My s is taking the October ACT - yikes! He’s took college precalc this summer and will be halfway through college calc in Oct, so he’s hoping that will up his math score quite a bit. Scores are usually returned within 10 days, and his hs requires everything be submitted by 11/15, so we should be okay.
My kid is taking the ACT this weekend. She hasn’t been studying much since school started but has been scoring 3-4 points higher on the practice tests than her first ACT. Fingers crossed.
The highest math you need for the ACT is trig. There is no calculus on it.
My D is taking the November 2 SAT - ugh! She was supposed to do the August one to see if she could increase her scores but was cast in a show that also she will be performing on the October date. She is applying to programs for acting and musical theatre but also wants to try for ones with higher academic requirements. @milgymfam and @Darcy123 - I can relate to figuring out what is offered in each program on the art side and how that lines up with what my D actually wants.
No more testing here. Glad to find out today that D20’s English class, like many here, is doing a college essay in class. It’s due 10/4, so that’s good enough for all her deadlines, and we agreed she plans on a QUALITY essay by that date so all her apps can be submitted and done by mid-October.
She is experiencing some sort of anxiety with the essay. I’m putting all the due dates on a paper calendar…I think it will help if she sees it all clearly laid out. It isn’t that much! She’s almost there, so hopefully, that will help her to the finish line.
We paid for the Sep ACT because we didn’t know if S would do well on the Aug SAT, which was a first sitting. He did well though, so he is not as worried for this ACT. His last testing will be in Oct though, he is retaking an SAT Math subject test. Then he will be done.
His essay has given him a little anxiety as well. He is almost at the word limit and is finding it difficult to keep under it. On the positive side, he had 4 teachers read it, and aside from grammer mistakes, and suggestion to rewrite his conclusion, they all love it.
Yes, S20 is also having anxiety about the essay. He’s avoiding it, which of course makes the anxiety worse. He wrote a good draft back in June, but hasn’t been willing to submit it. I’m not sure how to help him just get it done. If I bring it up (which I often do) he just nods along but doesn’t do it. Almost all his schools want something for 11/1 so he needs to get going.
I’m not sure if it’s any good because I didn’t get to read it, but after dragging her feet a good bit D just up and finished it today and completed her common app. She also dashed a few easy apps out the door- ones that were required prior to artistic applications- and was invited to audition for the LINES BFA. It’s a HUGE reach for her artistically but exactly what she wants. One of her ballet teachers had suggested she’s very well suited to their style. Another said she should quit ballet at graduation because she has zero shot at a BFA in a ballet program because none will look past body type… but she figures even if that’s true, why give up without even trying.
I found sequestering to be a good tactic in dealing with the essay. Vacations to remote locales where there isn’t a whole lot to do. Then, it’s just a matter of making a schedule (2 hours a day, etc.) for writing. Even a weekend away can be effective.
Another obstacle to the essay is that kids don’t have a lot of experience writing about themselves. This is not the kind of writing that’s expected from them at school.
Acceptance packet for Pitt came in today’s mail. ? Now waiting for merit. ?
Good luck @ShrimpBurrito! I know merit has been getting tougher and tougher at Pitt. D17 loved Pitt, but that was the year things started getting tough. She had to move on, as it turned out. Great school. Great city.
Congrats @ShrimpBurrito on the Pitt acceptance!
Wow, a lot of good things happening here!
My DS is slowly working on apps. School work, internship, school clubs, and music are consuming quite a bit of his time. Recently found out he’ll be going to Europe with the orchestra next summer. He’s excited about it.
Anyone have success or knowledge of connecting with schools’ regional reps? I was talking with a school counselor (not DS’s school) and that’s what she recommended. She said let them get to know you and ask questions showing your interest. We hadn’t thought of this as a strategy. Maybe those utilizing professional counselor’s will have some insight. If this has been discussed before, sorry I missed it.
My daughter is getting pretty close to done on the Common App, but unfortunately just added a Coalition only school to her list. Hopefully it won’t be too time consuming - it seems like a lot of work for one school.
A ton of schools are visiting S20’s high school. I had him set reminders on his phone so he doesn’t forget to go to the meetings. He loves University of Wisconsin Madison, so he’ll go to that one. He also likes The Ohio State University, but he thought he didn’t need to go to the meeting because his stats are above the 75%. I told him he still needs to go.
Same here - many regional reps schedule visits to S2’s school, and the seniors sign up (via Naviance or on a good old-fashioned clipboard in the college office) to attend.
About the college rep visits - we too have them but the formal visit hours are during school hours - meaning students would miss a part of a class if they want to visit the presentation. It maybe worthwhile for some colleges that DS20 is interested in - lets see, he is attending the first one next week.
Today D was invited for a shadow day at a semi local BFA program in October, so she jumped at that chance. She’ll get paired with a current student and attend their academic and dance classes with them that day, and get a personalized tour of the campus. She’s really excited about this.
S’s school’s rep visits are all during school hours, too. Kids go during their free periods if that works, or sign out of class for schools they’re really interested in.
Their class periods are 80 minutes long, so they can often stop by the rep visit, shake hands and get a business card, and return to class.
DD20 submitted her first application to Fordham today! Woohoo – 1 down, 7 to go. 
I need to vent. DD20 still has not done her common ap essay. We have been telling her to get it done since summer and it’s still not done. She did start the common ap and a few essays for some schools but I was hoping she would finish the common ap so she could submit the apps for the state schools. She insists that they are going to do it in school. When??? I wanted it done before school started and then by the end of September but she is still not budging. Why are these kids so stubborn? I just want to pull my hair out at this point. I know a lot of you can empathize with me. I am telling you I am going to be happy to drop her off at college in September. I will not be one of the parents crying.