Parents of the HS class of 2010 - Original

<p>Well, at least she had the benefit of being in the Humanities Academy during 9th and 10th grade. It's an intensive Language Arts and Social Studies program by acceptance only (essay written at the end of 8th grade). The kids in this program were fortunate to work at a much higher level than the regular and intensive classes. I know this has helped her to acclimate to AP and Honors courses this year.</p>

<p>Archiemom - LOL. But true.</p>

<p>so since everyone is laughing at me I guess ThreeKids will now believe I am a noob to this college thing :D Anyway, no harm, I just chuckle when I read the thread where the 09 parents are stressing over applications and I wanted to pick a date where things will calm down some..</p>

<p>2Leaches, sometimes it is helpful to cite the post # in the right box above the post in a reply. Anyway, your D sounds like a great kid, to you want to tell a bit more about her and where her interests lie?</p>

<p>Reply to #583:</p>

<p>Hi jackief,</p>

<p>My D is an independent girl who keeps her thoughts to herself (at least from ME) the majority of the time. :( So, it's hard to say WHAT she's thinking about regarding her interests. She does enjoy singing and is in two choirs at school (Jazz and Concert.) She has a decent voice, too. But, again, she takes the "economical approach" when it comes to sharing that with us. What do they say about "still waters run deep?" That's her! :) Takes after her math-teacher dad, I guess. All in all, she IS a great kid. I'm going to enjoy watching her bloom into a wonderful, young woman in the next few years.</p>

<p>jackief - we don't know any better, so we weren't laughing at you - that would be the parents who have gone through this before.</p>

<p>2Leashes - your D sounds a bit like mine - she really doesn't share her thoughts about her interests, what she wants. I believe I know her pretty well though, so I've been trying to point her in the right direction. Truthfully, I just don't think she's given it that much thought yet.</p>

<p>LIMOM, my comment was tongue in cheek, tried to convey that with the big grin :D </p>

<p>We'll see how today plays out. Yesterday was D's birthday and she had a big party and sleepover and now is doing the majority of HW. weekend HW usually takes more than half a day to do, so I hope this will not be a long night, and I hope she limits her facebook breaks. </p>

<p>Since we have talked about HW before, I did look up our school's policies. They say the typical nightly load is 45mins for regular and 45-60 mins for AP/H. She is 3 AP/H and 3 regular classes. There are some which are <30 some nights, but I'd say this isn't too far off the mark, weekends included. Next weekend is one of the two "no homework weekends" of the year, which doesn't apply to AP/H but wil be a lighter load than usual, plus the extra day off.</p>

<p>jackief, you wrote
[quote]
They say the typical nightly load is 45mins for regular and 45-60 mins for AP/H.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Do you mean 45 mins per day per one regular class or 45 mins per day per all regular classes? That is a lot of HW anyway.</p>

<p>DS has 5 AP plus math and Spanish III. I really don't see him doing much HW at all.</p>

<p>That is my pet peeve about weekends. I remember I used to finish my HW on Fri and then enjoy the Sat/Sun. D puts it all off until Sun afternoon or evening. This weekend she's been pretty good though...even did some PSAT prep!</p>

<p>Dad II - it is per class and it is a lot of work. She did knock off a couple of the easier subjects on Friday and Sat before the party. She had sports practice 7am Sat and a charity walk this morning as well. </p>

<p>vicariousparent- I was hoping for some PSAT prep this weekend, but that's what next weeked will be as well - as well as a sports event all day Sat and another EC on Sun afternoon. </p>

<p>Sometimes she does have time for pleasure reading and tv watching....</p>

<p>I have a question about SAT planning. As most of you are probably aware, the SAT score reporting policy will change with our kids' class. Unlike the current "all or none" policy of reporting, starting next year students will be able to selectively send their SAT scores by date taken and/or by individual subject (for the SAT-II). Has this changed your plans about when and which tests your kids are going to take? It seems to me that there is now even less penalty for taking the SAT when you are not completely 'ready', or a subject that you might not be completely sure of.</p>

<p>I also wonder if individual colleges will respond to this new policy by dropping the practice of "superscoring" for the SAT.</p>

<p>S2 will send all his scores, no change in "strategy" -- except he will probably take the ACT and see if it better reflects his abilities than the SAT (that was his idea, not mine). If he hits the SAT out of the ballpark the first time (and that does not mean a 2400!), we won't bother with ACT.</p>

<p>Unless one of his schools wants a third SAT-II, he is done with those already. Is pleased with his scores, esp. Math Level II. Doesn't want to jinx himself by trying to get one or two more questions right!</p>

<p>
[quote]
Unlike the current "all or none" policy of reporting, starting next year students will be able to selectively send their SAT scores by date taken and/or by individual subject (for the SAT-II). Has this changed your plans about when and which tests your kids are going to take?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>My son plans to report all his scores. (He has SAT I scores from sixth grade Talent Search testing that have actually vanished from his College Board official record of scores, but he will self-report those, and leave on his report SAT I and SAT II scores from eighth grade.) He has to take the SAT I once more to be in the running for National Merit Finalist consideration, and he is likely to take one or two more SAT II tests, as is often done by homeschoolers. (He has already taken four SAT II tests, three of them as a high school sophomore.) So really no changes in strategy at all here. My son doesn't like to make test-taking his EC, so he has kept busy most Saturday mornings with debate tournaments, soccer practices, or math practices and tournaments.</p>

<p>Glad to see you chimed in tokenadult...didn't know your son was in the class of 2010. Have you heard anything that would answer my second question: "I also wonder if individual colleges will respond to this new policy by dropping the practice of "superscoring" for the SAT."</p>

<p>Queensmom--if I recall correctly, (this is child #4), PSAT scores don't come back until February. And even then you're sort of in limbo cause the state cutoff isn't announced. Tho you can guess it will be close to the previous year. Semifinalists are announced next September, and applications are turned in so Finalists are announced in about Feb. of Senior year. Yeah, long process.</p>

<p>My S took the practice test this morning and he reported it was "pretty straightforward." :D</p>

<p>My kids will probably take more tests than they would have before score choice- fulfilling the evil plan of The College Board.</p>

<p>D1 the Junior hasn't done any SAT Is or IIs yet. She was signed up for SAT IIs last June but didn't feel prepared enough to take them and risk a not so great score. If score choice had been known then, she probably would have done one or two at that time. (We only paid for one slot but had considered adding a second if ready.) She will probably now take one or two in December. Her language, Latin, is only offered in Dec and June and by taking it in Dec she can leave June open for tests which coincide with the end of a subject. She may take Lit at that time also.</p>

<p>My younger D a freshman will look at possibly taking Bio this year.</p>

<p>As for SAT I's, it probably depends on how the scores come in. Neither kid excells at standardized tests (mostly going on basis of SSATs and D1's PSAT and practices) so we'll see. I am also curious to see what colleages come up with for their policies. D1 will also do a ACT practice and maybe take that. Also looking at test optional schools.</p>

<p>As for PSAT scores, I thought last year we heard back in December.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/student-loans-dry-up-your/story.aspx?guid=%7B1A727500-9C3B-4FA3-8CE1-B4EEE9429816%7D&dist=hplatest"&gt;http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/student-loans-dry-up-your/story.aspx?guid={1A727500-9C3B-4FA3-8CE1-B4EEE9429816}&dist=hplatest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The above link, which I hope works, is an article on college savings becomes key as credit crunch hits college loans.</p>

<p>I wasn't sure if there was already a thread on this in financial aid. But I thought it has to be near and dear to our hearts just now. </p>

<p>I was so happy our 529 had already moved DD's funds into principal protection format (age based). DS lost about 4K so far, his isn't protected yet.</p>

<p>I think we would get the PSAT score in December. But you will not know the cut off for a while. If the score is high enough in reference to the state cutoff of the past, then you know you made it.</p>

<p>PSATs are sent to individual schools by early Dec but the counseling office decides when to distribute them. Since the counseling offices are busy with seniors at that time, some schools withold the results until January.</p>

<p>jackief - happy birthday to your D! Did she just turn Sweet 16? </p>

<p>My D gets a lot of homework too. Not sure that there's an official policy regarding homework - in fact I'm pretty sure there isn't - but she gets a lot every night, including weekends. She did none Friday or yesterday, and then today had church, 3 hours of driver's ed, and a visit to a college fair - so she's got her work cut out for her tonight. </p>

<p>I remember finding out D's PSAT score by early December officially, but we started getting bombarded with emails from colleges about 2 weeks before that. And, I remember there being a real blitz of emails over Thanksgiving weekend - it was insane, especially as they were coming to my email address and not to D's.</p>

<p>vicariousparent - I would be annoyed if D's school waited until January to release the scores, because depending upon how D does, I'd like her to take an early SAT and get that out of the way.</p>

<p>D has taken 2 SAT IIs so far, but plans to take 2 more - math II and American History. Her other 2 were Bio E and Chem, and while her scores were good, she feels confident that her American History score will be better. Not sure yet about the ACT. </p>

<p>BTW, we attended a college fair this weekend, and it was not a fun experience. It was completely packed with people - a fire hazard, really - and it was very hard to get anywhere near the tables. On top of that, D really didn't want to be there, and she refused to talk to any of the reps. So, as I said, not fun!</p>

<p>Thanks for posting that info esobay. I'll give it a read later.</p>

<p>LIMOM, yes sweet 16, thanks. We cut off parties after elementary school with this one exception.</p>

<p>The last fair we went to was far too crowded to talk to people, and was in more of a metro area. The previous two we attended were on weeknights closer to home (and farther away from the big city) and had more breathing room. Sorry she had to spend that time in a way that wasn't productive.</p>

<p>So the testing plan is currently:</p>

<p>Dec SAT IIs, Latin and maybe Lit
Jan SAT I
Feb ACT maybe
May SAT I maybe
Jun SAT IIs USH and Math II and maybe Latin again</p>

<p>This sounds like a lot but doesn't conflict too much with sports so it shouldn't be bad. Apr ACT would probably have a sports conflict. If she ends up liking that better she would probably take a second Sr year :(</p>