<p>DD1 will be a freshman at Bama in the fall. She is so excited and her excitement is making DD2 want to do well on the SAT, ACT, and the all important PSAT.</p>
<p>DD2 will graduate from high school in 2015. I am starting to prep her for the PSAT. Hopefully, she will be an NMF in the future. </p>
<p>So, do you have any younger children that might go to Bama?</p>
<p>I <em>may</em> but I am treading lightly so as not to ruin the chance 
D1 is finishing up her amazing freshman year (and she was a NMF so I am thankful to UA on a daily basis for her opportunities.) D2 will graduate in 2013. She is a very different kid and has just started her college search. Yes UA is on the list of 32 schools. And I think it could be a very good fit for her. But she needs to get there on her own. </p>
<p>There’s already enough pressure on her in following in D1’s footsteps (although she already has a higher GPA than D1) what with teachers saying to her “oh, are you going to be an NMF like your sister?” ugh. </p>
<p>I’m planning on waiting till about this time next year and calling Jami Gates to set up a visit for D2. And I’ll hope nobody there mentions anything about D1!</p>
<p>ETA: D1 & D2 are very close; I don’t want to make it sound like there’s tension. But it can get old walking in big footsteps, especially when your footsteps are just fine ;)</p>
<p>I have 2 sons at Bama.</p>
<p>When the first one decided to go to Bama when he was in high school, my younger son (two years youngeer) loudly declared that he wasn’t going to go to the same school as his brother. We were fine with that. </p>
<p>But, then after attending “move in” day, a campus tour, and a football game, my younger son declared that he ONLY wanted to apply to Bama. I made him apply to about 6 schools, but he only wanted Bama.</p>
<p>Yes, there’s a good chance that (high school freshman) D2 will end up there - but don’t tell him yet! ;)</p>
<p>My daughter is HS Class of 2012. She will be applying this summer. She loves everything about Bama. </p>
<p>We took a tour last week. We saw an honors suite, walked the campus, and talked to Dr. Gaskill in Speech and Hearing. In her words, she is 198% sure she’s going to Alabama and 179% sure she will become a speech pathologist, even though The Speech and Hearing Center is the UGLIEST building on the entire campus. </p>
<p>She only wants Bama. I think she should apply elsewhere just so there are no ‘what ifs’ later on, but I fully expect her to be part of the Class of 2016. After seeing all the wait lists, deferrals, and rejections on CC, one and done sounds good.</p>
<p>Yankee, </p>
<p>Which building would that be? Im curious.</p>
<p>My youngest son, a HS freshman, tells me that he wants a big school with big sports, a great rec center and lots to do on campus. So he would like to go to UA. While that would be wonderful, I have encouraged him to seek other schools to visit. He is putting together his list, and we will visit one or two this spring. Like RobD’s daughter, my son has some big shoes to follow (his brother was NM and is in CBH, UHP and IHP, among lots of other things). Fortunately, the youngest is his own man. He shares some of his brother’s same talents but has developed his own, too. </p>
<p>If he goes to Bama, great. If not, there will be a great academic/athletic/social fit for him, too.</p>
<p>The Speech and Hearing Center is the name of the building. It is across from the nursing building, next to the pre-school, and near the Student Health center. It is a little square, 1970’s sort of utilitarian building. It is very plain. It does not fit in aesthetically at all with the campus, but it’s far enough away to be out of sight.</p>
<p>It’s no matter to her. It was cheerful inside. Hands on training is done there. Little kids were there for appointments. They were adorable. The students and speech pathologists were happy, helpful and interesting. All in all a great visit.</p>
<p>Yea for your daughter, Yankee Belle! I am a special ed teacher for students aged 3-5, and our speech pathologists are SO IMPORTANT and make a real difference.</p>
<p>Yankee Belle, my D is in her first year at Bama and thanks to her AP credits was able to take her first Communicative Disorders class this semester! Dr. Gaskill is her advisor and she is loving the program. There are very few in the Honors College in that program, but she has managed to meet several upperclassmen who have given her some great advice on professors, class choices, etc. Hopefully, my D can help your daughter get connected with other CSD majors in the Honors College! </p>
<p>Also, my Sophomore S will probably end up following the family tradition to Bama. He is planning on majoring in engineering (like his dad). However, we are going to tour other schools as well. I would be thrilled to have them both there, especially since my D hopes to continue grad school at Bama as well!</p>
<p>Younger son may end up there. He is prepping for PSAT now. So far, he is having trouble with the math section, although he does very well in math in home school…go figure. Who knows? He also has OCD and occasional panic attacks, so we’re thinking maybe he should do community college for two years before transitioning to a four-year institution. He may be ready for prime time when he turns 18, but then again, maybe not. It’s still early in the process, and we’re taking it one step at a time.</p>
<p>Older son is eager to get out of the house and away from home, but younger son is more of a homebody. So, again…who knows?</p>
<p>Cuttlefish123 We are in the exact same situation as you are. DD1 to Bama in fall and DD2 will graduate in 2015. DD2 is undecided, but Bama is on the list. We are Bama fans, but DD2 is strongly considering being a vet and Auburn is geared for that.</p>
<p>RobD: Love what you wrote…“But it can get old walking in big footsteps, especially when your footsteps are just fine.” I think this is true of my DD2. I never compare my girls and I wondered why my youngest would get a little upset sometimes. DD2 saw us give a lot of attention to DD1 for her many scholastic accomplishments. Now DD2 is coming along just fine but she is 4 years younger and therefore not as far along as her sister. I tell DD2, “Your time will come”. Also, that we are proud of her right now.</p>
<p>M2CK: cute story. You are the reason that I found Bama. We visited and the rest is history. Thank you.</p>
<p>AL34: I love your posts. </p>
<p>Yankee Belle: Good luck to your daughter. You might be “one and done”.</p>
<p>Momreads: Thank you for your advice. Good luck to your DS2. </p>
<p>Peachtide: Good luck to your Bama frosh D and your soph S. My DD1 will be at Bama for EE.</p>
<p>LadyDianeski: The kids do change over time, that’s for sure. Good luck to DS1 and DS2. We are starting PSAT prep as well. I told DD2 to calculate the “payment per hour” of the Bama scholarship. There isn’t a job that pays that much. It made her see how studying can pay off.</p>
<p>Girlzmom2: DD2 wants to look at other colleges as well. I think she just wants her own college tour and that’s okay. She was dragged along on DD1’s college tours for the last few years. </p>
<p>I enjoy writing to the folks on this forum. You are so friendly and offer such great advice. I truly appreciate it.</p>
<p>Roll Tide everyone!</p>
<p>Cuttlefish, thanks and agreed–this is the best forum at CC by far, and everyone here is so friendly and kind. And I agree re mom2ck: She’s the reason DS is going to Bama. We never would have known of this wonderful opportunity otherwise!</p>
<p>I have to give credit to UA and the folks here for making us more aware of what good PSATs can mean. We’re in a mandatory ACT state (Ill.) and the PSAT is not mandatory or even really explained or emphasized. At that stage in high school we just saw it as another test so DS1 did it with no prep at all, made commended but missed NMF by 1 point. Would test prep have made the 1 point difference? Maybe? I think it’s a good risk/reward given the extra $$ NMF provides.
Now that I see all these extra benefits and that NMF is achievable we will have DS2 do PSAT prep… so thanks again to you’all on here :)</p>
<p>On the topic at hand, grandma asked DS2 how he liked Bama, he said he “LOVED IT!.” The indoctrination begins… :)</p>
<p>SO now I am wondering…
D took PSAT cold, as a practice test (we thought ACT would be more important.) We had no idea what it could lead to. Luckily she has tests down cold, and made NMF.</p>
<p>Now DS is a Sophomore, and also did extremely well on the PSAT this year. I am wondering if I should have him do a little test prep, and what the best prep would be? He was one point over NMF cut for this year, but if he drops or if the minimum raises next year it would be costly.</p>
<p>Any suggestions? Do most people prep? Why don’t GC’s let you know it could be this big of a deal?</p>
<p>wait? you mean you can take PSAT soph. year as a dry-run for the real thing? I had no idea…
In a school with 4000+ kids, high-academic or not, our GC dept. sucks…</p>
<p>AL34: Each HS’s guidance department has a different take on the PSAT. Our school has under 300 students in grades 9-12. Each year, our guidance director orders 60 to 80 PSAT forms (and pays for them). Priority is given to sophomores and juniors. If there are spots still open, freshmen can register. My youngest son took it this year as a freshman. So did a number of his friends. </p>
<p>In defense of guidance counselors (I’m good friends with ours), they have a lot on their plates, and unfortunately, in many cases, college prep often takes the back burner. Wish it were not that way, but sadly, it is. They not only handle applications and transcripts, but state testing, IEP meetings, reports to school administrators, etc. It is not uncommon for my GC firend to stay until 6 or 7 p.m. to get everything done. He also comes in during holiday breaks and on weekends.</p>
<p>AL, that’s the conclusion we’ve reached, too, thanks to UA and this sub-forum! DS1 got into all his colleges except one (wait-listed), but most did not offer merit aid. (Several small Catholic colleges plus Western Carolina did offer merit $$, but only Western Carolina offered anything close to an amount that would make college affordable. The small Catholic colleges were very generous, don’t get me wrong; but they simply don’t have the endowments necessary for large awards.)</p>
<p>Then UA came through, and that made all the difference. DH and I agree: The most important test (if you’re looking for affordability) is the PSAT. </p>
<p>Fortunately NC has a fairly low score threshold for NMSF (compared with IL or my home state of MA!): 214. But it will still be a struggle getting DS 2’s math score up high enough to quality. I ordered Dr. Chung’s Math SAT prep book yesterday…it’s supposed to be excellent. One Amazon reviewer said he boosted his math score from 650 to around 750 in three days using Dr. Chung’s book. I find that a tad difficult to believe, but hey, we’ve got more than three days, LOL!</p>
<p>For us, UA’s excellent merit scholarships are a life-saver. Not only do we home-school; we live in the NC backwoods…so our kids had neither the opportunity nor the inclination for tons and tons of ECs. (Apparently, hiking all over your parents’ and neighbors’ woods, hills, and fields is not considered an EC, LOL.) The relative lack of ECs really hurt us WRT merit aid. We are so grateful that UA goes by the numbers, not the ECs. I know there’s something to be said for the “holistic” approach, but it puts people like us at a disadvantage. So, thank God for UA and for the PSAT! :D</p>
<p>There are a lot of schools/GC’s that simply do not know the value of the PSAT especially at a college like UA. Here in the NE, the PSAT is taken (not prepped for) and just considered a preliminary guideline for how the student will do on the SAT’s. Here the ACT seems to have little focus and little value as well.</p>
<p>It is important to stress to your students that although the PSAT is just one more test -it is definitely a test with true value (currently at some schools). Do I personally believe that one test should color your whole college career, well no…but that is another discussion. However, as long as this test and the SAT and ACT have value -take them all.</p>
<p>The PSAT is not the only means to an end. My son did no prepping for the PSAT (remember, here it has no value), you don’t even have to take it. He received many high scholarship offers and acceptances, several full tuition, several full rides. I feel you need to be a well rounded student with a high GPA and stellar recommendations. The tests do count as well as essays and interviews. A Holistic approach is really the best way (my opinion) to prep your student for entry into college and life. So don’t despair if your standardized test score (PSAT) is not high enough for NMF. Just study and prepare for the ACT and SAT. Yes, take both tests! Most colleges are looking at more than one test score. Even UA requires a SAT/ACT high test score AND a high GPA for their coveted scholarships. UA gives out more than just the NMF and Presidential Scholarships as well. There are scholarships from departments, Alumni (Crimson) Scholarships (where additionally ranking counts) and Scholarships that you can apply to as a current student (where transcript/essays and current activities count). Try to cover all your bases: GPA, test scores, ranking, recommendations,essays and interviews.</p>