<p>For anyone’s kids who took the June ACT, as of the 17th the scores are available through the glitch except for those who took the writing. Doesn’t hurt to try though! The glitch can be found here:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/act-preparation/1516805-official-june-act-score-thread-now-available.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/act-preparation/1516805-official-june-act-score-thread-now-available.html</a></p>
<p>Welcome Rashel! Congrats to all the sweet superscores!</p>
<p>We’re looking for advice. My daughter is planning on majoring in political science/government/policy depending on what the school offers. Next year she signed up for the following classes :
AP Govt
Ap Stats
Ap Calc AB
Ap Enlgish Lit
Applications of US Law
Spanish 5
Forensics
Because she has taken more than necessary history courses she has not filled an art requirement and if she were to take on her schedule would be completely full so she is considering dropping forensics. Would no science class be a negative aspect to her transcript?</p>
<p>Rashel, what science classes does she have so far?</p>
<p>She’s taken Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, and Honors Physics</p>
<p>Rashel, is that forensics as in debate/mock trial or a science forensics class? If it is the former, I’d have your D drop that class or the Applications of US Law since she already has too many history courses. </p>
<p>I ask because as a former debater from the stone age, whenever I see forensics I think debate or mock trial.</p>
<p>Just chiming in on the high school grading systems. I have a friend in admissions at Lafayette, and like many schools with “holistic” admissions, they pay no attention to the weighted GPA - they recalculate using actual grades in academic classes only, and then look at the rigor of the course load compared to what is offered at the school. They’re also familiar with the rigor of many of the area high school programs. It’s the only way to attempt to compare fairly.</p>
<p>The glitch after working the first time she took the test didn’t work last time, and apparently not this time either. I guess it’s the writing. Last time we didn’t get the writing scores for several days after the posted date for score release. I was really hoping fewer kids took it this time. I imagine if it isn’t uploaded by the end of the day we’ll just have to wait until Monday.</p>
<p>I’m not as anxious about it this time. </p>
<p>Burke - that’s how most private colleges re-do gpa. So all those art, music, pe & electives don’t really count at the end of the day. </p>
<p>Today is my '14 birthday. Hard to believe my youngest is 17! She’s having a pool party later today so I get to spend the day getting everything ready.</p>
<p>Happy birthday to your D, eyemamom! </p>
<p>Blueiguana – what a great W score! That is always something to be proud of. </p>
<p>S is going to the beach with buddies today then hunkering down to try and get back in testing mode for tomorrow’s postponed ACT.</p>
<p>Some colleges are now vetting applicants’ resumes, so be honest! See this video from one of our counselors discussing a recent chat he had with UVA admissions: [Building</a> Your Resume- Honesty Matters!](<a href=“http://mytonomy.com/videos/building-your-resume-honesty-matters?encrypted_key=ywk3VnOuAAgz69VEEEHywRt9qGRzGpK3mi89XG5cnz7bbLQGwtnhRPgGVvSwXkV2--qe0j/GVhXV5lHbyclkaUdg==]Building”>http://mytonomy.com/videos/building-your-resume-honesty-matters?encrypted_key=ywk3VnOuAAgz69VEEEHywRt9qGRzGpK3mi89XG5cnz7bbLQGwtnhRPgGVvSwXkV2--qe0j/GVhXV5lHbyclkaUdg==)</p>
<p>It’s only the third full day of summer vacation for DS and I’ve barely seen him. He’s had parties every day since school let out. Tuesday was a pool party, Wednesday he was with his gang of friends at someone’s lake house with an overnight stay (coed!), last night was another party, and tonight one more pool party. Wondering when it’s going to be our town to host a pool party. Just hope he gives me more than a few hours notice! </p>
<p>He’s also been working so between work and his social life I think I’ve only seen him coming and going. Life is good for him right now – hopefully that ACT score we’re waiting on doesn’t spoil it for him!</p>
<p>One more thing - not only are colleges looking at applicants’ social media accounts, but they are also sharing what they find with other schools. Another reason for kids to be circumspect in what they post! [Social</a> Media and its impact on the Admissions Process](<a href=“http://mytonomy.com/videos/social-media-and-its-impact-on-the-admissions-process]Social”>http://mytonomy.com/videos/social-media-and-its-impact-on-the-admissions-process)</p>
<p>My husband got a call from Son '14. Says he’s having a great time at Boys State. Doing lots of sports, which makes him happy. We pick him up in the morning, so he should sleep most of the day. I did send him a quick note the other day to let him know that he does need to rethink what his senior schedule will be, as one math class will not be offered (not enough interest), and the teacher who was offering a finance class left. Now, the physics teacher is leaving. He’ll have to think about what he wants to take. He loves the AP Chem teacher, so he may take that class – besides, it features lots of math. </p>
<p>Cross Country starts its team runs in a couple of days, but Son '14 will miss the first one. We’re heading to CNU to visit – I told him that he needed an in state school, so he sort of selected this one. He could run there if he chooses. His heart is still set on the deep South, and that’s fine with us. But, I always say that a student needs options. I know kids who limit themselves, and that can hurt. One girl who graduated with Son '09 applied to three schools. She got into one, was waitlisted by another and was given a spring admit by a third. She probably could have given herself more options if she had applied other places. As for Son '09, he has a job interview next week, and he’s quite excited about it. Beats sitting on the sofa recovering from recent surgery.</p>
<p>Thank you for the links, novamom! When I have a few extra minutes, I plan to watch some of the other videos as well.</p>
<p>Just got an email from HS college counselor reminding DS’14 that he has his first draft of both common app. essays due to her in early August. Get those kids writing!</p>
<p>As posted a few pages ago, I said I would post about our Villanova visit this past Wednesday, the 19th. The school and parking is as easy as any school we have visited. The main parking lot and Admissions parking is right on Rt. 30 (Lancaster Avenue) less than a half mile off of I-476 (exit 13). We had printed our parking pass so we parked and crossed the street following the directions emailed to us. We were at the Admissions building in about 5 minutes.</p>
<p>DD signed in and after about 5 minutes a student in a Villanova shirt came into the holding room and said we were going to another building to use their lecture hall/auditorium. I head counted when we arrived and there were 12 families in the 945AM sesion. A couple of more joined us before the session started. The presentation consited of a 20 minute video that was well done and both highlighted the basics but also showed school tradition and spirit. Following the video, the Adcon spoke for another 30 minutes and answered quesitons. The tone was very relaxed but quite informative.</p>
<p>Following the info session, five tour guides entered the hall, introduced themselves and split the room up into five tour groups. The campus tour covered many buildings including a typical dorm. There are two communter rail lines that separate north and south campus from the main campus. The tour was only on the main campus. The outer campuses are mostly dorms, dining and some athletics areas.</p>
<p>DD and parents were favorably impressed with the presentation and tour. We stopped at the bookstore and then the Connelly student center next door where we had a very nice lunch on the lower level. This school was never on the original list but fit DD’s school size range and is in an a metro area. The actual area surrounding the school is an upscale suburban area that appears affluent, well maintained and safe. As a matter of full disclosure I must state that our SIL graduated from Villanova in 1999. I also must state that DS-2011 attends a rival school and there could be sibling war if DD were to attend Villanova. :eek:</p>
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<p>BI - As a fellow poster on the 2011 thread I agree that Lehigh was not really on the radar for our 2011 kiddos. I am not sure why it didn’t get any attention as I was certainly impressed with what we saw and heard as was DD. I will be interested to hear what others have to say about all three of these schools. My Villanova visit report is above. We didn’t visit Bucknell as my older son’s (HS-1991) best friend/best man went there and all he complained about was that the school was out in the boonies! :eek: He now lives in NYC and is much happier with his surroundings. :D</p>
<p>I love how involved you all seem to be with your kids and the admissions process. I hope your children are appreciative. I wish my parents were that involved. First generation sucks lol.</p>
<p>Welcome TinnyT! My kids have never said they appreciated my involvement (I think they see me more as a nag), but it’s nice to think they might be grateful someday. </p>
<p>Feel free to ask any questions here. There is so much accumulated knowledge and people really want to help.</p>
<p>momreads - curious what you all think of CNU after the visit, my d just interviewed there a few weeks ago and it’s high on her list.</p>
<p>My older son applied to Lehigh and really liked it, but didn’t even stay for the Villanova tour. I think it was the end of a long roadtrip and something about the highway bisecting the campus turned him off. He also didn’t like the gray stone, which is actually beautiful. Kids. The darndest things catch their eye or turn them off. </p>
<p>The lesson I learned is no more huge college tours. We did it differently for my d seeing them here or there and it made it much easier on her.</p>
<p>Welcome Tinny! You are doing the right thing looking around for advice. IME (I work at a public high school) the kids who are first generation who take an active role in seeking what they want for their education do well - very well. It’s not necessarily easy, but there’s something about the work ethic that carries over. Plug on (and yes, feel free to glean info!). ;)</p>
<p>Do you know what you are looking for in a school? Region? Finances? What sort of scores/grades do you have? You have a whole bunch of parents here who will willingly offer our two cents and, after processing, you can take it or leave it as you wish. There is no one “right” answer in the college search. There are many possibilities that you narrow down, eventually finding what is “right” for you.</p>