<p>D1 came home yesterday very cheery after learning that a senior with similar stats is getting money thrown at her from U of Pacific and Willamette. Neither of which is on D1’s list, at least right now, but D1 was thrilled to see proof that yes, there will be colleges that will want her. :)</p>
<p>So happy. It is so nice to hear about a happy teenager espec a female.</p>
<p>SlitheyTove: There are colleges out there that will want our children. And knowing that there are places out there like that is good for our kids. Willamette is on my D’s list. And she was so thrilled with the way that she was treated at Whitworth in Spokane that they became one of her prime candidates, and she had never heard of them before our trip there.</p>
<p>One of the determinants on our list is health merit aid, not the only one, but it is important.</p>
<p>I’m sure she’ll be grumpy about something else pretty soon. Such is the way of the teenaged girl. :D</p>
<p>My Junior DS2 will also take the SATI this Saturday - he’s hoping for an improvement over the fall scores in CR to the range of his PSAT scores - he took a fall SAT as well as a Fall PSAT - funny, this one has always been an avid reader, has a sound vocabulary, and performed very well on the SAT writing, but seemed to struggle with the CR, in part because it was the final subsection, and he was tired. I am hoping he gets his wish, and can be two and done. I say so all the more because of the incredible business that is fall of senior year, and my wish for him that he can eliminate as much of the testing as possible from that period…</p>
<p>anothermom3,
My D2 sat the SAT in Oct and again in Dec, she was able to raise her CR by 70 points the second time, so it’s definitely possible! She got some additional CR tips for the second sitting and they really seemed to help. Be sure that he is absolutely literal in the reading passages, all information should be IN the passage, don’t make any assumptions or interpretations.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I agree w/entomom. My S raised his score substantially after he was taught how to take the test.</p>
<p>Last day of midterms here for D. Has been a stressful week and she’s waiting for it to be over. Wants to chill the entire weekend, planning a marathon of tv shows (House and 24!).
She constantly second guesses herself after the exams are done - so she truly won’t be stress free until she sees her scores!! Not sure how this kid is going to hold up to the stresses next year!</p>
<p>Got the grades today–
–and SAT is tom…
–deep breaths…</p>
<p>We just finished second semester finals here - no school today, and second semester starts on Monday. D was on super-overdrive during exams,and I predict she will not be awake before noon today, which is fine with me. Then she’ll be off to stage crew where she’ll be spending a good part of the weekend. She is SO excited about have a few days without homework. And she never feels that her exams went as well as she would have liked, but is getting a little better about letting it go once they’re done. A little better.</p>
<p>fogfog - hope the grades gave him a confidence boost as he headed into the SAT this morning?</p>
<p>A relief for everyone else who just finished finals and mid-terms - one more hurdle completed! Hopefully everyone’s student is taking the time to relax a bit this weekend - very important, I feel!</p>
<p>arisaramp - glad to hear about the 70 point CR SAT boost between first and second times taken - D took SATs in November, and will re-take in May, and is taking a prep course right now.</p>
<p>Good luck to today’s test-takers!</p>
<p>Congratulations to all who survived test day yesterday. It was my son’s first SAT experience - two subject tests (though he did take the PSAT in the fall). When he came home I asked him how it went. “Okay, I guess.” Tried again and asked how he thought he did. “I have no idea.” Figured I’d used up my allotment of questions. Is this normal? He didn’t seem too stressed, so I’m going to try not to think about it until the results come out.</p>
<p>My kids have never wanted to say much after testing either. I think they’re just relieved that it’s over and they don’t want to jinx it.</p>
<p>Well our student’s semester grades were some of the best in hs—as far as the SAT…our student thought the first few math problems in the first math section were tougher than expected…
which surprises me–given being in AP Calc
and prep for it etc…</p>
<p>hopefully didn’t wreck his confidence…</p>
<p>how long before those scores come back?</p>
<p>the Jan 23 test grades will be available online Feb 11</p>
<p>Fingers crossed for all those who took the SAT last Sat. </p>
<p>S still has two more days of finals/midterms left. He will be dog tired by Tues evening. H has started working with him on the writing portion of the SAT, his worse section. He did great last May on the CR and M sections, but miserable on W. Same type of results on the PSAT last fall. He is considered an excellent writer by teachers at his rigorous private school, and has been selected to assist in special projects because of his writing skills. His AP comp teacher was surprised when we showed him S’s results. We though math would be the problem child…sigh. So he will retake in May and that will probably be it, unless we think better scores will get him more merit money.</p>
<p>mamom-From what I understand, being a good writer and getting a good score on the writing section are not necessarily one and the same. Perhaps you can find a private tutor to help just with this section.</p>
<p>F1MathMon,
Yup, being a good writer certainly has not helped my S. I tried looking for a tutor, even asked his AP comp teacher. I see lots of ads for tutors but really don’t want to waste money or time on an unknown. Everyone I know who has hired a private tutor and gotten good results has been interested in the CR and M sections. . I have no interest in signing S up for princeton review or something comprehensive, he already has good scores on the CR and M sections and knows how to take the test. So I will keep looking and H will keep working with S. Thankfully, the W section appears to be one a lot of colleges ignore.</p>
<p>mamom-I agree with you on all points. You indicated that your S goes to a private school. You might want to try several people there in addition to his AP comp teacher. You never know who mght know someone (sorta like looking for a job or a date). The guidance dept., counseling dept. (if they have one), admin folks, former and current teachers in various subjects, etc. </p>
<p>You could also try other private schools in the area. Perhaps you have friends with children there and they could ask for you. We got my S’s tutor thru a friend who is a private college counselor. The same tutor was recommended by a friend of mine AND my trainer!! My trainer told me all the parents had great things to say about her. So, you never know!!</p>
<p>All in all, if he has to have one weaker link, this is probably the least important to most schools. And the SAT is only one part of a big picture of a great kid. </p>
<p>Has he tried the ACT? Maybe that will work better for him.</p>