<p>Week from hell here. My vent - feel free to read no further.</p>
<p>Busy time of year at work & I’m working 7 days a week and still behind.
FIL rushed to hospital last weekend. Lots of doctors, transfer to regional cancer hospital, surgery, stints in liver, biopsy won’t be back til next week but were told to brace for cancer.
Heater went. 1st service guy said it had to be replaced, quoted $6400. After some more quotes, find someone who could fix it for $750 and was told to not put another dime in it going forward, but instead replace.
Vacuum went. Think it can be fixed, however can’t find the parts at local stores. Amazon has them.
2011/2012 tuition contracts came in a full month earlier than years past. Not sure how to proceed as FIL pays for 1 of my kids. Now is not the time to discuss this with him.
Started my taxes on turbotax - owe $1500! Used to getting back at least that amount - so hoping I did something wrong. I know I haven’t gotten all the charity and job expenses in yet, but still YIKES.
My cousin asked what we’re planning for my Mom’s big birthday - I FORGOT my Mom turns 70 this year (which is big in my family; don’t know why, but it is treated far bigger than 75). I am so blocking my momm is that old.
My bro wasn’t happy with having to put $ out this fall to do something big for my parent’s 50th anniversary - so not looking forwarded to discussing a 70th birthday $ with him.
S13 started ADD coaching. Took us 1 hr 15minutes to get there. 4 days later he is already not heeding the advice – wondering given all my other financial concerns this week if we should even bother with this if he isn’t committed. Of course, I couldn’t change my habits in a matter of days, so maybe I’m being too harsh.</p>
<p>On the good news front, my neice class of 2011 has gotten into 4 of 6 schools she applied to. All 4 have offered merit. 2 invites to compete for more $ (up to full tuition!). The 2 schools left to hear from are more competitive (and less chance of merit). Hoping with all this merit she’ll fall in love with one of these other schools so if good news/good FA doesn’t come thru on her dream schools she’ll still be very happy. She’s on cloud 9 right now feeling courted.</p>
<p>Megpmom - Hoping you are having a wonderful time watching son!</p>
<p>Shilly - being in class with sis’ friends isn’t bad – If D13 friends likes S15, then you’ll have problems.</p>
<p>{{Hugs}} Longhaul; sorry to hear about your FIL’s health issues. I’ve had so many conversations in the past two weeks with friends who are dealing with parent or inlaw health issues. AND we all have teenagers. It feels never ending.</p>
<p>Congrats to your niece. D1 loved being “courted” by a few schools last year. She ended up being very annoyed at those schools who didn’t put the effort in, even when she was admitted. </p>
<p>D2 ended up with an early dismissal on Wednesday and snow days on Thursday & Friday. School has already changed the end date for the 3rd marking period. They’ve used 9 snow days and still have one more in the bank. But the sun is out and it’s in the 50’s today She’ll get the rest of her teacher signatures on Monday and will turn in her registration request for junior year. Yay!</p>
<p>Longhaul: Sorry to hear about your week. My FIL was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer last week, so I understand all the worries, etc. Hope you get some good news.</p>
<p>Just got back from San Antonio. We heard the Texas State mixed choir on Sat (the one that S’13 is in). They were pretty amazing. The concert was about an hour and they performed several pieces with the TCU orchestra, including Rutter’s Gloria. S’13 had a great time, even though they rehearsed for up to 7 hrs a day! Nine kids from our school went and 3 from a neighboring school so they all were able to hang together and enjoy the riverwalk restaurants, etc. </p>
<p>Weather here has returned to typical. Anticipating a week of 70+ degrees!</p>
<p>My dd will be graduating in 2013. I just started reading these forums yesterday and feel totally overwhelmed, especially since she wants to go to a pretty selective college. I’m pretty sure she will have the grades and SAT scores, but from what I was reading, there is a lot more involved in deciding admissions. Can anyone give me a summary of what all we need to be doing? She is taking honors classes, is set to take precalc and ap calc ab next year as they are on the block system and she can take 2 maths a year. The school doesn’t have a lot of ap classes - calc ab, English language and composition, English literature and composition, biology, and chem. She can’t really fit all of those in with the required classes she has to take. Also, what’s this SAT II thing? We didn’t have those back in the 80’s…are they required or optional? I see students posting about service hours? She does stuff with church and scouts, as well as through school. Is she supposed to be keeping track of all of that too? She is thinking about majoring in math, or journalism, or maybe going to physician assistant school. Yes, she is all over the place right now but math and writing are her passions. </p>
<p>Thanks for the help. I think I might go do some breathing exercises now…
Krista</p>
<p>Only G’town currently requires three; several colleges require two. Most require none, though you can take them and submit them just to show your strength in an area. Which ones she takes and when she takes them depend on her courseload. Usually, Math II is taken after precal (so next year for her). Some people recommend showing range by doing one math/science and one English/SS-type test. With your dd’s interest, that sounds like a good idea. Check out each potential college’s requirements. Also, many take the ACT w/writing in lieu of SAT w/Subject Tests.</p>
<p>Yes, be keeping track of all her hours and activities NOW. Because when you sit down senior year to actually pull together a resume and app, you will have forgotten things. DS2 and I started writing things down in a Word document his freshman year and just add to it when he gets an award or wins an office or whatever. It’s a small, low-key thing you can do now that will pay off in the long run. Write down everything; you can winnow later.</p>
<p>Welcome Cyclone! As YDS says, take a deep breath. I’ve gone through it once with my older D who is now a freshman in college, but I can assure you that I didn’t know much during her 10th grade year either. And most parents don’t know things until later in the game with their oldest. So really. You’re ahead of the game already by spending time on CC :)</p>
<p>SAT II tests are subject tests. The vast majority of schools don’t require them. Some higher ranked schools want two. Only 1 school wants 3. D1 never took an SAT II test (didn’t know about them till end of junior year; final list of schools didn’t need them although she waffled back and forth on Yale and I’m sure that not having SAT II scores was part of the reason why she didn’t apply.) D2 (my class of 2013’er) hasn’t taken any yet and won’t this year either. She will take the SAT II U.S. History after she completes AP US History during her Junior year and probably the SAT II Chemistry at the same time (after AP Chem.) She <em>may</em> take the appropriate SAT II in math after she finishes pre-calc honors next year too. Don’t think she’s applying to Georgetown though so I’m not worried about it. </p>
<p>As for not taking a lot of AP classes: students are considered within the context of their local HS. If their school offers a ton of APs and they haven’t taken any, well, that’s a red flag. If their school doesn’t offer many their transcript is viewed with that knowledge. I read that the average MIT freshman has “only” taken 5-6 AP classes, so just know that the CC world is not the norm ;)</p>
<p>D has a document going that is basically a resume where she/I write down what she’s doing EC wise, any honors, special programs she’s been invited to. It’s amazing what you forget. When she was putting an application together for a summer program, we started the list and I thought we’d hit everything. DH took a quick look and said “where’s the Spanish Honor Society?” Ooops! Church & scouts are definitely included! Has she done/is she planning a silver/gold award?</p>
<p>As others said, most of us here have gone through the process - I am in the midst of it with my neice.</p>
<p>SAT II - Try to align with her classes. For example, SAT Math II should be taken after Pre-Calc course.<br>
Also - some schools for certain majors request certain SAT II - example Carnigie Mellon specifies Physics or Chem and Math II for engineering majors.</p>
<p>ACT - this forum taught me to have kids take the ACT as well as the SAT because some simply do better on one test vs another.</p>
<p>Volunteer Hours - My neice needed it for one scholarship application. So, it is best to track as you go along.</p>
<p>Besides getting a handle on testing, run your EFC, get a ballpark as to the min. colleges want you to pay, and then start looking at the threads on here for schools that offer merit. I have found many schools don’t publish the $ amount for merit (exception is Alabama), so these forums really helped my neice get an idea as to what schools offered good enough merit for her to even consider applying. Also, some top schools offer very generous financial aid - but that is only tippy top.</p>
<p>Then, learn the CC mantra to Love the Kid on your Couch. Many here are super students and few of us are parents to such kids. After reading CC for a night, I feel like my kids and I are slackers. But then I read the parents sub-section and realize CC doesn’t represent the majority of college bound kids.</p>
<p>You’re in great shape because you’re starting to think about this now in your D’s sophomore year. A few specifics. HS Classes: It sounds like your D is on track, taking the most rigorous curriculum that’s available to her. That’s all any college can ask, and all they do ask. Don’t worry about AP classes her school doesn’t have, or AP classes she can’t take because she needs to take other required courses. As long as her HS GC can honestly check the box that says she took the “most rigorous” courses available to her, she’s in great shape.</p>
<p>As for SAT IIs (Subject Tests), they’re not that big a deal. Most colleges don’t require any; many elite colleges require 2, Georgetown requires 3, but even a lot of elite colleges (e.g., Yale, Brown) don’t require any SAT IIs if the applicant submits the ACT in lieu of the SAT Reasoning Test (SAT I). I see you’re from Louisiana where everyone takes the ACT. You’ll probably want to arrange to have your D take the SAT I as well, because some kids do significantly better on one test than on the other. But if she takes both tests and a few SAT IIs, she’ll have options as to which she submits, and a better sense of which colleges to apply to. As for the SAT IIs, most people recommend taking them at the end of a class on that subject (e.g., AP US History, AP World History, AP Chem, AP Physics), or for Math 2 at the end of pre-calc since it only tests through pre-calc; or, as is often the same thing, right after the AP test in that subject, since studying for and doing well on the AP test is usually pretty good preparation for the SAT Subject Test which covers substantially the same material but is all multiple-choice. If she’s interested in math and writing then the Math 2 and Literature Subject Tests are a good bet, but she might want to take 3 or 4 tests and submit her best scores–or all of them, if they’re all good. They’re relatively short tests, about an hour long, and you can do as many as 3 per test sitting, though my D1 never did more than 2 at a time because by the end of the second one she felt pretty drained. You can also re-take them, and sometimes scores go up considerably on the second test sitting, partly because all standardized test scores tend to rise as the student gains knowledge, maturity, and test-taking skills and experience, and partly because the first test may reveal particular holes in the student’s knowledge base that can be filled with self-study before re-taking the test. And don’t worry about re-taking: most schools never ask to see all the applicant’s test scores, and even those that do say they’ll use only the highest scores. Taking them in/after junior year, even right up through the fall of senior year is fine, though I wouldn’t put it all off; the more strong scores she bags early, the less pressure later, and the more opportunities to re-take and cure any deficiencies before her college applications go in.</p>
<p>Keep a record of all ECs, including church and scouts. Highly selective schools look for evidence of leadership qualities, not just participation, and they say they want to see a kid’s “passion” for something, not just looking like they’re going through HS checking off boxes on a checklist. Service hours are OK but in my judgment a bit overrated, because often that comes across looking like a “checklist” accomplishment—again, unless the kid has a true passion for the activity, evidenced by something more than her own say-so. If her true passions are math and writing then perhaps she should be devoting extracurricular time to further developing those interests, e.g., school newspaper (if any), writing competitions, math club, math competitions. If not much is available in those areas, be creative—or let her start something!</p>
<p>I think it’s not too early to look at the admissions office websites of a few colleges she may be interested in. See what their admissions requirements are (HS curriculum, standardized testing, etc) and what they say about the qualities they’re looking for in their admissions process. Some do a pretty good job of laying this out. They’re all pretty similar in a way, but there are some variations, and it will give you a better feel for where you want your D to be in 2 years when her applications are going in. In general, besides a rigorous curriculum, good grades, strong standardized test scores, and impressive ECs (demonstrating leadership and passion), the other factors that typically weigh pretty heavily at selective colleges are interesting and impressive essays and strong teacher and GC recs; but these are things you can’t do anything about yet. If your D applies outside your home region, geographic diversity may help a bit, but I wouldn’t count on it for too much.</p>
<p>Good luck, and steady! It’s way too early to panic. In fact, you’re ahead of the game by getting a jump on this now. Many people don’t start to focus on this until junior year or even the fall of senior year, and by then it’s too late to change many things.</p>
<p>Welcome Cyclone. Longhaul - what a week! I am sure this one will be better with a good news at least on some fronts.</p>
<p>To make your day brighter I will tell you how my S almost gave me a heart attack on Sunday morning. As a reminder, he goes to school 30 miles away from home. Saturday was a Sweetharts Dance. Girl’s choice again . Yet another girl ;). Yet another corsage (refer to my earlier posts if you are dying to know why I am mentioning this
All was set up for him to stay at his friend’s house in a “big” city. I was texting with him all eve, you know, I asked him to let me know whenever they changed places so I would know where he is (hate loosing control if you know what I mean). At about 12:30 am I was exhausted, trying to not fall asleep on the sofa in the living room (wanted H to sleep, two don’t have to suffer;) ). I texted him for the last time to please let me know when he arrives at his final destination, his friend’s house. Shorty after I fell asleep. I woke up at about 3:30 thinking I have heard something, plus the dog gave a bark or two. Everything was quiet. I turned a small lamp on, checked the cell phone - no message from S. I texted - where are you? - went to have a drink, texted again - are you asleep? - figured I was a stupid mom, of course he was asleep and could not text me back! - proceeded to turn of the lamp. As I did that , I was facing big french doors that lead into a little oak forest. So here I am turning the light off and what do I see outside my french doors? A big silhouette waving his arms at me!!! I almost died! Of course the moment I was dying I realized it was my S, but why?how??? why the heck was he here???
The rest of the story will follow, to teach us all a lesson…</p>
<p>Welcome Cyclone! You have received good advice from some very experienced and learned people here on CC. I would only add that you visit the individual college forums here on CC that your D may be interested in. Some have admissions counselors that participate often and provide valuable information about the admissions process at their college or university. Many colleges also maintain blogs where information is disseminated and questions are answered by admissions people. I recently saw a list of the best run college blogs and found some new ones that I didn’t know existed. I can’t recall where that was, but I bet you can locate it if you do a search here on CC. Good luck to your D!</p>
<p>(((Hugs))) Longhaul. Hope your week gets brighter.</p>
<p>Welcome Cyclone! Don’t stress, you have plenty of time.</p>
<p>Don’t leave us hanging Kelowana! I would not only have a heart attack, but I would also string my DS up by his toes for driving home at 3 in the morning!!! That was the whole point of arranging for him to stay somewhere!</p>
<p>Stressing that DD has not finished her application for the summer engineering program. Ugh. We have till March 1st, but plan of going away for winter break that last week.</p>
<p>K…please finish the story! That business of texting when they leave a place is not always successful…asked my son to do this after a big dance at school. He left home at 9pm but…no text, no text, 12, 1am…2am… he never arrives home (he was almost 19 but still!) he cruises in at 6am looking very worse for wear and I had fallen asleep at 2. …why didn’t you text? where were you? …he never left school, they took out blankets to the football field to look at the stars (yeah right?!) and ended up sleeping there so no need to text change of local…during xmas we compromised and he has to text me at 1am (metro closing) to give me his last location. He will be aged 20 at home this summer and I can live with him staying out all night but must know his last location just to rest easy.</p>
<p>Finally got report cards here. Same old story – kid is smart, good test grades, not turning in homework really brought down final semester grade. My mom thinks I’m too critical & thinks his report card is dandy. She soooo was not like this with my brother. Wonder how much I’ll change by the grandkids.
He got:
A+ Latin III Honors
A- Honors Eng and Honors Pre-Calc/Trig
B+ Pre APUSH (counted as an honors class and taught as an AP)
B+ AP Gov
B Honors Chem (He got A+ on all tests, mid-term and As on labs - entire grade was brought down due to homework)
His elective Engineering grade is on a tri-mester, so it didn’t show up on this report card.</p>
<p>Planning for 11th grade – We are still waiting the biopsy results for my FIL. He pays a third of tuition for my kids. Hoping for the best for him and planning for the worst financially. STEP 1 - Public - I’ve been told by 2 public school parents, the school psych. and 1 teacher that he can’t go to public school. He is above the math they offer, they couldn’t accomadate his language (he’d have to be in Spanish I and that wouldn’t fit with the Physics science I want for him). STEP 2 - Local Catholic - after looking at the grad requirements, it is far more doctrine than he is willing to study. Plus, it starts when it is still dark out in winter. He won’t even consider it. STEP 3 - Homeschool with some CTY classes. Possible, but we don’t usually agree on things. Not sure I want to be the overlord of school for him. STEP 4 - Public Cyber School. Sounds easy; there are 4-6 options. Now just have to learn the pros and cons of each by 3/15 when the applications open up to choose the best one for him.
As you can see, I’m really just using school shopping as an excuse to not dwell on my FIL’s condition. I’ve known my FIL for over 25 years and when I look at him he is still the physical fit guy I first met.</p>
<p>Really proud of ds2. Because of budget cuts, his school is looking to cut his language, and the kids are mobilizing to save it. Lets hope that they are successful.</p>
<p>My son also got his report card. He did a huge improvement from last report period by bringing 2 Cs up to Bs. He still has one C and the rest are As. But none of his As are in academic classes…grrrr. He told me he works best when he has something to strive for. hahaha So he is predicting As at least by the final quarter. He was happy to tell me that so far he has a 100 in his science class. When I asked how he managed that, he told me that so far, he’s turned in all the assignments.</p>
<p>For all of you that are being inundated with mail from colleges, presumably because of the PSAT, was it because your DS/DD checked (or didn’t check? Can’t remember which) the box to let colleges know about the scores? I told my son to check the box to NOT send his scores. He ended up getting very nice scores, and he would LOVE to be getting mail from colleges, so I’m wondering if I did him a disservice. Any way to get the scores sent at this point?</p>
She’ll get the rest of her teacher signatures on Monday and will turn in her registration request for junior year. Yay!</p>