<p>^@boysx3 - she has been made aware of all these things, and in fact a similar portion of that very discussion took place just last night…</p>
<p>“Magical thinking” sounds about on target :(…</p>
<p>I completely agree with boys3x in post #78. I think that is what you should do.</p>
<p>And it would have the additional benefit of getting your H off your back. :)</p>
<p>Your D is making this about you as a way to avoid facing facts, including the fact that A) she MIGHT try her best and still not do well enough to get the money she needs at some schools, and B) her parents are not going to be able to wave a magical financial wand and make it all okay. It sounds like your H is making this about you as a way to avoid facing the facts that A) your D is not your son, and B) he may not be in a financial position to make everything perfect for his little girl.</p>
<p>It’s not all about you. It is all about her (with moral support from her parents, which she already has). It’s time that they both realized it.</p>
<p>I told my kids that SAT’s are supposed to measure aptitude and that they need not feel they had to study. It is helpful to know whether you lose by answering wrong, that type of thing, which is information that is easy enough to access. Practice tests can help nerves for some, though, as others have said, the first SAT can be seen as practice.</p>
<p>Two of my kids did well enough on SAT’s to get into their top choices, one didn’t do well, but applied to a wonderful test-optional LAC and is very happy. I think the time spent volunteering or doing something with music, dance or art was worth more than any time spent prepping for the SAT’s.</p>
<p>If parents don’t nag about things like this, the relationship between parent and child is a lot better for the last two stressful years. Your daughter may hear from peers or school counselors that prepping or practice is helpful, and may decide to do it, but even then, I would try to keep it calm and reassure her that she will end up in a good place for her in the end.</p>
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<p>How many wrongs can one accumulate in a single paragraph? I’d say, except for the number of SAT optional schools, every thought is dead wrong.</p>
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<p>Aptitude plays a role, but one of the reasons TCB dropped the inclusion of aptitude in the name of the test is that nobody could really define what … type of aptitude. For some it might be academic aptitude, for others the aptitude to take tests, for other simply the aptitude to maintain a high level of concetration for almost 4 hours. </p>
<p>What is however known is that dedicated practicing DOES help --and that is not the same as passive “practicing” such as attending a group class or pretending to “learn” via an online program. </p>
<p>What is also known is that the test pretty much tests the knowledge of the test, and not really very much of what is taught in school. The basic material is, of course, similar but the presentation and the mental approach for students is not identical.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, none of the above will help the OP. It’s the old story of being able to bring a horse to the river, but not been able to force the stubborn animal to drink. It is also more common than people who frequent this site might think. </p>
<p>It is also impossible to offer much concrete advice. A long time ago, I suggested a set of bribes where parents request the student to answer a few sections a week for 10 or 20 dollars. Added to a proactive (and friendly) review, this might offer enough incentives. </p>
<p>If that does not work, a visit to the local colleges, including community colleges might work. A realistic overview of what grades plus SAT will yield as choices might open one’s eyes. </p>
<p>In the end, it will be the student who has to live with the choices made this year.</p>
<p>I think it is a horrible idea to force or bribe a teenager to do something they don’t want to do (They may do it with a rebellious attitude too). If anything, you can try appropriate motivation methods that some others have posted.</p>
<p>After all, it’s just a mere number that consumes a lot of time to raise, but maybe there are better things to focus on such as academics, future career experience / related extracurriculars, social health, and community service that is much more interesting and lasting beyond when SATs are over.</p>
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Ha, tell that to my teenager about APUSH outline that’s due every Monday. She absolutely hated it. The APUSH teacher forced her to do it, if she wanted to get good grade in his class.
On the contrary, I think it’s absolutely horrible not to help teenagers along. When they old and grey and they said parents could have helped them, becauses they were dumb teenagers, they didn’t know any better. YMMV</p>
<p>If a teacher assigns an outline, students can abuse it to help their grade. Instead of actually reading the book, a student may copy off others, online, or even just write sentences from each paragraph in the book. </p>
<p>Suppose it was just read and test. There is a little more freedom, the student may read and note take on what they need to in order to be successful in the class, rather than losing time doing unhelpful homework in order to make the grade and not be able to actually read what they’re supposed to. </p>
<p>Given general life consequences for actions and guiding the teen just in the right direction, leave the rest to the teen, whatever happens should be her responsibility. I know a high school valedictorian where her parents forcefully wrote her college essays and prevented her from taking certain classes–she was successful, but still hated her parents.</p>
<p>I’m astounded at all these outlining assignments. I don’t think my kids ever had to do one - certainly not past middle school.</p>
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<p>With all due respect, that is obviously a position influenced by your own age. Don’t teenagers know everything after all? Aren’t they invincible. </p>
<p>The reality is that students should not need bribing nor extra motivation; they should live up to their responsibilities. And the main responsibility of high schoolers is to study and dedicate enough time to everything associated with school. And part of that “everything” is maximize the chances of landing in a school that is academically AND financially viable. </p>
<p>And, if parents have to rely on tough love, so be it! And, tough love does not have to be anything close to the much derided Tiger ultra bahavior. </p>
<p>Fwiw, the bribing is a facetious term to reward a student’s effort to self-study as opposed to waste his or her parents hard earned money on an ineffective class. Every teenager needs “some money.” Some earn it by doing odd jobs. How does preparing for the SAT for one hour compared to raking leaves or cleaning dishes? How does “earning” 20 dollars per hour DOING YOUR JOB sounds? In the end, 600 or 1200 dollars earned this way should be a financial windfall for both parties, and one that could pay dividends later in life. </p>
<p>Alternatives? Yes, there are … starting by giving the lazy and unmotivated student an insight of the upcoming college years when finances will be tight, especially if parents place the financial responsibility squarely on the shoulders of their child. If parents were to stop “sponsoring” all activities such as mall hopping, eating out, fueling the car, the teenager might JUMP at the chance to be paid for what should have been his or her duty in the first place. </p>
<p>Forcing kids to do something they do not want is indeed horrible; but c’est la vie! And the quicker one understands that one will have to do PLENTY of things they do not want, the better he or she will be. Entitlement has limits!</p>
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I just had to note that this is a prime example of a post that the writer thinks makes him seem smart, but actually does just the opposite.</p>
<p>For the OP, I have a question that may seem harsh–but you may want to direct it to your daughter–why, exactly, would somebody who won’t prepare adequately for the SAT expect to get “merit” money from colleges? What is the merit, exactly?</p>
<p>Speaking as a student, I would let your daughter take it once cold. The scores will speak for themselves, and it gives her something to go off of. I took the SAT cold on March 10 - the only prep I did was take the PSAT. I scored a 2180, was content with my score, never bothered retaking. Prep time wasn’t necessary for me, so I used that time to study and work.</p>
<p>^Hunt - that’s one of the points, precisely. If she is satisfied with where she is now, stats-wise, then presumably she will get what she “deserves”. She is not an “overachiever” by any means, although her grades are very decent. OTOH, I myself was a very late bloomer, and I don’t want her to suddenly get up one day and discover that she is a late-blooming overachiever who has consigned herself to attending Bupkis U :).</p>
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D already took the exam once in May.</p>
<p>I did not read the whole thread so maybe I am repeating some of the advice, but still…
This is what I did with DD, who was not eager to study for the SATs either. During the summer before her junior year, we made her take the practice test (from College Board blue book). Her score was not that hot… To make her understand it, I told her to go on Naviance and compare her score with the average score of some schools that she was interested in. After that, she said that yes, she wants to study, so we got a bunch of books and made a 3 month ‘study plan’, targeting the March test day. The key was, do it practically daily for 30 minutes or so. To increase her vocabulary, I also emailed her op-ed articles, from CNN and such. I think it worked beautifully. She took it in March, then retook it in May, without more studying, and we are happy with the result. She is also happy that she is done and does not have to take it in October. So in our experience, yes, SAT can be studied for, and, raising your SAT score does move you to the next tier of applicants (judging from Naviance). Good luck to you and your daughter!</p>
<p>DS had a tutor once per week to work on getting the math score up (to qualify for honors and merit aid at the state flagship). Tutor indicated that the tests in the blue book are the best practice, so I had S do just the math section most weeks so tutor would know where the weaknesses were. I “administered” and graded the tests and tutor went over them. SAT math is tricksy (as Gollum would say). Once he got the SAT scores to where honors was probable, we agreed to no more SAT’s. It was enough and he got the merit and honors. My S does not like on-line courses (he took one AP on-line) and I can’t imagine doing SAT prep that way. SAT’s are pencil work. Have her do the Blue Book tests. That gives a better idea of where she might be score-wise.</p>
<p>I haven’t read the whole thread but did you consider enrolling her in a prep course,but not an online one?
My s was resistant to studying for all the standardized tests and I resorted to paying for an outside prep course so someone else would tell him to do his mandatory practice tests. It worked.</p>
<p>sylvan</p>
<p>Peers can be a BIG influence. My son’s SAT was not anywhere near what I wanted or what he is capable. However, it was above many friends’ scores. He was quite content with it. I repeatedly pointed out that it COULD get him into college, but it COULD NOT help him attend college. We just don’t have the money. His friends are not the authority on what is affordable to OUR family.</p>
<p>Son took the ACT several months later. Scored better on ACT.</p>
<p>In teenage thinking – He WON - He didn’t need to study for SAT.</p>
<p>@xiggi, I respect your opinion, parenting methods etc.</p>
<p>But is the high schooler really responsible to get into a good college / have a high GPA and whatever looks good and to strive for what our society calls “success” or “entitlement?” I say it shouldn’t be an absolute requirement. We often don’t have time for EVERYTHING. I also don’t believe the ultimate goal should be pride.</p>
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Yeah, but we parents hear this from kids who somehow have time for videogames, but not for studying. Teenagers are not always able to see the big picture, and don’t always prioritize their time very well. This is why they sometimes need help from parents or other adults.</p>
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<p>We really should not go from one extreme to the other. Students do not have time for everything, and that is why there is a need to prioritize. For some reason, there are students who seem able to manage extraordinary demands on their time and balance school, work, sports, dating, etc … and others who never seem to have time. And that is just the way it is. There are no possible generalizations. </p>
<p>One of the reality of preparing for the SAT is that procrastination is the worst enemy. Many look at it as a huge moutain to climb and spend most of their time running around the base to find an elusive shortcut. They postpone or try to do it all at once. In the end, facing poor results, they end up accepting to enroll (and perhaps do some work) at one of those utterly inefficient group classes. The parents, in turn, are relieved because they felt that their last ditch financial sacrifice discharged them of having to deal with the “problem.” </p>
<p>All in all, if students were to realize it, the only thing that is needed is a moderate but consistent program of self-studying. A couple of hours for a small number of weeks might do the trick, as long as it is done in earnest. </p>
<p>Fwiw, you might hear a refrain among HS seniors and college freshmen, and the first words are often: I wish I did this or that in HS. I wish I paid more attention to this or that. Unfortunately, wasted time never returns.</p>