@dfbdfb Keep in mind that while WPI is test-optional, the expectation is that those who elect not to send in scores will submit supplemental materials that document a major and significant project or accomplishment.
Thank you, @evergreen5 for suggesting SCU! I will definitely look at it. It is a perfect location for CSE for sure! D would like to go back to the west coast and catch up with her old friends.
@wisteria100 , D will be thrilled to hear about the train to Bostonā¦thank you for sharing!
My Dās reaction to Troy was āgross cityā too, @RightCoaster, lol. Loved RPI, but was not impressed by the city. Thank you for bringing out the finer points about all the 3 colleges and suggesting UVM! We will definitely visit it. D loved Northeastern. Well, Boston played a major role in it.
After reading all about WPI, I am guessing we went through the wrong part of Worcester. We will visit again. Hopefully, we will have it as a strong option.
D19 has taken 3 subject tests last year- math, physics and chem (during her chemical engineering phase). She self studied all of them using the SATII books- not the AP books. I believe UCs consider them. I havenāt come across many universities which require/consider them. Then again, we are not really targeting the top 20 universities currently.
@zozoty No problem! By the way, you are able to choose which tests you want to take on the day you take the exam. Basically, they give you a fat booklet that includes all of the SAT IIās possible, and you can choose whichever tests you want to take (and the order). So if your child signed up for physics and chemistry but suddenly on test day they feel motivated to take Chinese and Hebrew instead, thatās perfectly fine and you can do it at no cost haha! Only thing is that you can only take as many tests as you ordered.
@dfbdfb What do you mean by the middle of the middle 50%? If you are referring to the 50th percentile, then consider what she is applying as. For example, if she got a high math score and sheās applying as a physics major, then that looks good. However, if the math score is low, then it may look bad.
With a score in the 50th percentile, itās kind of like saying that she did better than half of the students there (assuming a symmetric distribution). So, while it may not add much to the application, it shouldnāt hurt it either. And if in the end you have to submit it anyway, I donāt see why it would be harmful, especially if the math or reading score aligns well with her major. Good luck!
^actually my D was already registered for one subject test and when we went to add another test for the same date, College Board website said:
And we know for sure that you can choose whichever SAT 2 tests you want to send? Even if you take two in one day then you can send one of those and arenāt forced to send both, right?
@evergreen5 Youāre correct. I guess my example was poor, I forgot that those tests included listening (in which case you arenāt allowed to switch I believe). But it applies for any of the other tests. The only other time you will have to pay for a fee is if, for example, you changed from SAT II to a regular SAT, or if you order additional tests on test day, etc.
What I meant to say was that you can switch the test topic on test day without paying extra.
@homerdog Yes you are able to choose which scores/tests you want to send. You will be given the option when you sign in to College Board to send score reports. But keep in mind that some colleges require you to send ALL reports even if you did poorly (i.e. Stanford).
Most of the āsend all testsā schools are HYPSM level, so if youāre aiming elsewhere you should be fine.
@collegeandi you probably didnāt drive by the āwrong sectionā of Worcester. I donāt know if there is a right section, lol. Itās not the most pretty city in New England. So while it might not be the most attractive, I wouldnāt label it as dangerous. Youāve got some sketchy people around, but itās not like there is gang violence and muggings happening.
Iād say most of the crime is from drugs. Seems like a lot of opiod users, and just down on your luck kind of folks.
Regarding both WPI/RPI, they look much nice when you visit when the weather is nicer in the summer/fall. The winter doesnāt do them any favors in the looks department.
The last few summers I have visited RPI and the campus looks so much nicer when itās green and all of the trees have leaves. WPI looks really nice in the Fall with the changing colors of the leaves.
The worst months to tour New England schools is March/April and Niovember/early Dec. There are no leaves, itās muddy, everything looks bland and bleak.
Feel free to ask any questions, Iām familiar with a lot of the schools your D is interested in.
So son qualified for the New Balance National Outdoor track and field championships which is great. The not so great is the event happens the weekend right before final exams start. Agghhhhh!
Maybe he can work something out to take some tests on another day or something. I donāt think it would be wise to to travel and compete for a few days while trying to to cram for a final exam.
Feeling frustrated. My D just gor her SAT scores from her school day test. She went down from the one she took in November. Her scores were already on the low side. Sheās feeling dumb and sad. Which is heartbreaking as a parent. Sheās frustrated (as am I), because sheās been in a boot camp for the last two months to prepare for this test (sheās a bad test taker in general).
Iām not frustrated, fully, because of the low grade. I think Iām more frustrated because I know sheās a wonderful student. Iām not being āthat parentā who thinks their kid is amazing. She is a stellar student and everyone sees that. Her teachers have nothing but praise for her; some have literally asked to clone or adopt herā¦ LOL. But these SAT test scores do not reflect her as a student and may limit her for colleges that she would like to apply to.
Just feeling sad for her. I know she will get into some great schools, but I know there are a few she likes that she may not get into because of this stinking test! 
Iām sorry. Thatās so frustrating. My d19 tends to freeze up and overthink on big tests so her scores donāt quite reflect her abilities either.
S19 and I have finished the huge college tour of 2018. 11 days and 13 colleges, plus racing and training in the first week so not only touring. We are now back in Boston and relaxing at our friends house before S takes the ACT tomorrow. I am beat! But it has been a good experience and S19 now has a good idea of what he wants in a college and one school he is really excited about.
Maybe half the schools were on the list because they fit a type and were convenient to visit, not because they were likely to be on Sās final list. We visited Pomona, Harvey Mudd, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, Univ of San Diego, Tufts, Harvard, MIT, Dartmouth, Univ of Vermont, Middlebury, Rensselaer Polytechnic, and Williams. Earlier in spring, we visited Stanford, Santa Clara Univ and UC Davis and S visited Univ of WA and Univ of Puget Sound on his own. So a lot of schools, but it was really this last 13 school whirlwind tour that helped S solidify what he wants.
So his favoriteā¦ Dartmouth. He loved it. To him, it had everything he wanted: āeliteā academics, super outdoorsy, athletic in an inclusive way (meaning a couple sports he could walk onto), in the woods but still close enough to city, close to water, strong STEM but not overly techy and student body felt like āhimā (from what he saw of tour guide, eating in dining hall, studying in library, and visiting the outdoor club).
To help him sort out what was important to him, during the driving we played a game of āyou only get to choose from A and B. Which one would you pick and why?ā Hereās a few examples:
Univ of WA vs Univ of VT: Univ of VT because it is closer to outdoors, farther from home, smaller, outdoor club is biggest club on campus.
UC San Diego vs UC Irvine: UC San Diego. I like the 6-college system a lot. Location better for athletics for me. But really hard to switch majors at UCSD and thatās a big minus.
MIT vs Harvard: Definitely Harvard. Prefer strong STEM but a school that has a strong non-STEM focus too. Also really like the āhouseā system at Harvard and the house spirit and traditions.
Williams vs Middlebury: Williams. Feels more outdoorsy and stronger STEM. I like the entry system at Williams. I like the tutorial system at Williams; Iād like to try that. I like the location of Williams better. However, I like the study abroad system at Mid better because it is Mid-run and Iād like study abroad to be a ābondingā experience with my classmates.
Univ of VT vs MIT: That was hard. It took him 10min of internal debate to decide. Finally, he said, I wouldnāt turn down MIT. Iām attracted to āeliteā and āworld-classā aura and all that MIT has to offer, but really MIT is not the kind of school I want to go to. I wonāt apply there.
RPI vs Univ of VT: Univ of VT definitely. Iāve found out I donāt want a STEM focused school. I like STEM but I donāt want all my friends to be STEM majors. All the cool design projects and wow-machine shops is cool and all, but I was more excited by, say, Williamsā tutorial system.
Harvey Mudd vs Pomona: Not sure. Though I donāt want a STEM focused school, Harvey Mudd felt different. I really like their core curriculum that everyone goes through together.
Harvey Mudd vs UC San Diego: Not sure, but I think UCSD. Pro for UC San Diego: bigger, athletics ops for me, diverse, San Diego, campus. Pro for Harvey Mudd: I donāt have to declare coming in (but only have STEM to choose from), I really like the common core idea. Cons UC San Diego: hard to change major. Cons for Harvey Mudd: felt really small even if part of 5-college system, all my friends would be STEM majors, few students study abroad (so student body not really into that it seems or itās too hard to do).
Williams vs UC San Diego: Hmm, not sure. Probably UCSD. I like both for different reasons. The difficulty of switching majors at UCSD is a big negative for me. I like snow and mountain sports, but I like ocean sports too.
Williams vs UC Irvine: Williams. Outdoor āscoreā higher. UC Irvine doesnāt have the college system that UCSD does.
Univ of VT vs UC San Diego: UC San Diego. They are stronger in STEM and that out-weighs the con of difficulty of switching majors. Outdoor āscoreā is similar for me. I prefer cold and snow but I like San Diego weather too.
Williams vs Univ of WA: Williams. UW is too big and too close to home. I want to go to college where I have not lived and with people from other parts of the country.
Harvard vs Stanford: Stanford, probably. Not really sure why. Might be the architecture and campus. I canāt pinpoint why I have a preference for Stanford. I like the cold climate better, but I donāt like being in a city. Stanford felt more outdoorsy but I really have no reason to think that as the tour guide didnāt talk about that. Parent comment: interestingly, the student body culture felt similar to him, which I think is something that distinguishes these schools. I did not offer any thoughts during these āA vs B gamesā; I just let him discuss pros and cons.
@toomanykiddos Iām sorry too. I definitely went through this with my DS (now a happy college sophomore). It was frustrating for all of us, and did make us reconsider some schools, but I will say that it did work out just fine in the end. Hoping you and your daughter get a similarly good ending.
I too found the ACT thread horrifying. The thing that strikes me is the study books that are sold and the companies out there selling there services to raise a kids score but no one ever says watch how much you raise it! Kind of happy my son has taken it once, STILL waiting for the score since it was an in school test. Weāve been told 3-8 weeks for getting the scores mailed.
Seems like a catch-22 for everyone who takes it as a baseline or prep then enlists some type of study aid and then their score goes up ātoo muchā! And shame on the proctors who arenāt completing the requirements properly. Being a teacher Iāve proctored countless state and national tests and we always go through training and sign agreement forms. We are told our license is on the line if we step a toe out of line. Yet this happens!
And now a quick vent about SAT subject testing: UghāI thought we were avoiding this! None of DDs schools require them. But she is clearly listening to chatter around school about how good SAT2s can bolster applications. Just this morning she said āI need to take these mom! They could be a deciding factorā.
Not exactly buying this, but Iām willing to sign her up for the June sitting. We will not send the scores anywhere until we have them in hand. Iām thinking she will do Math2 and US History since sheās finishing honors Pre-Calc and APUSH this year.
So, other than money and time, is there any major downside to taking these?
@toomanykiddos that is a bummer, sorry. Can she try an ACT? She might do better on that.
Also, she has several more chances to take the SAT. Sometimes kids do better on tests in their senior year, because they are more mature, used to taking the tests, and have learned a little more through junior year.
Test scores are stressful for everyone, unless the kid has a near perfect score. The kids with lower scores feel ādumbā, the kids with middle scores are worried because they didnāt get what they thought they could get, the good score kids think they could always go up a few points with more studying and they feel bad compared to the high score kids and think they wonāt get into any good schools.
@liska21, that AxB method is a pretty excellent ideaāI like it. After the current round of information-gathering my daughter is doing, I think Iām going to use that as a way to trim her list down with her.
The continuing question of HL Math vs SL Mathā¦ we talked with his current teacher and this was her responseā¦
Yes HL2 is difficult and S needs to decide what his other commitments are for senior year because this class would become a priority in and outside of school. She said felt certain he could handle the class and he would also do fine in SL Math. She said SL just moves at a slower pace. She said they didnāt know yet who was teaching which yet but would probably know mid May.
So my sonās commitments for senior year are
HL Bio
HL English
SL French
SL Art
HL or SL History (heās not sure yet)
HL Math or switch to SL
Honors Zoology
TOK (1st semester) IBAIR (2nd semester)
Plus heās head coach of the junior competition team TaeKwonDo
Continued Training and competing AAU TaeKwonDo
DI club
IB Newspaper club
National Honor Society
Key Club
I think he should switch to SL since has a full plate. Our school allows the switch to happen between HL to SL but only at the beginning of the year. I think my son is tornā¦ to him he says itās like giving up and saying he canāt handle it. Ughā¦