@mm5678 This is a very useful link, thank you so much for posting here. I have asked my junior son to look into it 
My daughter got that email as well, nothing jumped out at her. She/we have a few more virtual things going on over the next week, so sheās not burned out yet, but I think she prefers the school specific events.
She had a lot of fun tonight with the Tulane one that I posted about earlier (being a fly on the wall in an admissions committee meeting - 4 good candidates but only one offer of admission and one waitlist);. 500 kids in āattendanceā - very active chat.
@mm5678 Fabulous!! Thanks so much! Signed D up for six sessions. Lol.
D21 did a Davidson virtual tour tonight. They had a virtual tour (like you can take on a collegeās website) but then two students zoomed in with the prospective students as they did the 'tour" together and gave a lot more info than you would get if you just did the tour from the website. Kids could ask questions. They added a few stops that arenāt on the websiteās tour like a dorm room. D21 loved it. She did a Davidson zoom info session last week. It was an AO, a student, D21 and two other kids. Again, super personal and well done.
We are both digging these virtual optionsā¦dare I say they are a teeny tiny silver lining? Way less expensive than flying there. While we would still visit any school in person where she might ED, these tours could definitely give enough info for D to figure out if sheād keep the school on the list or cross it off.
Our school district officially released the grading policy for the rest of this school year:
āThe GPA for all students in grades 9-12 will be frozen at the end of the 3rd nine weeks grading period.
All courses taken in the 4th nine weeks grades will only be used to determine if the student receives credit for the course for meeting graduation and promotion requirements, not GPA
The grades from the 4th nine weeks will NOT be included in future calculations of GPA or Class Rank once school resumes
The NCAA will release updated guidelines the week of April 13, and we will communicate further with students at that timeā
Iāve spent the morning firing off emails to counselors and adminsā¦I need clarification on what this means for my sonās Dual Credit course this semesterā¦since itās a community college class, he doesnāt get a grade for the 3rd 9 week grading period, only at the end of the semester when the course has concluded. He had a strong A in the class thus far and was hoping to have this grade in his GPA to help him stay high in the 1Q. With our accelerated block scheduling, they only have 4 classes a semester! 2 core, 2 elective. This DC US History and his Pre Calc are his core classes this semester, he was doing so well in both, and was really expecting a strong finish for 11th grade GPA and class rank.
I really hate this position weāre in now.
Jumping back into this thread. Phew. Lots of catch up on. No word from local HS about how they will handle grading. Waiting to hear about whether Subject tests are a go in June. There are three schools on his list that recommend them.
We had our junior planning meeting virtually with D21ās guidance counselor yesterday. All the usual stuff was discussed like her list and SAT/ACT and her schedule for next year and how to request transcripts etc. I asked if our districtās policy for grades this semester will be added to the profile or maybe sent as an addendum in the guidance counselorās recommendation. She said she hadnāt thought of that but agreed it would be a good idea and will bring it up in their staff meeting later this week.
The school has decided to move on with grades. The kids all have grades in the gradebook starting Jan 6th. They didnāt leave school until March 13th so thatās ten weeks of grades. Itās not an insignificant number of weeks. The kids get to keep that grade or increase it with the work thatās done through May 15thā¦but only if they complete every assignment. That keeps them working I guess. Selfishly, I want Dās colleges to know she earned those grades and what the schoolās policy was so that they donāt seem inflated. They will likely be exactly the same grades she got last semester so colleges will be able to tell that sheās done well both semesters. Especially with the possibility of no SAT score, she needs those grades to help her in admissions.
I hope that colleges with holistic admissions will overlook pass/fail notations for the kids to only have that option. They will only judge on what they have. For D21, though, since she will get grades, it will help her when compared to kids at her school because sheās been doing well and has shown an upward trend this year. I also hope getting grades could help her to not get deferred in ED since colleges will have spring junior grades and maybe they wonāt feel like they have to wait for senior fall grades.
I just got an email from one of the big local tutoring companies and they stated that the CB is adding new test sites for the June test date.
Sounds like a go to me.
Our kidās private school has now been online-only for about a week (prior to that they were on a two-week spring break that was extended by two days).
Class time has gone down significantly. Prior to COVID, each class met three times a week - once for 75 minutes and twice for 50 minutes. Now each class is only meeting twice a week for 45 minutes using google classroom or zoom I think, and there are no classes on Mondays. Work load seems pretty low. Our kid has never been one to spend much time on homework, so we really cannot tell if it is down for sure, but it feels that way. We are ok with that. Our kid has taken a challenging course load to date (probably 13-15 AP tests and three years post-calculus math by end 12th grade), so this seems as good a time to relax as any.
It looks like regular grades are going to be given, which will include all work being done during the time they are online (basically half the semester). No P/F option it seems, or any protection against a grade going down. We are ok with that - it really wonāt make a difference for our kid we think - and it seems most kids and parents feel the same way.
It sure is going to be a challenge for admissions officers to decipher all the different grading regimes they will encounter in next yearās admissions cycle.
@sushiritto hearing that from test prep is suspect. Of course they want kids to prep. They are a test prep company. Iām not saying they are lying. Iām sure CB is trying to add sites because they have March and May kids to sit. Doesnāt mean itās more likely to happen. All reports now sound like many states might extend the stay at home direction through May.
This is straight off of the CB website-
"We know students are anxious about how the coronavirus crisis will affect their college application process, including taking the SAT. Weāre committed to being flexible and innovative to give all students opportunities to test as soon as the situation allows. Weāll share more details as soon as possible, but right now we can tell you the following:
Currently, the next SAT is scheduled for the first weekend of June. Weāre working with test centers and weāll decide whether we can safely hold that administration as soon as itās feasible, given the evolving public health situation.
Weāll add U.S. and international test administrations in response to canceled administrations. Weāll be flexible in making the SAT available in school and out of school as soon as the public health situation allows. Weāre looking at a range of creative solutions to address increased demand and are in direct conversations with states and districts about School Day administrations. Throughout, weāll continue to place a special focus on students with fee waivers and those with accommodations."
So, theyāve always been working to get more space for kids to take the test but no one has any idea if kids could be together to take it. Lots (most?) summer programs are all online so I donāt see how the CB could run a test in June. When I called last week, I was told that they will decide about the June test by mid-April.
@homerdog Yea Iāve read the CB site often. But Iāll take it as a positive sign, because adding capacity costs money. And the CB HAS added a new test site in our area. We were sold out for the June test date and I just checked and thereās a new testing site available.
Youāre entitled to think differently. No worries there. As mentioned by our public health officials on TV, the country may open up regionally. Here in the SF Bay Area, we shut down first. And now weāre looking pretty good in terms of flattening the curve. In fact, Governor Newsom has loaned out ventilators to other states.
Also most of our test centers in March were closed first. Maybe they start up here first. ?
I hope they have the test - in SF or anywhere! We were also cancelled for March and I heard that CB will prioritize areas that did not have March tests. D is already signed up for June so itās hard for me to see if any locations were added.
Interesting. David Coleman also said this week they are trying to get home based SAT testing up by Fall.
If anyone is interested, Jeff Selingo is running a webinar tonite, and one of the guests is Trevor Packer from CB. Itās free to register, not sure I can link it, but you can access it thru Jeffās twitter account, @ jselingo, register thru the link on an April 8th tweet.
Our school district still has not released the grading policy. The end of our 9 weeks was also 3/13 the last day school was open, so I think they will use those grades to determine GPA and rank. S didnāt do so well in a precalc test (this is a DC class) and he was hoping to bring his grade up the rest of the semester, so he will be bummed if they go with those grades.
Just got done talking with one of the high school counselors: S21ās spring semester Dual Credit US History grade will not be factored into his GPA & Class Rank so there goes that upward trend and boost. Same with his Pre Calcā¦he was doing so well until all this mess hit. I am relying HEAVILY on our counselors to somehow acknowledge/communicate that he was on an upward trend when it comes time to right those recs.
They will start sending out Senior Year packets and communication on the college app process May 1st.
Did any of you watch Sal of Khan Academy interview Dave Coleman of College Board this week? They talked a bit about the SAT tests. Iām curious what your thoughts are after watching it.
@Meddy donāt tease us! What did they say? Lol.
All I do is to login to My SAT and click on āchange June registrationā and then click on āchange test centerā and a list of test centers pops up. Then you can click on just āavailable test centers.ā In our area, a new locale popped up. Since I had no desire to change test centers you just exit without changing anything.
All they need is enforce social distance, a plan to line students up and also dismiss them. Add some wipes and/or hand sanitizer and some face coverings and voila.
Noā¦do tell!