<p>My D is a sophomore at a math/science high school that is ranked 49th in the Top 100 US News and World Report. Her senior cousin is visiting schools and she’s taken a few trips with her and has expressed a strong interest in attending Stanford.</p>
<p>I figured this is a great opportunity to get her “in front of the 8 ball” and help her work towards a goal she has. The only concern I have is her PSAT scores were CR-48; Math-55; and Writing-48. If we use those as indicators on how she’d do on the SAT today, she’d score a 1510. Not even in the same hemisphere as Stanford students. Her GPA is 3.6 and she’s taking her first AP classes as a junior in the fall. She also plays soccer, basketball and spends her summers in a physician training program for minorities. She’s spent two summers at SMU taking noncredit math, science and research classes and will be at Penn this summer under the same program doing lab research.</p>
<p>I guess my question is, is it possible over the next year to get her standardized test scores in the 2000 range? And if not, what are her chances? I know she can work on her GPA and ECs. She’s working on a leadership project with the administration of her school. I want to encourage her, but if it’s not possible I want her to know that as well. </p>
<p>And yes, I am encouraging her to look at other schools that match where she is now as well. Thanks.</p>
<p>The only problem is her test scores. So far she sounds like a good candidate that Stanford and other top-notch colleges like to have. (Great in academics and also great ECs) I’d just suggest starting now with SAT prep. From how it sounds, especially with her good GPA, she may just be a bad tester. I know quite a few people who have had over 4.0 on their GPA, taken tons of AP classes, but only scored an 1800 or so on the SAT. What I would recommend is getting her into an SAT prep class or buying several test prep books ASAP.</p>
<p>Really, the SAT doesn’t test how smart you are, it just says how well you take that one test. A person with a math background of only Algebra and Geometry and a person with extensive knowledge of math up through Calculus are equally likely to get a good score on the Math portion, for example. The difficulty in the SAT is in how they ask the questions, not necessarily what they are asking about. In my opinion, the whole SAT system is pretty flawed, but I suppose you do need some way of testing students on the same playing field…</p>
<p>Basically, don’t give up hope, since test scores aren’t the only thing colleges look at, but try to get that score up a few hundred points… :)</p>
<p>Being in one of the top schools in the nation might actually be detrimental in your situation. At the end of the day, you can’t really advoid competing with some of the other overachieving students who perhaps have taken 3-4 AP/honor level courses since freshman/sophmore year. </p>
<p>But the test scores can definitely come up. Take a dozen practice test or so and you’ll see a dramatic improvement.</p>
<p>Thank you both for your feedback. I have signed her up on collegeboard so she gets the SAT question of day, but I will also invest in the SAT prep guides as well. Our family can’t swing the cost of kaplan classes (we looked at them last week), but the local library offers some free study sessions we’ll take advantage of.</p>
<p>Yes, the AP situation is tough at her school. When you test to get in, they put you in phases. Only students placed in phase 5 are allowed to take AP classes. She is Phase 3 (english/social studies) and phase 4(math/science). She was accepted into the school a year early and skipped 8th grade. Her freshman year I thought it was a good idea she was in a lower phase because it gave her time to adjust to classes where kids had a year more of study. Unfortunately, now as a sophomore, it has limited her ability to take the top classes at the school. We are petitioning to place her in the upper phases given her strong gpa because we know how important AP classes are. An alternative is that she studies on her own for the AP exam if she is not approved for the class. Its extra work, but I hope it shows schools she is serious and took the initiative and not be limited by school offerings.</p>
<p>Don’t pay for prep classes. They are expensive and not really beneficial.</p>
<p>Just offer her a certain amount of money (a fraction of what you would have to pay) if she gets a score above a certain threshold (e.g. 2300). You will be amazed what it does.</p>
<p>^Ditto</p>
<p>Don’t pay for prep classes, they are a serious waste of money. Just take like two dozen tests (and make sure you understand what you do wrong) and you should be able to get a good enough score for the top schools.</p>
<p>Good advice. That’s actually how I handle her allowance. She gets a certain amount for A’s, half that for B’s and nothing for C’s. If she pulls straight A’s, her money is doubled. I’ve been doing this since she was in the 4th grade and she gets mostly A’s and has never gotten below a B in anything. I didn’t think to do the same with standardized tests, but its a great idea. </p>
<p>Thank you so much for the input and the great ideas. Keep them coming. I’ll come back and update the thread from time to time on how she’s doing. She’s only 14 right now, so her dreams may change another 100 times over the next year, but I’ll support in whatever she chooses.</p>
<p>May all your dreams come true as well!</p>
<p>Well the exciting news is 3rd quarter grades are out and my little one has five A’s and one B, which is designated as first honors at her school. We talked about Stanford and she actually listened to her mommy and cranked it out!</p>
<p>The bad news is because of her phases she was only approved for one AP class, Statistics. So she’s being forced to take regular Psych and Spanish. So by then end of junior year she will have only one AP class on record when she applies. </p>
<p>I know she needs more, but her guidance counselor said they are very strict about the phases. She had a kid last year who got into Princeton with no APs. Blah, blah, blah. When I asked her opinion of my D studying and taking the AP test on her own, she said she would never recommend that. Their teachers are very skilled and if she didn’t do well, the score would stick with her. But no matter how good their teachers are, it won’t help us if she can’t take the class because of a test she took in the 7th grade!</p>
<p>Any recommendations?</p>
<p>I would DEFINTELY recommend self studying for an AP test or two, just be careful with the tests you choose. Certain AP tests are harder than others so it’s best to do a bit of research on which ones are best for her. For example, AP Comparative Governemnt is a GREAT one to self study fo., I took the test my junior year and got a 3, and I honestly only read the introduction of the prep book a week before the test. Some to stay away from are Physics, Chemistry and Calculus; all of these are REALLY intesive classes that unless she is extremely gifted, she’ll have a hard time understanding the concepts on her own. Also, I woulld recommend having her talk to some of the teachers in her school which teach the AP classes and explaining her situation: that because of the phase program they won’t let her take more than one AP class, but she would like help self studying if possible. Some teachers may be open to helping her with concepts she’s having trouble with while self-studying. </p>
<p>Honestly, I don’t know where her guidance counsellor got this from but, AP scores only matter if you want them to. None of the schools I applied to requested my AP scores, it was completely optional to report them. In my eyes you really can’t lose. If she self studies and does well, then the college will think highly of her for taking initiative and succeeding, and if she doesn’t do well, just don’t report the scores.</p>
<p>And congrats on her A’s!! That’s one step closer to Stanford. :)</p>
<p>^Ok, I’m thinking AP Psych and the Government class you suggested. Also good advice about the scores. If we can decide to send the scores after we know how she does, you’re right, what’s the harm. Makes perfect sense to me. Thanks!</p>