Parents of the HS Class of 2013

Parents Forum Class of 20xx Community
921

<p>10 APs! WOW!</p>

<p>I do believe in the end the AP and pre-AP classes will help my kid. I’m glad his school teaches it at a level comparable to the test. Perused the AP test forum and his class seems to be doing a fair amount of writing as compared to other schools. I just wish the kid was less stubborn and more open to help. </p>

<p>On the flip side, the tough classes will definitely help the kid determine what level of college he wants to attend. He has the IQ to go anyway and does fairly well on standardized tests. He has the drive to play guitar and video games all day. Hoping the next 2 years will help him find the middle ground. If not, then I may put an expiration date on loving the kid on the couch.</p>

922

<p>Longhaul…too funny! My S was just like yours. Very smart, fabulous test taker, but had the drive of a mack truck going up hill.:)</p>

923

<p>texasmom…may I ask how her AP scores were for chem and for calc? I have always wondered whether the scores for AP and IB were more meaningful than the grades since teaching styles and content can vary so much. My S had a C in BC calc but a 5 on the test and has placed out of calc. I am thinking he should retake the course so as not to be overwhelmed if he goes straight to the next sequence, but perhaps the 5 really means he knows the material. I remember getting a 5 on AP English exams and just dying in my freshman English class. </p>

<p>My S took IB classes and AP but did not receive credit for any of the SL classes, and, ironically, the HL Spanish for native speakers that he received 7 on did not count (2 years of coursework) but his 5 in AP spanish he took in 10th grade did!? He is in his first semester at college but he says, on average, the IB classes were more engaging and better prep for college. For example, he took 1 year of HL comp science and no exam (so no credit) but seems to be much better prepared for the comp science class than the students that took AP. I think it has as much to do with the teacher as with the curriculum so I don’t think one system is better than the other.</p>

924

<p>Fineartsmajormom</p>

<p>My D earned 5’s on both Calc and chemistry AP tests - so, unfortunately for her, it was not an indication of how ready she was for college coursework. </p>

<p>I would do a little research before having your son take a class he placed out of. At some schools the freshman classes are HUGE weed-out classes so you might not want to put him through that. </p>

<p>Longhaul - now that I see how much work my DD is doing in college I can assess the type of school that might be a better fit for my S. S does great on tests, has no study habits and little desire to apply himself to “mindless” busy work assigned. My son must earn A’s and B’s to remain on his 2 varsity sports teams - I am always amazed at his ability to pull a “98” out of his **** at the eleventh hour in order to bring a C up to a B…truly an amazing skill. Not sure this great skill will work quite as well in college however…</p>

925

<p>Hi! I’m joining this discussion after posting a “Help! I’m overwhelmed” thread in another area and receiving some really great feedback.</p>

<p>DS is a 10th grader and I’m trying to get my head wrapped around college selection issues. He has had a bit of an unusual educational path with some homeschooling and dual enrollment, currently enrolled in the “preIB program” at a local high school. A strong math/science kid, DS also enjoys philosophy and late night meaning of life discussions. He is a little dyslexic (unaccommodated) so is not the strongest writer nor always a reliable tester. Will not shine when writing his college essays. :-)</p>

<p>I’m wondering when to start thinking seriously about making a list of specific colleges and which colleges to include. In my area 10th grade is waaaaay too early to think about this, but I’m worried that time will slip up on us and we’ll be scrambling. DS is a vastly different person when experiencing a good academic fit than when not, so I feel finding a good fit for school is important. We will also need scholarships and/or financial aid.</p>

<p>DS has developed the following selection criteria:

  • small class size
  • undergraduate research opportunities
  • strong and accessible faculty
  • collaborative, not competitive, academic environment
  • academically capable students who also like to relax and have fun
  • prepares students well for graduate studies
  • access to downhill skiing is a plus
  • does not want to be in a big urban area</p>

<p>DS is currently working on his application to a residential math/science high school where the students live in a university dorm and take all college classes their junior and senior years. If he is not accepted we will need to do collge planning based on his remaining in the IB program. Right now his academic stats are:

  • class rank 1/402 (will most likely change after this year’s visual arts class!)
  • Weighted GPA: 4.75
  • Unweighted GPA: 3.875
  • Taking all Honors courses in his preIB program with an independent study in Computer Programming (school does not offer the course), Latin II as his language, and AP Stats for math
  • Earned 21 credits at the local CC, completing both Calc II (his only B so far) and Calc III in 9th grade
  • Will enroll in 2 CC classes this spring semester (history and computer programming)
  • ACT: 30 C, 25 E, 30 M, 30 R, 33 S</p>

<p>For ECs he is currently involved in a research project with an engineering faculty member (can’t see that they will publish anything but it is a great learning experience), member of district robot team, selected to participate on district student technology advising committee, mock trial, anime club, model united nations, library teen board, and a long list of various summer camps and other things. He’s also an Eagle Scout.</p>

<p>Did not take the PSAT this year nor any SAT IIs yet. AP Stats may be the only AP exam for his entire high school career because he will do either college or IB courses. </p>

<p>Schools he’s expressed interest in:

  • Stanford (REACH!)
  • CalTech (REACH!)
  • Oberlin
  • Grinnell
  • Kalamazoo
  • Centre (not a top choice)
  • UofKY (safety)</p>

<p>Except for the reaches, do these sound like reasonable choices? Other schools to consider? Thanks!</p>

926

<p>If he likes Grinnell, look at Carleton.</p>

927

<p>Hi Javamom:</p>

<p>Thanks for joining us! I certainly can’t help you with colleges, because we never did or will look at any where “skiing nearby” is an option ;)</p>

<p>A lot of your HS decisions will hinge on your son getting into the residential program, but one thing that jumped out at me and I have to ask: if your son stays at his current school, will he continue with IB? I only ask because you say that he’s dyslexic and not a strong writer; at our school the IB is incredibly writing intensive. You also say that he’s science & math oriented. At our school, the uber math & science students avoid IB like the plague because we have other paths that are stronger in those areas. </p>

<p>An an Eagle Scout in 10th grade? That’s awesome!</p>

928

<p>Hi RobD,</p>

<p>You raise excellent points about remaining with the IB program. It is not a great fit. Luckily for us, IB is new here, the program is just a few years old, and the classes are not nearly as rigorous as they seem to be in other places. The writing will be a stretch for him, but it is for all the students here and there are supports in place. I don’t see him doing well on the IB exams just as I think the AP exams are a real roll of the dice for him. It’s a dilemma. It seems like so many kids on CC get almost perfect scores on their ACTs and SATs but testing is not his super strength. We are elated with his 30 composite and 30 in math ACT. Even though he shines in his math classes, I can’t see him getting better ACTs in the future.</p>

<p>The math/science magnet is very rigid in their requirements and he accelerated in math too fast for their program so that is not an option (we really pushed for it). It may be a blessing though because that is a highly competitive environment and they pack in the APs, so I don’t know that he would have thrived there. He is participating with the robot team at that school and so far he has enjoyed hanging with those students. As you pointed out, IB does not attract the techy crowd.</p>

<p>My plan B at this point would be to have him dual enroll for as many classes as possible his junior year (which will take some serious negotiating with the school). I would even pull him out of school entirely to homeschool and have him take 4 college classes at a decent LAC, but he is not ready for that step because it would remove access to any high school ECs. If he could be a college student by day and a high school student for the ECs that would be perfect. :slight_smile: Plan B for senior year is possibly some sort of study abroad option.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

929

<p>Javamom: for your son to have a 30 composite, 30 math and 33 science ACT at the 10th grade or younger…well, I’d say he does test well :slight_smile: Of course, he’s already has really high level math for his age so that helps tremendously. My older D informed my younger D last year that her 9th grade ACT composite score was higher than many of the IB kids senior year score (and she’d “only” gotten a 27.)</p>

930

<p>javamom</p>

<p>Your son sounds amazing! I’m sure he will have plenty of good opportunities.</p>

<p>Not that it is in a skiing area, but have you considered looking at Harvey Mudd and the Claremont Consort? Skiing is a short drive a way as I understand it. </p>

<p>Frankly, I think your biggest issue will be finding the balance between enough science/math with little writing.</p>

<p>Reed, Swarthmore and Carnegie Mellon came to my mind. But he may find Swarthmore too intense in the area of writing, and Carnegie much to urban.</p>

931

<p>Weighing gin on AP World. D hasn’t been hit too hard with work. Daily reading/note taking (at least she is supossed to). A 10 page paper is due end of the week. One big test. On the test, only 5 out of 50 student passed (thankfully D was one of the 5). However she only received an 82. Grrrr… Teacher is not dropping the class. I can’t blame him. D recevied and 82 and I know she did not study. In the past she never needed to study. It was a good wake up call for all these smart kids that did not study. </p>

<p>Re: Curves. The school my child attends does not curve. You either know the material or you do not. In an AP class I would think that is critical since there is a standard AP exam at the end. What a surprise it would be to get an A in class and a low score on the AP. IMO taking an AP class implies a standard of work.</p>

932

<p>Javamom,
Your son has impressive grades! I would echo RobD’s comments about IB. My children attend an accelerated school. In upper grades, it is IB or AP only. My D is a solid writer and thrives on the written assignment, so for her it is IB all the way. My S is all about math and science. It would KILL him to actually put an adverb or adjective on paper. His writing is a struggle for him- manages A’s and B’s but is just exhausted from the work it takes (also has ADD and Exec Proc issues). The kids who are really into math in our school often opt out of IB due to a desire to take more rigorous math classes. For my son, I do not think IB is the right path. He will do IB “light” allowing him to double up on math and science.</p>

933

<p>As far as college thinking for my S goes, he is just trying to decide what he will study - voice performance (which is usually a Bachelors of Music) or Musical Theatre (which is usually a Bachelor of Fine Arts). That may determine what colleges/conservatories go on his list. I think we are going to do a couple visits next summer to see what he thinks about particular campuses, size, etc. We did not do any college visits with older D, other than 2 schools in our hometown. I knew she would be happy anywhere. No so with S - he is much more particular. I’m hoping he will have a narrower list by junior year.</p>

934

<p>Javamom,</p>

<p>My '12 daughter is at a state residential school for gifted and loving it. I will say that the work is much more challenging than in her previous school and her GPA is taking a hit. Her school is very strong in science and math but they still have very high expectations for writing. I’m not sure you can have it both ways - a truly challenging curriculum for gifted kids - and top GPA for college admissions. You and your son will have to weigh that. Some other parents on this board have found the same thing regarding residential schools for gifted students. Good luck with all your decisions. It sounds like your son is off to a great start!</p>

935

<p>Carnegie Mellon would be great for a math/computer science kid. My S is a freshman there now. Financial aid may be more generous if your S applies to a competitive school and gets a better offer. CMU encourages this. So…make sure your son adds some schools where he is likely to get merit aid and more generous FA–RPI and RIT come to mind. CMU seems to be small enough that kids get to know their professors and seems to be full of fun loving geeky kids. They work really, really hard and blow off steam equally hard. </p>

<p>My brother went to Centre with severe learning disabilities before there was officially something like accomodations. Centre’s small and intimate setting truly saved him and is dealy loved by our family. I went to Duke but I think his Centre education was just as good and much more personalized and memorable.</p>

<p>My brother is now a very successful engineer. I am definitely taking my D there for a visit since it may be the perfect fit for her. He is the good test taker/art student with math and engineering talents while she is more of a hard worker, a little more social, sports oriented and unclear what she wants to study.</p>

936

<p>RobD: The average ACT for the high school he wants to attend next year is 29, so he did fine but not exceptional by their standards. They have some really incredible students! We’re thrilled with his ACT scores, but I’m pretty sure that is about as high as they will go since it does reflect his exposure to advanced math. He can’t complete the test in the time allotted and since he doesn’t have accommodations in place at his school (doesn’t need them there) he is not eligible for extra testing time. His English score only increased by 1 point since 7th grade talent search. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Nellieh: We’re excited with the grades and reveling in it while we can. Just got his transcript a few weeks ago as part of the application process for the new high school and no one was more surprised by his class rank than we were. That said, he has had a REALLY bumpy semester bringing home a D and C- at midterm. <sigh> Luckily, only semester grades are posted on the transcript. He has worked really hard and now just has one B, but it shows me how important academic fit is for him. He needs a good mix of classes that play to his strengths as well as challenge his weaknesses. Really don’t think IB is going to provide that, especially since our school is a diploma only program so it is all IB or none. I’m laughing about your son with adverbs and adjectives! My son can write paragraphs only using pronouns; we dream of adjectives and adverbs, and nouns. It is so funny, he can write at length about dark matter and dark energy but the differences between “there, their, they’re” is one of those inscrutable mysteries of the universe for him.</sigh></p>

<p>Apollo6: So glad your daughter is thriving at the residential school! That’s encouraging to hear. I hope she is handling the grade issue without too much stress. That is one topic that the high school admins keep talking about – new students will most likely get some Bs and Cs at first and that may be difficult to handle. We’re facing that a bit this semester and hope it won’t be devastating if it happens again in the future. You raise a good point about seeking challenge and risking GPA. Right now, I would rather see him challenged and learning and growing as a person even if that means he has a less than perfect GPA. It may mean that he is not competitive for top-tier colleges, but I’m guessing those aren’t the best fits for him anyway. Thinking there will be a good school for him out there. Hope I’m not being naïve! Most likely he will need scholarships/financial aid, so that is a factor as well.</p>

<p>Longhaul: Thanks for the helpful feedback! I love your division of effort in response to my first post! Have started spreadsheets to keep track of information and the list of schools to consider. I agree that finding the right balance between math/science and writing is going to be important. I don’t know anything about Reed or Swarthmore but have thought that Carnegie might be a good fit. The faculty member he’s doing the research project with did his undergrad there but I can’t get very much information from him about how he liked it or whether he thinks it would be a good fit for S. When I look at the programs offered at CMU I get excited about the possibilities.</p>

<p>Finartsmajormom: Good to see another thumbs up for CMU! Working hard and blowing off steam hard sounds like a good fit. S doesn’t want a party school, but he will need recreation. Think we need to make a visit there. Have added the other suggestions to the growing list of schools we need to learn more about. S is feeling overwhelmed by the high school app and doesn’t want to think about college right now, so this is my project for the moment to relieve my anxiety. Centre is a great school and, if it didn’t feel like it was in our backyard and too close to home, I think it would rank higher on his list. S has spent a fair amount of time on the campus for different activities and the professors have been very warm to him. It is a nurturing environment with good undergraduate research opportunities and interesting study abroad options.</p>

<p>The discussions are making me prioritize visiting different schools and parts of the country. I have been hearing really great things about SPLASH at MIT so booked a flight and hotel and am taking S. It’s a splurge but we’re very excited! The classes look amazing – quite the mix of serious and seriously fun. Perfect for him. Hoping it will be a techy boost after all his hard work to get his grades up in the classes he isn’t enjoying. Neither of us have been to Boston and while neither Harvard nor MIT are on his list, it will be fun to actually see the campuses.</p>

<p>S came home a bit deflated yesterday after attending the Mock Trial meeting. Turns out that they don’t have the minimum seven students to go forward. He is trying to recruit friends, but there is not much interest. Debate is the same way, and now the advisor for model United Nations is stepping down so he will have to do that with a different school if he wants to continue that. Really hoping the residential high school works out for both the academics and the ECs!</p>

<p>Thanks for the information and the inspiration! Just hope that looking at the financial aspects doesn’t burst my bubble.</p>

937

<p>Longhaul has me wondering when to start with college visits. </p>

<p>We started talking about it with D, identifying some schools that she may want to consider. </p>

<p>She is a strong student overall, Good EC’s, leadership positions, her “hook” may be writing (published articles in local newspaper). My guess is her SAT’s AP’s may not be as strong as her academic record. She has repeatedly said she want a small/med school, leaning toward Liberal Arts or journalism. She is an explorer-loves everything. I would be surprised if she found a career path/major before Senior year. </p>

<p>My preference is no more than 8 hours away, and a place that offers high Merit awards. </p>

<p>When are all of you planning to visit? Where are you planning to visit? </p>

<p>D is doing a summer on campus at Ithaca this summer so we will visit both Ithaca and Cornell. We are also taking a trip to DC this spring and plan to hit up GW and American.</p>

938

<p>We have no immediate plans for college visits. Like you mentioned, we see some schools informally when in the area for other things. I took my older S (senior this year) to a college open house spring of his sophomore year hoping it would motivate him to take HS more seriously and apply himself. (It worked) That is still the only college he has officially visited and his #1 choice! We will probably start formal college visits for sophomore D during her junior year, but she is much less focused than my older 2 and has no idea what she would like to study or where she might like to go. I hope to send her off somewhere to a college summer program for a couple of weeks this summer.</p>

939

<p>Finding time for college visits can be hard so maybe you want to start thinking about it. The best time to go is when school is in session so you can get a good idea of the campus “vibe”. With my first two I started junior year so I could get a good idea of what kind of grades they were getting to see what schools might be possibilities. Although maybe if they are younger and the campus tour guide tells them the average GPA of entering students it will be an incentive. We also re-toured the top couple of schools after they were excepted prior to making the final decision.</p>

940

<p>With ds1, we did the first one the summer before sophomore year and then nothing again until the following summer. I imagine we’ll try to get some in this summer for ds2.</p>