Great score @drxxpresso !!! We did MTAT for all three of my kids and thought it was well worth the time and money, I was also able to use their sibling discount and sign up with a friend rebate to bring the cost down. My kids are homeschooled until 9th grade and they had zero experience with standardized tests - they thought I was joking about completely coloring in the little circles! My youngest said much of what he learned helped him with the AP tests as well.
@3scoutsmom , would you recommend the one month course or two month course with MTAT? I see my son could take it all in August or spread out in July and August. Just wondering if cramming for one month is better or spreading it out over two months? I don’t want him to get burned out by spreading it out but it could be a lot to digest in one month? I don’t know…
@TXRunningMom what ever you think will work best for your son. One of the nice things about MTAT is that you can retake classes (space available) as many times as you like as you like, for what ever reason. If your kid is sick or has a conflict and misses a session or if they just need to repeat it because he just isn’t getting it, or didn’t “click” with that session’s teacher, he can always retake it at a different date/ location.
Unlike some test pep programs, each section is taught by a teacher that excels in that particular area so they won’t have the same teacher for the entire course anyway. You do have to sign up for make up classes and finding an open class the fit’s your schedule my require some extra driving. Also remember to sign up for practice tests early as they fill fast during the summer.
@3scoutsmom , thank you so much for all your advice and input! Since you are so seasoned in this, may I ask an off topic question? What do you recommend as far as checking/savings accounts for a NMF kid who will be getting some money deposited to her from her college (she will be at TAMU in the fall as a Brown/NMF)? Should it be an account totally separate from our accounts? Right now, she just has a “savings” account on our banking end that we have labeled as hers (so really —tax wise, it looks like our money, not hers). I’m assuming she needs something of her own. My daughter will not turn 18 until right before she goes off to college. Do you know if she can open up a checking and savings in her own name at age 17? Also, what do you recommend as far as a first credit card? Right now, she just has one of mine for gas and emergencies but I would like her to open one of her own. Can she even do that without a job? If you prefer to PM me that is okay but I thought others might have the same questions at some point too. Or maybe I’m the only one with such questions???
Both my kids opened checking and savings accounts at 15, with me as custodian. It works just like a regular account.
You can open a teen checking account as @chb088 mention all my kids have had one since they were 13, I am also on the account so it’s easy for me to make deposits. If TAMU is any thing like OU and UTD, she will need a checking account because to anything over tuition and room and board if living on campus will be automatically deposited. SHe’ll need to give them routing info.
Even if you keep her funds on your name and she’s under 18 she still may owe tax, like not this year because the school year is only half the tax year, but depending on your situation she may owe for the next year. You should get familiar with the new tax code now so you aren’t taken by surprise. Even though DD has a checking and savings account at Wells Fargo there are not Wells Fargo branches in OK and she want a bank she could go to in person if need so she also opened account with the OU credit union that has several branch in OK an even one one campus. All her scholarship money goes there. DS18 is just using his Well Fargo checking account. UTD doesn’t have a credit union and the only ATM’s on Campus are Wells Fargo anyway. He keep a spread sheet with scholarship earned and deposited and also how much he spends on books.
My kids have credit card off our account and have since they started to drive. Since DD is 21 now and will be married soon I’m encouraging her to apply for a CC of her own before she get married so she’ll have her own credit history. She likely go with USAA’s student credit card because she is and will continue to be a USAA member (fiance is military) if not she can get one through Wells Fargo since she has account there.
Hope that helps!
Are any 2020’s touring colleges this spring break? We’re in Orlando looking at UCF - would have probably made more sense to wait and do the NMSF tour, but it was her highest interest for OOS so we found a cheap flight and came. She loves the campus, the honors housing is super nice, and it seems like it might offer the benefits of both a smaller academic community in the honors college and a big university with a lot going on. We also looked at UTD which she liked though not as much and UNT which I don’t think we’ll look at further. We might check our Alabama and Ole Miss over the summer then plan on the next round of visits which will include 2nd visits to UTD and UCF as well as looking at Texas Tech after NMSF is announced in the fall.
@drxxpresso My kid had planned on doing a tour of FSU over spring break but ended up having a scheduling conflict. She is considering putting UCF on her list. Do the honors dorms at UCF have their own bedroom like at UTD or all they all shared doubles? Also do you know if the honors kids are guaranteed rooms all four years at UCF? Are you guys also considering FSU?
We are saving the NM scholarship school tours for the fall. Would love to here what others think after they tour!
Anyone else see an uptick in mail that past week or so? Actually received something for OK U that congratulated DD20 on her PSAT/NMQST score so that info has been shared with schools already.
@Cheeringsection Yes the last week or so D20 has definitely seen an uptick in mail. She also received the OK U mailing.
@Cheeringsection, @janiemiranda Hi! If by “OK U” you mean the University of Oklahoma, our DD16 is there on their NMF package. It has been the absolute best choice for her and she couldn’t be happier. DD19 may end up there, too. Let me know if you have any questions I can help with if you end up including OU as part of your child’s college search. Best wishes to you!
@janiemiranda we probably should look at more of the Florida schools since she liked UCF so much, but they haven’t peaked her interest so far. The UCF honors housing is impressive - the Towers. They’re 4-bedroom apartments with full kitchens; some have 2 bathrooms, some four. Private bedrooms that are bigger than at UTD. Even if you share a bathroom you get a separate sink like in the UTD suites. Adjacent to a retail area with food, a Barnes & Noble - don’t know what all else.
@drxxpresso That sounds great. I think she will want to definitely check out UCF. Thank you for the info!
Yes @WImom94 I mean OK university. I know of at least two other OU’s and wanted to be clear. Thank you for your offer but it is not what my DD is looking for.
@drxxpresso The best part about UCF is parents get to visit!
Does anyone know what to expect for “confirming” score?
@Phlipper right? She has a Harry Potter-obsessed younger sister who is lobbying hard for UCF. I’m trying to get her more interested in Texas Tech but am finding Lubbock a hard sell after seeing Florida
@janiemiranda confirming SAT was around 212 SI last year so probably about that. Does anyone know how they will get a SI out of the ACT score? Mine scored high enough on the ACT that I’m pretty sure she’s good, but hard to know the SI conversion.
@drxxpresso Thank you. I think d20 has a 218 from the march SAT. Her SAT score ended up being lower than her PSAT score.(Her SI on the PSAT was 223). Is that a problem when trying to go from NMSF to NMF or as long as the SAT SI is above a certain point (approximately 212) they are OK? I’m also interested in how it will work for the ACT since I think her ACT score is a bit higher than her SAT.
@janiemiranda I don’t believe there’s any benefit to “extra” points on your confirming score. Should be good to go with the 218
@janiemiranda there is no realistic scenario where 218 is NOT a confirming score. Your D may want to retake the SAT just to drive a higher SAT score but not for NM considerations. The only question is if 223 will hold and there are only a handful of large states where 224 is even possible for this year. All you can do is wait for that and try to enjoy senior year 