3scoutsmom, congrats! Bittersweet a bit, but really nice to not have to chauffeur all the time.
Yikes, @3scoutsmom !! DS20 got his license about six months ago but he would not be comfortable driving 290 to Mopac to 360 yet! Heck, I donāt even want to drive that! 
We are in a āsuburb north of Austinā. He mostly drives about half a mile to school and back, and occasionally to the GFās house. Iām happy to let him take him time before the big roads.
@cgpm59 it is what it is, we are in far SW Austin (Hays County) and he attends school out of district. Heās been practicing this rout for about a year but Thursday he plans to drive to fencing from 360 to MoPac north to Red River and 45th at rush hour - thatās the one that really frightens me!
@3scoutsmom
Congratulations and I bet your DS did wonderfully in todayās rush hour solo drive! I will be my DSā chauffeur for at least another six months, and I am not going to complain about it anymore. Savoring every moment. Lol
Now that Junior year started a while, curious to see how everyoneās DC is doing course load wise?
DS still plays a lot of video games. He said most classes are still going over materials covered by summer homework. So life is pretty easy right now. He does spend a lot of time studying history as the teacher throws random quizzes on facts. But he is the favorite history teacher so far! I am surprised to hear the teacher spend a lecture talking about trust funds. How does it relate to history?!
My DS is a bit stressed but managing it. All classes are covering new material, his Chinese teacher is grading much harder in Chinese 3 than she did in Chinese 2 and over half the class are native speakers this year. Physics C has a ton of homework, CAL BC isnāt coming to him as easily has it came to his siblings but heās doing well just having to put in more work. This is also the first time DS has taken DE classes and heās having to learn things the hard way like the testing center closes at 3:00 on Fridays and he doesnāt get out of high school until 4:15. I think things will be much better in a few weeks, he has the SAT on 10/6 and the PSAT on 10/10 hopefully that will be the end of standardized testing for him.
DD is managing but has had some stressful weeks with juggling the workload. We are both so glad she did NOT take that 4th AP class! There seems to be less advance notice this year on assignments so she cannot always work ahead to manage the peaks.
I have been the bad guy and made her say no to mid- week sitting jobs that run too late. Yes, potential employer-families your kids should be in bed by 8pm but there is no guarantee of that and DD does need some more relaxing time to just focus on homework in her jammies. Helping your kids with their homework and feeding them dinner is not downtime for her. She does appreciate that she can blame me when she politely declines sitting any later that 8pm on a school night.
Had a scare this week with her laptop not working. Not sure what happened but we may need to replace it sooner than summer after senior year.
My DDās biggest issue with workload is the dual enrollment class sheās taking. Itās in the middle of the day and the logistics of getting to the university 20 minutes away and parking and driving back has been a pain. I tried to convince her to drop it, but no luck. Sheās also taking the October SAT on 10/6 ad the PSAT on 10/10. She did really well on the PSAT last year (just over the NMSF line for our state). Hoping she does as well and our stateās qualifying score doesnāt go up too much!
We are in California so the cut is already insanely high. I am hopeful but not certain.
Last year she got 70 x 2 + 76 = 216
California is 223 and math is maxed so
74 x 2 + 76 = 224
Is what we are hoping for. But she has not even looked at it.
So far workload for 5 APs and nothing else but cross country is fine.
D20ās school started in early August and she is coming up on the last week of the 1st quarter. This quarter wasnāt as hard as I imagined it would be with 4 AP classes. She has managed to keep on top all of the reading which has been the most time consuming. I have a feeling next semester might be harder.
I think juniors that have been taking accelerated and honors classes for years will do fine this year. These kids know how to manage their time and do what it takes to be successful in HS. Good luck everyone!
DS seems less enthusiastic about his classes this year. Heās taking 5 AP classes. The workload of APUSH is more than the combined total of his 4 other AP classes. Heās a STEM kid and the school year always seems to start with him having the hope that he will be challenged in his math and science classes, but he typically finds the pacing tedious. This year is no different so far. Surprisingly, his favorite class this year is AP Lang. The teacher is tough, but young and passionate. Only two students earned an A in his class last year, and DS has already told me to be prepared for him to get a B, but that heāll be a much better writer at the end of the year.
BTW- Did anyone elseās son or daughter get an invite to apply to USC Residents Honor Program? Iād be curious to hear from others if theyāre familiar with the program and if the students may apply.
*if their children may apply.
D20 is taking 6 majors (USH, English, Differential Calc, Latin IV, Bio, and a Positive Psychology course through an online consortium her HD participates in), and a photography minor. Everythingās going pretty well so far except math. Sheās been on the āacceleratedā track since 9th grade but the algebra2/trig/precalc course was a struggle last year and sheās lobbying to decelerate to āregularā (1-year) calc and take stats next year. Itās ok with us, mostly want her to get practice navigating and advocating for the switch herself. Doesnāt love the format and mechanics of the online psych course, but likes the content. Having just been to BTS night, Iām frankly most excited about the photography course. Amazing teacher!
Homework isnāt too bad yet, but D20 still going to bed WAY too late (12:30/1:00am most nights). Just got permit last weekend.
Not a lot of EC activity beyond XC team. Iām a little concerned about that for college apps but not willing to push it. Sheās aware of what her overall profile will look like and what she will and wonāt be competitive for and itās all good. (Fingers crossed!)
DS is settling in ok. Rocky start with his schedule in the first week. Heās taking 8 classes and sometimes has to be up quite late to get all the hw and studying done. Been asking him to plz study for PSAT but hasnāt fit it in yet.
We visited Yale today. Wasnāt even on his list but got a postcard invitation to attend an open house. It was a fantastic experience and the best so far. Yaleās not only been added to his list but itās now number 1. I think the town of New Haven was quaint with shops, restaurants, and entertainment adjacent to the campus. (New Haven pizza is a thing, who knew?) Hiking, biking trails and nearby beaches.
The residential colleges are somewhat unique to Yale and provide a community within the larger College. I believe there are 14 residential colleges (not called dorms) and each has communal living areas like music rooms, dining hall, study rooms, dance rooms, and butteries. Lot of pride with these and even some faculty/staff live there w their families. Each has unique architecture. We went to Ezra Stiles and there was a courtyard with plenty of green space and a gorgeous fountain.
DS really liked the curriculum, breadth of classes offered, and overall feel. I donāt like the price tag but itās crazy the amount of grant aid (not merit) given. They handed out a chart that showed avg COA by household income and I think it went to $250K. Incredible what a large endowment can afford. They also emphasized holistic admissions and said how tough it is to get accepted. Well, yea.
Hey @SoccaMomma my D17 is a sophomore at Yale, let me know if you have any specific questions or if D17 can answer questions for your kid.
@SoccaMomma - Yale sounds amazing and quaint. I like the concept of the residential colleges that provide a way for the students to connect within a smaller community. Iāve also been encouraging studying for the PSAT. We compromised on a couple of practice tests on the Writing section.
@SoccaMomma My DS is a senior at Yale so Iām happy to answer any questions also.
Here my DD20 is focusing on the Oct SAT. Itās hard to find time with everything else but Iād love for her to do well enough to be one and done. Iām thinking of trying to get some last minute tutoring this week. Sheās taking a class but itās not as helpful as Iād hoped it would be.
Turns out school sent home a PSAT practice booklet. I asked him whether he should brush up and practice with it. To my surprise, he agreed very easily:-). Maybe he got a wake up call after finding out there are 9 NMSF in class 2019 (class size is 70). He ran through the questions so fast and made stupid mistakes, such as bubbling the wrong letter. At this point, I donāt think more practices would be productive. I am redirecting my nagging towards the lengthy NHS application form.
^^ wow! high percentage of nmsf. our HS class had 0 last year out of 420. Maybe iāll get my S20 to look through that book today. very very very few kids here practice, study or worry about it; most take it blindly.
S20 is having a great year besides that. Varsity XC; nominated to be part of homecoming court; a girl in the mix that he worked with all summer and liked; heās happy! Once XC is over heāll focus on his classes more. One of his APs is hard. You guys know this - howās there are ups and downs with your kidsā lives; heās in an UP now. Weāre thankful for that as another kid is in a DOWN now.