I hear you about lurking on the 2018 threads. I am trying to pre-inoculate myself against disappointment, maybe?
I applied to Vassar, back in the early '80s. It’s one of the schools I’ve picked out for reach-but-not-super-reach for my DS. I remember them having a beautiful campus. We toured in the spring. There was a young man 15 feet up in a tree playing the flute, and people walked by like it was an everyday thing.
I have read that they have a very strong LGBT scene, which is a plus for my kid. I don’t know if that is the same as being big on social justice?
@payn4ward those are impressive scores you got! I don’t know how some of you have retained so much HS course knowledge.
I graduated and promptly forgot 90% of what I learned, especially math. I would probably have to go back to algebra 1 for a complete refresher course, lol.
I remember all of the accounting,finance, economics stuff just fine ,but science and math are totally forgotten.
Like I said i d probably get the lowest score possible and guess 10% right for a score of 420 math, ha.
You might be surprised what you get, @RightCoaster , they do have some easy questions and some of them are just pure logic. And there are finance-type questions too - if I deposit $100 at 5 percent interest how much money have I made in 3 years, that sort of thing.
I have to admit that I took the tests without telling my son because I was certain I would get a very embarrassing score. Now that I’ve set my own baseline I feel more comfortable in pushing him to improve. I know that he knows a lot of these things, he just has to stretch his logic a bit more and get more comfortable with the test format.
Ditto on the scores, dd asked me what I got back in the 80s and she was aghast! What, no prep books or classes or boot camps or parental pressure??? In my day (same HS as my kids mind you) mid-600s was considered super strong! Noone tried hard or took anything more than 2x. Ah the days when times were simpler yes? I can barely remember where I left my keys or put my credit card down, what we ate for dinner two nights ago…and here you are doing complex math and knowing grammar rules. Impressive!
@amandakayak I know! I made National merit semifinalist with I think a 1380 or 1390 PSAT (I had no clue what that even was so I didn’t reach finalist). Now kids hoping for National Merit would be devastated by that score.
The only kids I knew who took the SAT more than once were a couple who were trying to get their scores over 1000.
You all were probably just better students. In the mid 80’s when I graduated I don’t think that too many kids were prepping for the SAT. I was friends with a couple of twin Asian girls, and they were the smartest, best students I’d ever seen. Our school was an affluent white class suburb of a city, with very little diversity. They were 2 of the few Asian kids at our school, and were noted for their unbelievable work ethic in school. I remember when the SAT results came back and they scored something crazy high, like 800 Math and all the rest of us feeling like complete dunces. Kids really admired their effort. I’m sure some kids at our school wished to attain the same greatness, but it never occurred to me to prep and try again, I don’t even know if taking the test 2x was possible back then. I was just amazed. They were really nice fun girls too, and went on to Brown and Berkeley and have done well for themselves. It’s funny, we didn’t even think that was a big deal back then.
I don’t even remember my own score, but I think I got high 600’s English and maybe high 5 on Math and I thought I had done pretty well compared to my friend group. No one was getting 750/750 or whatever. We took them once, and that was it. I hated math class and it showed in my results I guess, lol. Back then kids in my friend group weren’t actively trying to get into the “Top 20” schools, they were just trying to get into schools they liked. I applied to schools all over that I thought I would enjoy myself at, places like FSU, ASU, UCLA, Miami, and my Dad made me apply to Northeastern so I could learn how to work, ha. I hated it there, and was never enrolling! Ironic my son is there now.
Now I live in a town similar to the town I grew up in and a lot of the kids try. for the best SAT/ACT score, pack their schedules with AP classes, and shoot for the “Top 20” or bust. I think we had it easier back then and I wish the kids could just relax more in school these days without feeling the pressure for top grades and top test scores, but that’s not how it works anymore.
Son19 selected his courses for next year and decided the only APs he was taking were things that were of interest to him, so he ended up with AP Calc, AP Physics and AP Computer science. He decided to take take an Honors writing workshop class and an Honors postmodernism class for English because he likes the teacher. He decided to not take AP Gov just to keep up in the AP race, and he’s not taking Spanish either. He did 1 year of Spanish in grades 7/8 and grades 9/10/11 so he ends up having completed 4 years of Spanish. He’s taking Honors Engineering Graphics 3, he likes to use CAD software in his free time. He’s also taking an Honors level MakerSpace class, and has to take gym. He has room for one more elective class so he might do a theatre class or some sort of art/wood working class.
They “re-centered” SAT scores in 1995, which resulted in everyone’s scores going up about 100 points, so I figure we all should inflate whatever we remember getting
@homerdog ITA, the boards are stressing me out lately. I’ve been looking for a safety that offers EA, but would like LAC in the NE or mid-Atlantic . . . slightly stumped. Dickinson has EA, but a 40% acceptance rate–that doesn’t seem very safe. Maybe UVM which is not a small LAC, but D likes Vermont.?
We’re headed to Vassar for the weekend in April. D has a friend there, and yes it’s artsy, but there’s variety. Less than 2 hours from NYC on the train. I’ll report back.
@homerdog - asked my D about your question re: Vassar. She said most kids are artsy in some way and I know your son is as well. She also said not all students are into social justice issues (although she is), and you could definitely find other students who aren’t passionate about a social cause. However, he would likely take a course at some point that focuses on those issues.
@dfbdfb it isn’t college confidential as much as it is the kids and the prep classes - my dd hasn’t spent any time on cc and her reaction to my scores from the 80s was (and I quote) “omg I thought you were smart!”
@3SailAway UVM is a great EA safety type of school for decent students. They are pretty good with merit, but it is an expensive school, so you might not get a super low COA. But they try to knock down the sticker price some for decent students. Your kid might hear back with an acceptance late Nov/Dec so they can have at least one offer in hand before the holidays.
Burlington is a cool town, literally and figuratively. I think its a really nice safe place for kids to go to school, and there are all different types of kids on campus.
Regarding the 100 point uptick on the SAT, I’ll take it!! I’d like it devoted to my math section, where I might creep into the 400 range if I add the extra 100 , lol.
Getting off AP race sounds good. To me, 3 is still a lot.
S17 stayed in the AP race until the end and took AP Lit, AP Psych, AP Physics C, Multivariables, Spanish 4, Chamber orchestra senior year. I cannot remember his 7th class, lol.
Fortunately, at UT, S17 has been able to claim lots of AP credit - both AP Lang and Lit, AP USH, AP Psych, AP Gov (he needs to take a TX test) and used BC Calc score (4) for an upper placement in Calculus D. His AP Chem score (3) was too low for upper placement in CNS, College of Natural Science.
S19 is in a different school.
This year S19 is having a hard time with BC Calc but is approved next year to take Multivariables, Graph theory with python programming, and AP Stat. He is an outlier in our family of mathy people. He wants to go into engineering, chemical engineering for now. So we will not be a family of 4 physics majors after all.
He prefers the python class to AP Comp Sci (java.) It is a new class by a new teacher, so we don’t know what to expect. python would be very useful to learn in science much more so than java. He cannot fill his schedule with 3 math classes, however. He will stop taking FL after Chinese 3 this year and still has to take one more English. He should probably take a history/SS class, maybe Econ or Psychology rather than AP Stat. We are hoping that he gets approved for AP Physics C. So he will have only one or two AP classes next year.
@3SailAway I forget what your D was into but we visited a few LACs, Union college (NY), Wheaton college (MA), etc and considered Lafayette, Bucknell, etc. The campuses were very pretty (and good science.) There are also Clark University, College of the Holy Cross, and Muhlenberg, etc that we did not consider. My boys wanted nothing to do with LACs, unfortunately.
If I had a daughter I would have looked at Mount Holyoke, Bryn Mawr, Barnard, Smith, etc, but then many girls these days do not want women’s colleges. I have a friend who graduated from Bryn Mawr (and then U of MI for MS, and U of WA for engineering PhD) and attributes all her professional success to Bryn Mawr.
I’m sure I’ve posted S19’s schedule at some point here but he also opted out of two APs we assumed he would take. AP Art Studio and AP Lit. Decided he didn’t need AP Art since he can still take an Art Portfolio class and continue studying art at school next year. AP Art is a HUGE undertaking and he just doesn’t think he can come up with the 20 or so pieces he would need. He opted into an honors writing seminar instead of AP Lit like @RightCoaster 's S.
No AP Calc since he took BC this year. Honors Multivariable for senior year.
He is taking AP Macro, AP Gov, AP French (in hopes of a 4 or 5 and being able to pass out of college French), AP Physics 1. And a philosophy class. He’s most excited about that one.
You’re hitting one of my pet peeves, I’m sure I’ve whined about it before so skip ahead if you don’t want to read me complaining.
DS is taking as many APs as he can possibly take and still be part of the theatre magnet and have a language class. I asked the GC if she would fill out the schedule rigor as ‘most rigorous’ since this is the most rigorous he can get. She said she wouldn’t since there are some kids who take 6 APs senior year.
My son just said he doesn’t know how he’d manage 4+ AP classes, varsity soccer, clubs etc, keeping the grades up and submitting apps and interviewing etc. He said he is who is, and if the school doesn’t want him because he didn’t take AP Gov or AP Lit but took some engineering focused stuff instead, then so be it. He’ll live with consequences.
I am on board with that.
He’s either going to get into some sort of reach level school or not only by the combination of sports and academics. He’s not getting in on academics alone. I don’t think because he chose not to take AP Lit a coach is going to pass on him if he wants him. My son is also not convinced he wants to go to any sort of reach type school. He wants to see some of them, and learn what the pros/cons are before considering any further.
I kind of went through this with son17 too He was thinking of taking a bunch of AP classes in senior year, and I just didn’t think it was worth it considering he wasn’t trying for the “Top 20” schools. He ended up taking 2. Turns out I think I was right and son17 had a more manageable senior year schedule and enjoyed himself, aside from Calc lol. He ended up in a fine school, and is doing well.
AP classes are forced to move at a certain clip so that teachers can get all of the AP info covered. An honors class is so much more flexible and the teacher can run the class as he/she sees fit. If discussion goes off on a tangent and it’s a worthy discussion, there’s time for it. Not so much in our AP classes. They always seem rushed.
My son is signed up for 5 APs next year, but he’s only had two to date. I think three would be sufficient, but we’ll see what happens.
I don’t think the ones he picked (AB Calc, US Gov, Music Theory, Physics 2, CS Principles) will be that bad in terms of homework. Gov is known to be pretty easy and he is doing well in Physics 1 with minimal effort. Beyond those he’ll have regular English 12, orchestra and jazz ensemble. It wouldn’t make sense to take non-AP Calc and he doesn’t like the other science electives.
He’s talking about taking STEM Engineering instead of CS (he has the class this year - it is basically honors shop - the teacher even said they changed the name and made it honors so kids would take it!)
