<p>Hi Guys! D’13 finished her app for Governor’s School last night & I thought I’d share a few things that might be helpful. </p>
<p>1) Put together an informal resume with your student. One of D’s teachers asked for one to help her write her rec plus she’s going to need that info come application time. I was surprised by how many things we’d forgotten about. We put together what I thought was a comprehensive list then ran it past DH who said “hey, what about Spanish Honor Society?” Duh. </p>
<p>2) My D is the writer of the family. Succinct is not a word that is used about her work She had a terrible time finding writing samples that either already were, or that could easily be cut to 300 words. I thought it was a good exercise in having her see application type requirements 2 years prior to it being a BIG DEAL.</p>
<p>3) We didn’t do it yet, and I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned on this thread yet, but consider having your child create a “dummy” email account that only gets used for college stuff. It might sound early, but when they take the PSAT, SAT, ACT & SAT II’s in the next year or so it’s good to have an email account that all the college mailings go to and that can be accessed by student & parent. We didn’t do it for D’10 and boy she would get so aggravated by the college spam she’d get!</p>
<p>Vandy – DH & I were just talking about college visits. DH is beginning a new job & won’t be able to take off for Spring Break. When DH is around, college visits seem like a “normal” part of our vacations because he loves Architecture. Without him, I’m afraid S13 will be cued into the visit being more for him and “too” formal for what he is ready to see. I’m in a hold pattern until PSAT scores come in – If PSAT is high enough to realistically expect Natl Merit levels when testing junior year, then I’ll probably push for a visit to Bama. Otherwise, I’ll just keep to our “soft” visits to area colleges for activities. Maybe some D.C. schools that are new my SIL.</p>
<p>No formal college visits, but as we’re in Baltimore for sports, we did do walk throughs of Goucher (was judged too small) and Johns Hopkins (interesting to D). She really has no clue yet what type of school or what she is interested in studying, so now we are discussing whether she would like schools with a core curriculum or not. There are so many factors to consider!</p>
<p>Good morning,
Visiting dd at a&m, enjoying Starbucks while I wait for her to wake up. </p>
<p>some may remember that ds class of 2013 was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes-just learned I need to apply for “accommodation” for him during the sat/act so he can test his levels and respond if necessary. Process requires doctor note and an 8 week wait. Plan ahead if your college bound child will need ant kind of accommodation during these tests-I was surprised how varied the levels of accommmodation are, extra lighting, bigger print, longer breaks etc. </p>
<p>Ds is thrilled he made the varsity ice hockey team-should balance golf nicely…may cause me to ha e a stroke worrying about his blood levels</p>
<p>Congrats to your S, texasmom, when does your hockey season begin? HS hockey does not start until after Thanksgiving here, but coach had his first sign-up meeting last week and its going to be a big team this year. S is hoping the 4 inches he’s gained since start of last season will go in his favor. He’s been doing well in school so far and I’m worried hockey season will make this challenging as they are on the ice 5/6 times a week and often late night practices (9-10:15 sometimes).</p>
<p>We had our first game on Thursday (we won 5:3). Our team practices 3 days a week from 6-7:50am, quick shower and drive 15 minutes to school. My ds also grew a few inches since summer but he is still only 5’6" (ish). He loves the game and is thrilled to have made the team. Good luck to your s-you’ll be in the stands.cheering in no time</p>
<p>Not doing college visits yet with my Soph. D, but did drag her along on a couple for my older son…two for one! The plan of the momoent is to culinary school, so it may be a moot point to take her along to State U, but you never know…a lot happens in three years! Do your kids know what they want to do enough to start visiting specific schools? That seems unusual.</p>
<p>My son is finally somewhat interested in the “idea” of college now. He had a meeting with the department head of his possible major at the college he does some school activities at. The department head invited my son to sit in on his lecture on Veteran’s Day since the high schools had off. My son actually was excited by the class and participated O-o. He stayed awake for a 3hr class!!! He told me that he’s thinking he might apply to this school and I asked him why. He said because 1. He knows where it is and how to get there…lmao and 2. He wasn’t the shortest one there (he’s 5’3"). hahaha…I’m very curious about how his list will look. This is going to be a “fun” process.</p>
<p>Ds ('11) and Dd (‘13) are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to college lists and personalities I’m afraid! All that info gathering and number crunching to get ds’ list of visits together will go by the wayside as dd wants the smaller, LAC, ivy, brainy schools that freak out my very very social ds. Oh and she wants to be able to study Korean and be near home. So far that gives me one school. Anyone know of other schools besides Columbia where you can study Korean (not major in, but take language classes)?? Most schools have some sort of east asian studies but that means Chinese and Japanese for everyone I have looked into. </p>
<p>Ahhhh, a taste of the empty nest. S’13 left this morning for a 5 day Thespian convention. I hardly know what to do with myself - although cleaning his room and bathroom are high on the list. I am still amazed at the difference b/w boys and girls. D’10 would have written a packing list a week ahead of time, laid out coordinating outfits and planned for every weather contingency. S’13 simply woke up this morning, threw clothes in a suitcase and headed to the bus. Luckily I stopped him at the door and insisted that he try on the dress pants that he had packed. Sure enough, they were 2 inches too short!! But he had a clean pair of khakis to substitute. Although, I’m sure he will probably wear the same outfit everyday until the girls start to complain! Don’t you just love boys?!</p>
<p>megpmom - you are a better mom than me; I refuse to clean their rooms anymore. I pretty much insist that they get cleaned once a month, by them. Then we just have an agreement that they keep their doors closed and I don’t say too much except if there seem to be a bunch of missing dishes! Of course, my DS12 is working on over a month now. However, with Thanksgiving company coming on Tuesday, he’ll have to clean it this weekend. </p>
<p>Glad your DS had a clean pair of pants to wear. Like your DD, my DD13 would have spent hours coordinating outfits. Usually until 1 am in the morning though! DS12 is a jeans, tshirt and sweatshirt kind of guy. 2 minutes and he is ready for anything!</p>
<p>Thought our thread could use a little bump up. So, I will take this opportunity to bump & brag.</p>
<p>My son had a banquet Friday night for his major EC (CAP). He received one of the highest awards - Cadet of the Year! He could care less about this stuff. I suggested we hang the plaque and he promptly dismissed the idea. (um, he normally throws out awards or buries in his closet). He was quite excited with the Visa gift card that accompanied the award </p>
<p>We get report cards tomorrow. Not anticipating great grades, so I am reveling in the award for the time being. </p>
<p>And per RobD’s advice, creating a resume listing this award.</p>
<p>Congrats LongHaul! That is really great news. Congrats!</p>
<p>Grades are in and I have one smart girl! She pulled straight A’s with a last minute great test grade in AP World History. It’s the one class she struggles with. I’m hoping she just needs to get used to how to study for it. Otherwise, she may not want to take APUSH next year. We have a small high school (870 kids) so there is no honors US history class, just APUSH and regents. I guess time will tell.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your son, Longhaul. I really enjoy your posts-always infused with a healthy sense of humor. It is easy to lose perspective when you are raising teenagers (especially boys), but it is good to be reminded that our kids are not little clones of us. Thank you.</p>
<p>Geogirl, my D has excellent study skills and spends hours studying for AP World, but she has yet to make an A on a test. She has never encountered this before so it is a bit frustrating for her. I think she will get there and in the mean time, I remind her how good it will feel when she does. There is nothing better than feeling that sense of accomplishment when there has been a struggle along the way. Don’t give up on the idea of APUSH because at least at our school, it is a bit easier.</p>
<p>Thanks Blueshoes - I have a DS12 who is taking APUSH now and it seems a lot more difficult than AP World, at least at our school. I haven’t given up on APUSH, but I fear my daughter will. She is a very smart girl, with ADD. She studies long hours, more than many of her classmates because she is driven. She is a future engineer or scientist and may have to double up on lab sciences next year or senior year. The amount of reading in APUSH just might not be worth it for her. We shall have to wait and see. </p>
<p>My DS12 is a typical boy and does not give 100% when 90% might just be enough, or not. He is a good student, but not an excellent one. He is a leader, though, and excels tremendously in his ECs. DD13 is a different kind of student and I don’t want to push her as she pushes herself already. I’m ok with her having some fun too.</p>
<p>Geogirl, I think what I meant to say about APUSH is that in our school district, students have a much more extensive background in American history than world history-two years in middle school as well as it being layered throughout elementary school. We live in an area where much of American history happened as well, so students have been constantly exposed since early childhood. They are much less familiar with the rest of the world which could be a problem in this global society we now live in! Anyway, I think this makes APUSH a bit easier for them. However, I don’t think my D’s lack of experience with world history is the reason her test grades are lower than usual. The tests are just really hard college level exams and cover a large amount of material.</p>
She had a terrible time finding writing samples that either already were, or that could easily be cut to 300 words. I thought it was a good exercise in having her see application type requirements 2 years prior to it being a BIG DEAL.</p>