“How did you get kids to settle down and study/practice for the ACT/SAT??”
My S20 struggled with prepping on his own before the April SAT and, consequently, did not do well. He admitted then that he needed a different environment to “make” him study. His charter school has a KAPLAN course in the classroom in July that includes 24 hours of instruction and 2 full length tests (all for $5). So we signed him up and he will then re-take the SAT in August.
I wish there were classes/tutors in our area, but nobody around here seems to care that much about test prep beyond get a book or do some of the online stuff.
@cshell2 That’s the way it should be, IMO. Actually, we never prepped for standardized aptitude testing. THAT is the way it should be…Instead, now it’s like an arms race where people are faking IEPs, paying thousands of dollars to bribe a proctor to give their kid more time, prepping since 5th grade, blah, blah, blah.
So far no paid test prep here and I feel like my kids are headed where they are meant to head.
@VickiSoCal I would say D20 finished up with about 25 hours of Khan prep, and 2 practice SATs. Way different than D17.
We found college tours helped with DS’ SAT prepping. He really liked Swarthmore when we toured it during his sophomore spring break (got his motivation!). We got the CB’s big blue book and the Meltzer’s reading book. I told DS that standardized testing is the “necessary evil”, and there are things in this “holistic crapshoot” that we don’t have control over, such as race/ethnicity, geography/SES, legacy, etc., but we could do something about grades/standardized tests! The practice tests helped, even though he hated every minute of it (he thought the tests were really stupid! SMH), he managed to be one and done last summer!
Mine toured UNM, went to class, had a coffee at the cafe, and said she liked it why study anymore.
Granted she pulled a 1520 without doing a thing so she is fine most places, but there she is more than fine.
My daughter’s school hosted a PSAT prep “class” sophomore year after school. It might have been a couple hours a couple times over two weeks - can’t recall the specifics. It was free and they went over strategies and took partial practice tests. I think it was really marketing for a test prep company in the area, as some people we know signed up for actual test prep afterwards. That’s all my daughter did for the PSAT/SAT tests which she has to take in school. She did take a practice ACT test at home a day or two before the ACT test to get a sense of timing (which I highly recommend for that test in particular). She liked the format and was one and done after the ACT.
We’re waiting on subject test results to see if she’s going to need to retake and if so she’s going to probably do some actual prep. She wasn’t sure her IB Biology class lined up well with the subject test and there was one thing in particular she wished she had studied. The Math 2 is a mess for us as she should have taken it as freshman and a lot of the material she hasn’t seen since middle school. She wasn’t confident it was going to be high enough - we’ll see in July I guess.
@VickiSoCal - Mine did that too…with the one and only school we visited. He’s extremely practical. It was one of the least expensive options, had programs he was interested in and finding out they had a campground on campus on our visit sealed the deal for him.
He doesn’t understand why I think he should explore other options and maybe he’s right. Maybe I’m stressing for no reason.
@socaldad2002 Academic Decathlon is a beast. My rising JR started studying her packet 2-3 hours a day, X4 weekly as soon as school ended. They have already had 2 meetings, the one today was at a Medical schools cancer center where MD/PhD gave them a lecture including covering clinical trials. (Sickness and Health is the topic this year). D is upstairs studying right now the Social Science section.
@cshell2 My oldest ds applied to one school and was done. My dd20 is planning on doing the same thing. As long as they will be admitted, can afford it, and want to attend, there is absolutely no need for stressing. Sit back and munch popcorn while you observe the crazy that everyone else will be living. Btdt with some of my other kids…and I am beyond ecstatic that this sr yr will be completely relaxed in terms of college apps. She’s happy with choice, so that makes everyone happy.
Mine is only applying to one school. It makes me nervous because the school is far away and I’m afraid that she’ll change her mind at the last minute but we visited and she loved it and it’s affordable. I am grateful that we won’t have a stressful college application season but wish she had a safety closer to home.
@ebh87 Is the one school the one you and I talked about via private message? If so, it is still on my daughter’s list too. My daughter’s list is getting shorter all the time but this school is still near the top.
@janiemiranda Yes, it is!
@ebh87 Maybe our kids will get to meet someday 
@cshell2 that’s really all my D20 wanted. She’s got a prep book and did some Khan Academy but that’s it so far!
S20’s counselor asked him to think again about his choice of 3 social science AP classes senior year. She thought there might be too much reading/writing for a STEM kid, especially when he also plans to take AP English. DS doesn’t like AP Chem nor any other vocational STEM classes offered, so he is sticking with his choice. Hope he knows what he is doing and is committed to complete most of his apps/essays before school starts.
Very jealous of you who have one top choice and is guaranteed with admission. DS is zeroing in on CS. Given the competitive nature of this major, I think he doesn’t have many true safeties. I see a lot of apps in his future.
D20 is taking 4 APs senior year: Spanish, Psychology and Physics C, which is split into 2 classes. She’ll also be taking Linear Algebra, which is post-AP, but doesn’t get any extra GPA weighting at her school.
Forgot to mention for Tufts. In the info session, they said they don’t require any SAT II’s. They don’t want them. Do not send them.
@whataboutcollege I do not recommend AP Chem also. My S20 who liked chemistry prior to the class found it tedious. There were so many labs and it depended on what group one was placed in. One time a fellow student ditched a difficult lab completely (both in-class and during the write-up) and left it to the others to scramble to get it done. The student took credit for the group work. I wish teachers would look at the revision history for these labs or group projects. Some do which helps students not shoulder all of the responsibility.