<p>AP Euro is over. That is all.</p>
<p>I wasnât thinking, D is taking pre-calc this year and thus why I want her to take the math SAT II. I think I was thinking of Sâ15 who will be taking algebra 2 next year.</p>
<p>Happy Motherâs Day! My D was off again for lifeguarding training so was up and out early and S has told me not to wake him before noon :). DH and I are about to head to the farmerâs market.</p>
<p>Happy Motherâs Day! First here without ds1, the college freshman, but I do hope heâll call!</p>
<p>Signed up ds2 for the Math II SAT this week. He also decided, much to my surprise, to take BC Cal next year. He struggled early in the year with pre-Cal and his confidence as down, but now heâs back, pulling a low A, and feels up to the challenge. The BC
Cal teacher is a bit of a legend on campus, and ds doesnât want to miss having him as a teacher. I had him call his brother for a reality check on just how much work it is.</p>
<p>DrGoogleâAs to score choice, I think the concept applies only to whether one must send the results of all SAT or ACT sittings, not whether one must send in all SAT II results (otherwise known as subject tests). I researched each of the 8 colleges to which my D (graduating this year) appliedâand youâll want to check out for yourself, or have your child do so, each college in which heâs interested. At the moment, no college but Georgetown requires three SAT IIs; some require two; some donât require any but will consider them if you send them; and for some, you might as well save the $9 or $10. </p>
<p>My D took three SAT IIs as a senior so we could send in the best two (she didnât apply to Georgetown). Iâm glad she did, as she unexpectedly did much better on the English Lit SAT II than the Chemistry one. </p>
<p>Happy Mothersâ Day to the moms here!</p>
<p>Hi all! Weâve been quiet for a few days so I will recap the last week. Dâs tennis team made it to regional play for the first time in recent memory. They will play the many times over defending state champions, so their season will likely be over on Monday. It has been a great season with many young players and they have a lot of which to proud. My D also got the job she was interviewing for and is excited to have some jingle in her pockets in the coming weeks! Dâs orchestra collaborates annually with a rock band to produce a unique benefit rock concert that was a huge success over the weekend. This year they raised money for a local homeless organization and tsunami relief in Japan. They are also directing some money to tornado stricken areas in the southeast. My D was featured in an arrangement of The Scientist by Coldplay and it was really beautiful. The AP World History exam is tomorrow and she has had little time to prepare, but is hoping for the best! Good luck to all who are taking it!</p>
<p>Congrats to your D blueshoe!! Sounds like she has lots of awsomeness going on. I wish her luck on the AP exam.</p>
<p>Congrats to your DD, blueshoe! Sounds like the year is wrapping up nicely. DD is home sick today. AP World tomorrow. Not sure if they are related. She is a bit stressed as social studies in not her strong point. She has done well in the class, but this is a class that does not come naturally to her. Iâm hoping for the best, but Iâm not too worried. I think she will be fine. </p>
<p>Good luck to all the AP test takers!</p>
<p>Blueshoe: Congrats to your DD!</p>
<p>DSâs tennis team plays their CIF (probably the same as regionals) match today. Likely they will lose but he had a really good/fun season. He has the AP World test tomorrow. I told him to bring his notecards so he could study in the bus (the match is about an hour away). But likely he wonât.</p>
<p>Congrats to blueshoeâs dd!</p>
<p>Ds acts like heâs got the world by the tail. I hope his confidence isnât misplaced, lol! Three more weeks of school here.</p>
<p>Can someone on the board save me from myself? Iâm hyperventilating just thinking about the upcoming year and all the craziness of course selection, whether or not it is rigorous enough, where my D will wind up in school and having no set plans yet for summer due to my impending divorce. this is a horrible time for us. Trying to figure out some creative ways of getting sat prep for a nominal fee (around here they cost a fortune). I feel so badly for my D being in the cross-hairs like this. This is when spirituality and faith have to step in and take the wheel. </p>
<p>Congrats to everyoneâs children on a job well done this year in academics and athletics!</p>
<p>Medavinci: I am so sorry that your life has gotten so stressful. I know that going through a divorce can be a major stress by itself - adding your daughterâs school issues can make it really tough. What does your D want to do about next year? I am a firm believer in letting my kids have input into their education, ECs , etc. Maybe you can just follow her lead. Iâm sure she has opinions about what to do for next year. Good luck with all of your decisions.</p>
<p>S2 just has 2 1/2 weeks left of school. With the AP World History test out of the way, heâs pretty much finished. He says all theyâre doing is watching movies and having parties. He has all Aâs right now, so he just has to hang onto them. He only has to take finals in Spanish, Choir and Theatre so heâs not really worried. I think heâs pretty much in âsummerâ mode.</p>
<p>medavinci - just beathe 
Been there, worried the same!</p>
<p>You can find some good SAT prep from the college board site - and make sure sheâs using the question of the day for question familiarity. They have an online prep option that I think was cheap and seach this board for the Xiggi method which is said to be a help!</p>
<p>Before worrying about if her schedule is rigorous enough make sure you know where she wants to apply and if sheâs aiming correctly for them. Also, run your EFC from FAFSA so you have an idea of what will be expected from you financially post-divorce. Also, if you are in any way concerned your soon to be ex will not complete the NCP from for the Profile - take that into consideration when looking at colleges. Of course I have a completely unhelpful ex paying nothing towards college but hopefully you are in a much better place!</p>
<p>medavinci</p>
<p>I canât talk you down from the ledge because I am there myself. I can tell you how I am coping.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Guilt ridden that I am pulling my 2 youngest out of private school for financial reasons. On so many levels, this particular private school is the best for them, not just academically, but as a whole. I am keeping my oldest in private school through graduation. IMHO, the picture you paint of your daughterâs school is not the best environment. The academics seem to overshadow all else. </p></li>
<li><p>Rigor - I want my son to turn the rigor down a few notches next year. I want him to take less classes than this year and not take all APs. I am starting to see burnout and he is only 15. Above all else, I want him to enjoy learning. I keep reminding myself there are over 3,000 colleges. He will be accepted to college, he will find college interesting. I care about prestige more than he does. It will hurt me more than him if he is denied from top schools. But then I go back to my basic desire - I want him to enjoy learning. He can certainly do this at more schools than the top 20.
I suggest you figure out your basic desire for your daughter. What is the 1 thing you want for her education? Chances are, the rigor of her high school next year can get her to that 1 thing. </p></li>
<li><p>Financing College - Our personal finances have changed so much in the last 18 months. I can no longer financial plan for college 2 years from now with everything being thrown at us. Iâd bet with your divorce, your financial picture is difficult to project 2 years out. Iâm coping by creating a âwide-netâ list of schools. If you are as worried about the financing as I am, I suggest you start looking in depth at Alabama Honors Colleges, Auburn, USC and other schools that are very generous to NMSF. Your daughter seems on track to be NMSF. Identifying financial safety schools that do not require my son to give up academics and peer group interaction in college has helped me relax about the unpredicatable financial situation we are experiencing.</p></li>
<li><p>I am convinced CC, particularly when you are out of the Parent area, is filled with the top 1% of students. It makes it very difficult to see the forest through the trees. Your daughterâs current high school sounds the same as CC. Be assured, there is a bigger world out there.</p></li>
<li><p>Feel free to pm me and vent anytime. Life is not easy and we all need support and to vent.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Meda: I am so sorry that you are so stressed. I have been through the âcollege admission roller coasterâ twice, and what I learned above all, is that truly everything works out in the end. I think your daughter will be fine wherever she ends up next year. Just think of all this turmoil as something she can use when it comes time to write her essays. Almost every college has some sort of âwhat barriers have you overcomeâ type of essay. I have not had to go thru near the stress that you are going thru, but I did have to live with 3 teenagers all at once and the way I coped was by going to yoga. Maybe you should give it a try.</p>
<p>S3 survived the AP World exam. He said he took 3 ibuprofen at the break because his head hurt from so much thinking. But he thinks he did âfineâ. Poor thing still has 6 weeks of school left.</p>
<p>For those of you whose kids took the AP World exam and still have 4-6 weeks left, Did anybody elseâs kid get handed the regualr 10th grade history book and told they were going to study that for the rest of the year and take the regular state 10th grade history final? Iâm so glad my kid laughed and showed me how much bigger the print is in the regular book. I would be flipping out if I was in his place. I donât know how he does it.</p>
<p>medavici - I am so sorry that you are going through this. I agree with the poster
I believe your daughter will âbloomâ wherever she is planted.</p>
<p>I am hearing from friends with kids in this yearâs HS graduating class that are still unsure where their kids are going. Some are getting off waitlists while others are getting unexpected last minute money from schools that were low on their list. It is hard to switch gears this late in the game but the finanical awards are significant. </p>
<p>D2 is scheduled to take the SAT II Math in June. andhas started putting together her target school listâŠlet the games begin!</p>
<p>Medavici and Longhaul - I am sorry you are both having to stuggle during this time in your lives. I hope you both come through the experience stronger and happier. I am a believer in growing where you are planted. Focus on your and your kidsâ health and emotional well being. They will do well and have wonderful college experiences! Be well. It will be fine. </p>
<p>DD feels she did well on the AP and now if off having a fabulous time at Model UN in NYC! She is surprising herself on how she is able to just sit and talk to kids from all over the world. Itâs wonderful to see her shine! </p>
<p>MomfromKC - School goes till June 24th here too. The last 2 weeks are Regents and finals. AP World will now prep for NY Regents. I have no worries and neither should you. Last year DS12 got a 100 on the WH Regents. It just isnât that hard after the AP! Good luck to your DS!</p>
<p>MomfromKC, my D has five weeks of school left and is required to take the state world history standard next Friday after taking the AP World History exam yesterday. The teacher thinks itâs nutty, but they also have a test, a book report, and a project still due for the class. It seems the school calendar years ending in late May or early June fit better with the AP schedule than do those with later release dates. </p>
<p>My D felt fairly pleased with the AP World exam. She was thrilled when she opened the essay portion and saw that she was going to get to write about her favorite people!</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you on this list for your kind words and thoughts. The school my D is in does not care one iota about the âpersonâ just the money. My gut is she should not go back there, because they do cater to the super wealthy, and sadly, those kids can do no wrong - big bucks and coverups. </p>
<p>I am doing the divorce myself unfortunately, because I donât have a $10,000 retainer that all 23 attorneys I have seen want. And in the end, after speaking to many friends, they say it will probably wind up costing $70-80K and for what? Nothing will come out of it as we are tapped out. Even though we are struggling financially, and there are other extenuating circumstances, I donât qualify for legal aid since we own a home. There is also a 90 day waiting period when you file, so even if I could figure out all the paperwork, the 90 days would put me right at the beginning of the new school year. </p>
<p>My D would like to get in 2-3 AP courses, but in that school it is so impossible. The classes are so difficult, and to score a B is a miracle let alone a B+ or A- in the more difficult subjects. I see how hard my d is working, and I am just blessed she is not a spoiled rich kid drinking, doing drugs or being promiscuous (the demographics of the majority of her classmates). I just want her to have some fun, and thankfully there are dances once a month, but so many of the kids show up drunk and take the fun out of it. I donât know how it is in other parts of the country, but here the school and teen centerâs idea of chaperoning, is having the chaperones wait outside and having the requisite (pretend) police and EMS truck out there âjust in case anything happens.â However, they tend to look the other way. It doesnât matter, because it all gets swept under the carpet in the event someone is so passed out theyâd have to have their stomach pumped. The community is wealthy, and they have each otherâs backs. The unfairness of it all is what gets my goat. </p>
<p>And almost all the kids have tutors (live in or on call), so it is impossible to keep up or be recognized. One of my Dâs friends who grew up in that town, is so anti-ivy league or top 20 schools, that she wants to go to somewhere like the Univ of Idaho and grow potatoes or Univ of Montana and herd sheep sheâs that disgusted! </p>
<p>My d was searching for summer journalism programs, and there is one at Stanford (she does not have any desire to go there). However, she did see that they have an online school. My only concern with that is the lack of socialization. It did, however, look intriguing, and there would be no 98 mile commute daily!</p>
<p>[Stanford</a> University](<a href=âhttp://epgy.stanford.edu/ohs/]Stanfordâ>http://epgy.stanford.edu/ohs/) This is their description from the website:
"The EPGY Online High School is a fully accredited, diploma granting, online independent school situated at Stanford University. Serving grades 7-12, the EPGY OHS prepares students from around the world for success both in life and in their future intellectual pursuits. Participation in the EPGY OHS represents a substantial commitment on the part of students and their families. In order to be confident that those who are admitted can meet the demands of the curriculum and unique style of learning we place on them, the EPGY OHS has a stringent application procedure. In the evaluation of applicants, the EPGY OHS Admission Committee considers: student academic records, samples of student work, including application essays, standardized exam scores, participation in gifted programs, academic competitions, extracurricular activities, etc. that demonstrate exceptional ability, evidence of success in online courses, letters of recommendation, and a student interview (if applicable)</p>
<p>College Counseling
EPGY OHS counselors are a central resource at every stage of the college planning and preparation process, and bring to their work experience with college admissions. They organize and facilitate a wealth of resources, including informational panels, workshops, and lectures on various aspects of the college process, such as essay writing or mock interviews. OHS alumni contribute a valuable asset to college counseling at EPGY OHS. At a regularly-held panel, OHS Alumni share their experiences with the college application process and the transition from high school to college. During Summer Session, students have additional opportunities to learn about the college process from their counselors, who are Stanford undergraduates or alumni. For families, the counseling office organizes a financial aid overview session with a representative from the Stanford Financial Aid office.</p>
<p>When they are ready to undertake the college application process, EPGY OHS seniors are given individual accounts in Naviance, the most well-known college counseling software, which facilitates research of colleges, management of applications, coordination of common applications, scheduling of college visits, and communication of important announcements and information.</p>
<p>The counseling office annually hosts school visits by college admissions representatives from colleges around the country in the online classroom, either remotely or from Stanford. School visits have included representatives from Brandeis University, Dartmouth College, the California Institute of Technology, Harvey Mudd College, MIT, Princeton University, Reed College, Stanford University, Swarthmore College, the University of California system, and the University of Southern California. During Summer Session, OHS students have the opportunity to meet with a representative from the Stanford Office of Undergraduate Admission.</p>
<p>EPGY OHS counselors remain current on trends in high school and college education by actively participating in the events and activities of national, regional, and local professional counseling associations, including the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the Western Association for College Admission Counseling. In addition to their own experience in college admissions offices, they maintain relationships with college admissions officers nationwide through annual visits. </p>
<p>My D doesnât want to go to our local public school due to size (1700 9th-12th gr vs. just about 350 total in her current school). She likes the small school environment, so she is confused right now as to where sheâd like to go. I think if she had her druthers, sheâd choose to board. We are very close, so it would be difficult for me, and financially, out of the question. </p>
<p>Itâs nice to know there are other people out there going through or having gone through what I am about toâŠGosh, how did we survive before this online community? However, it can be a double edge sword at times! </p>
<p>Have a great weekend everyone!</p>
<p>medavinci- I wish you strength and peace. Perhaps it is time for you and your DD to come up with a realistic plan for her next two years of high school. I hear that she does not want to go to your public school, but I also here that she doesnât really have too many options. You donât really have the money to pay for private and you live where you live. Perhaps a visit to the public school to enroll her in classes of her choice next year is a good idea. At least a good back up plan. If you go to enroll her in August, the AP classes that she wants may be full. I would see the GC at your local public. I assume you are selling your house. Will you live in the same area you are in now or will you rent in another school district? I think it may be wise to look into all that now. Good luck and best wishes.</p>