<p>The scores must have been released about 5AM, because my son woke me up to tell me his score. He had no way of knowing I’d gone to bed at 2AM, having consumed too much caffeine at dinner.</p>
<p>He did do wonderfully on the Math and Critical Reading, but his Writing score dropped a bit, even though he said he’d gotten the same topic on a practice SAT. His score now puts him somewhere in the 50% percentile for some of the schools he’s looked at, and he doesn’t know if he wants to retake it in October. He doesn’t want to chance lowering his Math/CR scores just to raise his writing score.</p>
<p>Think S is taking them again in June, as he’ll take SAT2s in May I think. For those schools that super score he is hoping to raise his math score. At least he can concentrate on that for June. But between APs and SAT2s in May its going to be a long month!</p>
<p>For my S too, ldinct; S is doing the SAT2s in June and then has all his APs in May, so if he does the SAT again this year (also to raise the Math score) he will have to do it in May.</p>
<p>S usually aces any Math test and then struggles in English/Writing…when my husband saw the scores, he asked me if I was sure they were for our S!</p>
<p>Recently new to CC (been reading up) & 1st time posting. Sure wish I had found this site a year ago. Just saw my S scores as well, it was his 1st time taking the SAT with zero prep. The scores weren’t very good & he will definitely have to retake them. We met w/ his HS GC, shortly after S had already registered for this exam, who suggested due to Son’s PSAT & PLAN testing scores, S should only concentrate on the ACT. He will be taking it for the 1st time on the 10th. Wondering what others think of this?</p>
<p>sjba16: there are definitely students who do better on the ACT vs. SAT. My son was one of them (a year ago)…with relatively little prep (self study with the book) he got a 32, whereas his SAT score was around 1850.</p>
<p>My daughter just got a 2210 (yippee) after limited self study using the SAT Blue Book (10 practice tests) and the Answers and Explanations book by Peter Tanguay. She used this book extensively to get detailed explanations of questions she got wrong or did not understand.</p>
<p>Welcome sjba16! There’s tons of great advice here; glad you discovered CC. For the ACT vs SAT, what I’ve learned here is that it’s worthwhile for kids to take both and see if they do better on one than the other, then focus attention on just that one. </p>
<p>D1 was out of bed early this morning to check her score. She did great, including maxing out the writing and essay. ldinct, this is another kid who’s not working to potential in English in school. She was actually under the weather during the test and thought she’d muffed it, so she was especially delighted. </p>
<p>Amusing factoid from today’s visit to Pitzer: the president, a Mark Twain scholar, comes to school once a year dressed as Mr. Twain. I would love to see that.</p>
<p>For you new members, my S is in an IB program in S FL. Six of 7 of his IB classes this yr are also AP. We are currently in CA visiting CalTech (today), Harvey Mudd (Fri). Earlier this week we were in Boston visiting WPI, Olin and MIT. WPI and Olin are definitely staying on S’s list. Both small, hands-on engineering schools. None of us liked MIT. All work, work, work. Students don’t even eat together. Way too intense. S described CalTech as MIT w/personality. CT is beautiful, but work, work, work, too. Went to GA Tech last month. Liked that one too. </p>
<p>I will have reviews of all in college review section soon. Visiting Rice in the Fall. Feel free to ask any questions. If you can afford to visit schools, please do it. Eespec have your child go to a class. You won’t regret it.</p>
<p>We visited Pomona yesterday morning and Occidental in the afternoon. I’m having a hard time getting my daughter interested in a smaller LAC-type school. After attending a large urban high school (4000 kids) she doesn’t really want to go to s school that is smaller than her high school. Has anyone had any success changing their child’s mind in this direction?</p>
<p>sjba16 - welcome. I am not familar with PLAN (pre ACT?) we only see PSAT around here. Definitely have your S try the ACT with some prep so he can be one and done if it is the right test for him. Right now we are sticking with the SAT, S will retake in May. I thought he should try the ACT, but his SAT scores are OK and S just doesn’t have a lot of time to squeeze in another test right now. AP’s and subject tests coming up soon. </p>
<p>Scrabbler - My S initially wanted a large school and especially liked UW-Madison and Penn State, but now he is rethinking that position. He still likes the big schools with the rah rah sports teams but now thinks he might also like a smaller school. He really liked Bryant over UConn a couple of weeks ago and will visit Bentley and Babson today. I really think it comes down to just visiting a few smaller schools and finding one that clicks. Perhaps a LAC in an urban setting?</p>
<p>Talk about who is driving this college search process, when I told S yesterday that H was taking him to visit Babson and Bentley today he asked exactly how many schools do I have to visit? Well we have visited 7 schools as of today and will probably visit another 7. Perhaps if he showed more interest and had a list we wouldn’t be dragging him to all the schools we think are a good match. His stats are lopsided, relatively high SAT vs GPA we think he needs to “show the love” to some of these schools. </p>
<p>And finally we got the login info from the school GC for Naviance. I know what I will be doing this weekend.</p>
<p>Can someone point me to the college review section FlMathMom mentioned? I have been on specific sections for individual colleges, but I don’t see a broader review section.</p>
<p>S’s SAT scores were about what I expected, although a little lower than his PSAT. He’s going to stick with his ACT score, which was better.</p>
<p>mamom: I agree about Naviance, since it’s the only way I know about the school-related emails my kids are NOT reading! I only wish our hs would find a way to combine Naviance with ARIS and EDLINE. ARIS allows you to check most of your child’s grades and standardized test scores dating back to middle school, while EDLINE is a tool many of the teachers use to post current class test scores and homeworks handed in. I’m pretty sure it’s so that you don’t show up at parent/teacher conferences and get hit with the news that your child hasn’t handed in one homework since the term started.</p>
<p>^^I agree, that would be nice. I’ve had the hs website and Naviance opened at the same time, with the Fiske guide on the table next to me/us.</p>
<p>At LuckyBoy’s school all the grades and assignments are posted on the same website and all teachers are required to post everything there. But at his '13er sister’s school, the school information is on THREE different websites and teachers are not required to post assignments online at all :eek: I predict that will make me crazy in two years…</p>
<p>mamon - my situation seems quite similar to yours…since my daughter doesn’t show that much interest in the process, I probably try to talk about it more to get her to think about it, which she finds annoying. She has one big school in mind (with another as a back up) and isn’t really open to much else at this point. As for me, I want her to have choices when next April comes around.</p>
<p>I envy all you folks with Naviance. One of the first questions I asked our college admissions counselor was if she kept a record of student stats and results, no she said, it’s all in her head. Too bad, even though we are a public HS in a state with poor support for education, a little time with a spread sheet every year would be really helpful to future students. I’d do it myself, but I’m afraid I’m a persona non grata since D1 and I didn’t take her advice and went our own way (with help from CC and others) for college admissions.</p>
<p>GKM,
Did your S do specific prep for the SAT math section? The concepts are not particularly difficult for kids who are advanced in math, but can be a lot of review of things they haven’t done for quite awhile.</p>
<p>dad1518,
Sounds like your S has some good options, even with the recent troubles in CA, they still have a great system (full disclosure, I’m a CCC/UC alum ;)).</p>
<p>I’m living vicarously through everyone’s college visits as D2 is resisting with all her might. She did see a few with her big sister, and we live in a college town, so admittedly she’s not a newbie. I just hope she really knows what she wants and doesn’t change radically once applications are in. We did take 2 default college visits over spring break, 1 because we took D1 back to college and spent a day there and another when we were in NYC and we happend to be shopping and seeing a play near NYU.</p>
<p>I feel as though we’ve all been moved from the staging area to the big dance en masse --like something from the movie set of the 10 Commandments.</p>
<p>This is my second (and last) tour of duty on the college selection circuit – basically I’m just looking for some kindred spirits to connect with in a non-over the top way. When my D was a born in '93, my boss at the time gave me a very forward-thinking gift at the time – a subscription to a year’s worth of Dial-up service on CompuServe. I forged two close friendships (one is a faithful once a day fb friend to this day) in a somewhat primitive forum on “Mothers with Infants Working from Home” that saved me from the zaniness of those frenetic days.</p>
<p>D’s older brother is a junior in the Honors Program at Fordham Rose Hill. She brings different strengths and weaknesses to the table. We’ve visited 8 schools so far on her wish list with 4 remaining. Only three are reach schools (for her based on guidance counselor’s assessment at a very well-regarded large suburban public high school near Albany NY) based on this year’s benchmarks…but therein lies the conundrum…</p>
<p>Any insight or cyber companionship you can provide along the way will be much appreciated! Everyone has a story to tell and I’m very much interested in hearing from others in the same boat!</p>
<p>entomom wrote <Did your S do specific prep for the SAT math section? The concepts are not particularly difficult for kids who are advanced in math, but can be a lot of review of things they haven’t done for quite awhile.<</p>
<p>That is so true. For many kids the time to take the math portion of the SAT (not sat 2) is at end of soph year when the stuff tested in SAT math is fresh in their head. But, another year of English usually helps improve their score in that section. Makes one wonder why they can’t break it out into sections to be taken one at a time, like the SAT 2. My S is specifically taking a Russion Math class so the SAT math will be fresh in his head come May.</p>
<p>Quick Take on Babson tour and info session from S and H</p>
<p>Blend of. Biz and liberal arts
“Interested in people who like to think outside the box”</p>
<p>Lg class is 60 people
Diverse group
Known Faculty in biz
Think tank concepts
Foundations of mgmt +enterpreurship class where you pitch idea, funding, and running. Grades derived from team
And product it sold in spring for community benefit</p>
<p>Appears to be good choice for kids that know what they want to do</p>
<p>Career dev ctr sounds like a good resource from biz perspective</p>
<p>Challenging coursework, honors etc, math to at least pre calc, sat’s mid 1800 (lower) to 2070 (top 75), act 29 to 32, essays, recs, activities</p>
<p>Note volunteering, service, activities on app and essays are important and should tell the personal story and the ability to communicate. Don’t raise red flags and pass the “adult” sniff test and provide something about you that is not in other material.</p>
<p>Rec letters s. Write a list of accomplishments in your class that you did well and discuss it with the teacher for possible inclusions. Be judiscious in your teacher requests and ask as early as possible. Vary areas of teachers interest. Convince admission that you belong here.</p>
<p>Relationships with Olin and Wellesey college</p>
<p>Bittersweet. Today is the last touring day of our Spring Break College Tour 2010. It has been a wonderful, worthwhile experience our family will treasure forever. </p>
<p>I think we did it at the right pace with the right number of schools (one major metropolitan area on each of two coasts - 3 schools in one area, 2 in the other - one school per day - tours, info session, 1 or 2 classes visits at each school, interviews at those who permitted, sleepover at one, seder at one, Shabbat service at one, lunch or dinner with one or more students at all). Any faster would have less meaningful for us.</p>
<p>Mudd seems like a super school for a student who wants a very intense work environment. We asked three students - ‘Describe your typical week re: classes, schoolwork, relaxing’. Each independently gave similar answers - M-Fri lots of classes and hw incl very, very late nights, Fri night is for relaxing, Sat & Sun AM for catching up on sleep, rest of Sat & Sun are hw, projects. </p>
<p>Weekend visit to Rice and maybe CMU scheduled for Fall. I’d be happy to answer any questions on MIT, Olin, WPI, CalTech, Mudd or GA Tech (visited in Feb). I’ll be posting remaining reviews soon.</p>
<p>Thanks to ALL the amazing CC parents who help define our process and our list and shared their thoughts. Oh one more tip - the admissions folks loved my S’s preprinted labels (Name, address, phone, email, school, GPA, Class year) that he used for their signup cards at each school. He had them left over from the college fairs we went to. One school said she like to require kids to use them b/c so many had illegible penmanship!!</p>