<p>My daughter took the ACT today and I am so happy there are no more tests, at least until the fall. Since April 12th, she has taken the SAT, the ACT twice, 4 APs and 7 final exams. I know that most kids have done this also, but standardized testing is very stressful for her. She was homeschooled prior to high school and doesn't have a lot of experience with standardized tests. She knows there is a lot riding on her scores and this stresses her out even more. On top of that, she compares herself to her older brother who is a great test taker. He scored a 34 on the ACT first try, never cracked a prep book. She has been studying for weeks trying to get into the 30s. This has made the past three months very stressful for me, since I have to live with her. I am so looking forward to three months of no academic testing!</p>
<p>I hope she can enjoy this calm before the storm… and her scores all come in at a level that won’t require her to ‘have at it’ again, in the fall.</p>
<p>Fishy - enjoy your summer time with daughter. you’ve put the junior year behind you, and the senior year is coming up. Junior year is planting the seeds and senior year is harvesting the fruits of her labor. Hopefully, July 1 will bring you many coaches phone calls and your daughter can focus on her athletics to be that recruited college athlete. Our son just graduated HS, and he will be starting college and college baseball in a two months. I can’t believe it. It is so worth the TIME and EFFORT you are putting in to help her realize her dreams!</p>
<p>Fishymom, I can relate.
Spring of junior year is brutal, particularly if you do a spring sport. My daughter also took the ACT yesterday, after spending all day Friday (got home at 8 pm) at the NYS track meet. And as a student at a New York public school, she’s still not done. Two regents exams and the pre-calculus final she missed Friday to look forward to this week. I can’t wait until next Friday when she’s done!</p>
<p>fenwaysouth - which school is your son going to?</p>
<p>Fishymom,</p>
<p>My son was done as of last weekend–he took a couple of SAT2s just in case he changes his mind on the schools he is interested in. I hope your daughter gets the scores she needs. My older son finished testing his junior year and it made the fall of senior year so much easier. With school, training, competing, official visits and life, it would have been so hard to squeeze testing in there too. So many of his friends missed competitions and had to put off visits for testing. Hope the next couple of weeks fly by as you wait for scores to arrive! Congrats to your daughter on finishing junior year!</p>
<p>kttmom - you have a PM.</p>
<p>We have a couple of weeks before my daughter leaves for camp, so we are going to enjoy the down time. I too am hoping this will be the last round of testing for her. She just needs 1 point in her composite for full in-state tuition and 3 points to be solid at the schools she is looking at for rowing. She feels like she did much better on the ACT on Saturday, able to finish all sections within the time limit. Last time she took it, she ran out of time on two sections and it really hurt her score. She is pretty sure will have to take at least one more SAT II again in the fall, but that won’t be a big deal unless it conflicts with her sport. </p>
<p>I am still anxious about the July 1st phone calls. My daughter used her cell phone as her contact number and she will be away at camp on July 1st. I would much prefer she have a parent around when she is talking to coaches, for several reasons. She gets pretty nervous and forgets what she wanted to ask or say. And she forgets the specifics of what was said to her. I asked her to text me right after she talks to anyone so that we have a log of who called, when and what was discussed. She plans on emailing the coaches before she leaves, reminding them that she will be away until Nationals. I don’t know if this will help or not.</p>
<p>Fishy,</p>
<p>My two cents…We had the same reservations about Coaches calling July 1 without a parent nearby. I was with my son at a National baseball tournament last July 1. I stepped out of the room for 20 minutes, and he handled his first two coaches calls just fine on his own. My son is usually quiet and reserved with people he doesn’t know. My son is still reserved, however he learned how to handle himself well in adult situations and conduct business. Your daughter can do the same. Have her write down some questions and take some notes down after the call to help her remember the conversation. It is real important that she take the call. Usually the calls are short, to the point, and there are follow up items such as email transcripts, sport schedules, etc… Thousands of young adults have done this before, and now it is her turn. You will be amazed at how quickly she learns how to handle these situations and develop a rapport with the coaches. Good luck, she will amaze you.</p>
<p>Thanks Fenway! I am sure she will be fine, but she is nervous about it also. I think once she gets the first one or two done, she will be fine. She has had some emails from new schools in the past couple of weeks and she has started researching some schools she never thought she would be interested in. It looks like it will be an interesting summer and fall!</p>
<p>I second Fenway’s advice- your daughter will learn to listen, think, and speak on her feet with the coaches calls. Give her a small notebook with attached pen so she can take notes during and after the calls. Have her note names, times, and comments. </p>
<p>We also survived the barrage of spring testing amidst a tough athletic schedule. I remember picking DD from the SAT, racing an hour down the interstate to a meet, she changed into her uniform in the car, hopped out while still in the testing daze, and ran to the starting line to qualify a relay for state. </p>
<p>Repeat for APs, Subject Tests, finals.</p>