Hello! This is my first time posting…mom of three teen boys (younger two are twins! in 8th grade). My eldest is S21…he finished 9th grade with a weighted 3.97 GPA…Only AP class he had was World Human Geo (got a 3 on the test) and the rest were all PreAp…he’s also in Marching Band and just received his induction invite for National Honor Society. No other EC’e other than on and off service hours at various city events or for non profits that I serve on.
Our school district doesn’t release class rank until Jan of Sophmore year…we’ll find out Jan 11th. He finished this past semester with 3 B’s and 1 A (we do accelerated block schedules for high school…only 4 classes a term!). He’s not very happy with himself and knows he’s going to have to really apply himself in the spring term to bring up his GPA to clinch himself top 10%. His only AP class next term will be AP World History…the other three will be PreAp Chem, Pre AP Algebra II and Band. Going into Junior year, we’ll probably be adding some Dual Credit classes.
Here’s our issue: he is NOT a good test taker…especially standardized tests. The highest PSAT score he’s gotten so far is 1080 (he’s taken in in 8th, 9th and 10th). He’s starting private SAT/ACT prep tutoring in January and will take the SAT in October. I’m trying not to freak him out more but I don’t have hopes for him scoring high on the SAT (and I’m perfectly ok with that!). So far Texas A&M is his #1 choice, and he probably will try for UT, and take CAP if offered…and he hasn’t thought much further than that lol, other than he wants to stay in state. No idea of what he want to major in either, other than it won’t be Math or Science related.
Can anyone else relate to all this lol. Is it too early to be worrying about him?!
As a high school student I know the pressure that we face from parents, teachers, and even our peers can be immense. So, if you feel like you are putting unnecessary pressure on your son to achieve something that might be your goal and not his I would say maybe try to back off a bit.
But, if this is truly his goal and you are just trying to help motivate him to reach his full potential to help achieve this goal I say keep doing what you are doing.
Most of all I would say listen to your son. Make sure that you are helping him achieve his goals and if you are doing so, I don’t think that sophomore year is too early to start focusing and reaching toward those goals.
He doesn’t need to know his intended major, it’s fine not to know and even people who do, they often end up switching once or twice. Let him focus on classes he has, SAT or SAT prep, NHS related volunteer work and band related activities.
Look beyond UT Austin and A&M. Physically or digitally browse UH, UNT, UTD, UTSA, U of Arkansas, U of Oaklohoma. If family is eligible for financial aid or looking for merit then also look at privates like Baylor and TCU.
@Momof3B Don’t worry about this right now. His PSAT of Jr year will show you what areas need to be strenthened. The SAT and ACT are designed to measure college readiness and have benchmarks to gage that within the sections. They differ from class tests, which is testing for knowledge of the material, which is different from the standardized tests. To score better, he will need to strengthen these areas. A report comes with your tests and explains the breakdown of the scores. Get that report. If his school offers an opportunity to go over the PSAT, go to it. Then you will know what needs work for when he takes the SAT. Texas public schools want you to submit all scores and they will use the one that helps your student the most.
A&M has an Academic Admit option if he is in the top quarter of his class and has a 1360 SAT with 660 ebrw and 620 math or 30 ACT with 27 in math and English.
A review admit to A&M has a 13-15% chance of full admissions and there is the Blinn Team option as well, which is roughly 2400 offers of admissions.
A&M and UT are not the only great schools in Texas for a great education. They are the flagship universities but there are many schools where he can get a great education.
@Thelma2 I’m trying so hard to not stress out over all this…and in turn not stesss him out as well! Being my my first born, I guess it’s a learning curve for us both, by the time I get to my twins two years after him I’m sure I’ll be chilled and relaxed lol.