Parents of the Class of 2019

[bjscheel]

No reason not to really. Good luck to her! My DD continues to do well in Math, english and reading, but lags behind in science. I really wish she'd spend some time prepping for it.

I got DD the For the Love of ACT Science book and her Science score went up 6 points. Granted, it was freshman year vs. junior year, but still I think it helped a lot. Now if I could get her to go through the math book too! I'd like her to try it one more time in September but she's not enthused.

 

[Eureka]

We just got back from DC (family trip combine with looking at some schools) and had an amazing time! DS didn't like George Washington (too urban) but loved American and Georgetown. He's got a good shot at getting into American, but Georgetown will be a reach! And in other news, he has a date to the prom! He's pretty quiet and goes to an all boys school, so he doesn't know too many girls, but he asked a girl from work and she said yes! I'm so happy for him.

DS wants to look at GW and Georgetown too and I wondered that about the urban atmosphere of GW too. He’s not interested in American. Georgetown will certainly be a reach for most people, I think. We are in the metro DC area so I just need to set up tours.

I hope your Ds has a good time at the prom.

 

[lovesdumbo]

Congrats on the great ACT scores!!!

My heart is breaking for my DS. He's so smart but has test anxiety and is just too slow and methodical. He's taking a Kaplan SAT prep course. The first class you take a practice test. He had been doing all the homework and last week when they were on spring break he put a lot of work into studying. He did another sample test. He was kind of excited to try it again after his hard work. He went to my SIL's house so he could do it in nice quiet location. He added 40 points to his already pretty good verbal score but lost 20 points on his poor math score. He was so deflated. Thinks he won't get into any college. Just so frustrating for him. He did say he forgot his calculator and was trying to use his phone. I reviewed the test-you can see all the answers explained. It seemed really hard and I am an analyst and have an MS in a math related field (but it has been a while since I've done that kind of math). I'm hoping that sample test was just a really hard one. He said he will review the answers himself. We've already signed him up for both May & June SATs. I was really hoping he wouldn't have to do it again in the fall. Maybe he should try the ACT but I've read the ACT is more about speed and that might not suit him.

He goes to a VERY competitive high school so he's putting himself under so much pressure. We've always told him he just needs to do his best. He/we have no desire to go a top tier school so I don't quite understand the pressure. He's not sure what he wants to do. He really wants to work at NASA. He is a very good writer but says he doesn't enjoy that. He most recently was talking about mechanical engineering but not sure he will get into a mechanical engineering program with a math SAT score in the 400s. His math grades have been mostly As/B+. He had a rough year freshman year with a 2.8 GPA but has really done well Sophomore & this year. Will not quite be a 3.5 at the end of this year. I think admission officers are likely to appreciate his growth. He says he wants to go South so we were planning a trip to FL this summer to look at Florida Institute of Technology, Embry Riddle and then drive to St Louis (where my other SIL lives-would be nice to have family close if he wants to go far away) to look at St Louis Univ. and stop at U of TN and UIUC along the way. Now he says he doesn't want to go at all. I'm afraid he'll give up.

 

[mjkacmom]

Congrats on the great ACT scores!!!

My heart is breaking for my DS. He's so smart but has test anxiety and is just too slow and methodical. He's taking a Kaplan SAT prep course. The first class you take a practice test. He had been doing all the homework and last week when they were on spring break he put a lot of work into studying. He did another sample test. He was kind of excited to try it again after his hard work. He went to my SIL's house so he could do it in nice quiet location. He added 40 points to his already pretty good verbal score but lost 20 points on his poor math score. He was so deflated. Thinks he won't get into any college. Just so frustrating for him. He did say he forgot his calculator and was trying to use his phone. I reviewed the test-you can see all the answers explained. It seemed really hard and I am an analyst and have an MS in a math related field (but it has been a while since I've done that kind of math). I'm hoping that sample test was just a really hard one. He said he will review the answers himself. We've already signed him up for both May & June SATs. I was really hoping he wouldn't have to do it again in the fall. Maybe he should try the ACT but I've read the ACT is more about speed and that might not suit him.

He goes to a VERY competitive high school so he's putting himself under so much pressure. We've always told him he just needs to do his best. He/we have no desire to go a top tier school so I don't quite understand the pressure. He's not sure what he wants to do. He really wants to work at NASA. He is a very good writer but says he doesn't enjoy that. He most recently was talking about mechanical engineering but not sure he will get into a mechanical engineering program with a math SAT score in the 400s. His math grades have been mostly As/B+. He had a rough year freshman year with a 2.8 GPA but has really done well Sophomore & this year. Will not quite be a 3.5 at the end of this year. I think admission officers are likely to appreciate his growth. He says he wants to go South so we were planning a trip to FL this summer to look at Florida Institute of Technology, Embry Riddle and then drive to St Louis (where my other SIL lives-would be nice to have family close if he wants to go far away) to look at St Louis Univ. and stop at U of TN and UIUC along the way. Now he says he doesn't want to go at all. I'm afraid he'll give up.

There is a college for everyone! And definitely have him take the ACT, both ds20 and dd17 did significantly better on it than the SAT (dd21 only took the SAT, I didn’t even think about having her take the ACT). Even if Dd gets into a top school, she won’t be attending, she needs to go to a lower ranked school for scholarships. It’s hard when they don’t know what they want to major in, because it makes it harder to figure out where to apply. Hopefully you can convince him to visit colleges, I think that definitely helps narrowing down choices easier.

All of my kids had tutors, I found they worked out better than test centers, and weren’t more expensive. We found them through word of mouth.

 

[Lynne G]

Well, Pitt visit is scheduled. We will see if she likes it as much as she says she will. Siblings of one of my neighbors, one is in his second year at Pitt, and one was just accepted to Pitt, as high school graduating this year. So, at least there will be upper class kids to help her, if she needs some help.

Yep, may need to get help for her to take the ACT test in May. Glad to hear mjkacmom, that a tutor helped your kids. I am still looking where we live.

 

[Colleen27]

Congrats to everyone pleased with their test scores!

The Xavier open house was great. DD wasn't wowed by the location/campus - too suburban-feeling, too isolated from the city culture - but was really impressed with the school itself so it has gotten a solid "maybe" out of her. But the more important thing we learned is that open houses are so much more informative than standard campus tours! She got to chat with the heads of the programs she's interested in and attend info sessions specific to her interests/situation (honors college, environmental sciences), and was really impressed with their short-term study abroad programs over breaks (ie Christmas break in Jerusalem for 6 credit hours/fulfilling two core requirements). We both walked away feeling like we got a much better sense of the school than we did when we just stopped in for a campus tour. Now she wants to make the effort to attend open houses at the remaining schools on her list... so we're heading out in the wee hours of the morning on Friday for a weekend in Boston for Wellesley's "junior day" open house. The event itself is most of the day on Saturday, but we're also planning on taking the bus or train into the city on Friday night since she wants to know what it would be like to live there without a car and visiting Walden Pond before we head home on Sunday.

 

[mjkacmom]

Well, Pitt visit is scheduled. We will see if she likes it as much as she says she will. Siblings of one of my neighbors, one is in his second year at Pitt, and one was just accepted to Pitt, as high school graduating this year. So, at least there will be upper class kids to help her, if she needs some help.

Yep, may need to get help for her to take the ACT test in May. Glad to hear mjkacmom, that a tutor helped your kids. I am still looking where we live.

Dd just went to a large college fair last night, Pitt is now on her short list. We know a sophomore there (graduated with ds20, plus Dd runs track with his sister), so she’s going to talk to him. I think they have a 3/3 physical therapy program. UCONN is back on her list after talking to a HS senior she was shadowing with yesterday at PT who is going there next year.

 

[aejammers]

Congrats on the great ACT scores!!!

My heart is breaking for my DS. He's so smart but has test anxiety and is just too slow and methodical. He's taking a Kaplan SAT prep course. The first class you take a practice test. He had been doing all the homework and last week when they were on spring break he put a lot of work into studying. He did another sample test. He was kind of excited to try it again after his hard work. He went to my SIL's house so he could do it in nice quiet location. He added 40 points to his already pretty good verbal score but lost 20 points on his poor math score. He was so deflated. Thinks he won't get into any college. Just so frustrating for him. He did say he forgot his calculator and was trying to use his phone. I reviewed the test-you can see all the answers explained. It seemed really hard and I am an analyst and have an MS in a math related field (but it has been a while since I've done that kind of math). I'm hoping that sample test was just a really hard one. He said he will review the answers himself. We've already signed him up for both May & June SATs. I was really hoping he wouldn't have to do it again in the fall. Maybe he should try the ACT but I've read the ACT is more about speed and that might not suit him.

He goes to a VERY competitive high school so he's putting himself under so much pressure. We've always told him he just needs to do his best. He/we have no desire to go a top tier school so I don't quite understand the pressure. He's not sure what he wants to do. He really wants to work at NASA. He is a very good writer but says he doesn't enjoy that. He most recently was talking about mechanical engineering but not sure he will get into a mechanical engineering program with a math SAT score in the 400s. His math grades have been mostly As/B+. He had a rough year freshman year with a 2.8 GPA but has really done well Sophomore & this year. Will not quite be a 3.5 at the end of this year. I think admission officers are likely to appreciate his growth. He says he wants to go South so we were planning a trip to FL this summer to look at Florida Institute of Technology, Embry Riddle and then drive to St Louis (where my other SIL lives-would be nice to have family close if he wants to go far away) to look at St Louis Univ. and stop at U of TN and UIUC along the way. Now he says he doesn't want to go at all. I'm afraid he'll give up.

My DS is terrible in Math and took both the SAT and ACT to get a feel for the tests and to have a baseline score for both. He did better on the ACT and said he liked it much better. The Math section wasn't quite as long and seemed to cover areas he felt more confident in. So he is focusing on the ACT even though the SAT is the more popular test in our school district.

Maybe have your DS take an ACT practice test (some free ones online, or pick up an ACT book) and see how he does. There are score calculators online that compare the SAT score to the ACT score, and it tells you what percentage nationally that score ranks so you can really tell which one he excels in.

Good luck!

 

[bjscheel]

Congrats to everyone pleased with their test scores!

The Xavier open house was great. DD wasn't wowed by the location/campus - too suburban-feeling, too isolated from the city culture - but was really impressed with the school itself so it has gotten a solid "maybe" out of her. But the more important thing we learned is that open houses are so much more informative than standard campus tours! She got to chat with the heads of the programs she's interested in and attend info sessions specific to her interests/situation (honors college, environmental sciences), and was really impressed with their short-term study abroad programs over breaks (ie Christmas break in Jerusalem for 6 credit hours/fulfilling two core requirements). We both walked away feeling like we got a much better sense of the school than we did when we just stopped in for a campus tour. Now she wants to make the effort to attend open houses at the remaining schools on her list... so we're heading out in the wee hours of the morning on Friday for a weekend in Boston for Wellesley's "junior day" open house. The event itself is most of the day on Saturday, but we're also planning on taking the bus or train into the city on Friday night since she wants to know what it would be like to live there without a car and visiting Walden Pond before we head home on Sunday.

We've been to one open house and one regular daily tour. DD thinks she likes the daily tours because she wants the smaller group. But at the open house she did get to talk to a professor in her major and eat in the cafeteria and at the tour she did not. I wish we could have.

As far as I know right now, there is at least one more school I'd like her to visit, possibly two, as closer to home backup plans. Those might happen this summer.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Congrats on the great ACT scores!!!

My heart is breaking for my DS. He's so smart but has test anxiety and is just too slow and methodical. He's taking a Kaplan SAT prep course. The first class you take a practice test. He had been doing all the homework and last week when they were on spring break he put a lot of work into studying. He did another sample test. He was kind of excited to try it again after his hard work. He went to my SIL's house so he could do it in nice quiet location. He added 40 points to his already pretty good verbal score but lost 20 points on his poor math score. He was so deflated. Thinks he won't get into any college. Just so frustrating for him. He did say he forgot his calculator and was trying to use his phone. I reviewed the test-you can see all the answers explained. It seemed really hard and I am an analyst and have an MS in a math related field (but it has been a while since I've done that kind of math). I'm hoping that sample test was just a really hard one. He said he will review the answers himself. We've already signed him up for both May & June SATs. I was really hoping he wouldn't have to do it again in the fall. Maybe he should try the ACT but I've read the ACT is more about speed and that might not suit him.

He goes to a VERY competitive high school so he's putting himself under so much pressure. We've always told him he just needs to do his best. He/we have no desire to go a top tier school so I don't quite understand the pressure. He's not sure what he wants to do. He really wants to work at NASA. He is a very good writer but says he doesn't enjoy that. He most recently was talking about mechanical engineering but not sure he will get into a mechanical engineering program with a math SAT score in the 400s. His math grades have been mostly As/B+. He had a rough year freshman year with a 2.8 GPA but has really done well Sophomore & this year. Will not quite be a 3.5 at the end of this year. I think admission officers are likely to appreciate his growth. He says he wants to go South so we were planning a trip to FL this summer to look at Florida Institute of Technology, Embry Riddle and then drive to St Louis (where my other SIL lives-would be nice to have family close if he wants to go far away) to look at St Louis Univ. and stop at U of TN and UIUC along the way. Now he says he doesn't want to go at all. I'm afraid he'll give up.

My DS struggles with speed as well, but remind him that taking your time does come in handy in other situations!

He wasn't terribly happy with his SAT scores, but plans to try the ACT also, on advice from an uncle of mine who used to work in admissions. He recommended it even though it's not the main one here because it doesn't just focus on ELA and math, and science and history are DS's strong suits.

I agree that they will look at progress from freshman year until now!

And try not to worry too much about your DS changing his mind - I find many kids flip back and forth a lot! (In the past two months, mine has gone from researching gap year ideas, to wanting to be a history teacher, to asking which schools in our area have a zoology major!) Young people have so many options today, it's a wonder any of them have it figured out by now.

 

[bjscheel]

And try not to worry too much about your DS changing his mind - I find many kids flip back and forth a lot! (In the past two months, mine has gone from researching gap year ideas, to wanting to be a history teacher, to asking which schools in our area have a zoology major!) Young people have so many options today, it's a wonder any of them have it figured out by now.

This is so hard for me to deal with. DD was at first set on being a Theatre or Musical Theatre major. Then Vocal Music Education (at which I thought great! There is a major that has jobs all over the country). Then History. Then Musical Theatre. Then Recreation & Parks Management. Now Geography. It just seems like when she changes and it's something approve of, I get in the mind-set of "Okay, this is what we're doing!" And then it changes.

I thought Geography would keep her interest as she loves travel, maps, National Parks, recreation & tourism, natural resources (but not too science-y), etc. The course list has all of that wrapped into one major. This week she said she wasn't sure about Geography as she didn't want it to be all GIS mapping. I said later we'll look at the course list. I think there will only be one required GIS class and it would be good for her anyhow.

She's not going to be an engineer, accountant, nurse, or any of those jobs that are tied to a very specific major, so my goal is to get her a degree in something, and it might as well be courses that interest her. I'd like her to do Geography because she likes it, and maybe minor in Public Administration because it could be practical. But who knows what her thought will be in a year!

 

[lovesdumbo]

And try not to worry too much about your DS changing his mind - I find many kids flip back and forth a lot! (In the past two months, mine has gone from researching gap year ideas, to wanting to be a history teacher, to asking which schools in our area have a zoology major!) Young people have so many options today, it's a wonder any of them have it figured out by now.

I'm not worried about him changing his mind. Worried that he'll give up. I am a bit concerned that he wants to go so far from home. My oldest is a freshman in a college 7 hour drive from home and she's really flourished so I know I shouldn't worry about DS but I can't help it.


He did another practice test tonight. Got a 560 on math!!! So happy for him. Now he will have confidence at real test.

 

[soccerdad72]

Everyone keeps telling my son he should look at Pitt as well - with my brother living there, it wouldn't be too bad of a choice. If he got a little home sick, aside from the fact that it's only 2 hours away, I'm sure his uncle would stop by and see him. We might be adding that to our list.

Last week of SAT prep for him this week - test next Saturday. Then, after AP tests, he'll work on (hopefully) a final ACT test prep, which he's likely going to take the July test. If he can score well on one (or both) of those, he should be done with testing.

 

[tink1970]

@lovesdumbo-I'm sorry to hear your son is struggling. I get it-my DD has a hard time in the weirdest areas and I hate pushing too much but am afraid if I don't she'll just give up. When she gets overwhelmed she just freezes and does nothing...I try to present stress managing techniques but when she gets in a rut it's really hard to push her out. Test anxiety stinks but I echo others who recommend a good 1:1 tutor who will have him do several iterations of the test-that mastery can help his confidence. Good luck supporting him


It has been a crazy month here, for sure!

Last weekend was prom, DD actually went with several friends. She had a migraine the day before so was still feeling the effects-so was home right after prom, no after parties or anything like that. The seniors had their last school day yesterday (have time off to study for IB tests) so guess now DD and her class are the de facto seniors. Wow...it feels like this year has really flown by!

Next week she'll begin AP/IB tests for 2 weeks then finals then we're "done" for the year. She still hasn't even started her 100 hr community service project so that's a HUGE stress. Between figuring that out and doing it, plus being in Spain for 2 1/2 weeks, then Duke for a program for 2 weeks, her summer should fly by. She'll be visiting UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke while in Durham but hasn't committed to any other school visits yet. After her disappointing SAT scores, Duke is a reach without a doubt. Thankfully she didn't love Vanderbilt because that's another reach. I really just want her to be realistic...

I had a frustrating conversation with the IB director this am. I'd read online that the NMSQT letter to the Principals had been sent. I know that my DD has the scores for Commended (SI of 212 this year for Commended and her SI is 221) and suspect she'll be a semifinalist. BUT since I hadn't heard from the school wanted to make sure she was on the commended list mailed to the school. The IB office has had it for a while, just don't feel it's important enough to notify the parents "with all the senior activities going on." Grrr...seriously, it's 14 letters. That shouldn't take too long-and if it overwhelms the secretary I would volunteer to do it. Or...I don't know, an email? Thanks for letting me vent, I get so frustrated with the attitude of the school somedays.

I hope everyone has a good last month or more of school. I am so ready for DD to have a break!

 

[mjkacmom]

@lovesdumbo-I'm sorry to hear your son is struggling. I get it-my DD has a hard time in the weirdest areas and I hate pushing too much but am afraid if I don't she'll just give up. When she gets overwhelmed she just freezes and does nothing...I try to present stress managing techniques but when she gets in a rut it's really hard to push her out. Test anxiety stinks but I echo others who recommend a good 1:1 tutor who will have him do several iterations of the test-that mastery can help his confidence. Good luck supporting him


It has been a crazy month here, for sure!

Last weekend was prom, DD actually went with several friends. She had a migraine the day before so was still feeling the effects-so was home right after prom, no after parties or anything like that. The seniors had their last school day yesterday (have time off to study for IB tests) so guess now DD and her class are the de facto seniors. Wow...it feels like this year has really flown by!

Next week she'll begin AP/IB tests for 2 weeks then finals then we're "done" for the year. She still hasn't even started her 100 hr community service project so that's a HUGE stress. Between figuring that out and doing it, plus being in Spain for 2 1/2 weeks, then Duke for a program for 2 weeks, her summer should fly by. She'll be visiting UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke while in Durham but hasn't committed to any other school visits yet. After her disappointing SAT scores, Duke is a reach without a doubt. Thankfully she didn't love Vanderbilt because that's another reach. I really just want her to be realistic...

I had a frustrating conversation with the IB director this am. I'd read online that the NMSQT letter to the Principals had been sent. I know that my DD has the scores for Commended (SI of 212 this year for Commended and her SI is 221) and suspect she'll be a semifinalist. BUT since I hadn't heard from the school wanted to make sure she was on the commended list mailed to the school. The IB office has had it for a while, just don't feel it's important enough to notify the parents "with all the senior activities going on." Grrr...seriously, it's 14 letters. That shouldn't take too long-and if it overwhelms the secretary I would volunteer to do it. Or...I don't know, an email? Thanks for letting me vent, I get so frustrated with the attitude of the school somedays.

I hope everyone has a good last month or more of school. I am so ready for DD to have a break!

We have a solid two months left, and she still has to take finals in June for her AP classes.

 

[tink1970]

We have a solid two months left, and she still has to take finals in June for her AP classes.

That's a loooong time! Do y'all start after Labor Day? I know DD couldn't participate in several summer programs because they extended into late August. It's interesting how different school districts time their years.

Am I the only one who thinks finals on top of AP tests is redundant?

 

[mom2rtk]

Our final day of school here is 4 weeks from today. Prom is next weekend. They'll be seniors soon!

I kind of like having them start in mid-August. It's ugly hot then so they might as well be sitting in an air conditioned classroom.

It's sort of freaking me out that graduation is just over a month away. This is our last, so definitely a different set of emotions.

 

[mom2rtk]

I got DD the For the Love of ACT Science book and her Science score went up 6 points. Granted, it was freshman year vs. junior year, but still I think it helped a lot. Now if I could get her to go through the math book too! I'd like her to try it one more time in September but she's not enthused.

Thanks! We'll check that out.

 

[bjscheel]

We have a month left. AP Lit will be done like next week, since it's run through a college. She tried to take a test in it yesterday, but her computer froze up and she couldn't do it. Will be so nice to have that class out of the way.

This week is something else. Prom recovery on Sunday, soccer games Mon-Tues-Thur-Sat, choir concert Friday (tonight). Two hours of math last night after the game. Read a short novel for AP somewhere in there. She's going to the Avengers movie Saturday night. The deadline for National Honor Society is Monday so that resume and essay need to be written this weekend.

She did get a goal in the JV game last night! The only point scored by us in JV or Varsity. She didn't play long in Varsity as a ball got kicked into her wrist bending it backwards, but it stopped hurting by bedtime so I guess she'll be fine.

 

[Eureka]

We have a month left. AP Lit will be done like next week, since it's run through a college. She tried to take a test in it yesterday, but her computer froze up and she couldn't do it. Will be so nice to have that class out of the way.

This week is something else. Prom recovery on Sunday, soccer games Mon-Tues-Thur-Sat, choir concert Friday (tonight). Two hours of math last night after the game. Read a short novel for AP somewhere in there. She's going to the Avengers movie Saturday night. The deadline for National Honor Society is Monday so that resume and essay need to be written this weekend.

She did get a goal in the JV game last night! The only point scored by us in JV or Varsity. She didn't play long in Varsity as a ball got kicked into her wrist bending it backwards, but it stopped hurting by bedtime so I guess she'll be fine.

Six weeks of school, three AP tests, a set of SAT subject tests and several college visits left before summer can really start for us. The next two Saturdays we are touring schools and I just saw that GW and Georgetown have June dates up so we’re going to schedule those for an early June week day and do them on the same day. DS is also already applying for summer jobs and last night was telling me about his summer reading for next year’s AP lit. Makes me tired to think of it all. Add in DS15’s lifeguard cert course this week and he texted me from school saying a pool manager came in during lunch to talk to whoever wanted to learn how to apply for lifeguard jobs....and it’s going to be crazy summer here.