X did tech work for the first two they were involved in - including being in charge of all the sound and lights for one of them! - and has been in ensemble since. They have different practice dates for the different roles so that ensemble are only there when they need to be (still tended to be 3-4 days a week, these are intense, professional productions; a number of MT students get places at colleges like NYU Tisch every year). All the starring roles are obviously MT students (and they do a lot of rehearsal in MT class itself).
X26 is doing stagecraft this year - some stagecraft students will be working during the musical on tech/sets but X will be doing design for sets so that they can be on stage during the musical. Definitely getting it all round!
âMeet The Teacherâ night for high school is next week, the night before we hit the road to drive D24 to college. 
D26 needs to finish her app for the Humane Society volunteer thing. Plus she needs more driving practice, so thatâs on the agenda for this weekend, too.
Havenât bothered to have D26 do any SAT/ACT test prep this summer. At the moment, kid says she really wants to attend U of A (weâre in state) because their cybersecurity program in the College of Applied Science & Technology is pretty darn good, and is 1 of the NSA-approved schools where you could apply for a full ride scholarship through the NSA which would pay full cost of attendance for junior & senior year.
D26 will get admitted w/o test scores and will have met all of the other admissions criteria. She really likes U of A. Doesnât want to attend ASU (âtoo big,â and âtoo many people from high school thereâ and âtoo close to homeâ and ASUâs cybersecurity major is at the West Campus). Am trying to encourage her to consider other schools, too.
Kid has said she doesnât want âanywhere too cold,â which means nothing in âtop half of the US.â 
Thereâs 2 colleges in TX (both in San Antonio) which would be affordable and have a similar major and are also in that NSA category of programs where one could apply for the NSA scholarship.
Plus I poked around online and learned that Univ of Tulsa seems to be in that same category of NSA cybersecurity college programs. Winter is cold enough that sheâd definitely need winter clothes, but our HSâs college counselor last year was talking about what a great college it is. 1 of our HSâs graduates went to Univ of Tulsa a couple of years ago and was awarded one of their national merit scholarships.
I doubt that D26 will end up with a PSAT score thatâs national merit-worthy. BUT she has a high enough GPA to be able to apply for their Presidential Scholarship, which pays for full tuition. I kind of have a feeling that Tulsa might end up a legitimately decent option, but am cooling my jets at the moment since 11th grade barely started.
In the meantime, am thinking about when to go visit Tulsa. Maybe at the tail end of our spring break in March? Tulsa isnât on spring break until the following week, so D26 could see campus while students are actually there. Plus, we could also probably arrange a meeting w/the cybersecurity dept if D26 has additional questions about the program.
This kidâs college search is different than it was for D24. D26âs grades are higher than D24, but D26 isnât in the realm of tippy top Top 25 Fancy Schools, nor do we have the budget for those colleges anyway. D26 hasnât cured cancer or anything like that.
I really love the 3 CTCL colleges that we toured w/D24, but none of them have the major D26 wants, so those are out. Iâm a little bummed about that because theyâre all really great colleges in wonderful communities and I could totally see D26 thriving at a place like that. But itâs not in the cards.
However, Tulsa is a 3 hr car drive from D24âs college, so thatâs a nice plus. And Southwest Airlines flies there. 
Probably going to drag D26 to a U of A campus tour some time this fall.
Itâs interesting to me when students at this age become sure what they want. X26âs stand-out target is the environmental design program (to major in architecture) at CU Boulder. Weâre also planning to visit in our spring break - which is just after Boulderâs so should get a good idea of students at school. Not sure what will happen if they donât like the school after getting their heart set on it! They have a decent almost-safety backup and almost zero interest in any other colleges at the moment âŠ
I fully expect that what D26 says right now she wants in a college can and likely will change through spring of senior year. Thatâs what happened w/D24.
For example, for the longest time, D24 said her #1 pick was U of A, but that was entirely based on a fear of âWhat if I have a hard time making friends and have nobody to hang out with? If I go there, Iâll know at least 1 person from high school and Iâll have ONE person to do stuff with.â
Then I dragged her on some tours of other colleges out of state. We went to 2 in NM and she had sort of a âmehâ/lukewarm reaction to those. Went to tour Austin College & Southwestern University in TX. She really liked those 2. Honestly, after halfway through each of those schoolsâ campus tours, I sort of knew that they each had moved way up the list. The campus vibe was a lot different. She kept saying how friendly everybody was (felt natural/genuine, not forced like a marketing presentation sort of friendly).
We also toured Centre College in KY. That place is really awesome. D24 really loved it there. But it was a little too far away for her liking. She said if it had been a little closer to AZ, she absolutely would have gone there instead of Austin College.
The HS my kids attend/have attended is small. D24âs graduating class was I think about 45 kids? D26âs is larger (I think about 60?), but nothing near the 600+ in each grade level at our local public HS.
Even D24âs counselor said at the start of senior year that she was a little concerned that at a big school like U of A, D24 might get a little lost in the crowd. And it all turned out ok.
D26 is wired differently than D24, though. D26 is more introverted, but at the same time, is assertive when it comes to school stuff and needing to get stuff done. So sheâs a lot more apt to step up and approach a teacher/professor/whoever to say âI donât understand thisâ or âWhere can I go get more help on ___,â etc.
D24 is a pre-health kid (well, right now she is, anyway; letâs see how freshman and sophomore year go). D26 wants to go into cybersecurity, but not computer science (requires too much math, too much chemistry). D26 wants a cybersecurity major that isnât a subset of computer science and wonât require taking 2-2 1/2 years of college math. As a result, some colleges are totally off the list because of that.
Sheâs also thinking of minoring or double majoring in history just for fun because she likes history a lot.
D26 also doesnât want to go to college anywhere in CA, OR, or WA. Nowhere in the northeastern US. Nowhere in upper midwest (so, for example, no Wisconsin, Minnesota, Montana, N & S Dakota, etc).
High OOS merit aid colleges like Ole Miss, Alabama, LSU are out for D26 because of the campus culture.
Every kid is different. What I love about the whole process is that thereâs tons of choices out there, so thereâs bound to be at least ONE place that will be a great fit for each personâs kid.
We are also seriously considering Tulsa for D26 (or as seriously as one considers anything before junior year). We will attend the Preview TU program for juniors on Friday 10/18/24, but they also have programs on Friday 3/7/25 and Friday 4/4/25 - would either of those work?
D19 was the opposite, although she firmed up with what she wanted (and didnât want) through visits. Heart set on firm #1 from early in junior year, didnât change, took her ED shot (it was a reach) and got it. But that was really all about the college, and not a specific program in it. For X26, the program itself is a little unique (there are some other similar ones but not in the desired location range).
Definitely not 3/7 because for us, thatâs the last day before spring break and usually on that day before a school break, a bunch of the classes will have tests. But the 4/4 date might work.
Thanks @AustenNut I had no idea the PSAT this year was so significant! So nice to find out about it before my Sophomore takes the test. We had a conversation about it today and she agreed to find the time to actually prepare for the test. Her school just sent an email for a PSAT Prep class and surprisingly it was actually late enough that it would not interfere with Skating!! We try to stay out of her academics since she has never given us a reason to be concerned grade wise. In the past we casually have mentioned that maybe she should study for finals exams AP tests etc. Her response was always I have straight Aâs so we left it alone. I will be interested to see how she does on the PSAT it doesnât seem like her High School ever has many National Merit students
@ali-ice definitely a great sign!
My D26 is the opposite and is concerned about going anywhere that is too hot ! But she is a Midwest girl! It is so nice when they start so know what they want to do it sounds like you daughter had that figured out. D26 went from have no idea to being set on a major, although we would prefer her to not be so specific at this time.
@SJ2727 yep my kid went from not having any idea to 
certain but we would welcome a change to a less narrow major!
Just to clarify, the PSAT that counts for scholarship consideration is the one in the fall of junior year. Your D26 is a junior, right? (Iâm trying to double-check the math in my head and am now getting worried I said the wrong thing. 
)
@AustenNut
Yep her first day of Junior year starts Monday, they take the PSAT that âcountsâ in October
Yep my bad still using Sophomore when she is a Junior I always mix these up! Back in my day it was 9th 10th 11th 12 and 13 gotta love that I had 5 years of High School they got rid of that 5th year about 2 years after I graduated HS it is definitely the Canadian in
Me struggling
Thatâs what ours did too! But their dad and I had for a while kind of expected theyâd go in this direction as it plays to all their strengths.
Did I miss what your kid wants to major in?
@SJ2727 she wants to major in Biomedical Engineering
Nope! Just a very academically competitive public high school 
S26 is taking the AP class for the whole school year and will take the AP exam with all the other students together in May. His teacher is awesome, he asked the whole what careers they want to pursue and almost everyone mentioned medicine, doctor, dentist, or PA school. Best of luck to your daughter, I hope she does great! 
@collegeroyalty never a bad thing to be challenged by your classmates!! my D26 is taking 3APâs the most she could have taken this year would have been 4 but apparently APUSH at her school is not well taught and has a mountain of busy work so she is taking her first non honors non AP class this year( other then gym etc which only have one level) She has seen the syllabus and now is quite intrigued as to how much of a step down this class will be! she also knows no one in her class!
@aliwalsh76 new here so I scrolled back a bit! We have not started school yet! But we are in the Midwest My D26 starts her junior year Monday and my S28 starts freshman orientation Friday! My D26 is in a very large public school. My S28 is attending a private school for athletics. Junior year is big for recruiting so good luck, from what it can get overwhelming!
Fingers crossed she gets chosen for the humane society! No point doing an extra curricular if you hate it! But sometimes doing it with a friend makes it enjoyable! My Daughter did AP World History her freshman year it was an easy and interesting class.
Wishing your S26 a great year, with all the technology since Covid it is too bad that they could not add these students to a language class live streamed at one of the other districts HS