<p>CT1417: Oh yes about the increased emails and paper mailings too! My 2014er took the Oct. SAT and PSAT. It must be the PSAT that was the trigger.</p>
<p>My DC is taking a subject test this month in a foreign language. I hope this isn’t regrettable. I do understand why it makes sense to take the exams in the spring at the end of the corresponding AP course but my DC, in a fifth year/university level language course, feels ready for the exam.</p>
<p>College4many - your DC will be fine. I think a foreign language exam can be an exception to the “wait-until-after-the-AP” rule, especially after 5th year and some exam format practice.</p>
<p>Looks like I’ve got some SAT Subj research to do! From what some of you are posting, it sounds like my D should’ve taken the Spanish Subj test last November! I had assumed that she would take all in June. </p>
<p>And I still haven’t figured out how many there are and in what subjects!</p>
<p>Oh, thanks CT1417, for the percentile ranks … that answers a lot of my questions (Like how many tests are there and which subjects 
</p>
<p>So, for foreign language, is it recommended that the student take listening instead of reading … or both?</p>
<p>What I want to know is why the heck there is no April test date? If that’s a regular thing I’m just noticing that this year and it irks me because that’s what works best for S3.</p>
<p>For reference…
SAT Subject test dates:
[SAT</a> Subject Test Dates](<a href=“The SAT – SAT Suite | College Board”>What were SAT Subject Tests? - College Board Blog)</p>
<p>and SAT test dates:
[U.S</a>. Registration](<a href=“The SAT – SAT Suite | College Board”>SAT Dates and Deadlines – SAT Suite | College Board)</p>
<p>I’ve searched for fall 2013 dates and nothing looks terribly credible, at least nothing I’d trust to pass along.</p>
<p>Portlandia—I shouldn’t be answering your question about foreign language test (then why am I??), but I have heard the language ones can be tough. I may be fuzzy here, but the part that is only offered in Nov is for native speakers…or really good HS students.</p>
<p>BI–again, guessing here, but perhaps attempting to work around private school breaks (last two weeks of March), Easter, Passover, and public school breaks that seem to fall anywhere in April. But, this is just my guess and I don’t recall hearing about an April exam. </p>
<p>I agree that April would be more useful than May. There is a long break between the March and May test dates.</p>
<p>College4many–agree with Glido. Students sounds well ready for exam.</p>
<p>In the reading I have done on CC, it seems like the November SAT subject tests with listening are held in higher regard because it demonstrates proficiency in two aspects of language learning but it isn’t a big deal to turn in scores from a reading only test. I do think I read somewhere that even though the listening/reading test is regarded as being more difficult, the test results don’t support this. Students scores are higher on the language test with listening. In our case, we didn’t even have the November test on our radar so the test without listening is our only option. I think. Isn’t testing in November of the senior year too late for some college applications?</p>
<p>Congratulations to your daughter, 89Wahoo! She must be so excited :)</p>
<p>I have been feeling a little burnt out lately and as such, have kept putting things off. Hopefully I can get back on track from now on. Finals are such a pain!</p>
<p>Good morning wonderful people! Happy New Year to you all…</p>
<p>@beadymom, I received your pm. Wow… how sweet of you to check in and make sure all is well with dd and I. I am very touched… THANK YOU! </p>
<p>We are doing fine. Junior year has been a bit of a challenge for her. The 2 math classes are her achilles heel. The first semester was fine… but it started to rear its ugly head just before Christmas. Her organizational skills have also gone to pot so she has had to regroup/do a mid year Staples run and go back to the supplies she used in middle school. Her high school insists that they use those silly binders which she has hated since 9th grade. She has decided to go back to composition notebooks that she used in grades 5-8. </p>
<p>Sorry to drone on… its 5am! Please bear with me! :)</p>
<p>Her SAT scores were not where she wanted them to be. So we found a private tutor for the math portion. She just started this past Saturday… lets keep our fingers crossed as I am not sure what his track record is. He is a physics graduate student @ Yale so I pray that it translates into the ability to help her with her scores. This is a huge financial sacrifice. I pray that this helps.</p>
<p>She is still rolling along with her EC’s/work etc. I think she has taken on too much. This is “shop week” at Yale and she is trying to fit a class into her schedule. One that is of interest to her. Unfortunately, the most interesting classes are during the day so its been a bit of a challenge for her to find one that she wants to take/one that fits in. The class she really wants is the same time that she tutors reading… and she knows that she has an obligation to these kids and doesn’t want leave them in the lurch just so she can take a class @ Yale. She may have to go back to the state uni where she took her class last semester. Being a young adult with responsibitlities can be tough. </p>
<p>Her new gc is great. Very organized and will go the extra mile/takes time with dd & has even nominated her for a scholarship. I had a conversation with a parent of a senior on Tuesday, who is in the throes of the college app process. She told me of the problems that her daughter has had with my daughters original gc. Not meeting college app deadlines… and how she had to get the principal involved. </p>
<p>I will say this, I am not sure how I would deal with such a situation. I actually might lose it… to work so hard for 3+ years and then have the person who has a huge role in the process drop the ball. Talk about crazy!!</p>
<p>So sorry for all the stress you and D are going through! She still has many times to take the SAT. She sounds like such a smart kid – she can probably work with this new tutor just fine. Keep us posted.</p>
<p>So good to hear from you NHCtMom!
You are such an amazing advocate for your DD. I know you stay on top of all of her education, and she is driven in her own right. It’s a winning combination and she is going to succeed. It’s so hard when we can’t look ahead 18mo, 5years, to know what that looks like. So glad to hear about the gem of a GC. Do you get to keep her through next year? They are worth their weight in platinum!! We have been so blessed to have the same amazing GC for 6yrs now (3 kids). She has been through a gifted/learning difference student (S1), a high achieving student (S2), and now S3 our “I would be better off taking 2-3 APs but refuse to be bored and coloring maps or with kids who don’t care about their education so I insist on 5APs thus I get a mix of As & Bs” student. She has advocated for all with equal pull and effort. She’s amazing and I tell her all the time. She must not leave us…one more year. I think the math tutor will def help. Kids naturally do better on later tests as they get the hang of the format. If she tests in March that still gives her the May date without spilling into fall if she’s looking at EA/ED. Do not…do not, forget to take care of yourself in all of this. It’s exhausting, and finding time just to sit and empty your mind of work, home, kids, is next to impossible, but we’ve still got another year+ until decisions and a little less then 2 until launch. Try to find time even if it’s a cup of tea in the evening and putting lotion on your feet with fuzzy socks ($3 @Target…sooo soft!!).</p>
<p>NewHavenMom - so glad you popped back in! And so glad you were able to switch GC’s! I’m sure that will make a world of difference!! What an opportunity to be able to take a class at Yale, maybe she can work something out to switch times with her tutoring?</p>
<p>BlueIguana - great advice to take care of OURselves!! I think I’ll go have a cup of something warm and a hot bath. 
</p>
<p>DS has started tutoring a middle school student. It came at a perfect time. I was on him to get a job to pay for that speeding ticket he got last week. Maybe the word will get out and he can add more students to that!</p>
<p>I had to be reminded to slow down by getting kicked on my kiester. I was dx with an autoimmune. On the plus side you naturally start to take better care of yourself. Your sleep patterns, diet, physical environment, even stress level, all make a difference so it’s something you have to do or you feel the effects. Overall I am a much healthier person then before I knew about the AI because I take better care of myself. We are not machines. If you’re not taking a hefty dose of Vit D3 ladies most of us are deficient and don’t know it. Regular check up bloodwork doesn’t check for it. Usually 5k IUs daily makes a difference, especially in these dark dreary months. I’ll save my talk on probiotics for another day (and not the yogurt). I’m sure everyone can’t wait!! 
kidding…</p>
<p>Indeed, blue, I asked for a vitamin D blood test about 6 months ago because I don’t drink a lot of milk (fortified with D) or spend much time in the sun, and indeed I was quite deficient. Now I take a D3 supplement at bedtime. In theory, I have a Calcium and D supplement to take with meals, but that one is hard to remember!</p>
<p>Great to hear about the new GC NHCTMom! Very Cool! Our DS’14 hasn’t had his assigned yet - he should get one in February. There are 3 for his class. All are good, but we think only 2 of the 3 would be a good fit for our guy. Fingers crossed!</p>
<p>Glido–or anyone else who would like to answer…is it typical for the GC to be assigned second semester Jr year? Do the students have different guidance counselors for course selection beginning in freshman year and then have a new GC assigned for the college admissions process? And, would all siblings typically have the same GC? (I don’t know the answer to that one for my son’s HS.)</p>
<p>Just curious how it works at other schools.</p>
<p>CT - </p>
<p>I’ll put in my 2 cents since I’m online and I don’t see gildo’s yellow box indicating she’s online. Others can chime in as well.</p>
<p>I think there are as many answers as there are high schools. Our kids are assigned a GC via their last name that stays with them through graduation (unless there is shifting due to enrollment etc.). This is how we’ve had the same GC for all three boys. Some schools have this type of a set up with a separate GC specific for college admissions. Some schools move them each year by grade. You may be able to tell how your school handles this by looking at your schools website where they list the faculty or if they have a page for Guidance. I know ours specifically states which GCs are for which alpha last names so parents know who to ask for if they forget. Or you could just call the guidance office and ask. I do think it’s interesting to see the different ways it’s handled. We have a large school (3k) so that may have something to do with it. By keeping the kids all four years they have a greater chance to get to know them.</p>
<p>Thanks BI! Our school assigns at 9th grade unless there is a staff change—retirement or expansion of staff to add another counselor. I just haven’t figured out who my younger son will receive next year but I will ask the next time I am in the school volunteering. And I agree with you that I think the idea is for the students to get to know the counselors but teenage boys don’t seem to ever have reasons to drop by their counselors. The school tries to encourage facetime by requiring the students to visit GC to retrieve school ID card, PSAT scores, discuss class selections, etc.</p>
<p>Thank you also for the explanation of the yellow box. It must appear that I am on 18 hours a day as I just leave the CC window open all day (along with a dozen others).</p>
<p>CT – our school does the same as BI (GC assigned by your last name) with the exception that LD kids get the LD counselor. So while our name hasn’t changed from D’11 to S’14, my 2 kids have different counselors.</p>
<p>Some parents lobby for a different counselor than the one they’re assigned.</p>
<p>Our GC was the one S’14 had from 9th grade on. He helps him pick out classes and does the college advising (which in my experience, is extremely lame). Our senior class has maybe 100 kids. 10% of them will already be in college by this August (early admits; athletes). There are 5 counselors in the school. Do the math. Each one has less than 20 kids to advise and help, and I think they do a very minimal job. Let me put it this way – they don’t know as much as the parents on CC.</p>
<p>But then again, who does???
:)</p>
<p>My S '14 was inducted into NHS tonight. Out of the 25 kids inducted, there were only 5 boys.</p>