<p>“These folks who have kids who scored a 34 or 35 or whatever, are merely downplaying this to make them feel better about their child. It is just about the best accomplishment a child can make. There is no such thing as too much attention for an accomplishment such as this. If this was done for their child, would they tell the TV, no we don’t want to be on TV and no don’t put us in the paper. I think not. You can’t get a 36 by guessing; you must be quite intelligent. any child who scores a 36 is used to the treatment quoted in the first page or so of posts. I am having jerseys printed up with the number 36 on them. Our church is hanging a plaque in the Family Life Center. Our bank says “_____banks here!!” and this isn’t over…there will be more over the summer. So yes, your school should be doing more. Ours did.
And by the way, don’t worry about the negative posts. Our kids will be hiring then firing their kids.”</p>
<p>Is this a joke? Jerseys? A church plaque? A bank bragging that a 36-ACT student banks there?</p>
<p>While high test scores are a wonderful accomplishment, there are many things that are more important in the world. The accomplishment that I find most impressive is when a young person creates and organizes a successful community service project. It is amazing what some young people have done.</p>
<p>I also have never seen a correlation between test scores and being able to be in charge of an organization. From what I’ve seen, people skills are most important when it comes to gaining supervisory positions and being effective at them. Social intelligence is very important, and that’s not something measured on tests like the ACT. One can be very book smart and people stupid.</p>
<p>Wrinkle cream just isn’t that interesting to me , xig. I sure would like to have that conversation about plutonium though. </p>
<p>Sometimes a no-prepped 36 kid turns out to be a veteran of many re-takes. It happens. Sadly, and almost unbelievably , even to those who made a 35.</p>
<p>I just saw a story in which an Ohio student got a 36 after taking the test 4 times. I think that if they are willing to spend the time and effort to keep studying for and retaking the test, lots of smart students would be able to get 36 scores. Most students, though, aren’t that obsessed about the test. Nor are their parents.</p>
<p>I do agree, with Northstar many kids do retake the test multiple times. I remember back in my time we took the test only 2x because on the third they start averaging scores, now most universities superscore the results so it is possible for transcript purposes to have a 36.</p>
<p>To the OP: Your kid did really well. Congratulations to your kid. </p>
<p>I would be thrilled to have my kid get such a high score. But I would hope that my kid’s school would treat the news in exactly the same way as your kid’s school did. </p>
<p>There are many academic and non-academic accomplishments to celebrate and your kid probably has some other accomplishments worth honoring. ACT or SAT scores should not be honored. That gives waaaaaay too much importance to these tests.</p>
<p>JMHO.</p>
<p>Bulletandpima, either things have changed since last year or our kids looked at very different schools. We found the opposite to be true … very FEW schools superscore the ACT. Not that it matters in the context of this argument. It’s just that your comment surprised me.</p>
<p>While I have stated my feelings about OP’s situation already, I cringe when I read SOS’s posts. I am not sure fixating on a kid’s accomplishments to such a degree is healthy. If he really is all that and a bag of potato chips, that’s cool. The problem is, while I am all for celebrating true accomplishments (and yes, I still think a 36 is an accomplishment), I also think that celebrating accomplishments to the point of plaques in the bank/jerseys with 36, etc.is more than overkill. It’s pretty far for a kid to fall when he’s put so high up on a pedestal. He might make a mistake some day (most humans do, <em>even</em> the teenage of the species) … if his self worth is wrapped up in his perfection, how will he handle it? In the sports world, in Hollywood, in business we have seen case after case of real human beings who were treated as gods. Some of them started out humble & well adjusted yet were unable to handle the pressure of expectation. I am not saying this will happen to SOS’s son. I am just saying that I hope SOS’s son is not beatified IRL as it sounds he might be. It seems unfair, frankly.</p>
<p>This thread reminds me of a student who did very, very well in high school- excellent test scores and grades, parents had been bragging for years - was the “brain” of the family.
Shoo-in to Ivy League-
well… not so much.
Huge blow.
Attended school slightly less competitive than Ivy. ( but cost the same 
)
Summa cum Laude. Phi Beta Kappa.</p>
<p>Working at Old navy and living at home three years after graduation.
Hmm- perhaps numbers aren’t as big of a deal as some wish they were.</p>
<p>Kels,</p>
<p>All of our DS schools superscored the SAT’s. DS took the ACT for Notre Dame, got a 33, and did not re-take. He applied to 4 other colleges, NYU, UMiami, UMD-College Park Scholars, and the United States Air Force Academy. There were no schools on his list that didn’t superscore. The only difference was some schools were including the written score of the SAT and some were not</p>
<p>EK, I know someone like that, he was the shining star of the family, sent to a 1 tier lower than IVY, sister wasn’t allowed to go to her dream and forced to go to state so they could pay for him. (Was told, it wasn’t a biggie since she would get married and never use her degree!) BTW, to them all the wanted from their youngest was he graduated from any college! In the end the oldest now lives with his folks, is divorced and was unemployed for 5 yrs. The other two are very successful and ea make in the 6 figures</p>
<p>Spaced Out Sax, congratulations to your son, too! I’m sure
he has many other accomplishments. Since when does scoring
36 on ACT mean their must be something else lacking in a
student? Strange logic.</p>
<p>Since when does scoring
36 on ACT mean their must be something else lacking in a
student? Strange logic.</p>
<p>Which is why insistence on being “recognized” for a 36 ACT seems so out of whack.</p>
<p>SpacedOutSax strikes me as just one super-enthusiastic cheerleader for her apparently very intelligent son. Nothing inherently wrong with that, we probably all have a tiny bit of SOS in us. However, most of us have figured out how to keep it in check so that it doesn’t result in a vulgar display.</p>
<p>“However, most of us have figured out how to keep it in check so that it doesn’t result in a vulgar display.”</p>
<p>The best way to do this is to post stuff about our kids on an anonymous college chat room site like this! No one really knows us here, and we can anonymously gloat among virtual friends. Such behavior is not acceptable in the company of non-virtual people, including family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors! ;)</p>
<p>We had 5 Perfect ACT scores, and a couple perfect SAT scores at our school. No one really cared, since it happens every year.</p>
<p>Honestly, I think that whatever happens, it should be a pleasant surprise. Don’t expect fame and riches just from a one-time perfect score, and certainly don’t go hound the school.</p>
<p>I guess I just have a reaction to what I see as " objectifying kids for a " trick" rather than who they are"</p>
<p>D # 1 was 10 weeks early, weighed about 1 & 1/2 lbs for a while, had surgery, transfusions, intubation , IV’s, the whole preemie workup except for the PDA.(Patent ductus arteriosus)
When my grandparents who were in their mid 70s saw her in the hospital, it was all they could do not to pass out.
Given that her parents were young , uneducated & lowish income , an optimistic prognosis would be that she wouldn’t need to be in special education full time ( once discharged from hospital).
When she taught herself to read at 3 years, and was reading chapter books by 5 and middle school books by 6 yrs, I guess I should have been more understanding when my grandmother wanted her to perform on demand for her friends. I realize she was happy that D was doing so well, but I felt that it discounted other attributes that were equally as remarkable and made her seem different than the other kids- when I just wanted her to feel like she fit in.</p>
<p>I know kids are trying to stand out when they apply to colleges, but from what I observed, “trying” to guess what will be noticed seems to backfire.</p>
<p>“I think I’d better not read anymore of these posts. My yearning for my community to fawn over me is just too strong.”</p>
<p>And this is the crux of the matter. The parent wants the community to fawn over HER and not S who actually achieved this feat. Remember, it was your kid who did this. All by himself. Him alone with a pencil and a calculator. Not you. You had your turn 20 or 30 years ago. Let S shine in the spotlight and let him determine how bright it is and how long he stands in it.</p>
<p>But that has actually taught him about persistence as he was required to take art classes, and you know what, he FINALLY, did well</p>
<p>I don’t understand this
ART is something ( unlike music practicum where you will * know* if you are doing well or not), that is subjective and isn’t something you can score or say yes- that is an A or that is a B.
WHich is one of the great things about it.
You are supposed to be * creative* and there is not a right or wrong answer.</p>
<p>It’s really a different mindset, than doing well in say APUSH. For example- while I had once won an art contest in elementary school- I wasn’t encouraged or even able to take many classes in junior high or high school.
However, despite this, I still persisted and attempted a design class in college.
I wasn’t one to spend a lot of time on homework, so while I thought about my project, I didn’t try out different techniques to see what worked best, until it was time to" *&^ or get off the pot".
I sat down and did it & turned it in feeling abashed that I didn’t spend more time on it, but hopeful that the teacher would get what I was trying to do.
She liked it so much she submitted it to the college gallery for a show!</p>
<p>I guess what I am trying to say is- while we certainly want to recognize our children’s ( and others) accomplishments- we also want them to feel free to make mistakes & when we pay too much attention to when they are " perfect", we may hinder their willingness to take a risk, in case they do not repeat ( or beat) their previous attempt</p>
<p>Our family had the same experience as the OP. D got a 2400 last spring after a 36 the previous fall - absolutely no acknowledgement fromt the school. It started to bug us - so many kids getting recognized for things, why not perfect scores? I called and asked and was told they just felt it was inappropriate. Then I started to think about all the scrutiny my D would face come college decision time if everyone knew. So we told no one outside of family and a few friends. Then the scores got totally outed during the Presdential Scholar business. Now my D gets some catty remarks from peers who did not get into their first choice schools, they tell her that she got into reach schools based on meaningless scores rather than meainingful ECs. Oh well. These sort of experiences educate you on who your real friends are. Many people are just put off by perfect scores. I don’t know why. They usually have very intelligent kids and the prospect of another one out there who scored a bit better annoys them. I’d probably feel the same.</p>
<p>To the OP - bravo for your son - if he wants to go to a public U he will have a great deal of merit money.</p>
<p>ek4: My kids were required to take an art class in HS. It was ALL about rules and very little about creativity. They followed the rules just right, and they got their As, even though neither of them were artistically inclined. I distinctly remember a project where they were required to copy a very complicated pencil drawing, and the best grade went to the best copy. There were assignments about perspective and color – you did it the school’s way, not your way.</p>
<p>This is not MY idea of art, but it certainly was the school’s idea.</p>
<p>To the OP,</p>
<p>Congrats on the score. It is a great achievement and from what you described it sounds like the school was very pleased and did recognize the achievement. However, I do think you were expecting a bit too much from them. It’s certainly great but getting a perfect score on a standardized test isn’t exactly massive news to most people. It’s the sort of thing where you get a pat on the back, not a marble statue in the town square.</p>
<p>Mammall, I know you didn’t post with the thought of having us congratulate your D for her scores … but I am moved, completely on my own, to say, “Great job, Mammall’s D!” I am sorry that she experienced what she did. It’s interesting how things work. My D went to high school with a guy who was an okay student … but pretty much middle of class or lower in terms of his grades. However, he was an excellent football player. He was recruited by Northwestern. There have been kids at her school who are much better students (and well rounded, too) who did not get in at NU. No one pointed fingers at the football player & accused him of getting in because of meaningless football ability. Why can’t people be as respectful of demonstrated intelligence as they are other talents? I don’t think erecting a statue in the town square is necessary, but questioning a young woman’s acceptances because she got perfect scores?! Come on. Something is wrong here.</p>