a week before the exam) because it was making her panicked and was going to do more harm than good.
Anyway, good luck to anyone expecting to see some SAT scores today!
so far no SAT scores. wonder if they get released throughout the day.
The October ones didnāt appear for us until late afternoon on the release date.
For the Nov. test, we didnāt get scores until mid afternoon. Just got Dās scores this am for the Dec. test. She brought her score up 90 points and we are thrilled! She wants to keep trying to get more Merit money. We are just thankful that this set of scores makes most of the schools on her list more affordable for us!
Mid term grades of term 2 just came out and son has been able to maintain Aās in every class. Iām impressed, he is taking a few hard classes and has been pretty busy, so I was wondering if he could keep up. Heās just grinding thru it, but heās also really liking his physics and math classes. 1 week of classes left until holiday break. That will be good for him, to have a bit of downtime.
@RightCoaster Thatās awesome! S19 is good position for all As but needs a decent score on his BC Calc Final. I canāt believe heās almost half done with junior year. I think heās going to sleep for two weeks after finals.
Holding midterms before the break makes so much sense. D19ās school is on a quarter system and her midterms take place during the second week of January. Meanwhile, sonās school is on a trimester system and is adamant that the kids have no work over the break to allow them to relax, catch up on other interests, etc. Can you guess which school I love more?
@mom23travelers thanks! I read your post twice. D19 is working hard in all areas of college admissions, and I worry about her missing out on the fun of high school. D16 was the same. She went on to her dream school but at a price. We are still working on how to support her in a highly competitive atmosphere where she is no longer the ābestā at everything. I will keep Mt. Fuji story close.
So glad S19 does not have midterms! (Actually, he probably wouldnāt care because he doesnāt study for tests anyway). All classes are year-long with a final and a single letter grade on the transcript.
His 2nd quarter ends at the end of January and he has a 3 mid- to high Bs at the moment. Heāll probably pull at least one of them up to an A-, but he has never gotten straight As on a report card and is unlikely to start now. Still, heās holding up better than I thought he would this year with a tougher (but not too tough) schedule and an extra EC commitment.
Heās going to miss the first 5 days of the third quarter for an orchestra trip which seems like it might throw a wrench in things.