I don’t think my D did a practice AP test. I was not aware of it. Sunday night is when weekly assignments are due here so usually she takes Monday “off”. Plus it was the most most sparkling, blue-sky day we’ve had all spring so we hung out together in the yard and took walks…not a bad way to spend a day in May. Anyway, I’m frankly worried about our internet connection on AP test day. Some days it’s fine, others super-slow, and other days freezes up altogether and you have to turn off the computer and modem for a minute or two. That could cost her a test. Guess I’ll have to check college board to see if that qualifies as a reason to be eligible for a re-test at no charge…but I don’t know how to prove such a thing happened (if it does). But it’s a huge issue of access/inequality for a lot of kids around the country that CB should address! Honestly, it doesn’t affect us that much as I’m not urging her to get college credit for these courses so much. It’s just that I’d hate for her to lose the chance to earn high scores to report that would be a small, positive data point for admissions, especially as she does NOT go to a well-known high school with established ties to OOS schools/LACs.
I just asked D21, and she said they’re doing the practice tests as part of their regular AP classes. She said it was helpful to get used to the system and the format.
@inthegarden I thought the same thing about the Internet connection and can’t imagine how it’s not going to be a huge issue in terms of equity. Our WiFi isn’t bad but certainly has been known to flicker off and on in the middle of Zoom calls and things. I told her she should plan to use a hotspot during the actual test, but I assume there are plenty of kids who don’t have a backup option – not to mention a quiet space to take the test!
D21 told me that College Board sent her an email that said “Get Ready For Test Day” and it included a demo. I talked with her about it since teachers had emailed parents to check in with kids around it. I was surprised since the instructions said to set aside 80 minutes for each exam she was taking, but 30 minutes was just to log in and enter some personal info, prior to the 50 minute test. I haven’t followed up with her yet. If I am being honest as I am sitting here and the wifi is dipping in and out, I am growing concerned
@Meddy I don’t think D looked at that email. Honestly, she’s pretty unconcerned about her APs. I’d like her to get good scores so she can self report them on the Common App but these two will likely not even get her credit or placement so don’t really matter (AP Lang and APUSH). She’s doing well in the classes and says, as long as she follows the rubric, she’s all good.
I trust her teachers will make sure the kids know how the exam works. They’re awesome. Her APUSH teacher grades real AP tests.
I really hope there’s no drama for any student trying to take these APs. It sounds like CB is trying hard to make sure kids have what they need to prepare and, hopefully, there won’t be hiccups on test day.
Ah, well, our problem seems to be solved. My husband just said D can take the test in his office (totally deserted university science building with high-speed internet). But lots of kids around here don’t have that option.
Our internet can be spotty - luckily college son will be done, may tell him to be off the PS4 during her tests! I’m working from home and so is hubby. Verizon has been giving us a free hotspot the last couple months so I told her to start practicing with that and see how it works.
S17 is working on finals…he’s stressing me out! Can’t wait for this week to be over!
College board may be trying, but I’d say that a big chunk of the kids with less-than-optional testing conditions are also the students who most desperately need to get college credit for these courses to cut down on college costs that their families can’t afford. What may be well-meant just seems to make the playing field even less level.
@eb23282 - it wasn’t a real practice test; more like a run through. I think it was 10 minutes long. Just enough to show a kid exactly how things will work and how it will work uploading pictures/documents.
It wasn’t for any specific subject - just a quick trial run.
Just continuing the discussion of mis-posts on @homerdog other thread! CB is showing Lehigh as a match for D21 - definitely not a match for Jersey girl. Just had a friend tell me the other day that they were shocked when Lehigh waitlisted their D19 because it was a match for her - I really don’t think it was!
I would not take any stock in the categories on CB for match/reach, etc. For a long time now, I’ve been preaching on CC that one needs to look in their own backyard (if possible) to see how local kids do in admissions to each college on the list. Of course that takes some detective work. Sometimes Naviance helps but it has its problems and some schools don’t have it. Guidance counselors are sometimes willing to share info in person but not in writing so I’ve gotten a lot of good info from those meetings. One can usually figure out who is a recruited athlete being accepted from your school since high schools have signing days. Sometimes I can find out legacy status since I either know the parents or our kids know who is a legacy where. And, fortunately or unfortunately, S19 and D21 know what kids’ grades and rigor look like at least for the top 50 kids or so since those are the kids in their classes and everyone knows each others’ business.
Already, D21 knows a girl who really wants to go to Harvard and, boy, she’s got everything it takes. But we have three Harvard legacies in the class and they all have strong scores and our high school’s one spot will go to one of them. This plays into everyone’s college list plan. You don’t ED or SCEA to a college with a bunch of legacies from our school if you are not one. That’s a waste of an early app. Some 2021s already know they’re being accepted through sports. Girls lacrosse has already been decided and one of the girls is going to Yale. No more spots at Yale for 2021s from this class now (unless there’s a legacy out there which would be really rare in our neighborhood.)
It matters where you go to high school and what part of the country you’re from. In some cases in matters if you are male or female (with some LACs acceptance rates of males higher than females).
@NJWrestlingmom, lol, maybe CB has a deal with colleges to increase applications that way. Just kidding, but it really is misleading. They should make a disclaimer clarifying that their definition of “match” means there is a possibility of admission at this range but that holistic admissions and acceptance rates have an outsized impact. We know that, but lots of kids and parents have no reason to be hyper-aware. My D has listened to me for a long time about the unpredictability of admissions, yet her eyes lit up looking at CB’s list for her. As in, CB is the TRUE authority, Mom is just mom, lol. I mean, she knows, but it sparked that hope.
@Mwfan1921 It’s just the history we can see for the last five years now. Princeton took a legacy over way more qualified kids in S19’s year. We know the student well and even he would admit it. Another student applied who was in the top five students in the class. She is crazy impressive. Her sister is at Princeton but the 2019 student did not get in. One to Princeton, just one. I can’t tell you how many times we see that over and over. Maybe it’s not a rule but it’s worked out that way for HPYS.
Adding to say that kids still apply to HPYS and give it a shot. In S19’s year, dozens applied to each and no one got in past the legacy or the recruited athlete. You could say that’s just the way it goes since acceptance rates at those schools are so low but some of these kids then get into all kinds of other T20 schools.
Interesting. Most kids from our HS that go to HYPS are hooked for sure. But there can be many kids that fit the bill (and our school is 1,000/class so a little bigger than yours).
8 to Princeton from D19’s class, I think all were hooked…legacy or athlete. H had 4 (Naviance says Harvard is a match for D19 LOL), Yale is unclear. 8 Dartmouth (all girls!).
We really struggle at Stanford and Duke. Even for hooked kids. Don’t know why! It’s interesting how these things develop over the years.
I don’t put any stock in CB, @homerdog, just commenting that the average kid from an average high school doesn’t have any way to know that. I think it’s irresponsible of CB!
We’re having to go Into this blindly WRT our back yard, where we may have heard that, six years ago or three year ago one student (whose family I may not personally know) went to to this T-50 LAC or university. Our GQ told me that all my D needs is a 1150 SAT (without even asking where she’d like to apply) and the neighboring school’s GQ thought Middlebury was a community college when a student applied (I only know this because it was a friend’s daughter). Last night my D said that lots of students apply to a coastal directional (several states away) with a 44% graduation rate because it’s cheap and near the beach! that’s the backyard I have for information, and I don’t think that’s atypical of lots of public high schools in the country. I think having reams of information about a school’s placement history into T-40 National Universities and LACS is not the norm. Our GQ’s are overloaded, functioning also as social workers, dealing with community problems affecting students such as poverty, unemployment, opioid addictions, domestic violence. Probably fewer than ten students per year even consider T-50-ish schools that are not the state flagship and most don’t discuss where they applied, just where they are going.
@Mwfan1921 I think HPY are getting all of their Chicago area kids from your high school! LOL!
Stanford not a thing here either but Duke takes a handful -five or six for the last few years. All ED.
Your high school is known nationally and ours is not even though I think our kids are prepared just as well. If there’s one high school that’s known to colleges off the top of their heads, it’s yours. Also, I think it’s possible that the north shore has more Ivy alums than our neck of the woods which maybe helps with admissions. Lots of wealth over here but most parents graduated from universities in the Midwest.
I’m envious of schools like yours, @homerdog, where Naviance actually makes some sense! Ours will give conflicting information on the same page – overview saying no one has EVER been accepted to a school, then you scroll down to the Scattergram and see the acceptances, which are all over the map. Of course, we’re looking at LACs, which so few kids in D’s school even consider… or know about!
Now that we’re on the right thread, @inthegarden ;), I don’t understand how CB/Naviance can show any school with a <20% acceptance rate as a safety. I know the platform itself is limited, but students who rely on these tools to create a college list should be provided with more context about holistic admissions. And HYPMS as matches? Come on.
