<p>My DC (junior) took the SAT on Oct 6 and the results came out this morning. 2400. We are all super thrilled. So proud! It is time to start thinking about college visits during winter and Spring breaks.</p>
<p>@Creekland: Too much group work for D14. So far, it hasnāt brought her grades down much, but has brought down her morale. Itās been her biggest complaint this year.</p>
<p>@JasmineRose: Congrats on the SAT scores.</p>
<p>@Classof2015- I feel the same. I would bomb the SAT. Completely. I am sure my posts are cringe worthy! Not sure how I would do on that writing sectionā¦ LOL or M or CR for that matter. But thats ok! I still enjoy my time here on CC even though I feel like I donāt belong in such smart company most of the time! LOL </p>
<p>5 weeks til Dec 1st SAT. But whose counting? Speaking of private tutors, I met a young man who graduated from an ivy league who is now an intern at dd14ās high school. He used to do private SAT tutoring. He says he charged his well heeled clients $100-$150/hour and they would write checks without blinking an eye for 2, 4, even sometimes 6 hour sessionsā¦ and they would ofen throw a big bonus on top of that if juniorās scores were moving in an upward trend.</p>
<p>He says he felt dirty after awhile, because it dawned on him that these incredibly lucky, private school educated kids had such a huge advantage over kids who donāt come from such means. Being able to have private tutors to help them reach that ever elusive 2400. He felt it wasnāt fair that those with $ ALWAYS seem to come out on top and those withoutā¦ well, scrape for what is left. I told him that life isnāt fair and there was no way to fix it. Unless he wanted to wash some of the filth away by tutoring dd14 at bargain basement prices! LOLOL</p>
<p>Happy studying to all those sitting for the 12/1 test.</p>
<p>@Jasmine rose-what is DC? I have seen that before on this thread and didnāt have the energy to ask. Huge Congrats on the 2400. Wowā¦ so no issues of a retake I take it huh? LOL DD will have to retake it twice Iām sure. Is anyone else having an issue with their posts? I am having a problem with mine loadingā¦the last post that is time stamped 1:08pm was typed and sent this morning around 7amā¦ hmmm CC is acting up again. It made me sign in again so maybe it actually go through this morning like I thought it did.</p>
<p>As far as group projects, they annoy the hell out of me. DD14 and a classmate had an assignment last March. They earned themselves a C+ on it. My question was, how can 2 brains, 4 hands, 4 eyes etc get a C+?? I was happy that this was the only group project for that classā¦ I think maybe they should request new project mates if things continue to go downhill. Not fair that the smarter students should be teamed up with the othersā¦ they do this so the smarter kids can teach the kids on the other end, which is not fair at all. I forget the term. But I am sure someone here knows it.</p>
<p>@NewHavenCTmom - DC is Dear Child. (atleast that is what I think).</p>
<p>You are right. She is happy that there is no need for a retake. No tutor. She prepared and took practice tests from the bluebook over the summer approximately 5 hours a week for 6 weeks on her own. She wanted to use that preparation for PSAT & SAT. Thankfully it worked out for her.</p>
<p>jasminerose - congrats on the high score. It sure makes one aspect of the college admissions process much easier and opens up options for nice merit aid at some schools. We were in that grouping with middle son. With youngest, life (and the search) will be different.</p>
<p>The fact that she was willing to work on prep on her own also bodes well for future college success - it shows work ethic (something the test score, itself, does not show). Again, middle son was similar and he is doing VERY well.</p>
<p>Youngest is as talented, but lacks the desire or motivation to do these sorts of things on his own. Heās very motivated in his field, but that wonāt help the scores much.</p>
<p>Oh well.</p>
<p>^^^ My sonās HS has pretty much given up on group projects and thank goodness. His freshman year, two years ago, pretty much every assignment was a group project and it was running him ragged. He would do 80-90% of the group work himself because he didnāt trust the other group members (he was a very strong student so he was usually grouped with weak students who didnāt mind that he did the work), and that often meant staying up until 2 or 3 AM. Last year they did about half group projects and half individual assignments and this year there are just a few group projects. It apparently was another great idea on paper that did not turn out so well in practice.</p>
<p>jasmineRose, congrats! Thatās fantastic. Iām hoping my own DC will benefit from her self-study this summer. November test date is around the corner. Not sure if anyone here follows the NYT blog āThe Choice,ā but they have been running an informative series on the SAT and ACT by their individual head honchos. Hereās a link to todayās installment --thereās a nice portion devoted to both score choice and accommodation issues. [Part</a> 4: Answers to Readersā Questions About the SAT and ACT - NYTimes.com](<a href=āPart 4: Answers to Readers' Questions About the SAT and ACT - The New York Timesā>Part 4: Answers to Readers' Questions About the SAT and ACT - The New York Times)</p>
<p>Way to go DC of JasmineRose! Thatās a hecuva way to check a box. Our DS took the Oct 6 SAT too. He did well, but will have to decide if he wants to sit for it again in the spring or next fall. I told him taking the SATs twice is usually a good idea. It IS nice to have one in the bag, however.</p>
<p>I just took a quick look at DD14s grades online.</p>
<p>4 As and 3 A+s. (Thatās w/ a full AP/IB schedule AND work AND ECs.) </p>
<p>Sheās amazing.</p>
<p>BUT ā¦ I wish to all that was holy my super smarty pants kid would stop believing what her friends are telling her about certain colleges. Weāre off to visit Vandy this weekend and at dinner she told me that one of her friends that just visited Vandy was told by a current student, that if she wasnāt an athlete donāt count on getting accepted.</p>
<p>Say wha? </p>
<p>And there is absolutely no talking her out of what these kids put in her head. </p>
<p>So now sheās pretty much crossed Vanderbilt off the list w/o even setting foot on campus.</p>
<p>Itās driving me insane.</p>
<p>@Classof2015, @blueiguana - Yes, I am a happy mom from Oregon. Happy to be a mom and to be able to live in Oregon 
</p>
<p>My DD doesnāt have too many group projects but she had to go through similar frustration. One teacher graded the group projects based on the individual contribution to the group project and how well the kids worked together instead of grading the project as one. No one could slack off that way. I think that should be the model for grading group projects, it is a good quality to have the ability to work in a group environment, but it is not motivating to the kids if they are getting bad grades due to not their fault. Not many teachers follow this model though.</p>
<p>@JasmineRose - Thatās awesome, Congratulations!!!</p>
<p>KaMaMom: Take her to Vandy anyway. I had a former student who is an athlete get in there two years ago. Vandy was NOT recruiting this young lady, either. In fact, they showed no interest in her volleyball ability. Neither did Brown or Duke, and she got in there, too. Instead, she took an offer to a LAC in California, is starting for the school and loves it. Sure, volleyball may have helped her get into Vandy and other places, but the school never talked to her about it. (They did not think she was tall enough to play at the college level.)</p>
<p>I think her 35 on the ACT and 4.45 GPA were more important.</p>
<p>Son '14 is taking the ACT Saturday. No prep. No time, either. Too many things to do with AP, cross country (he qualified for the regional meet), and a weekend job. Also, we are moving soon, so we need his help with lifting boxes.</p>
<p>Ok, this storm has us directly in its current projected path. I guess Iāll be one of millions at the store and gas station after school. Glad the ACT is scheduled before it hits. </p>
<p>Our personal place wonāt flood, but many places/roads around us will. It could be difficult to get things/places for a day or two if all goes as projected.</p>
<p>I hope any who live in the path do ok!</p>
<p>Creekland: Weāre scheduled to move on Monday, in the middle of the storm. Weāre just thrilled, canāt you tell?</p>
<p>Momreads - that might make for some nice storytelling later in life, but for the here and nowā¦ you have my sympathy! I hope you have plenty of plastic tarps and raincoats, plus something to put down in the house(s) to walk on - then a nice party of some sort afterward! May neither place get flooded tooā¦</p>
<p>Speaking of storms and stories, Sā14 was stranded for 2 days at the airport with my mom when the big storm of Jan '96 hit. He was 22 days old! He was on CNN.</p>
<p>Sending warm and dry thoughts to everyone who may be affected by Sandy. Momreads, IIRC youāre not too far south of us, right? Monday will certainly be wet and cold. Iāll be praying for your area to retain power and to avoid any local flooding. This is just lousing timing for you. </p>
<p>Weāre headed to Parents Weekend tomorrow in the middle of a state of emergency. The forecast for now is fairly decent (Iām still opting for jeans and boots). Weāll make sure the kids have bottled water and batteries in the event that they loose power in the coming days. The only hiccup could be if costal evacuations start before we head out. Weāre only going for the day so we should be fine. We dropped this son off last year and within two weeks there had been both a hurricane and an earthquake (east coast so a first for most kids) so they are a seasoned bunch. ;)</p>
<p>Congrats JasmineRose to your daughter! She sounds very disciplined. Iām taking my SAT in a week and am focusing on just doing practice tests now. </p>
<p>KaMamom, my friend who had a certain school as a dream school forever dropped it immediately (didnāt even apply) because his friend, who had already been admitted, visited and said that people party too much. We are fickle people!</p>
<p>The Vandy visit was a definite success!</p>
<p>The adcom giving the presention was great - funny, informative, relatable.</p>
<p>Our student tour guide was good - she was a Blair School vocal performance major which was EXACTLY the right fit for my youngest.</p>
<p>While Vanderbilt might not be a perfect fit for either of my kids - youngest wants to be in a bigger city and oldest needs a better fit for her potential major - the visit was great an the campus was gorgeous.</p>
<p>KaKaMom - We are doing the Vandy trip in 3 weeks for D. Curious if you recall which Adcon you had or what region they were from? D met her regional Adcon at a school visit earlier this fall and fell in love with the pictures of the campus. She also wants to get admitted to one of the schools her brother (2011) didnāt get into. I think its a sibling rivalry thing! :eek: (He was waitlisted at Vandy.)</p>