Hi everyone! I also have a D17 who will be heading back for her sophomore year at college shortly and a S20 who we can’t believe will be starting his junior year. Same as some earlier posters where our D17 was super ambitious about getting into a top school and although her grades and test scores were nowhere near the perfect stats I routinely see on CC, were good enough to get her into Pomona College. S20 is a different story - he is a hard worker but is more of a solid A-/B+/B student who does not do standardized testing well at all, so I am a bit nervous about what his ACT/SAT scores will look like. I am not too worried about him doing well in life because he is a hard worker and a kind person who is really sensitive to the emotions and needs of others, and genuinely liked by everyone he meets. As long as we can survive the next 2 years and get him into college at least! D17 was so organized and had a ton of schools she wanted to visit. S20, not so much. I know the other classes on CC had a separate thread for parents of students with lower gpas - does anyone know if one was started for the class of 2020?
Hi everyone! I also have a D17 who will be heading back for her sophomore year at college shortly and a S20 who we can’t believe will be starting his junior year. Same as some earlier posters where our D17 was super ambitious about getting into a top school and although her grades and test scores were nowhere near the perfect stats I routinely see on CC, were good enough to get her into Pomona College. S20 is a different story - he is a hard worker but is more of a solid A-/B+/B student who does not do standardized testing well at all, so I am a bit nervous about what his ACT/SAT scores will look like. I am not too worried about him doing well in life because he is a hard worker and a kind person who is really sensitive to the emotions and needs of others, and genuinely liked by everyone he meets. As long as we can survive the next 2 years and get him into college at least! D17 was so organized and had a ton of schools she wanted to visit. S20, not so much. I know the other classes on CC had a separate thread for parents of students with lower gpas - does anyone know if one was started for the class of 2020?
@Lemonlee I was just catching up reading through the last few weeks of posts and thinking the same thing. Maybe you or I should start a second Class of 2020 thread for GPAs in the lower range.
My D18 was a high gpa/AP/DE kid so I completely understand what it is in store for many of the families here based on the schedules I have seen above. D20 is a different kid from her sister…in so many ways she is in a better position because she does not have all the pressure of being in the super competitive courses her sister was in. Yet this is going to be a very different college search. She wants to look in the south which will help with cost but not sure what she wants to major in where her sister chose schools based on if they had the program she was looking for.
I have to say as I am reading the stressful schedules these kids take on these days I am relieved not to be on that crazy track with D20. Going through it once was more than enough. Last spring when I was stressing out because D20 was never going to be in a position to take one AP she and I had a tear filled night where she told me she was not worried because she knew she would end up where she should be. She was however so sad because I did not see how hard it was for her and that she was different from her academically driven and completely stressed out sister. She did not want to be that person. It was that night through the wisdom of a 15 yo that I knew this would work out the way it should.
I watched a couple of D18s friends end up in therapy on the verge of breakdowns and I saw how the stress invaded high school years of her entire friend group…please fellow parents be assured and assure your kids they will end up where they should be. It may not ( and most likely will not) be there first choice but it will be right for them. Out of a friend group of about 12 only two are going to their first choice. These are kids with all A+ in all AP/DE courses. They all had impressive ECs and did everything “right”. These days this is the norm, it is almost impossible to stand head and shoulders above the competition because everyone is what would have been that amazing stand out kid in our day. It is most important they be true to themselves. Lunch is important, one study is important, having time to go to a school football game or a movie with friends is important.
We are taking D18 to college in three days and her focus is not on her classes…she is registered for what she needs and the AP/DE race is over…her focus is making friends, getting involved in meaningful activities as she is only in class about 18 hours a week. She is confident about her classes and her study habits, she is however nervous about all the other aspects of life…I know she will be fine because she is where she should be and I am very excited she will finally get to fully enjoy life and even exhale. That all said I have a lump in my throat and have been hiding my tears…it is surreal that she is leaving and that part of our life is over.
Life is a journey, not a destination.
Do want to clarify when I stated few of D18s friends are going to their first choice they still had great choices. For some that “first choice” was never completely clear and for some it was but they did not get in however in the end. Overall the reach schools are reach schools no one got in to Harvard, MIT, Dartmouth, Northwestern and so forth but they are going to Villanova, Cornell, BU, Holy Cross, Connecticut College, American, College of Charleston to name few and in our case Elon. Elon was the school my daughter loved but she really felt the (internal) pressure to have a more highly selective school in her top spot. In the end she had seven great schools to choose from. She is going to a school she loved and because she of the student she was in high school she has been invited to a special program there will truly enrich her college years.
In the end what I am saying are reach schools are great to have on the list but special attention to the targets are key. Also targets ( and definitely likely) will yield merit and distinctive programs to the high achieving kids. Would be so great if the admission system would change and I think it will because it can not sustain at this level but in the meantime we need to keep our kids ( and ourselves) in a healthy mind set. Wish I had understood this two years ago.
@typiCAmom DS has a similar class line up. AP calc bc, AP physics, APush, Spanish 5/6, AP english comp , then his adv techy class for breathing room. Our school only has 6 classes as well.
D17’s close friends are, what I would call, “relaxed kids”. The friend group is definitely not formed from academic interests and/or likeness. All but D17 and one other girl ( who went to our state flagship) EDed to their first choice ( they are not shooting for stars) and all got in. D was briefly stressed when she took her second SAT as she only had 2 weeks to prepare (decided on the retake a little too late) and she was determined to get a super high score. Her friends were a little upset with her wanting to retake a already pretty high SAT. But they all supported her in the end. Also, I had never heard them talk about grades/tests, etc. when together. I think this friend group is one of the most important factor that helped D not getting stressed out with her “most rigorous” class load. She is forming similar friend groups in college and able to manage stress well so far. She said there is definitely a lot more studying in college than HS ( it is a lot harder to maintain a 4.0 in college), so you really can’t get burned out already in HS.
S20 is slightly different. Since he is going to a magnet, he has a HS friend group and a hometown friend group. His HS friend group includes some of the very smart kids, like those who took AP calc freshman year. I can see him getting stressed if he only hang out with this group. We are happy that he spends most his fun time with his hometown friend group (includes some very relaxed kids). They just talk “silly stuff” and play video games:-). I am hoping this friend group will provide him the same emotional support like what D’s friends have done for her.
@MinnieFan’s posts reminded me of a friend whose kids were very bright but not ready to tackle the rigors of AP’s and testing. All three started in community college and transferred to selective schools. In the end, their diplomas have the name of those selective schools. Two of them went on to post grad. I’ve watched them grow and I’m so proud of them. Their experience really made me rethink my bias towards starting at community college.
Welcome new people! Glad to see you joining the fun.
Requesting prayers, smart vibes, peace and anything else for D20 for Saturday…taking her first SAT. As some of you know she has social anxiety and some other stuff so starting early to get used to the test is part of the strategy. And what is she more afraid of? Not the test haha! It’s standing in line at a school she doesn’t know. Ugh. This stuff really distracts her and brings down her score. That…and math X_X
My DD20 will also be taking the SAT for the first time on Saturday. I think your strategy of starting early is a good one. Testing before they are overwhelmed by their junior course load hopefully will result in a better overall testing experience. Best of luck to all taking the test on Saturday!
@MinnieFan I tried to start a new thread under ‘Class of 20xx Community’ for 2020 kids with a lower gpa, but it wouldn’t allow me to do that. Not sure why. Could a moderator help? @MaineLonghorn @skieurope Thanks!
@MinnieFan
Thank you for your posts, I am showing it to my DS, as he is my only kid going through this so I really appreciate past experience/lessons learned. I have also heard amazing things about Elon from parents of DS’ school whose kids went there.
@cakeisgreat @Cheeringsection good luck to our kids, it will be our first sitting of SAT too, DS really hates the test and I have to tell him repeatedly that it is the “necessary evil” he has to face. lol.
Good luck to your kiddos too @Cheeringsection @@makemesmart and @cheeringsection! So glad we’re in this together at least in cyber world. It’s so encouraging to see other people learning and growing and figuring it all out
@lemonlee great idea!
That can be placed in the general Parents Forum with the others. e.g.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/2018547-parents-of-the-hs-class-of-2019-3-0-to-3-4-gpa.html#latest
My D20 will be taking the SAT for the first time this Saturday too and school starts tomorrow. Seems strange to take it before the 11th grade PSAT but since she did some prep over the summer, we thought it made sense to do it soon after that before it all goes out of her head and before school gets crazy! And also the thought was she could re-take it later if not happy with the scores, or possibly try the ACT also.
It worked! I actually was able to start a new thread under the Class of 20xx Community for parents with kids more in the B/B+ range. @MinnieFan @cakeisgreat and anyone else who might be interested.
Good luck to everyone taking their first SAT/ACT this week and all the kids starting school! Can’t believe they are already juniors and are 50% of the way through hs.
@Lemonlee just joined your thread! Happy to be your first poster! Thank you for starting!
Best of luck to SAT test takers this week! Hope they hit it out of the park!
@makemesmart I hope your son has a great year! Not sure he will he heed the advice of an old lady but I hope my post lets him know he is not alone and he will end up in the right place for him. Hope every kid here keeps an open mind on the search and understands there are many great fits out there for them!
Good luck to all the SAT test takers this Sat!
S20 will be taking it too. Same here @CAtransplant - He’s been prepping and with the upcoming busy junior year, we figured why not?
School starts after Labor Day. So we’ll be making a quick trip to upstate NY (Ithaca/Rochester area) for hiking. and maybe some college tours.
On the college preferences, we have movement! After a million “I don’t know yet” “anywhere is fine” to questions about college preferences, S20 finally decided he wants access to art museums/theatre and snow. Maybe we can make a list next 
I read (on the ACT site) that you get more merit awards taking the ACT than the SAT. Has anyone else heard that? We are taking the ACT in October. It’s mandatory to take the SAT in our state (Illinois) in April. We are planning to see how she does on the ACT if she has to take more testing.
D20 started school and is off and running. She was supposed to prep for the PSAT this summer, but she got busy socializing, and now I’m unsure if she’ll even be ready for the PSAT in October, let alone the SAT now. I told her she now has to prep for at least an hour a day to make up for lost time. She really wants to make NMF and we are in a high cutoff # state, so she’d better get focused really fast. Good luck to all of your kids taking the SAT this weekend!
@Nicki20 I would say that is a bogus claim. Schools accept both and convert scores from one to the other all the time. The ONLY award that I am aware of that is strictly one or the other is the NMF scholarship. That one specifically requires an SAT verification score. Did they share examples of strictly ACT based scholarships?
Fwiw, we are merit seeking family. 3 of our kids have earned large scholarships. Our oldest did via the ACT. The next 2 via the SAT. Both earned numerous high dollar scholarships. My college sophomore never even took the ACT and sat for the SAT only once to verify her PSAT score. (She is currently a Top Scholar (McNair) at USColmbia.) I am my kids’ guidance counselor (truly, since we homeschool). I have spent hours upon hours researching scholarships bc our budget is only about 1/3 of our expected familial contribution even at the most generous schools. I have never seen any other scholarships based on only one or the other.