Parents of the HS Class of 2014

Parents of Class of 20xx
1581

<p>NewHavenCTmom: She should try both the ACT and the SAT. Some kids just do better on one than the other. They both have a math section and a lot of success on the tests is familiarity with how the questions are asked. She can look at review questions online and look at review books as well. I don’t believe that either test goes as far as precalc in the math section, so she’ll have covered all the math she needs.</p>

<p>The science section of the ACT is really measuring how the student can interpret data and read graphs. There’s not really that much hard science. Ironically, my son, who aced the AP and SAT subject tests in Bio and Chem, got his lowest score of all four sections on the ACT on the Science section! He said he wasted too much time trying to read more into the questions than they required. Again, if he’d done more than look at his review books on his shelf, he might have known what they were looking for!</p>

1582

<p>NewHavenMom: You asked about ACT v. SAT. I think the best way to know is to take practice versions of each and see.
“DD14 took the CAPT test this past March(one of those stupid state tests that all public school sophomores are required to take) and I recieved the scores last night…she did above average for her school and the district for Reading, Writing and Science… but she is at grade level for math.”
This made me wonder about doing some work when she gets home to evaluate and see where the gaps are and get her feet under her in preparation for Math next year. There are lots of Online programs, but I would start with [ALEKS</a> - Free Trial](<a href=“ALEKS – Adaptive Learning & Assessment for Math, Chemistry, Statistics & More”>ALEKS - Free Trial)</p>

<p>[Alcumus</a> - Alcumus Instructions](<a href=“http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Alcumus/Instructions.php#getting_started]Alcumus”>http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Alcumus/Instructions.php#getting_started) is free, and they are known for their depth. Just be prepared that their Algebra 1 is probably harder than most school’s Algebra 2.</p>

<p>Another way to go is to have her take the Math SAT prep in the College Board “Official SAT Study Guide.” and then go here to check the ones she got wrong. She’ll learn a lot of math and help herself on the SAT also [Khan</a> Academy](<a href=“Khan Academy | Free Online Courses, Lessons & Practice”>Khan Academy | Free Online Courses, Lessons & Practice)</p>

<p>Does she have much time between returning from Camp and starting school?
Smiles,
ParentSparkle</p>

1583

<p>Hope everyone’s summer is going well. DD’14 is enjoying performing arts camp and relaxing on weekends. Was very pleased with her report card and her SATII WH score but is anxiously awaiting her APWH score. Hoping it comes in the mail before Saturday!</p>

<p>Starting to look at the calendar for the next academic year and was wonder when your kids are planning to take the SATs? After the PSAT in Oct, I was thinking DD would take the March SAT after a Jan/Feb prep course but now I see the school musical is slated for that weekend, which I know she wants to be a part of. So now I am wondering if she should be considering January and/or May (which will coincide for prepping the APs – of which she’ll take 3!). Really only want her to take it a couple of times. And also considering possibly trying the ACT. How are you plotting out tests for your Juniors next year?</p>

1584

<p>Pink - Personally, having been through the hades of Jr year before with a pretty unflappable kid (who nearly came unhinged by the end of May), I would say earlier is better. Our plan is to do a November or December SAT after the October PSAT. After we get the scores back and identify where he needs more study/possible tutoring we will plan on an April 2nd run. May is just too high pressure with AP prep (we made the mistake of a FIRST SAT run in May with S2! in the midst of proms and APs). June will be SAT2’s. If he needs another run we’ll plan on the October test date. Not sure what we’re doing about the ACT. </p>

<p>Oh, how I wish SAT would run a September test date!! If your student is thinking about ED/EA anywhere they only have the October date to get there on time, and it has to be sent blindly (ie. you can’t wait to see the scores and decide if you want them sent, you must choose to have them sent prior to the test or they will not arrive on time). If your student needs another testing in the fall you only have time for SAT or SAT2’s, not both. The ACT kindly offers a Sept test date.</p>

1585

<p>NewHavenMom: You asked about ACT v. SAT. I think the best way to know is to take practice versions of each and see.
“DD14 took the CAPT test this past March(one of those stupid state tests that all public school sophomores are required to take) and I recieved the scores last night…she did above average for her school and the district for Reading, Writing and Science… but she is at grade level for math.”
This made me wonder about doing some work when she gets home to evaluate and see where the gaps are and get her feet under her in preparation for Math next year. There are lots of Online programs, but I would start with [ALEKS</a> - Free Trial](<a href=“ALEKS – Adaptive Learning & Assessment for Math, Chemistry, Statistics & More”>ALEKS - Free Trial)</p>

<p>[Alcumus</a> - Alcumus Instructions](<a href=“http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Alcumus/Instructions.php#getting_started]Alcumus”>http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Alcumus/Instructions.php#getting_started) is free, and they are known for their depth. Just be prepared that their Algebra 1 is probably harder than most school’s Algebra 2.</p>

<p>Another way to go is to have her take the Math SAT prep in the College Board “Official SAT Study Guide.” and then go here to check the ones she got wrong. She’ll learn a lot of math and help herself on the SAT also [Khan</a> Academy](<a href=“Khan Academy | Free Online Courses, Lessons & Practice”>Khan Academy | Free Online Courses, Lessons & Practice)</p>

<p>Does she have much time between returning from Camp and starting school?
Smiles,
ParentSparkle</p>

1586

<p>Hello all-- Congrats to all of the 2014ers who are doing so well in the their courses/tests! Its nice to have a place like this to come to…when I mention college to other parents in my neighborhood/at dd14’s school, they look at me as if I have a hole about the head. </p>

<p>DD14 will take the SAT in early October. Then the PSAT on that October date(I believe its the 17th. All New Haven Public School juniors will now sit for the March SAT. Its mandatory as of this past March. So she will have time between Oct and March to study and see where she needs to bulk up. She was putting some pretty good effort into studying with the BB and a few sites prior to her departure to her summer program. I wish that writing was taken more seriously by the HSC’s. She is a wonderful writer and its a shame that they poo poo that score. </p>

<p>Thanks for all the advice on the ACT and she will do a few practice runs and maybe take it in the winter. Just to see how well she does. Its so sad that they have so little time left to squeeze all of this stuff in in a timely manner. The school year flies by so quickly. They have so much on their plates that it seems unfair to ask them to sit for this test or that test and then retest. On top of AP tests in the spring. I know it will be all worth it in the end.</p>

1587

<p>@Parentsparkle–</p>

<p>Yes she does have some time, but she will be doing a week long journalism program at Yale University. So we will see how it all works out.</p>

1588

<p>With my older son, he did the October PSAT, December/January SAT and ACT, May APs and June SAT IIs. That worked for him. We had him study and have a little tutoring before the December/January tests, and that worked well, as he didn’t have to re-take which really relaxed things. Adding a retake of the SAT or ACT spring of Junior year or fall of senior year really adds to the pressure. S2 is at camp for July, but we plan to have him spend some time in August studying for tests while he has the time. He’ll probably do the Chemistry SAT II in October as he took the class last year but needs to self-study some additional material, and the summer is probably the best opportunity for that, if we can sufficiently motivate him. My older S did that one in June of Junior year under similar circumstances (having to self-study some of the material) and that’s not actually an awful time because once the APs happen in early May, those classes lighten up substantially around here. But I’d rather S2 do it earlier than later if possible. I actually wanted him to do it last January after finishing the chemistry class first semester, but he didn’t feel ready.</p>

1589

<p>Blue Iguana, thanks for the insight. So will your dc do any prep for the Nov or Dec SAT? I am wondering if I should sign DD up for a prep course starting end of Aug. On the other hand, I’ve heard putting $$ towards a tutor who can focus on problem areas is a better bet. So far her only exposure has been the PSAT in soph year, another unofficial PSAT through the local library, and waiting for the College Board SAT study guide to arrive which I’m hoping she’ll work with somewhat over the next couple of months on her own.</p>

1590

<p>I asked s if he wanted some input on testing schedule and he said not really. I told him I would avoid sports, prom graduation etc. </p>

<p>He is taking advantage of summer to do some sat prep. We have a starting place from soph. PSAT and he has made progress. I hope to sign him up for oct. sat but he runs Xc. I think it is jv only that sat. So he can skip. PSAT in oct. plan b is nov. sat if he doesn’t want to miss his friends running. </p>

<p>I am planning on feb. act. Definitely avoiding April And may. Because of spring sports and ap tests. Possible retake in June. </p>

<p>He will have a hard time putting in study time during the year</p>

1591

<p>I’ve found from reviews from friends that general SAT prep classes can be a waste. Our approach with S2 was to have him self study with the ‘big blue book’. If we found he was not meeting his goals we would put money into a tutor for the specific areas he needed help in. We’ve heard this is much more effective, and I tend to agree with this. Our older son was able to meet his goals by studying on his own, but he was very disciplined and really put the time in. He wasn’t after a 2300+, nor did he earn that, but it was very good.</p>

<p>With S3 we will start this way, having him study prior to the first test (that’s why a Nov/Dec date, not Oct). I’m not a proponent of taking one cold…that’s what the soph PSAT was for. Other’s disagree and that’s okay. If we find his self studying just isn’t going to cut it, we will look into a tutor for needed areas.</p>

<p>I hope this helps. Everyone has to find a system that works for their child, with their workload/EC’s, and their study habits. One size does not fit all, but having a starting point does help.</p>

1592

<p>Interesting. We won’t be able to rely solely on self-study. She may spend some time with the big blue book this summer, however she is so involved in ECs and will be taking 3APs – I know she won’t have the bandwith to study on her own come fall. I think some kind of weekend class for her first shot at the SAT might work and then some tutoring sessions for a subsequent SAT might work well for us.</p>

<p>Glad I’m taking the time to look at the calendar now. With midterms the week before the Jan SAT, the musical the day of the March SAT, and AP prep around the May SAT…Nov, Dec, & June look like the only realistic possibilities…</p>

1593

<p>^ Very smart to look ahead and plan, taking into account your DD’s learning style and how she will best succeed! Sounds like you are making great choices for her. I wish I had been ahead of the ball with S2, lol! Everything turned out fine (loving his first choice U!), but it could have been easier. I’m trying to learn from that.</p>

1594

<p>I’m not sure how to approach the timing of the testing with my 2014er but am finding the plans you are sharing to be helpful.</p>

<p>I have a 2014er studying overseas this summer(i.e. no time to do studying or test prep related to life in the USA), returning home in August days before the start of the fall high school sports season with less than one month to knock off summer AP homework from four courses and hopefully engaging in necessary ACT/SAT test prep. Then school begins with sports practice every day after school and 3 days before school, 3 clubs, one of which has real responsibilities due to holding an officer position, musical instrument practice, studying for four AP classes, 1 college class, while maintaining enough brain power to pull off ACT/SAT prep and meeting scholarship deadlines for future overseas study scholarship which include enough essay writing to somewhat resemble a college application. The end of the fall sport then brings the beginning of the winter sport. One bright spot is no spring sport</p>

<p>I have to wonder how scholarly, musical, athletic, leadership type kids pull this off without having a nervous breakdown. My high school experience was not like this. I was actually well rested unlike so many kids today. I’d prefer my child not be a walking zombie during the day but how does one avoid that?</p>

1595

<p>

</p>

<p>I’m in this camp as well. </p>

<p>If your child may be looking at very competitive schools, they may insist on seeing all scores. They also seem to prefer if the student achieved high scores in only one or two sittings. </p>

<p>IMO, instead of paying for them to test cold, have them take a sample at home under test conditions, and save your money for when they’re “ready”.</p>

1596

<p>

</p>

<p>My 2011er was overseas for a month before junior year, and was a camp counselor for the entire summer before senior year. That year he had to do all his AP homework at camp during his very limited time off! He just finished freshman year of college and is soooo happy not to have any summer homework :)</p>

<p>My 2014er is away for 3.5 weeks this summer but then has nothing really going on, so relatively speaking, “lots” of time to do the homework and test prep. Unfortunately, his AP teachers have created mid-summer deadlines for many of the pieces, including one major English project due less than a week after he arrives home (exhausted no doubt), and there’s really no way he can work on it before he gets home. So he’ll have some early stress, but then a relatively easy August with plenty of time to relax in addition to doing his work.</p>

1597

<p>I wish I had considered that more before letting my child take the ACT cold. On the other hand, sometimes a kid has the big head about how they are going to rock the test with no practice and needs to see the cold, hard evidence from someone other than mom that prep will be necessary. ;)</p>

1598

<p>^^^ very true college4many, and sometimes well worth the cost and minor disadvantages of having a lower score on record</p>

1599

<p>Absolutely! This is their process. We can give them the facts, advise what we feel is in their best interest, but in the end they are the ones that have to buy into it…or not.</p>

1600

<p>College4many "
I’m not sure how to approach the timing of the testing with my 2014er but am finding the plans you are sharing to be helpful.</p>

<p>I have a 2014er studying overseas this summer(i.e. no time to do studying or test prep related to life in the USA), returning home in August days before the start of the fall high school sports season with less than one month to knock off summer AP homework from four courses and hopefully engaging in necessary ACT/SAT test prep. Then school begins with sports practice every day after school and 3 days before school, 3 clubs, one of which has real responsibilities due to holding an officer position, musical instrument practice, studying for four AP classes, 1 college class, while maintaining enough brain power to pull off ACT/SAT prep and meeting scholarship deadlines for future overseas study scholarship which include enough essay writing to somewhat resemble a college application. The end of the fall sport then brings the beginning of the winter sport. One bright spot is no spring sport</p>

<p>I have to wonder how scholarly, musical, athletic, leadership type kids pull this off without having a nervous breakdown. My high school experience was not like this. I was actually well rested unlike so many kids today. I’d prefer my child not be a walking zombie during the day but how does one avoid that?"</p>

<p>I think most zombies are caused by facebook/xbox during study hours, as much as the actual work load. 2 sports+plus serious musical instrument sounds more like a kid who is doing what he loves and less like a kid who is packaging himself for maximum college chances at the highest level. Doing what he loves has real appeal. But he won’t impress those most lottery-like schools unless he is ‘State Level’ in a sport or music, and even then, he’ll have a 5% chance - is that worth him giving up what he loves to hone a single track?</p>

<p>I think part of growing up is figuring out how much is ‘too much.’ My guess is that your child may well find out this year. I think that a lot of colleges would rather see a kid having a full life without time for SAT/ACT prep than stellar SAT/ACT scores, the same way that they might question a kid who took AP tests without the AP classes: What didn’t you do during the time you were self-teaching AP material, and if you gave up alot, does that fact that you make that choice mean you’ll be a dull person to have on campus? ((Obviously this doesn’t apply to kids who have meaningful ECs and just happen to be smart enough to get 5s on AP without a lot of prep.))</p>

<p>I don’t think that most kids need SAT prep to get into most good fit colleges (and this opinion is based on no solid experience) and it’s only the very weird little bubble that is occurring around the top ‘lottery’ schools that is making SAT prep seem like the normal thing to do.</p>

<p>I had to face this similar thing when my son didn’t want to try and get a Junior year internship in a Lab or do Science Fair or Science Olympiad. He wants to play basketball, be in the school musical, and concentrate on his grades. My kid isn’t State level in <em>any</em> thing. So that makes him a much less serious contender for the Engineering Lottery schools, but it helps him make good use of the resources of High School, and he still has that ‘lottery’ chance. As long as I keep the long term goal of him growing into the best person he can be in the front of my mind and don’t get sucked into the ‘Most competitive college possible will lead to the best life possible’ mindframe, I think he is making the right choice for him. Mostly.</p>

<p>Hope that helps,
PS</p>