<p>i know… it s sort of funny to see myself getting slammed…when 'doomed’was not my word but that of an excitable 14 year old coming back from a friend’s house…however, there are so many great posts here!</p>
<p>I get it…it’s the same when the say “You’re ruining my life!” or “You just don’t understand” in a fit of drama when they’re frustrated!</p>
<p>Part of the equation, too, is that we as parents are trying to balance out how are kids naturally are. For those kids who don’t take school/grades seriously enough, we need to make them aware that this stuff counts. For those like your son is obviously a bit of a worrier, he needs to be reassured that the fact that he’s going after what he loves and making the effort is far more important than the grade. It sounds like the OP is getting the info here to reassure her son that he’s fine.</p>
<p>Kayakmom, I guess I misunderstood your posts. I thought you had information about how U Maryland treats grades from classes taken in middle school. The link you posted tells how the high schools treat grades from HS classes taken in middle school, but doesn’t clarify what U Maryland does with that info for applicants. </p>
<p>I know some universities put more weight on grades from the later years of HS. With so many special admit categories, I wonder if UMd has different ways of considering grades from different applicants? They look at class rank (among about 25 different considerations), which HS classes taken in MS will affect, but will they really care at all about a couple of Bs from 8th grade if your son continues math at this accelerated pace, or will they care what level of work he is able to achieve by HS graduation? According to the admissions website, “Each category is assessed by a combination of quantitative and qualitative factors. These factors are flexibly applied…” That would seem to indicate that the qualitative factor of taking a class as an 8th grader might well counterbalance the quantitative factor of earning a B in that 8th grade class. Unless you know for certain how a college considers grades, I wouldn’t cross that college off the list for your 8th grader!</p>
<p>thanks…i am not crossing anything off because nothing is really on…the only ones off are ivy league etc…no need for that kind of stress with so little chance of success…mostly trying for a state flagship and i hear from cc that they accept by gpa/class rank etc since they are so big and have so many applicants…</p>
<p>kayakmom, lots of MD public schools don’t even rank. The lovefest we attended for UMD “talented” students the fall of S1’s senior year said GPA, SAT (CR/W) and respect those essays.</p>
<p>thanks counting down…</p>