Interestingly, most engineers don’t actually do a lot of hand calculation in day-to-day tasks – that’s mostly in college. It’s more things like running existing software, or maybe no math at all: My nephew is a civil engineer with a state roads department. He goes around to work sites making sure the contractors are doing repairs in accordance with the relevant checklist. That “D” in structural analysis? Didn’t end up mattering.
One possibility for someone science-interested but math/physics averse is Environmental Science (vs Environmental Studies). They wouldn’t escape math completely, but at least it wouldn’t be heavy all four years. I know people who have gone from that major to things like working for companies which prepare environmental impact reports and similar. Long on memorizing laws/procedures, and some science, but short on math.
D24 got her gpa and class rank, so it is all no longer a mystery to us. She has a weighted gpa of 3.8 (not sure of unweighted, but I think she probably lands squarely in the stated range of this thread) and class rank of 82/248. Now we have some tangible numbers, I feel like we can start to hone in on potential schools.
Scheduled a tour of Rowan next week on a day when her school is closed for the Jewish holiday.
We are heading to Boston next month to visit D20, and am thinking about scheduling a tour of Wentworth while we’re there.
AP Music Theory, at least the listening tests/quizzes so far, is kicking D24’s butt. She’s meeting with the teacher this week after school for extra help.
She attended a U of Arizona presentation at school today, curious what she has to say about that. Since we’re knee deep in the “My parents are stupid and know nothing” phase, I will probably get one word feedback like “Ugh, FINE!”
Speaking of classes that are kicking our 24’s butts, S24 is trying to drop Regents Algebra II/Trig. We didn’t realize that there is a non-Regents class that he could have taken (not sure why the guidance counselor gives no guidance when kids choose their classes ).
For non-NY people, Regents is a specific curriculum for high school classes. Students are required to take a cumulative, three hour standardized test at the end of the year. At our school, the grade on that test counts as an extra quarter. S24 does fine in math. He finished Regents geometry with a B+, but proceeded to get a D on the exam. He gets extra time due to LDs, but he doesn’t have the stamina to get through 4.5 hours straight of math calculations. So far, the concepts in Algebra II/Trig are significantly harder than Geometry.
(Vent alert)
In order to change to the non-Regents class, he apparently needs the signatures of: teacher, head of math department, assistant principal, guidance counselor, and parent. Rather than signing, AP and head of department made him feel like he just needs to work harder. Wish they could see how many hours he works and what he would need to sacrifice to work harder (time with family/friends, sleep, his sport). Teacher and I have signed. Will see what happens today .
S24 pushed through and got all the signatures! I can tell he is relieved. And he feels good that he persevered and took care of it without my help. I agree that requiring the signatures of head of department and assistant principal to switch from Regents Algebra II to non-Regents Algebra II is ridiculous.
More good news! It turns out the new math class is taught by one of D21’s all time favorite teachers . Such a calm, patient, decent guy, and talented at teaching math too. S24 is psyched!
Happy PSAT day. Good luck to all those taking. We had to run out and get a new calculator last night. Thank god we were prepping while stores were still open. We found the same one that was misplaced so he doesn’t have to learn the new one during the test. Also reviewed to not leave any answers blank. There’s a 25% chance that the answer is C
D24 reported this evening that she’s got an 85 right now in AP Calculus AB! She’s always had to work her butt off in math. Am very proud of her. Makes up for the major struggle that she’s having in physics right now…tutoring starts day after tomorrow and she went to student hours w/the physics teacher after school today, too.
So I walked into my son’s room this morning and noticed his SAT prep book and his Fiske College book side by side on the floor next to his bed. My mom heart swelled with pride that he is finally taking the initiative to open those books and start motivating a bit. I bend down to pick them up and he says to me “No don’t move those, I am using them to flatten a poster”!
D24 is still learning lessons in time management, was up until 1 am last night doing HW that she should have gotten started on earlier in the weekend. And she didn’t even have too much going on this past weekend. Good grief, kiddo, get with the program!
I’m so glad to hear my S24 isn’t the only one who isn’t showing all the “college ready” skills that would be optimal. Sunday morning he (and I via bcc) got an email asking why he hadn’t turned in any work for the past 2 weeks. When I asked him about it, he swore he had. After looking into it, he had done 90% of the work…and forgotten to turn it in. How is this happening fall of junior year?!
My mind-always-elsewhere HS senior would call me at home to transport homework he’d forgotten. I probably knew his locker combination better than he did ; )
Then his brain (frontal lobes) finished activating over the next five or so years, and such rough edges mostly fell by the wayside with or without my “encouragement”. At least I never noticed much of a correlation between how hard I pushed on something and what there was to show for it.
I hear ya! D24 will go through stretches where she’s got it all together, firing on all cylinders. And then something like what happened yesterday will occur.
I suspect that part of it is a little bit of burn out from having the entire week of fall break off earlier this month, followed by 2 solid weeks at school crammed full of stuff going on.
On top of all that, my DH has basically been bickering/arguing w/her for almost an entire year now over her getting a driver’s license. She’s close, but isn’t ready yet for the official on-the-road test which DH arbitrarily set a date of 11/5 (same date that she’s taking the SAT) for. On the way home 1 evening last week from the driving school session, he lectured her for an entire 30 min about adulting.
I’m pretty certain that right now, my kid just wants to continue to be a high school kid and sometimes doesn’t want the constant reminders that adulthood is looming in the not-too-distant future.
…which is why, if it’s possible, I think that her taking a smaller load of classes during fall semester of freshman year might be a good idea for her so she can adjust to all of the major changes that will be going on at that time.
Feeling a little blah this week . S24 has a very manageable class load for junior year. He is playing football which is a huge time commitment, but he is home by 7pm every night. He is in a place where he really just wants to be out of the house with friends when he is not at school or at practice. Grades are decent but def not where they were last year at this time. He is taking the ACT in a month and has done nothing to prepare and says “I have no time to do everything I need to do” but I also see him not really doing anything when he is home. He is a great kid, an amazing brother to D26, helps around the house, respectful, etc., etc. But the motivation for anything academic related just is not there. The worst part is I was EXACTLY like him when I was in high school:grimacing:so I totally get it. If it is something he is interested in he will devote as much time as needed, but reguIar, boring school classes, forget it. I just feel worried b/c the admissions climate has changed so drastically and I am trying to make him understand that with his very specific criteria for where he wants/is willing to go to school, he needs to work hard so he has options. I know it will all work out, but in the middle of it, it feels hard. And as soon as football is over (which could be as early as tonight), he needs to find a winter job which he is also not being very proactive about. Anyway, sorry for the vent, I just figured many might be in a similar place or be able to empathize a bit. It is hard when some of my friends’ kids spend hours on end studying for their various AP classes, etc. and I feel like mine “should” be doing more.
I’m sorry that this is a difficult time for you, and I can definitely empathize. The good news is that you were just like him at that age, and my sense is that you turned out just fine. Although the admissions climate has changed significantly with respect to the Top X universities, if one is willing to look outside of those (which is the vast majority in the U.S…probably at least 95% of them), then the admissions climate isn’t all that different than it was 20-40 years ago.
I understand that it’s hard, but I would treasure this part of what you said:
I’m willing to bet that not all parents can say the same of their kids who are studying many hours for their APs or ACTs. And if they can say that, they may be having other issues, such as anxiety and depression.
I know it’s hard when you want the best for your kid and you think they could be doing more for their future. But we need to love the kid we have, and it sounds like you have a great one.
We are in a similar situation here. It’s frustrating. D24 says that she wants to become a PA and I wonder if she’ll have the drive to do the studying in college in order to make to happen. But there’s not much I can really do about that…that’s in her hands. I know that when it’s a subject she’s interested in, she dives into it full on and eats it all up and does well. But for the subjects that she considers “boring,” she does enough to get ok grades…just not GREAT grades.
The other day, DH asked D24 what her plans are for next summer. There’s a school trip to France that she’s going on the last week of school but after that, she said, “I don’t know. Probably volunteer.”
…which is 4 hr a week at the hospital. I told her, “No, you’re going to get a part time job,” to which we got lots of sighing and gnashing of teeth.
Then I had a moment of clarity at bedtime the other night….she really wants to do a summer study abroad thing during college. But we can’t afford to pay for that. I’m going to try and convince her that a part time summer job will help her save up money for that. Hope springs eternal.
100% this! All we really can do it communicate early and often what the constraints are, and how the choices they are making today may impact the choices they will have when it comes time to getting in and being able to afford where they’d like to go. The rest is really up to them. Have faith - it will all work out!
I watched all of D22’s friends stress out and and spend countless hours studying for AP classes while D dropped all of hers because she just wasn’t into that scene. In the end, none of those kids that stayed up nights fretting about assignments went anywhere great and all had stress related issues by the time they left for college.
There is something to be said for deciding that environment isn’t for you as long as you are willing to accept the consequences. (There really weren’t any consequences for D)
).
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. Such a calm, patient, decent guy, and talented at teaching math too. S24 is psyched!
Sunday morning he (and I via bcc) got an email asking why he hadn’t turned in any work for the past 2 weeks. When I asked him about it, he swore he had. After looking into it, he had done 90% of the work…and forgotten to turn it in. How is this happening fall of junior year?!
. S24 has a very manageable class load for junior year. He is playing football which is a huge time commitment, but he is home by 7pm every night. He is in a place where he really just wants to be out of the house with friends when he is not at school or at practice. Grades are decent but def not where they were last year at this time. He is taking the ACT in a month and has done nothing to prepare and says “I have no time to do everything I need to do” but I also see him not really doing anything when he is home. He is a great kid, an amazing brother to D26, helps around the house, respectful, etc., etc. But the motivation for anything academic related just is not there. The worst part is I was EXACTLY like him when I was in high school:grimacing:so I totally get it. If it is something he is interested in he will devote as much time as needed, but reguIar, boring school classes, forget it. I just feel worried b/c the admissions climate has changed so drastically and I am trying to make him understand that with his very specific criteria for where he wants/is willing to go to school, he needs to work hard so he has options. I know it will all work out, but in the middle of it, it feels hard. And as soon as football is over (which could be as early as tonight), he needs to find a winter job which he is also not being very proactive about. Anyway, sorry for the vent, I just figured many might be in a similar place or be able to empathize a bit. It is hard when some of my friends’ kids spend hours on end studying for their various AP classes, etc. and I feel like mine “should” be doing more.