<p>2 more days left until exams. Everday ds reports that his day was boring. But today he answered actually pretty good. He got a nice letter saying he was chosen as captain for cross country this fall. The coach wrote him a nice letter telling him why he was the only junior picked out of all the applications. This is only his second year running but he has a lot of passion.
Grades look pretty good. He has a couple big projects due this week.</p>
<p>Thatās so nice 29happymom 26
Good luck on your standby oncmom! And better luck for your college visit.</p>
<p>My son is taking Math 2 this weekend.
Smiles,
PS</p>
<p>Rant: I am cool with h.s. requirement for community service, but DSā14ās school is very strict about where the service is. DS had to select from a particular list and go through an approval process that seemed awfully bureaucratic. So, today he shows up for his first four hours - only to be told that he has to be 16 to volunteer there! He is six weeks too young . . . and they couldnāt figure that out months ago when all the paperwork was getting approved?</p>
<p>glido: Complete get where you are coming fromā¦ There is nothing wrong with encouraging kids to do community service but service needs to come from the heart. The kid has to have a say in where the service is done. I sometimes forget my own advice. A month or so ago I attempted to push my second child into a summer service program my oldest had done last year. She claimed to have no interest in doing it even though it is in an environment she enjoys. She may be trying to make her way apart from what her older sister has done. I finally let it go because it dawned on me(duh!), service canāt be forced and that is what I was doing. She has now found a small thing on her own to do but still could use some more hours at something else. Hmmā¦but that āsomething elseā has to be her idea, not her motherās idea. ;)</p>
<p>Hi all! Iāve been lurking on CC since last fall as I was shepherding my DD12 through the college application process. It has been a real roller coaster ride and eye opener. We were woefully unprepared for how competitive the applicant pool is. After acceptances to schools financially out of our league and 3 rejections, DD was going to attend her safety school (very reluctantly). As soon as she seemed to be making peace and moving on (bought the school tshirt and sticker) she got off the waiting list for her dream school - UNC Chapel Hill. So, weāll be spending lots of time down south this summer.</p>
<p>DS14 is a bit overwhelmed after watching what his sis went through. Weāve been having the service requirements discussion in our household. NHS upped their min hrs from 10 to 20. DS is a sports guy (and a good scholar) so he doesnāt have a lot of down time. It sounds really awful but Iād like him to fit this in this summer and knock it out of the way. Hopefully heāll land in a place that he likes where he can volunteer one night or weekends. He loves little kids so we are trying to find something in that vein.</p>
<p>Anyway, since Iāve finally started sleeping through the night again; I thought Iād join this thread. Hopefully having a bit of support while prepping the second chickie to leave the nest will help with my sanity.<br>
And I can offer tips on what <em>not</em> to do. ;)</p>
<p>Look forward to getting to know you all. ~Sharon</p>
<p>Welcome soh2000! Lurk no more! Way to go for your DD12 ā having lived through waitlist hell, I am so happy for you!</p>
<p>@soh2000ā Welcome! Seeing that you just went through the college app process with your 2012er, any tips/suggestions would be great! </p>
<p>DD14ās school says that they require community service, but I have learned that they really donāt stick to that ruleā¦ most donāt complete the so called ārequiredā hoursā¦ not sure why.</p>
<p>Welcome soh2000! Having gone thru this whole process with DS2011 I know what you mean about doing things differently next time around. Plus DS2011 and DD2014 are two totally different kids - different high schools, interests and looking for different experiences/sizes/majors in college. So basically weāre starting over this time around. Not to mention that the two schools we looked at with DS that would probably most interest DD (UConn and UDel) she missed on our visits so Iāll have to go back with her - especially UDel as Iām sure sheāll love main street!</p>
<p>As for her school requirement for community service, itās a bit unclear at this point. They had all the sophomores fill out CORI forms to be cleared for junior community service which she reports needs to be 23 hours (a really weird number if you ask me!) It needs to be done outside of the school which means the 6-8+ hours a month sheāll put in as one of the schoolās Food Pantry Coordinators doesnāt count. While Iād love her to get it completed this summer when she has the time, it depends upon what ācountsā. She could help with our community theatre company for service hours but working in the attic of an old building sorting costumes is best NOT done in the summer! On the other hand, she can also help with choreographing or directing the younger kids in their show, but Iām not sure how the school will look at that - or when weāll know more!</p>
<p>Today is a half day for her as the school lets out early due to graduation today! Then one more week of classes left. She heads to HOBY on Friday which is great and sheās so excited - only problem is itās the first day of exams so sheāll have to take her last two exams on the makeup day. Luckily theyāre probably her two easiest (math and religion!) so sheās not too worried about those. More concerned about not having the weekend of HOBY to study for the others before them, especially English and history. I canāt believe sophomore year is almost done!</p>
<p>Welcome soh2000! I look forward to learning from your experience with your 2012 - along with all of the members who have been through this before!</p>
<p>akmom124 - regarding community service - when ds was in private school, they allowed church service (altar servers, ushers, lectors, etc.) as community service hours. They encouraged them to go beyond that, but at least he was able to get some hours for providing music at mass. In his public high school, it appears that they allow them to volunteer to work the concession stands at sporting events. They also have opportunities like ringing bells for Salvation Army at Christmas and the Christmas gift wrapping at the mall.</p>
<p>It is interesting the timing of the school years. My sonās schoolās last official day was 5/25 - but he was out by Tuesday of last week. They have incentives for students with good attendance - they donāt have to take the final exam if they are happy with their grade. Doesnāt make sense to me, but the students sure love it!</p>
<p>I also find it interesting how there are so many different ways that schools calculate GPA. And how one school weights AP classes, Pre-AP classes and regular classes. Our school weights AP classes A=5, B=4, etc., but no extra weight for Pre-AP classes. While just across the river (same state), does weigh Pre-AP classes A=4.5. I wondered about having my ds take regular instead of Pre-AP to guarantee the higher grade. Then I decided, he needs the challenge and he would be with students of similar goals with the Pre-AP classes.</p>
<p>This week and next ds14 is in an ACT prep class sponsored by the school district. He will be taking the test on June 9th - for the second and hopefully last time! 
He did well on the April test, so if this prep class helps even just a little he will be set. </p>
<p>He also has his 2nd trip to Philmont Scout Ranch planned this summer - a 10 day hike through the mountains of New Mexico. Any other scouts out there? New Mexico is a beautiful place! I will help to transport the scouts to New Mexico, then visit my parents for two weeks. They full-time RV and spend their summer in Eagle Nest. Iām looking forward to the cooler mountain weather! It has been miserable already this summer and I donāt expect it to get much better. We hit highs last year of 118 degrees - YUK!!</p>
<p>Other than those two commitments, DS does not have much else going on this summer - well, other than any āgigsā his rock band can get. Once he gets back from his hike, Iām going to encourage him to look for a part time job to earn some extra spending money.</p>
<p>Iām curious about college maillists. He took the PSAT & PLAN last October. Around January, the influx of college mailings started, then slowly died down. He took the ACT in April and I did not notice any wave of mailings. Are the PSAT and/or PLAN results made available to the colleges, where maybe the ACT is private? </p>
<p>Hope everyone has a great & productive summer - whether itās in summer programs, vacations or working!</p>
<p>Hi beadymom - Interesting about good attendance kids not having to take finals. Wonder what qualifies as āgoodā! At DD14ās school, juniors and seniors who have āAāsā or āA-sā for each of the four quarters are exempt from final exams. DD really wishes theyād extend it to sophomores so she wouldnāt have to take any exams after being away all weekend at HOBY! The only problem for the Juniors is exams start next Friday and the school doesnāt let the kids know until the day before exams if they are exempt! Iām sure some know for certain if they qualify but it theyāre sitting on an A-/B+ for fourth quarter in a class then they wouldnāt know. Given that many of the classes have study guides that need to be prepared for the exams as they count as part of the exam grade it seems kind of unfair not to know a bit farther ahead of time! DD will spend this beautiful half day afternoon studying for tests and trying to complete some of her study guides :)</p>
<p>akmom124 - They are allowed 5 parent permission days for the year (sick days without doctors notes, travel, college visits, etc.). If they have no more than 5 missed days, they can skip the finals. They may also take off additional days to get up to the 5 days, too! So if they had only missed two parent permission days (most of the kids use 2 of those days the week before Christmas), they could take three days at the end of the semester even before the finals. Some kids were out of school a full 6 days before the rest of the class! My son said it was like a ghost town the day or two before finals because everyone was taking off those unused parent permission days. And, since so many kids take off those days, they canāt TEACH anything!! So the kids that had missed days basically sat in the classes and twiddled their thumbs. MUCH different when I went to that same school many years ago!!</p>
<p>Itās a shame they donāt notify the kids that are exempt at your school earlier so they wouldnāt have to do the study guides. Maybe if they were certain of their grade they could take a chance that they would be exempt! Good luck to her on her finals! Maybe she wonāt have to take them next year!! :)</p>
<p>soh2000 - Welcome to the party. 
</p>
<p>As you stated regarding your 12, it was quite a ride. It will be for our 14ās but you are now in good company on this thread and we will captain this voyage to support and assist everyone whoās come aboard. We went through the process with S11 and are now preparing for D14. The class of 2014 Common Application season opens in just 14 months! :eek: And the SS Indecision sets sail in just 22 months! </p>
<p>And a belated welcome aboard to all other new posters here on the Class of 2014 thread. :)</p>
<p>Welcome soh2000! </p>
<p>beadymom: There is a box the kids have to check on the tests if they want college mailings. Virtually all of the tests (ACT, SAT, PSAT, Subjects tests, AP exams) have it. The testing companies sell addresses (both snail and email) to colleges, but it takes a few months after a test for the info to get out to the schools. The colleges buy info for kids within certain ranges of scores, but they do not get anybodyās exact score on any test. The mailings come in waves either way. One thing you can be sure of is that by Thanksgiving of their senior year you will have a mountain of college brochures if you save them all!</p>
<p>Nice to know there are some new parents to share their experiences! Welcome! We have two more weeks of school. Next week is supposed to be ādeadā week but D14 has two quizzes, two papers due and then finals to study for. Iām expecting a cranky alien to abduct my daughter any moment! D14 was at the HOBY (Hugh OāBrien Youth Leadership) weekend here in Oregon. An absolutely transforming experience and I highly recommend it for those of you who have younger kids at home. In light of the discussion on community service, HOBY puts a completely different spin on it that inspires kids to take on leadership roles and make a difference because it makes them better pepole. I have trouble with the idea of ārequiredā service. It defeats the purpose. Much better to model good citizenry at home ā just like reading ā kids catch on. D14 will be attending HOBYās World Congress in Chicago this summer and is very excited to meet kids from all over the world. Putting the onus on her to commit prep time to the SAT and ACT for fall tests. Weāre going to visit some schools in the mid-west when weāre in Chicago (iām tagging along to visit friends while sheās at HOBY). There have been some multi-school sessions here in town - Stanford/Harvard/Duke/Penn and another one with Case-Western/Emory, Univ. of Rochester/Brandeis. Sheās learning to look beyond the "marketeers"although itās clear that some of the reps are much better than others in getting students excited. One thing she didnāt like was the ātoneā many of the schools are taking about merit aid. There is a āmightier than thouā approach that need-based aid has more merit than need-based aid. Why make hard-working students feel unworthy just because their parents have an income that eliminates the need for financial aid? Iām sure thereās plenty to argue here on both sides of the coin.</p>
<p>I meant to say that āneed based aid has more merit than merit based aidā¦ā</p>
<p>pdxsuzanne: Youāll find that, generally speaking, the ābetterā or more highly ranked the school, the less likely they are to feel that they need to give merit aid. The more people are willing to pay full price for the name, the less they need to convince students to attend with merit $. However, there are still lots of great schools that do give good money. Itās just a balancing act, finding the schools where your kid is at the top of the candidate pile, but will still be academically challenging and a good fit. It can be done though!</p>
<p>Thatās great advice, and I wish Iād thought more about it last fall! Things are finally settled for my D12 (going to a UC and weāre in California so not exactly āaffordableā, but at least ādo-ableā) and I guess Iāll need to start down the road with D14!</p>
<p>I think she was a little traumatized by the drama her big sister stirred up over the whole process! Maybe I am too! </p>
<p>Theyāre such different kids, with different strengths and interests - itāll be starting all over again from scratch.</p>
<p>Pacnwmomof2: Youāre right. And itās a lot of work going through each schoolās Common Data Set to find out how much, if any merit aid is available. Itās interesting hearing parents say theyāre student got a āfull rideā which is true because they were accepted and qualifed for need-based aid. Yet another student who probably could get in but doesnāt qualify for need-based aid is shut out based on what their parents do/didānot because of what they accomplished.</p>
<p>Long day. I meant ātheir student got a full rideāā¦slapped by the grammar gods.</p>
<p>pdxsuzanne - Our D will be attending the local HOBY program next week and is also registered for the Chicago program in July. She is very much looking forward to both programs.</p>
<p>Regarding merit and need aid, I have to concur that the more selective or āhighly rankedā schools tend to have less merit aid and more āneedā aid. Some of the highly selective schools provide āneedā aid grants to families with fairly high income levels (some up to the $200K level with virtually āfull aidā for families at $60K or less). We were quite surprised what we were offered given our family income situation as I own my own business. It turned out the private college that our S-11 is attending is only about $7,000 more per year than either of the two state schools he was also admitted to. I originally didnāt think it was even worth the time to apply for FA but I am now a surprised and pleased parent with regards to the FA process and I urge everyone to apply and see what happens.</p>