Parents of the HS Class of 2019 (Part 1)

Wow, the jugdement here is over the top ridiculous!

@homerdog I’m not saying ā€œyourā€ kids per se, but there are kids in ā€œyourā€ area. Guaranteed. Sorry if you misunderstood.

Moving on from gaming (S19’s ā€œissueā€) and east coast boarding schools (yikes, D20’s hopeful non-issue), I have a question about sending scores. S19 took the ACT twice and we did not send the four free scores either time. Being the consistent kiddo that he is, he scored a 34 both times. Once a little under and once a little over yielding the same result:). For the June sitting, he had a boost in a couple sub-sections but even for schools that superscore the ACT, he gets no benefit. So the question is…would it be worth sending both 2/18 and 6/18 scores to demonstrate consistency or am I just wasting money??

@MAandMEmom I’d like to know the answer to that as well! S19’s SAT scores for two sittings are almost identical. I didn’t send both, though, because I think schools just take the highest of each section and then move on to other things.

You need to check with each school you are applying to as they all have different criteria. Many schools require you to submit all scores.

Not sure if the ACT has something similar but the SAT puts out this guide.

https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/professionals/sat-score-use-practices-participating-institutions.pdf

@MAandMEmom I would just send the ā€œhigherā€ 34 in your case. My S19 took one ACT and one SAT and received nearly equivalent scores. He is reporting both scores on his applications, but I am only sending ACT score reports.

@MAandMEmom Unless the school requires all scores to be sent, I personally do not see any benefit to sending both, since the scores are nearly the same. I would feel differently if the school superscored and the score combo gave him a boost.

Regarding gaming, I played DD (Dungeons & Dragons) growing up. Those games took days, not hours! I also played Atari, Intellivision, and various PC games. I don’t see how today’s kids gaming is any different tbh. Now is my son allowed to bring his gaming systems to college next year? Nope, not for freshman year. I don’t mind if he plays every now and again in the dorms, just don’t want it used as a crutch not to get to know new people who may not be gamers.

Also since binge watching Last Chance U on Netflix, it irks me to see students who struggle so much academically spending so much time on gaming in college. The distraction & procrastination is real for some young people.

Thank you all! I will probably just send the second score. He’s not applying to uber competitive schools or schools like Georgetown that require all scores.

@4MyKidz that complaint regarding kids struggling academically spending too much time on gaming can be used for any activity including sports, fraternities , sororities , church activites, running , anything .

@carolinamom2boys True, but I was referring to the TV series on Netflix when I made that statement. If you haven’t seen it, there’s a whole lot of gaming going on and a whole lot of ineligible players. It seems to be a common denominator amongst the athletes on the show…among other things.

Video games can be addicting. Those other things are not.

My nephew tells us that all he can think about is Fortnight. He rushes through homework so he can get back to it. Believe me, S19 is not rushing through homework to go out and run more.

ā€œBelieve me, S19 is not rushing through homework to go out and run more.ā€

This made me LOL! Isn’t that the truth. The only time my son rushes through anything is to get to football practice because if he’s late, the coach will make him pay. Other than that he is a snail.

But on a serious note, I think we can all agree that one can become addicted to a lot of different things. And just because we may have different views regarding this topic, no one is trying to purposely offend or judge anyone else. Who knew gaming would be such a hot button topic!

@MAandMEmom I was wondering the same thing. D took the ACT twice and got a 32 both times. The second time she raised her (very low) math score by three points but went down in science (but still had a 30 there so a good score) which made it even out. I’m wondering if I should send both to show that she can improve her math a little bit or just send the one where her three subscores were very high and her math was low. I will send both if she applies to BC because they superstore the ACT (yay - finally someone who does!) and then she adds up to a 33.

D does not play any video games so I don’t have to worry about that. She has had very bad luck with her Mac lately so I am hoping it can just get her through the year and we will get her a new one for college.

My S19 rushes through homework because he doesn’t like homework.

I haven’t really thought about computer needs for next year - he has a gaming computer that he built in 9th grade but he doesn’t use it very much at this point - he usually only plays when he first gets a new game. It would probably be fine for his purposes in college but the cabinet and monitor are huge and I suspect that any dorm room desk would be dwarfed by it. For most of the summer, he has had a pile of clean laundry on his computer chair so he considers the computer to be out of commission, lol. Current pastime is watching seemingly every double bass video on YouTube (on his phone) but I consider this at least semi-educational for him.

S19 is saying goodbye to a lot of friends going off to college this week and still hasn’t done most of his summer homework. (School starts a week from tomorrow). He’s supposed to go to the beach with some friends on Saturday (after the friends retake the SAT), so I’m getting a bit twitchy about all the stuff he still needs to do.

My son just asked for a tattoo for his 18th birthday. He met a college student with a medical Type 1 diabetes tat on his forearm so that he doesn’t have to wear any med alert jewelry. Now he wants one.

I’d rather be thinking about a laptop for next year.

We’ve been to a few schools that suggest that kids buy their computer through the school. It’s easier to get tech support that way. Not sure if that’s true or if it’s a scam to get them to buy their laptops there. Not worrying about that until next summer!

@4MyKidz I’m pretty sure my Twin B is going to secretly get a tatt where I can’t see it this fall. She’s a senior in HS and wants one (turns 18 in Sept.). I have asked her to wait until she graduates with her B.S. hoping she’ll change her mind. At least your son has a valid reason!

@homerdog Twin A is the one who spent the summer drawing deer. I can relate to rushing through homework to play video games and The Forest.

I think the laptop through the school is the way to go - maybe priced higher, but very convenient if you need tech support. We’re hoping their laptops last 12 more months so they can have new next year.

Check what the school offers for laptops. S17 just needed a new one and the configurations were limited so we opted to buy elsewhere to get the configuration desired. It is still a system the school can service, so sometimes just making sure you pick a brand they can service is enough.

S19 will want his desktop in college. Not really sure how we would pull that off even if buying a monitor there if he ends up at his top choice, on the other side of the country. UGH. He should also have a laptop as well.

Adding a magnet set to the swag pile today.

@TwinMom2023 My D19 wants to dye her hair that rainbow-look you see sometimes online. She’s a brunette, so this means stripping her hair first and then whatever the heck they do to get a gradient of color. I told her, just wait until after any college interviews you get for the love of God! Maybe she’ll forget she wants to dye her hair in the meantime.