<p>Thanks RobD! I feel like I am cheating by posting on this discussion as well since my son is a 2012 but the information here is equally helpful! Sounds like your D w/NLD is doing great.
I believe that all these kids w/certain challenges are going to be great role models for all the kids (and adults) who suffer from any LD and/or ED. I know I grow prouder of my son every year. </p>
<p>Apollo6 & Geogirl - I love reading yours posts.</p>
<p>Longhaul, I am so glad you are talking about these issues. You are not alone. </p>
<p>Thanks everyone for such wonderful, thoughtful and informed posts.</p>
<p>I have to share something that Iām finding amusing. Dā13 hasnāt gotten very much college mail since she checked the box on the PSAT. But she did register recently for a cappex account and the schools that she identified are starting to send her stuff. The past few days sheās gotten a piece or two; sheās actually reading them. The whole thing, all pages. </p>
<p>Iām pretty sure that Dā10 never read anything but the cover letters. And Iām sure it will wear off when the onslaught hits next year. But sheās cracking me up.</p>
<p>My D who earned a respectable score on her first attempt at the PSAT has only received 5 or 6 pieces of mail since she took it. In contrast, my S who was a great test taker received mail from everywhere including the Ivies. This made me laugh because although he is very gifted, his poor organization and lack of work and study skills kept him a B student. My D, however, is a phenomenal student and has yet to see the love. There is plenty of time for that though!</p>
<p>We have been inundated since right after the PSATās (fall of 10th gr) and it hasnāt let up. The ivyies are just starting to send out now and weāve gotten the invites to all the seminars - the ā8 of the best collegesā and the āivyiesā seminars (reps from all the ivyies in one place) Our CC said we neednāt go unless we want to since they visit the school in jr year. I keep a huge bucket by the door and toss them all in thereā¦weāll weed through them after schoolās over in 3.5 weeks!</p>
<p>about the mailings and emails related to the PSATā¦so the counselor advised them to get a email account for their college/workā¦serious stuff. Since my daughterās social email has a silly name, she set up a respectable sounding combo of her nameā¦</p>
<p>OK so the email garbage never stops. She did ok on PSAT but no real wow factor so not a lot of regular mailā¦cerrtainly the ivies are not wasting mailing expenses on our zip code and those PSATsā¦but the email! Basically it is costless so everyone and hteir mother is sending an email of āseven secrets to undergraduate successā, etcā¦ Unfortunately, she also used the email address for some things she really is interested inā¦girl scouts, internship application, summer programs but now we face the wheat from the chaff problemā¦Next year PSAT I think she should use a useless new gmail address so that if she wants to read the junk from the schools she can but this way she wonāt lose important emails in this area. I can only imagine the amount a kid will get with high scores!</p>
<p>It is very hot, dry and windy here today, which must mean it is League Prelims for track. My poor, very fair-skinned boy tends to wilt in the sun. Cross Country finals were hot, dry and windy as well. He has survived juggling two sports this Spring. Tennis went well. He and his partner are the number one doubles team and they had a winning record. This week is the leagueās individual tournament. They are hoping to make it to the semiās but more than likely will lose in the quarters. The team ended the regular season in third place and will play in CIF next week. His running has suffered due to not enough training, but he still had a good time, especially at the invitationals, and I think it was an important lesson to learn that training really does make a difference. And I think the running he did do will help when cross country starts up again this summer.</p>
<p>Just curious. Has anyone out there thought about moving to a nicer/warmer climate and encouraging their child to attend college in the same area???</p>
<p>2013pop: Wellā¦ my DS swears he is allergic to the cold (as well as to whatever is in the air these days). We visited University of Miami over the winter and he LOVED it. Tennis outdoors all year. Oh, and a good engineering school. The palm trees were calling his name (and mine). UM will definitely be on the list.</p>
<p>My 2013 is my eldest. He is planning on a warmer climate come college, but wouldnāt want us to follow him. Though I would love to visit often.</p>
<p>Like tx5, my kid is extremely fair. Canāt wait to see what makes his cut as āwarmerā without crossing the line of ātoo much sun, I canāt even walk outside.ā</p>
<p>I can say with certainty, my kid already told us mid-west schools, Rochester and like climates could offer him a full ride and heād turn it down. That is how much the cold and long gray days irk him.</p>
<p>If you canāt get them to pick a Uni where you want to retire, make sure they at least do study abroad in a place you want to visit. I have a much craftier ideaā¦my H and I want to retire to a spanish speaking country so we have told kidsā¦you may do study abroad in āArgentina, Spain, Chile, Costa-Rica or Panamaā (all with good health care for geriatricsā¦)ā¦they think it is odd but perhaps they will fall in love with country, someone there, etc and we will happily move there 10 years from nowā¦and, no, Miami and LA do not count as spanish speaking countries.</p>
<p>Hmā¦both my kids want to leave the Sun Belt for a place with 4 seasons. The older one is already in DC and is probably going to do her study abroad in Prague. Me? Iām already trying to think of places south of Texas for retirement! But I did spend 12 years in Chicago - which was enough cold for a lifetime.</p>
<p>What bothers me most fineartsmajormom is the emails we get as parents! When they contact us by mail, they contact my D by email but then send us an email saying āyour D asked us to contact you to let you know she is interested in our school.ā We laugh because my D hasnāt contacted anyone! They pursue and tell me to call to set up an appt etc. NO THANK YOU. Itās like they try too hard. The ivyies have sent stuff out, but remember they do that and it doesnāt mean a thing. We got the ivy stuff, and I wouldnāt say my D did exceptionally great (she got a 220) last Oct in 10th gr. However, our CC warned us that even though you get ivy mailings, it doesnāt mean a thing. One parent had her kid apply only to be rejected, and she said to the CC ābut they sent me all these mailings.ā Itās just so they can boost their alumni endowmentsā¦the more kids that apply the better they look.</p>
<p>I got wise to the calls and emails that started āyour son contacted usā¦or asked for more info orā¦or indicated his interestāā¦when my son wa a 10th graderā¦MY son? INTERESTED IN MORE INFO ON SAT PREPARATION? MY SON? what planet are you from? clearly they had either mixed up my son with some child from leave it to beaver world because that was just SOOOO not believable. I like to say ālet me just check with my kidāā¦and then in rapid fire and loud spanish ask said kid if the imbecile on the phone is telling the truth? never isā¦ Then I run them the riot act about the federal no call list and are they aware that I can sic the FTC on them? They usually hang up.</p>
<p>Youdonātsay, thank you for that feedback. My Dās school did not give feedback to anyone about their scores. Everyone in her school is smart, so she is not at the top. She tests better than she does in school for some reason. Always has. Itās teacher-contingent in her school. If you get a good math teacher, youāll do fine; a bad one, and you are sunk. She has always been good at critical reading and writing, so sheāll have to get a head start on pre-calc during the summer. Math is her achilles heel.</p>
<p>I just went on the college board website to check 2010-2011 sophomore results and they gave the percentages for our area and state. We havenāt done any prep yet, and SAT group classes are $2895! And for private tutoring it is $800/hour! We cannot afford any of that. The public schools just pay $200 for SAT prep, but until my D switches over to public, she canāt enroll there, so she is pretty much on her own with prep books. They have 3 weeks left of school, and I can see she is getting testy and losing steamā¦has to be like the little red engine āI think I can, I know I canā¦ā</p>
<p>220 is exceptional for 10th gr PSAT IMHO. She is on track for NMSF no matter what state you reside - 221 has been the highest cut-off in the last 4 years.</p>
<p>With scores like 220, I donāt think SAT prep courses will help at all. Usually with scores like that it would require an in-depth look at what she is getting wrong and why ā for example, did she skip questions which it may benefit her to guess if she has narrowed down the answer to 2 choices? Or did she run out of time in a section? </p>
<p>If she is disciplined, then I think regardless of the amount of money you have, self studing using the Xiggi method (see the SAT section of the forum) would be the most beneficial. My son is not disciplined. The only reason Iād have prep is to āforceā him to study.</p>
<p>If you really want private tutoring, consider remote tutoring (via Skype). That could be more cost effective. $800 is outrageous. In the Philly/Princeton corridor $125-$150/hr seems to be the going rate.</p>
<p>I canāt believe itās been so long since I popped in here.</p>
<p>Just had report card conference at sonās school and he brought one B up to an A but another B went down to a C. The ongoing problem is missing assignments. He doesnāt have ADD but is an Aspie with the associated EF issues. I havenāt seen much info regarding ADHD type meds with nonexistant ADHD diagnosis helping with EF issues but the idea of meds had crossed my mind. My son was not interested, so thatās that. Iām just hoping that he eventually gets tired of the middling grades and puts in more consistent effort. But for now, he is OK being a B student. So I leave it alone. His teachers spoke so glowingly about him and the growth heās made as a person, that I got all teary eyed. I know he will be OK!</p>
<p>His summer plans are now finalized with a creative writing workshop at Kenyon kicking things off, followed by a nice paid internship for 4 weeks, and then he will spend the rest of the summer visting his dad in Vegas. So summer SAT prep is out the window Iām not even going to bother sending the prep books with him when he goes to visit his dad. Or maybe I can convice his dad to sign him up for class thereā¦hmmmm.</p>
<p>Right now, he is pretty adamant about not attending a college where itās hot, except for California, or any place rainy. I think it might be sensory issues that go with Aspergers but he doesnāt really feel cold much. Or it seems that way to me since I donāt think heās zipped up his coat all winter. But yes, Iām hoping he goes somewhere where I could vacation frequently or eventually move to. Though I could only tolerate the cold if it went along with a bustling city life. Hot and balmy, I could see mysef in a sleepy southern town, napping in a hammock after fiddling around in my garden and sipping home made lemonade.</p>
<p>Medavinci: You might look at the JCās for a SAT prep class. I just saw one in the summer catalog for Orange Coast College and I think it was around $200. Just a thought.</p>
<p>We live in Southern California, D1 went to school about 80 miles away in San Diego and S2 went to school about 45 miles away in Los Angeles. S3 is a different kid all together. Much more adventurous. I could see him going farther away.</p>
Iām not even going to bother sending the prep books with him when he goes to visit his dad. Or maybe I can convice his dad to sign him up for class thereā¦hmmmm.</p>