When I was 16 it meant working 2 jobs!
O. officially done with summer school session (no more summer school necessary, yay!) and off to Europe for a couple of weeks. SAT prep starts in earnest upon return, as well as needing to schedule driverâs test. Have a great summer for those just beginning summer break - please tell us all about Nova Scotia!
@stencils, a late response to your question about visits and experiences with older children. For my high-stats humanities-oriented S18 who preferred an urban location, we were looking for merit aid. We are full pay. We visited the following:
Visited and Applied:
George Washington - (accepted with $25K scholarship, loved the location, strongly considered)
University of Pittsburgh (accepted with full tuition scholarship, Honors College, strongly considered)
University of Maryland (accepted with $12K scholarship, bringing COA to around $35K, Honors College)
Northeastern - accepted ($10 or 12K merit - I canât remember)
NYU - accepted
WashU - accepted
UC Berkeley - not accepted
Columbia- not accepted
UCLA - accepted, attending
He was also accepted at some other schools, mostly public California schools.
Visited and Did Not Apply:
Lewis and Clark
Reed
University of Oregon
Swarthmore
Ursinus
University of Pennsylvania
Fordham
University of Santa Clara
There may be more Iâm forgetting now . . . . the process did go on for a long time and his thinking evolved significantly, mainly in moving away from smaller schools and toward larger ones.
My S19 is finally done with all of his standardized testing! I have the following prep books, free to a good home, if anyone is interested. PM me and let me know which youâd like:
The Real ACT Prep Guide 3rd Edition
AP U.S. History Crash Course
AP U.S. History Princeton Review 2017
SAT Subject Test U.S. History Barrons 3rd Edition
AP Chemistry Barrons 8th Edition
SAT Subject Test Chemistry Barrons 12th Edition
SAT Subject Test Chemistry Princeton Review 2013-2014
SAT Subject Test Literature Barrons 6th Edition
SAT Subject Test Biology E/M Barrons 5th Edition
SAT Subject Test Physics Barrons 2nd Edition
AP Physics 1 5 Steps to a 5 2018
SAT Subject Test Math Level 2 Barrons 12th Edition
SAT Subject Tests Math Level 1& 2 College Board
Hey all! Just finished our tour of Elon University today, and all I can say is WOW times 3! S19 LOVED it. @minniefan - thanks for suggesting!!! Here are my key takeaways if anyone is interested:
I couldnt believe how beautiful it was. So many fountains! So many new buildingsâŠlots of construction, but campus was quiet when we toured.
Admissions session: loved that they used their students for everything - played music in the background from 3 of their a capella groups, showed a very professional video made by their graduated students, then talked about statistics, which all seemed to be on a constant climb upward the last 10 years. For instance - their diversity has grown from 2% to 17%âŠstill low, but the keyâŠitâs growing. And I like that they did not try to âfluff upâ the statistics to seem better. They just presented them and showed how they were working towards goals or made it better. Also, the admissions counselor talked about what parents want to hearâŠinternships, growing research oppts, graduate in 4 years, etc. I liked that.
Tour: 10-15 tour guides came out and took 2-3 families each for a more personalized tour. Since I had 2 students, I had the guide all to myself (luckily, Iâm an extrovert and can chat away). Very diverse set of happy students - all said major and all seems to have 1-3 minors as well.
Area: So cute - tried to get lunch in the little strip mall area, but most of it was closed for the July 4th week - except Subway and coffee, which we purchased both. Stayed in Burlington which had everything and talked at length to guide about what students do while there - seemed like enough was going on, enough to do for my kids.
Dislikes: Only small gripes - Info session was a pinch long because of video and presentationâŠmaybe cut it by 5 minutes. Also, there was a tour guide who majored in neuroscience and minored in psychology, both my kids majors - (general), and lived in the state we were visiting from, but they put us with someone else who was a communications major who was a freshman (new to touring) and knew nothing about the pre-med track, science, or psychology. This made D20 (psychology) lose interest because guide talked about business, science center but nothing about psychâŠyet psychology is #5 ranked (somewhereâŠthey mentioned), so it is a represented major there and guide should know more. The other guide could have sold both of them. If they are going to personalize it that much, they should look at the majors students list when signing up for the tour. Will try to take D20 back though next year if possible and request a guide that knows about psych. D19 definitely applying!
HTH (hope that helps!)
D20 got a 5 on AP Euro and AP Comp Sci. Was expecting CS, not Euro (She got a low B).
Congrats @VickiSoCal
DS is at a camp that does not allow cellphone/internet (30â internet on Sundays) and I have no idea what his loggin is at CB, guess have to be patient and wait for a few days. Lol.
@makemesmart mine is asleep and probably has forgotten what day it is.
This our first time with AP exams, so does the exam score of 5 in your DDâs AP Euro change anything about her school grade of B? I guess not?
I saw people say a bad AP exam score with an A school grade could indicate of grade inflation, does the reversed situation like your DDâs mean her teacher didnât grade right? I guess I am asking what does ap exam really testing? @VickiSoCal
There are a few teachers at our school that will bump you to an A if you get a 5. Thankfully this is one! So her Euro grade will be changed when the teachers get back in August.
Our school is known for having a tough grading scale in AP classes. I think it hurt my older daughter in her University of California apps to be honest, as they rely heavily on GPA. I try not to worry about it and just be thankful they are getting a great free education.
@makemesmart - itâs so dependent on the teachers with grades and AP scores i think. D16 had a 5 on an AP an a B in the class; and in BC calc she had an A in the class yet a 2/3 on the test (but she killed the math standarized tests). Sometimes it makes no sense to me. just keep plugging along!
5 for AP Euro for D here as well. History is her favorite subject, so I was not worried at all, but apparently she was⊠I am worried though about 4 APs next year. From what I can tell, APUSH test next year wonât bring any additional credits at any of the colleges D is currently targeting, but it probably wonât look good to skip the test, right, since it sort of validates her class grade?
Congrats to all! S20 got a 4 on AP Euro which is a coup at his HS. Historically, the AP social studies teaching has been spotty. AP Euro was new to our school and this yearâs AP Euro teacher had never taught an AP history class.
Our HS will occasional bump a studentâs course grade up based on good scores but they promised never to bump them down. I was surprised that some schools will actually lower the grade. Seems somewhat harsh given the variables involved in doing well on the test.
@mountainmomof3, congrats to your son as well! Not sure D would have done as well if she was a STEM major - she too got the âworstâ AP Euro teacher of the three teaching the subject at her school. She said that at her school, while it is common knowledge her teacher is the worst (not in general, just the curriculum she chooses that doesnât follow AP closely), the students in that class actually do better on AP tests than their counterparts at other two teachersâ classes, because these kids self-study more to compensate. Go figure!
D20 got a 4 on APES and a 5 on Psychology. We did some college tours last month. Taking the SAT in August and ACT in September.
Yay - my S20 was very happy to find out he got a 4 on APWorld. His large, public CA school doesnât have a great track record of kids getting 4s/5s (teachers often tell the kids they only need a 3 for the score to âcountâ - meaning, at an in-state UC or CSU). It was his first AP test, so it was a nice boost for him.
I am aware of one teacher at my kidsâ school bumping up a class grade for a kid who got a 5. I would be shocked and disturbed if a teacher lowered a studentâs grade for a low AP score.
@typiCAmom, you asked about the impact of skipping an AP test on applications. I think there are some very selective schools that look for or expect all 4s and 5s, especially in classes in a field in which the applicant is applying to major. However, no school that my S18 applied to last year to required AP scores to be submitted. He did not submit any AP scores. He got 3s and a 4 (see above - he attended the same high school) but had very good grades and a very high SAT score. I have no idea what the colleges thought or whether that was a good strategy, because it could have looked like he didnât pass the tests or didnât take them. Nevertheless, he did very well in admissions and merit aid. However, I do believe that colleges look at applicants in the context of their home high school and it may have been more problematic for him to fail to report AP scores if he attended a high school with a different profile.
Congratulations to all on great AP results, and thank you for the Elon tour recap. We have been planning our tour through the South for next March and Elon is on Oâs list.
ahh . . . well done to your kids.
my S20 is bright, (AP score not released yet) but definitely social life is taking over his focus right now. OMG. just shaking my head at it all. He did have a âsaveâ at his lifeguarding job, so i guess heâs paying attention some of the time. How do i get him to focus on looking at PSAT studies? Do you guys have a hard time getting your kids to look at that?
I asked if she had started looking at the Khan academy PSAT stuff and got an eyeroll.
@bgbg4us, my D never was a social butterfly to begin with, but spring break college tours really changed her attitude towards college prep. I think before that she studied for tests and grades because it was expected of her and she knew my husband and I would be disappointed if she didnât put in the effort (we - hopefully - were always careful with everything, from swimming to grades, to demand effort instead of results. But any ECs outside of her comfort zone were met with quiet resistance. During the tour, she had an âAHAâ moment and realized in two years she will be on her own and which college she ends up will determine how much handholding she would get and opportunities to do what she wants. She loved UCLA, and while it is getting more competitive, I think she would have a decent chance even if she stayed the course and simply did the academics and ECs available at her school. However, she knows that she still has a shot to buy lottery tickets for some private schools/national scholarships if she puts e