<p>On another note, I went to the first Science Bowl practice today and I actually have some hope of getting in (even if it is on the C team). I also realized how much random stuff about Earth Science I knew… </p>
<p>I should probably take the PSAT for summer programs but I always plan to study for them on the weekends and I end up not having time because of homework.</p>
<p>I need some help: should I do FTC or Quiz Bowl? I’ll also be doing Science Bowl and Science Olympiad if I get in, so I’m not sure if I’ll have time. However, the Science Bowl topic I’ll probably be doing if I get in (Earth/Space Science) and one of the Science Olympiad topics I really want to do (Astronomy) overlap a bit, so I might be able to study for both at the same time.</p>
<p>For Science Bowl, I think I might be able to get onto at least the C team for our school, especially since most people want to do Physics, Chem, or Bio. I’ve been doing pretty well at practices, so that’s also good. However, my school has a lot of smart people, and all the people who were already on the A, B, and C teams will be vying for spots as well. </p>
<p>There isn’t much information about Science Olympiad yet, so I’ll have to wait for that; hopefully we’ll be vying for individual events, since general science knowledge won’t help you whilst competing and nobody tends to want the earth/space science events.</p>
<p>FTC, I can join my friend’s team. We are less likely to do really well in this one; while my school’s Science Bowl and Science Olympiad teams always advance to state and occasionally to nationals, FTC is done on your own time, so you’re less likely to win. I did FRC in eighth grade and it was super time-consuming, so I’m not sure whether to do FRC.</p>
<p>Everybody at our school gets onto a Quiz Bowl team; and all of them participate in competitions. Our A team generally does very well in competitions. I’m actually going to Quiz Bowl practice today, so yay for that.</p>
<p>Which ones should I do?</p>
<p>@topaz1116 No way… You’re an Scioly Astro person too? Sweet! I intend on winning state this year (2nd last yr). Can’t wait for the rules to come out!
I stopped doing robotics because it was too time-consuming. My main concern with it was that the work was never fairly distributed: lots of social loafing. The same can be said about Scioly from a team perspective, but since our (high school) team has no shot at nationals, it doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>Any of you taking AP government here? I need major help with it. I got a 64% on my first test and I need to bounce back. Our tests are nightmares. Pls healp</p>
<p>@DigitalKing I haven’t done SciOly for three years, but I intend on doing it this year. The time thing is mainly why I didn’t do robotics last year; and this year seems much, much more challenging than the last. Our SciOly team is okay–while our Science Bowl and Quiz Bowl teams generally make it to nationals, our SciOly team places in the middle at states. However, with the new class of freshmen comes a SciOly team that did extremely well at states in the B division, so that might increase our chances (I met one who’s incredible at chem. Like, really, really good at chem). </p>
<p>Sorry, @tigerman333; at my school, AP Gov is a senior-year req (if you choose to take the AP, of course). </p>
<p>My Honors Precalc class is a nightmare–I did extremely bad (I’m not even going to say numbers here) on a quiz last Friday, even though the worst I should have gotten was a low B (that’s what I was expecting and stressing out about, anyway). However, if I get a hundred on the test we’re having on Thursday, my tests/quizzes average will be at a 90, so that’s a small bit of hope.</p>
<p>It took me 1 hour and 20 minutes to write a two page report in MLA format.</p>
<p>I swear I have a mild form of ADD. </p>
<p>^ pls, I can annotate 10 pages of an extremely small book in just 2 hours!</p>
<p>@ThatOneWeirdGuy I think I do to. I’ll do everything but the thing I’m supposed to (for example, I’m supposed to be studying for the SAT Bio right now, but instead, I’m reading a college textbook on Physical Chemistry; but then again, that might just be because I really, really hate bio). If I’m supposed to be doing something, I prefer not to do it.</p>
<p>I hate MLA formatting; it’s really annoying. Formatting as a general thing, actually. On another note, my English teacher last year made us cut a persuasive essay down to 750 words. I had to paraphrase every single one of my statistics, and as a result, I got an okay grade as opposed to a good one. My original essay was around 1000 words, and near the end, I had to start cutting out "the"s and "a"s.</p>
<p>I had to write a 5-page report for my summer Psychology course, and it was torture. For essays in English, 5 pages isn’t too bad; but when you aren’t allowed to embellish the text, it’s torture.</p>
<p>My problem is that I think too much. So my train of thought will go off the track after I type one sentence and then I have to stop to remember where I was, and then I’m day dreaming and googling lithium-ion batteries. </p>
<p>Then sometimes I can write a sizable essay in under 2 hours and get an A on it. That’s when I’ve waited until the last minute, though. So I guess I do well under pressure. XD</p>
<p>@topaz1116 So when you can make the text all decorative, it’s not as bad? 
You could just type it that way and change it at the end. </p>
<p>@ThatOneWeirdGuy I mean adding in creative text, and making it more like an English paper–where half of the purpose is to stun with your eloquent prose. It tends to take up a lot of space in my essays (I don’t know, I over-describe).</p>
<p>I have so much homework today; I don’t know how I’m going to finish it all. I have a lab writeup (all handwritten in ink; it includes an eight-paragraph essay as well as analysis questions and graphing); notes for two sections of Chem and two sections of History; section review questions for Chem; around 4 chapters of reading for English (that probably won’t take me long, but then again, I might not do it); a Spanish quiz to study for; and an engineering notebook writeup.</p>
<p>I am so, so screwed (but then again, at least I’m not my friend–she’s out until ten because of a youth orchestra she’s in).</p>
<p>@topaz1116 Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s hard to fill page and word requirements sometimes when it’s a report. I’m pretty efficient and concise, which is the ideal for those kinds of papers, so I don’t understand why length requirements are set-in-stone, rather than just a general standard. </p>
<p>How do you write lab reports from home? Your Chem teacher sounds evil. </p>
<p>We do the lab at school, take down our data, and follow the given guidelines for the lab writeup. We’re given analysis questions, and we have a specific format for the essay.
He is a bit evil, but his class isn’t too bad (it’s just the work).
I have a few friends who pulled all-nighters last night due to the amount of work we had.</p>
<p>Any of you taking the PSAT next month? I might sign up for it, but I don’t know if it’d be best to take it next year. </p>
<p>Please. My chem teacher is the devil. I have 5 lab reports due tomorrow and the workload is insane.</p>
<p>My school mandates everyone (excluding seniors) to take the PSAT. I got a 200 last year (76 math, 65 W, 59 CR) and I’m hoping for 220-230 this year</p>
<p>I want to but I don’t even know if it’s allowed for sophomores. They don’t announce anything at my school. Well they do announce things, but only unimportant things like when the next football game is or how much homecoming tickets are.</p>
<p>Omg this week was hell. I have been slowly drowning and this weekend can’t come fast enough!! It’s only the 3rd week! My Volleyball has had 3 games this week (which means you leave school the second it gets out and have absolutely NO TIME between then and 8:30 ish when you get home. The you might be able to do some work when the Varsity team is playing, but the captains gave me a job every other game because I always do them!! ;( that’s what I get for trying…</p>