DS has been taking SAT subject tests/APs when appropriate to the class. That meant Subject tests starting with math 2 in May of 9th grade, Language with listening in fall 10th grade (listening is only offered in November), science in May of 10th & 11th and APs as appropriate to class. Calculus, Chem & Physics require AP test as part of class. Humanities classes do not have AP at their school. Some kids take exams others don’t.
S2 is done with taking the SAT. I was hoping for a little higher, but it’s enough.
Can you believe it is Senior year already?
DD went back last weekend for preseason sports. Overall, she is excited about senior year! She is able to take some interesting courses this year & standardized testing is complete. She entered her info into the common app and has started an essay or two but that is the extent of the college admission activity over the summer. I took a peek at the “Parents of 2017 HS Class” over on the main board but it moves way too fast for me! I scurried back over here to confess I am a slacker mom and am basically leaving DD to navigate the admissions cycle on her own until she asks for my help or advice. We visited many schools over the summer and Junior year and she has a balanced list of schools that she would happily attend. Let the chips fall where they may. :)>-
You “visited may schools over summer” and DD “has a balanced list of schools.” You don’t sound like a slacker mom at all. 
I am looking forward do being a slacker mom in 2 years with DS2 but since I have a slacker senior at local public school, I am busy on the Parents of 2017 board mostly venting and commiserating :-? with other CASPer parents (College Apathy Slacker Parents.) X_X
It does feel good to have standardized testing completed though, with a rigorous schedule during junior year.
SoxBoy goes back later this week. He visited a few schools over the summer when he happened to be traveling nearby, but other than that our formal college visits will be limited to a long weekend this fall. At one point toward the end of the summer, I asked him if he’d thought about his college essay at all, and he said “was I supposed to do that?” I said, well, you don’t have to, but don’t you think it would be great to get it out of the way before school starts, or at least a draft of it? I got a fairly blank stare in response, which I interpreted as “yeah, not going to happen.” That’s the last question I intend to ask him about his applications, so put me in the slacker mom group too. He’ll figure it out, he always does, somehow.
No horse in the race but
http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/national-merit-semifinalist-cutoffs/
So based on… all the Stat exercises (from when… was that January?..)
223 (2015 PSAT) corresponds between ** 219 /b with 4,5 errors in Reading, 0 error in Writing, 3 in Math,
and ** 223 /b with 0 or 1 errors in Reading, 2 errors in Writing, 2 in Math,
and ** 225 /b with 2 or 3 errors in Reading, 1 error in Writing, 2 in Math.
So, yea, no need to get the perfect score 228 for NMSF, but no good messing up in Writing section.
Correction ** The highest cutoff nationally has been confirmed <= 223. ** So it could be lower than 223.
Re: NMSF, for those of you who are not aware, BS’s with over a certain percentage of boarders (IIRC >40%) are grouped into regional BS categories, not the state in which it is located, The cut-off for these groups is the highest state cut-off within that geographic group.
Yes, and this year, for the New England BS, the cut off is expected to be 222 and the highest cutoff ** 222 ** which can be verified by NMSC afte 9/14.
So, does this apply to even one or two of us?!!? Hoping it does for you @payn4ward !! We’re “settling” for commended and extremely happy to have all testing behind, as difficult oral surgery will make this senior year far more complicated than it already promised to be. May the power of the ED be with all those who embrace its mysteries and promise!
No, I said no horse in this race
Ugh. Best wishes with the surgery @Charger78
We are doing more EA!
Well, many kids from NE BS make NMSF every year despite the high cutoff. Considering the high achieving tendency of CC’ers, many a few might just well be affected!
Apologies, @payn4ward , I didn’t pay well enough attention.
Really like the anticipation for the final year that infuses so much of the on-campus vibe at the BS right now! Includes some reflection on the ups and downs of the previous three years, and a more profound awareness of life lived within the stream of time.
@payn4ward Yes, she has a “balanced list of schools” which is great! The bad news is the list currently stands at 23 schools and no progress in whittling it down. 
What do you do when your kid likes most of the schools she visits and is undecided as to major? I guess it’s better than being really picky or having a “dream” school, but I wish she could narrow her parameters a little bit!
She also told me they are working on common app essay in English class so that’s one step forward, but I don’t think she will be hitting submit on apps any time soon…
I can definitely commiserate with the CASPers as that was DS’15 graduating from local day school. Never had much interest in the process, we had to nag him constantly, all apps submitted right at deadline, ugh!
@TheStig2 - hmm that is tough. DS had a list of about 25 at the beginning of the summer, but has a current list of 11. He wants to run it by his college counselor before declaring it final. We helped him sort through some based on geography (we chipped away at the other coast schools until there were none on his list). He is very focused with a major, so that helps. Glad that he finished standardized tests last year. We have one more college trip planned to two schools in October. He has several applications due November 1 (combination of early action & scholarship deadlines), which I think will be here before we know it.
Good luck everyone!
If you share the list, I’m sure we could help pare it back. 
@MA2012: We are having a parallel experience! D’s list has gone from 25 to 11, removed opposite coast schools, 2 more visits to go in October and the same kind of Nov deadlines! Hmmm… I wonder if you were on some of our tours… LOL
DW and I shared in the joy of criss-crossing the country and visiting schools in 95+ degree heat and humidity. To make the list, schools had to have well respected engineering departments and all branches (Army, Navy/Marines, and AF) of ROTC on campus. Unfortunately this filter eliminated quite a few great schools. But he had to start somewhere…
He visited ND, Purdue, CU/Boulder, USAFA, UT, Texas A&M, Rice, Vanderbilt, GA Tech, and NC State. Since attending USNA, USMA, or USAFA and commissioning as an officer is his #1 choice, visiting these schools seemed anti-climatic. But the reality is, if he does not receive an academy appointment, he will hope to commission through ROTC at a civilian college.
But there is a challenge… Since attending a service academy is his preference, he cannot apply ED to any civilian school. In other words, if USNA says yes. he cannot be bound to attend Rice or Vanderbilt (if accepted). Thus he must apply EA or RD to civilian schools. This is unfortunate since ED acceptance rates appear higher than RD.
Next the ROTC scholarship application requires him to rank five schools in order of preference. Rice is his #1 civilian preference. Since the RD announcement isn’t until around April 1st, he might be in a pickle. If Rice says no, he has very little time to move the ROTC scholarship to his #2 - #5 choices, and that presumes there is an ROTC opening at one of these schools. Thus he not only has a plan A (service academy) and B (civilian + ROTC scholarship), but also plan C (civilian + ROTC with no scholarship). I’m glad he is keeping track of all of this!
@i70sband In some ways its very helpful to have criteria that force a reduced list of schools under consideration. But why narrowing it to schools that must have all ROTC branches? Does your son not have a preference?
I know one young man who went to Harvard and did ROTC at MIT and it seemed to work out fine. But I’m no expert at all on the process. Seems more complicated than I imagined. Maybe it’s the scholarship/no scholarship difference.
@doschicos I keep asking him the same question. Which branch do you prefer? Although he leans ever so slightly towards Navy, he would be happy to serve in any branch that will accept him. His objective is consistent, officer in the military - flying planes/helos or special forces. So all three branches are in play. He claims he has a better chance at a scholarship if he applies to all three national ROTC scholarship programs.
The NROTC program at Harvard, along with Tufts, meet at MIT. It is a proud and well very respected program. Traveling from Harvard to MIT isn’t a tough commute, but some other programs, i.e, Princeton NROTC, require longer travel off campus (Rutgers). Same with Cal Tech and Cal Poly SLU. Sometimes you have to meet at 0530 for PT or travel at peak commute times, making the 20 minute commute an hour. He read about commuting horror stories in other forums and just concluded there were plenty of other attractive schools that he could apply to without the aggravation of travel to a cross town program.
I must say I had a little deja vu while DS culled his college list based upon ROTC criteria, but this time it felt uncomfortable. When DD was applying to BS, we visited schools that had more active dance programs. Guess what? She has not danced at all at her current BS. So it is possible DS’s list may have been created using pre-requisites that should have been de-emphasized in retrospect. Time will tell…