<p>Being a good writer and doing well on the writing section do not necessarily correlate which is one reason most schools don’t look at the score. I told my d not to worry about that section at all and to concentrate on the two that count for admissions decisions.</p>
<p>F1 - I have gone back and forth on having him take the ACT. I was all set to go ahead and sign him up when I read a discussion here about the stress of taking another test and decided we would just retake the SAT one more time. His scores CR score is very, very good and math is OK. Looking at the schools he will be applying to he is already above, in most cases, that middle 50%. OTOH, his grades leave something to be desired and do not fall in line with his SAT scores. what to do, what to do…</p>
<p>mamom-I usually find talking to someone espec someone who is a good listener and will ask you pointed questions and not just tell his/her stories help me make decisions like these. We usually know what is best for our child. Perhaps a friend, guidance counselor, clergy, parent who has a child like yours but who is in college already. </p>
<p>Maybe a PRO/CON list. What is the goal? How is taking these tests accomplishing that goal?</p>
<p>FWIW
Our school’s GCs encourage the kids to take both the ACT and SAT because some kids just perform much better on one than the other…</p>
<p>mamom- If your son does not score so well on the SAT math, he may find the less-tricky math problems on the ACT more suited to success. The science reasoning section is good for kids who can read and interpret data well.</p>
<p>fauve - well he scored a 640 in math last May which I thought was OK, it was the 510 in writing that scared me. I will have to look at the ACT schedule and test sites and see how it fits into our schedule.</p>
<p>D1 told me she gave someone else “The Talk” today. She’s become the one who tells her classmates who are freaking out that yes, they will get in to college and no, their lives will not be over if they don’t get in to Super Reachy Dream School. I’m hoping that enough of them take it to heart that they can return it in spades to D1 when she starts freaking out.</p>
<p>mamom, I don’t know where you live but you may want to see if Revolution is around you. D took the PSAT in 10th grade and did okay but she has dyslexia and it was suggested that the ACT might be a better fit. Revolution does offer test prep services but, for $20, it also offers a service in which students take the SAT or ACT–full length–and gives them their scores and suggestions for improving them. D2 took the ACT under these circumstances which was a great way to see if it was a better test for her. Turns out it wasn’t. She took the PSAT as a junior and her score went up tremendously–so proud of her! Now we have to hope it translates to a nice score on the SAT in March.</p>
<p>There may be another thread on this already, but I couldn’t find it…
Registration for Juniors for next year’s schedule is next week. My D is looking at taking both AP Calculus and AP Physics (in addition to AP Spanish, AP English Lit, and an AP History of some kind). If she does this, she will have to drop Choir; because AP Calc and AP Physics are 1 1/2 class sessions long, she will not have enough room in her schedule to fit in Choir. She is unhappy about this, but thinks that she has to do it. She will be on a liberal arts track in college (probably majoring in history or English, or maybe political science) but certainly will not be focusing on math or science. So I’m thinking this is maybe overkill. My suggestion was to take AP Stats instead of Calculus, and maybe an honors science instead of AP. She’s afraid that if she does that, her schedule will not be rigorous enough for the colleges she’ll be applying to (she’s looking for merit $$ at good colleges: Grinnell, Rice, maybe Denison, maybe others …). Many of you probably are in similar situations. What do you think? She’s trying to set up an appointment with her school college counselor,but doesn’t know if she can get in to see him in time.</p>
<p>what our college counselor would suggest with this is that your daughter have breadth…that meaning, at least one AP in each academic area and that she reach calc as a senior…that being said…</p>
<p>1) if she has already taken an AP science (bio,chem) she could drop down to honors or reg physics…especially since she will be on liberal arts track…</p>
<p>2) keep the AP calc (if that’s the first AP math)…so she can reach the calc as a senior…alot of top kids here who were focused on eng/hist dropped down to honors with NO problem with highly selective schools, but that’s your decision…</p>
<p>cooker - The ‘general rule’ is that the students ‘should’ take the most rigorous course offered by their school; however, if Choir is her passion and brings her joy and there is a way to work it in to her schedule, that might be the best route. </p>
<p>If the GC doesn’t have time to meet with your D, maybe she could email him/her or drop off a note presenting 2 or 3 scenerios with explanations and ask for guidance that way. Perhaps one of the more seasoned teachers could help out. She might want to contact the admissions office at a few of the schools she is seriously considering.</p>
<p>cooker, Did you read this thread? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/855577-please-comment-p-classes-pitfalls.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/855577-please-comment-p-classes-pitfalls.html</a></p>
<p>Life is too short to always focus on the future instead of living in the here and now. If she really likes chorus that might really make senior year a little bit more fun. If she’s not planning on going into a major with a Science focus, is that really the right thing to do? Sounds pretty depressing to me to take classes that you really won’t like just for college admissions - not the college career, just for admissions.</p>
<p>Take chorus and drop AP Physics down to lower level. AP physics is really a time killer and if she isn’t going into the sciences, why take it?</p>
<p>Cooker, I agree with what the others have said. Although my S is good at math and science we allowed him to take honors vs AP physics and calc this year (all other classes are AP though). Both teachers mentioned to H that he could do well in the AP class but he already has 3+ hours of HW a night. How much more can one kid handle? My S is probably going to major in history or business and only take required math and sci in college so we are giving him a bye on AP math and science, this year. </p>
<p>Your D is already taking a very vigorous course load, I think taking one regular class is not going to detract.</p>
<p>Bumping this up. I know there are several threads devoted to this, but none seem able to fit.</p>
<p>I’m a junior with about a 3.3 or so, (1 D, 1 C, several Bs, Several As). I’m taking 3 APs this year and 1 AP last year. I got a 204 on my PSAT and will take the SAT in March.</p>
<p>However, my family’s income is only $18,904 (W-2) with no other assets (we live with my grandmother). To attend college, I’ll essentially need a full ride.</p>
<p>So I have a few questions:</p>
<p>I would likely be eligible for a great scholarship at the University of Alabama and Louisiana State. Both of these schools give great marriage packages for above a 1330 on the SAT (and a 3.5 GPA which hopefully I’ll be able to achieve). Are there any other schools like this? Political Science major here.</p>
<p>Secondly, when being evaluated for merit scholarships, do they take your GPA at the end of Junior year or at the mid-way point of Senior year? That could really be the difference for me.</p>
<p>Thank you guys so much for putting up with this long post.</p>
<p>CIA–
you should look at schools that admit 3.25-3.5
a 204 PSAT MAY bring you a 1800-2100 SAT–
but the tests are different and tsting changes for a student from one date to the next and depends ont eh questions in the mix.</p>
<p>Realize that every grade you add is watered down by the 3.3 you have–Taking APs and Honors help IF you do well.
accpet this–the schoools to look at your transcript through Jr yr–
Your aps go in fall of sr yr–so they don’t see those grades until they get an update/mid yr transcript.</p>
<p>Your finances make you eligible for aid—</p>
<p>you need to meet with out counselor now–to look for matching schools that offer great aid…</p>
<p>don’t delay…</p>
<p>CIA: there are some schools that don’t consider your 9th grade grades. If you are on an upward trend with your grades, your GPA might be a lot better without 9th grade and with the additional weighted grades this year. I suggest you re-calculate your GPA using only 10th and 11th grade grades. If it’s stronger, then figure out which schools you might want to add to your list. Schools like to see kids who have matured over time, and learned from their mistakes.</p>
<p>Well the thing is, the bad grades haven’t been in my AP classes. They’ve been in normal classes. I’m getting As in my AP classes. My D was in a normal geometry class my sophomore year. I didn’t understand it and didn’t take the steps I should have to get help. That’s in the past now, but I’m scared it will continue to haunt me.</p>
<p>I understand that schools will only see grades through Junior year. What I meant was, when considering me for merit aid, do they wait until the midyear report?</p>
<p>CIA, just wanted to make sure you’d seen this thread:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html</a></p>
<p>Would you be in-state for AL or LA?</p>
<p>Most of youse are probably in second semester, but it’s finals week here. Chem is still D1’s bugbear. Her teacher gives an AP-like (possibly a former AP) test for the final. She says that on the AP itself if you get 50 out of 75 multiple choice questions, that’s a 5. But in her class, if you miss 8 questions, that’s a B. Tough grading, not good outlook for her grades this semester. On the AP test forum here I found a website with tons of old AP tests; she’s looking through those to help with her studying. She posted the link on her Facebook page to help her classmates. I noticed she made sure her Chem teacher wasn’t allowed to see that particular post.</p>