<p>Hope all the CCrs from the east are safe and have their power restored. Friends in Maryland came through fine, but still haven’t heard from our friends in New Jersey or Connecticut. </p>
<p>DD won’t be taking her first test until spring. We’re waiting to see her PSAT results to see if she’ll be prepping for an ACT or the SAT first. How long does it take to get PSAT results?</p>
<p>PSAT results are annoying because they are not available directly to the student. They are sent to the schools sometime in early December, but for some reason many schools don’t had them out to the students at that time. Many schools hand them out in January, some wait until June. I’d suggest asking your school’s guidance office when you can expect to get your child’s scores.</p>
<p>Yes, they are available in early-mid December, however many schools (including ours) hold them hostage until January or even later. For some reason I was able to see S2’s (2011grad) online in late December. I’d gone online to see SAT scores for S1 (2009grad) and saw some announcement saying PSAT results were online. I clicked through a series of windows entered some information, and I swear I had a code that I got from S2 (I wish to goodness I remember and could offer this to everyone!!), but we got in and saw the scores. It may have been some code on the booklet or information they pass out to the kids when they take the test? S2 was a packrat so maybe he remembered having something and pulled it out of his backpack. It truly escapes me. It may be worth asking your 2014 grads if they were given anything that would have had a sticker with their names that included and ID number or code. Mines not home right now or I would.</p>
<p>I emailed dd14’s gc early last December to get her scores…she also have the me her college board ID#. Just email the gc in a few weeks and ask for the scores. There should be no problem in emailing them to you. I know some school districts who give them out as soon as they get the results. None of this holding hostage crap. DD14’s school gives them in January upon return from Christmas break. But why wait? I don’t see the point to be honest.</p>
<p>If I remember correctly, our school mailed them the last day of school before winter break because they wanted to stem the chatter in the hallways. Does anyone know how long it takes for NMSF to notify students if they are indeed semi-finalists? Glad to hear that all of you suffering Sandy are able to join in the conversation. The photos on the news are so devastating to see…</p>
<p>National Merit doesn’t notify semi-finalists or publish the score cut-offs until September of Senior year (for no reason I can imagine). Possibly the last couple of days of August. Again, notification goes through the schools.</p>
<p>Thanks mathmomvt–when I visualize you writing, I see you sitting on a wide front porch with turning maples, a pitcher of maple syrup nearby and a calculator!</p>
<p>That pretty much describes our cabin, where we also boil our own maple syrup :)</p>
<p>It’s official - the SAT has been rescheduled here until Nov. 17th!</p>
<p>I haven’t had maple syrup in years… When I look at the prices, my eyes pop out of my head. LOL So we stick with the other stuff that so many turn their noses up to! LOLOL </p>
<p>DD14 is all signed up for the 12/1 SAT. She won’t be taking it at her school. For some reason that was not an option 
She will have to take it on Yale’s campus. I hope this doesn’t scare her at all. We will have to do a dry run just to see where the building is. At least she will be able to feel comfortable with knowing where the building is. </p>
<p>BTW, we went to the open house at Yale two weeks ago and she loved it. It was as if we were in a totally different place. It didn’t feel like New Haven at all. Yale actually became human for us… I know it sounds odd. But for years, its been a row of buildings that we pass by several times/week and don’t give much thought to. It defied our expectations.
She was glad that she went, so was I. :)</p>
<p>Our synagogue has a special Vermont tradition for Tu Bi’Shvat, which is a holiday that celebrates trees and is typically celebrated by eating fruits of various configuration (with pits, with outer rinds, with neither). In Vermont we also add a tiny “sip” of maple syrup (straight up). We had a rabbinic student one year who said “wow, you can really tell this isn’t Aunt Jemima” and one of my kids, maybe 6yo at the time piped up with “What’s Aunt Jemima?” lol</p>
<p>Big news here is that DS14 was approved for use of a computer for the essay sections of the SAT and AP exams! That is a big relief. I had been led to believe it would be a big fight to get that accommodation, and I wasn’t sure if his diagnosis was specific enough. Apparently it is harder to get for the ACT but I’m really much more concerned about it for the AP exams than either the SAT or ACT where the writing portion is fairly minor. We’ve applied for him to take the ACT on the Decemeber date (8th) with accommodations but they haven’t given us a ruling yet. I’m not sure how the logistics will work. I assume he’ll write at least those sections in a separate room so his computer won’t be a distraction to the other kids.</p>
<p>I am looking for honest advice… My DD works hard keeping her good grades and enjoys her ECs. But She doesn’t seem to “find” the time to practice for SAT or show any motivation. I realized the deadline just passed for Dec SAT and ACT but still time for late registration. However, I am wondering what’s the best way to go about it? Giving test without much preparation or wait until PSAT scores and then decide how to prepare? </p>
<p>Good luck to every one who is taking the test tomorrow.</p>
<p>@mathmomvt: We love maple syrup too. Reading your post almost tempted me to grab a spoonful of maple syrup (but I resisted the urge though :)</p>
<p>happyORmom - I’d wait to see what the PSAT results are - assuming you get them in Dec. Then she’ll know more specifically what to spend her time on. There are several late winter/spring testing dates you can choose from. She might be more motivated to put some time into studying once she receives scores - esp if she has her eye on certain colleges and sees what those scores are compared to hers.</p>
<p>We’re aiming for the April ACT (there are later dates in some areas, but not ours…) and the May or June SAT (you could do both), but in the meantime, we’re going to see how the PSAT and Oct ACT turned out.</p>
<p>Good luck to all testers today!</p>
<p>I guess we have to be the oddballs. We were given some real maple syrup as a gift one time and every single one of my boys and hubby didn’t like it. They grew up on corn syrup (King), so prefer that or the store bought stuff. I thought it was odd, but such is life. I don’t feel guilty buying the cheaper stuff though. We rarely eat any syrup - perhaps 3 to 4 times a year - less for me. I just don’t have a sweet tooth. Give me salt instead!</p>
<p>@mathmomvt–LOL too cute! I wonder what he will say when he goes off to college? Will you have to send him his own supply of maple syrup for him to carry to the dining hall?</p>
<p>HappyORmom— You should have gone for it! LOLOL Noting the hour of your post, you could have possibly made a mapletini! LOLOL Hmmm. even though I was joking, that sounds kind of interesting! :)</p>
<p>I have had issues with dd14 studying for the SAT as well. A few weeks back, I actually starting waking her up at 5:45am to study. That gave her about 40 minutes of study time on school mornings. Then I also required 2 hours of studying on weekends. But then life happens and she was requiring more sleep d/t hectic schedule then the storm etc etc etc. </p>
<p>I did pick up Grubers SAT Math, a few free websites, College Boards QOD, College Boards BB practice tests, PWNtheSAT,… I think she is becoming overwhelmed b/c she has too many things to help her study. She needs a more focused approach which we will sit down and discuss today. Oh and one more thing she has at her disposal is the QUIZLET app on her phone for her Direct Hits words. Her CR on practice tests is 670. Her math needs more work.</p>
<p>12/1 will be her baseline. Her school district just began requiring that all juniors take the SAT in the late winter/early spring. So we will see what her 12/1 scores ferret out and hopefully she will get some much needed motivation from that. </p>
<p>I think with this age group, its difficult for them to see the end result so studying for a test that is weeks away, then to have to wait for those scores takes 4 more weeks…there is no instant gratification. I know for my daughter, she is bright and works her hump off in school and she has no friends who are truly like her… and no moms that are like me. So I think she has grown resentful of my, shall we say, helicopter parenting? Which she so desperately needs seeing our circumstances. Which she will not rise above if I don’t parent in this way!</p>
<p>I myself had a bit of a meltdown on Wednesday night d/t this whole SAT albatross. We were both in pretty salty moods and I told her that she was on her own from here on out, and I wasn’t going to concern myself with this college crap anymore. I even attempted to cancel my CC membership but my computer was also in a mood/wasn’t loading fast enough so I just went to bed and cried myself to sleep!</p>
<p>As you can see, I’m still here… :)</p>
<p>Writing my Sat today; good luck to everyone else also writing!</p>
<p>NHCtMom - You are an amazing mom, and I PROMISE you as a mom who has gone thought the gauntlet of this process in admittedly easier circumstances then you, although with router blades humming loudly nonetheless, I came the the point several times of announcing I was done, he was on his own, I even gave up cc for two weeks (DH had made fun of me one too many times), and yes cried myself to sleep. Like you, I got over the hump and obviously found a fresh breath of air, a new meeting of the minds with S1/S2 and moved along the journey. This isn’t for whimpy parents, that’s for sure, and you are approaching this from a standpoint where everything is counter to what your daughter’s peers are doing, and what their parents are doing. This is hard, and loving, and necessary. Luckily your daughter is a bright and resourceful young woman who is very capable of rising to this challenge. I have so much respect for you for the hard work you are putting in, the research you are doing, and the vision you have for your daughter. It is really a labor of love that she will thank you for the rest of her life. Warm and gentle hugs to you. I’m glad you didn’t cancel your membership here…we’d have to come find you. ;)</p>
<p>encounter11 - Best of luck today and to all the other students taking the SATs today. Our thought are with you!!!</p>
<p>First quarter is over…</p>
<p>AP Calc 88.7%
Spanish IV 92.9%
AP Chem 95.4%
Law H 93.3%
English III H 93.1%
APUSH 88.4%</p>
<p>Not a bad start</p>
<p>Good luck to the SAT testers from me too! </p>
<p>LOL…we recently made the switch to real maple syrup. It is expensive but we will eat pancakes less often before returning to the corn syrup varieties. ;)</p>
<p>About studying for the SAT/ACT with my 2014er…Motivation is lacking. I was hoping to see some new energy after the October SAT scores came out but that didn’t happen. My DC’s SAT score was the approx. equivalent of the June ACT score. The ACT was taken cold. The SAT was taken with a small amount of prep. I guess it is time to focus on one test and get moving!</p>