@SoccaMomma have you seen reports that the scores have been canceled? Please post a link! BTW I think you should replace careless and laziness with GREED when it comes to the College Board!
@3scoutsmom sorry to be so negative. Initial, visceral reaction. No I did not hear that the scores would be canceled only that it was not yet decided. S, though initially shocked and somewhat upset, is now pretty chill about it. Saying heāll just retake if necessary. Mom, however, is still in Mama Bear mode.
Agree with you that greed was most likely the primary motivator. Hope that whoever had the bright idea to save money by recycling is now out of a job along with the ones who agreed with the hare-brained scheme. In the day and age of Internet not to mention tiny, easily-disguisable cameras this is so lame! No excuse.
DS20 is signed up for the October SAT and I fear it will be flooded with kids retesting because of this.
Just filled out the form and wrote the check for PSAT/NMSQT on October 10. Next test on our list.
In a related note, DS just got his score from last yearās PSAT. He did better than expected, but not so high that NM SF would be in play for this year. Stretch goal for him would be maintain his percentile for the Junior PSAT and then SAT/ACT.
She had a college board account so she got the score. Though she was unhappy with it so I heard about it a week after she got the score. Iām not sure why kids get score before parent since generally parent pays for testing. Math score was actually lower than 8/9 score though there is more points in PSAT. mine isnāt probably NMSF either but should make commended.
Well I guess I have to get back in the saddle. I just got my S18 moved into his dorm. We just have one left and it is S20.
He will be much more of a challenge . S18 wanted big SEC type school and knew what he wanted to study. S20 has no clue on what type of school or what he even wants to study.
This will be such a interesting journey and I am afraid exhausting also. His grades are ok but his test scores are good. If he wants to go out of state he might have to look at going in as a transfer student so we could get the merit that we would need. At least we have 2 summers to plan for that plus he is taking some duel credit courses this year and next year.
I will be honest it was so easy with his older brother. We had fun and I wasnāt concern about his grades or his scores. Just what program he liked and location.
With S20 I am going to have dig a little deeper and figure out what wonderful schools we have in Texas and who might have great merit for ātransfer students or out of state studentsā. The one thing I know is that all of our kids are going to find their homes. I just have to look at the spread of 2018 kids and it know that they will all find wonderful places to go.
If any one thinks that this forum is for only the higher end schools you need to take a look at 2018. Yes, some of your kids scare me and wish them the very best but that world is not ours. This journey will be just as stressful for my kid as any others. I hope the very best for all 2020. Grab of hold of those reins and let this journey begin.
Welcom @Texas1820 ! I agree that this board welcomes all parents and students but IMHO the best merit is available to freshmen admits not transfers so I encourage you to look hard now for those $ opportunities. YMMV.
yes - welcome texas1820!
we have lived through a kid transferring schools - and merit money was NOT an option. She turned down a full tuition scholarship to our flagship; went to a private LAC - and now is back at flagship as full pay. Be super careful with that transfer plan! OUCH.
@Nicki20 = your daughter sounds very bright if sheās in commended range. i say well done; and dont let her get down.
my S20 decided not to focus on PSAT. Heāll take it blindly as a junior. I was annoyed at first, but heās going to focus on ACT as we know what our state flagship basically requires for full tuition scholarships. NMF is just a little bonus at that school.
Needs some practical advise hereā¦
S has always been shy and quiet with adults, including his very own parents and grandparents. He is not shy with his friends. Maybe I should say, he is not as shy with people his age. I have tried to make him talk more without much success. We sent him to writing and public speaking programs hoping heād learn some skills. He did learn and is actually pretty good at writing speeches and delivering them. He delivered a beautifully written speech at his tennis end of season banquet. But he has to be forced to it, he does not volunteer any. Note, he generally have pretty good marks from teachers re:class participation. He even received a teacher comment āset a standard for othersā once. I think he knows what he needs to do and, does those but never more. I feel, for one to be successful in real life, you need to be a proactive communicator and be comfortable in your own skin in front of people from all age, background, and authority.
Any suggestions on how to help him break out of the shell?
@whataboutcollege- It sounds like your son is doing well participating in class and giving speeches, but it may not be something he enjoys doing. In general, giving a speech and participating in class require a very different skills set than engaging in small talk with relatives and strangers. Speeches and class participation seldom require the on the spot thinking and responding that a conversation does and in general require less sharing about oneself than they do about a topic.
Can he communicate with his teachers? Schedule a make-up test? Talk to his teacher if he feels thereās been a mistake in grading? Ask for clarification during class? Disagree without being disagreeable? Make an appointment with his guidance counselor? If he can handle those tasks without you, he is doing well communicating with authority.
My own teenager shares more when we are in the car, having a family meal or engaged in an activity. We get far less information from him when we tell him we want to talk to him or weāre peppering him with questions. I have to really watch my tendency to ask him Did you ? Could you? Would you ? These type of questions make him feel like Iām checking up on him and bossing him around. (Heās an independent kid so he generally doesnāt need it, but I felt like I needed to ask these questions to feel like Iām a good parent.). Now I try to ask him, what he thinks about ___? Or Teach me about something you learned this week in (favorite subject).
Hubby needed to work on not giving advice and listening more.
Continue to model the skills that you want your son to have and giving him lots of practice to communicate without criticism.
@Redslp Thank you! I agree that I need to stop hinting (criticizing) his lack of interest in talking to us!
I havenāt heard any feedback about how he is communicating with teachers. He was able to get a couple recommendation letters from different teachers for his summer program applications. He was also able to get his counselor to send transcripts. I know one thing though, he will not go ask for regrade. Probably he is ok doing comfortable talks but not when he has to disagree or when he thinks the other person will disagree.
@whataboutcollege
To me your DS is doing well and quiet in front of adults he is familiar with seems to be natural? At least mine is like that too. Lol.
@makemesmart I really am hoping so!!! It is just he is a little too quietā¦maybe due to comparison to my very talkative daughter? I guess I should just calm down and refrain from reminding him that he is too quiet 
Give him time. He will find his voice.
Thanks for the encouragement! @Cheeringsection
Ack! The order form for rings came home. Not only do we have to suffer the trauma of empty nesting, but it seems like dollar signs are now everywhere.
Just thought I would share my recent experience with ACT prep. D20 will be taking ACT twice, end of October and early December. Have been researching and interviewing test tutors and the cost is all over the place. One tutor who came highly recommended charges $280/hr for a suggested minimum of 30 - 40 hours ($8,400 - $11,200)!!!
Another tutor is more āreasonableā at $100/hr for a minimum of 90 min session (with some free 4 hour test sessions mixed in over the course of the 8-10 week program) and he comes to the house. There are no set number of sessions but we are thinking we will use him weekly for the next 10 weeks (about $1500). While this is still a lot of money I think it will be helpful for D to have an expert guiding her each week, giving her frequent study homework assignments, basically taking another āclassā for 2 months. The goal is to be done with standardized testing by year end. Cross fingersā¦
Just my opinion if I was paying that money I would be looking for a guarantee. In our case my daughter is taking that same October ACT. My daughter would go nuts over all that tutoring. Illinois is a SAT state so she is taking that NMSQT in October too. Her school last week started a SAT study at lunchtime to help kids for the Mandatory SAT in October. Itās 25 minutes twice a week. Figure it canāt hurt for either test. Even for that I had to convince her to do that. Doesnāt Kaplan have a free personalized practice program?
OMG $280/hr?! Is the tutor from Deloitte? 