<p>Hey all, sorry if this has been discussed already, but I have a question. My D14, is signed up to take ACT in April. She is on varsity soccer now, and is having a busy first semester of school. Soccer should end by Nov. So we figured that would give her studying time, and ACT class taking time, to try it first in April. Is there anything wrong with that approach? She can retake it again in Sept of senior year. That should be enuf time for scores to be sent, even if she applies EA to a school? Just want to make sure I am not missing something important. Thanks, any info appreciated</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That seem like a reasonable approach to mo. There is certainly no sense in forcing the test during soccer season when she wonāt be as focused or prepared as next spring. She could take the test in February and again at the end of the school year rather than waiting until April. That would give her a better perspective of her strengths and weaknesses so she could focus her summer prep work for the fall test dates.</p>
<p>Best success to all taking the SAT! :)</p>
<p>In addition to have a Barnard freshman, I have a son who is a high school junior. He didnāt take school very seriously until the middle of 9th grade. At that time, some teachers called him out at conferences for working far below his capabilities. They started holding him accountable and he suddenly got motivated to do really well and has had a 4.0 since. He is challenging himself this term with APUSH, AP Bio and AP Psych. He also has Pre-Calc and 11th grade English. Our school only offers 6 AP classes and he will take 5 of them between Jr and Sr years. Thankfully, tennis season just ended because he was going from school to tennis to home for dinner and then spending the entire evening doing homework. He is not a Type A kid like my daughter was and it has been getting to him. He will benefit from the down time after school now. </p>
<p>In Michigan, all juniors take the ACT as part of the Michigan Merit Exam, for free. Thatās in March. My daughter took it in December so that she could see where her strengths and weaknesses were in preparation for the March exam. She didnāt improve much from December to March and THEN took the SAT in June and in October with SAT IIs in there somewhere too. It was all a blur to meā¦lol. It was the Science part of the ACT that was bringing her composite down. Her SAT scores were significantly better so she never sent the ACT scores in at all. </p>
<p>My sonās class was told that they are part of an experimental program and will actually take the ACT twice, for free. Bonus! I guess theyāre taking it sometime in October. He hasnāt prepared at all because this was just sprung on us this week. Weāre going to consider this a āpracticeā test to see what he needs to do for March. It should be interesting. </p>
<p>He is scheduled for the PSAT this month too. Iām hoping he just does these free ACTs and the PSAT and calls it a day.</p>
<p>Sounds good! I hope your daughter enjoys Barnard. I attended my 25th Barnard reunion in May. The only problem with your son picking up the pace is that he might become eligible for a school as competitive and pricey as Barnard and you might struggle to pay for both. Iām still struggling with the fact that I encouraged my D13 to challenge herself academically to the point that she is eligible for entry at many competitive schools, nearly all of which are beyond my means due to differences in opinion between FA offices and the reality of raising a large family and hoping to retire someday.</p>
<p>^At least she is a better student and likely a better individual for all her hard work, which will surely help her later in life. Also, miracles do happen sometimes :)</p>
<p>I/ many of my friends in the US are trying to get tests done āearlyā in the school year- so by the end of 1st semester in Jan. so weāre more free in 2nd term to visit places or participate in activities that culminate in say March/April/May. This year, I had to juggle my ātest run SATā with AP exams and also a very important activity in May (they all happened in the same 2 weeks! :-o ). Needless to say, it was very stressful and I missed out on a competition I was planning to also participate in then and pulled an all nighter packing for the other activity. No fun at all!</p>
<p>ELKeys - try the SAT too. Some kids do better on that one and it can easily be financially worth it to send in their best test. You donāt need to send in both.</p>
<p>She can take old tests at home to prep (or even to see which test she prefers).</p>
<p>Retaking senior year happens, but it can delay the college application process for rolling admission (and merit aid) schools. Itās fine for regular decision schools.</p>
<p>Thanks Creekland. If she retakes the ACT test in Sept, and EA apps are due in November-Dec, I think she can send everything else in, and just have the school waiting for second ACT grade?</p>
<p>She should be fine, but there are schools (Pittsburgh comes to mind) where both the admission and merit aid are mostly rolling. Getting things in there in Nov is likely to be fine for admissions, but not so terrific for merit aid.</p>
<p>MOST schools are not this way, I just wanted to throw out the warning as a possibility so people can check the schools they are interested in and be prepared accordingly.</p>
<p>If the first ACT score doesnāt show her potential, I wouldnāt send it anywhere. First impressions can count. If itās solid for schools sheās looking at, then send it. Anything better will only improve things. If the first score is great, thereās no need to retake in the fall (unless slightly better will do better for merit aid - my oldest fell in that category - no problem with acceptance with his first score, but the second brought better merit aid options at one of his schools).</p>
<p>I just looked at DDās school calendar and the testing schedules for both the SAT and ACT. I was hoping she could take the January SAT but itās a Food Pantry distribution morning and she has to be there so thatās out. Probably not that bad a thing as that SAT date is only a couple of weeks after her mid-terms and sheāll be spending Christmas vacation doing study guides and getting ready for mid-terms. So it looks like it will be March for SATās and April for the ACT. That should give her plenty of time between now and then to study! Just got to get her motivated to do it in her limited āfreeā time.</p>
<p>As for SAT subject tests, Iām thinking it will be June. It looks like the May test date is right before her APUSH and AP Spanish tests and she wonāt be able to study for math which is the one test Iām sure sheāll be taking. That means one test of each in the spring and September 2013 ACT and October 2013 SAT. So two tries at each test one one go-round for subject tests. Luckily it seems that many of the schools sheās looking at are test-optional but looking for merit aid sheāll hopefully do well enough to send them in!</p>
<p>My D took the APUSH test and the SAT II in US History within a few weeks of each other and she was really glad she did. She did well on that SAT II also.</p>
<p>My son says that heās really not interested in attending any school that requires the SAT II, but I think Iāll encourage him to take the U.S. History one either in December (we have state testing the following week so heāll be primed for it) or January and the Math 2 II in June. He is not taking it in May, because the test is the same day his older brother graduates from college. I would rather have him take two SAT II exams and not need them than not take them, find a school that requires them and then rush to take them and not do well.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, he is taking a lot of the weekend off and getting some much needed sleep ā although he does have some AP work to do for Tuesday. Mondayās a teacher workday, so he does have a bit of a break.</p>
<p>Happy Weekend everyone!</p>
<p>Need some advice. Yale is having a multicultural open house later this month. Its an all day event. Tours, lunch, spiels from adcomsā¦ etc etc etc. DD14 is ADAMANT about not wanting to apply to Yale. I think going to the event would be a great way to see Yale from a different point of view. We live in New Haven, and live literally a stones throw away so she isnāt so impressed with it. She also wants to get out of New Haven for college. I just think its a good idea to go, just to see what they have to offerā¦ should I make her go to the event? She doesnāt want to go.</p>
<p>I should also add that I made her go to an open house @ Wesleyan last November, she went kicking, screaming/poutingā¦ and she ended up loving it! Wants to apply there.</p>
<p>NewHavenCTMom - Suggest that she attend so she will have a baseline for comparison of other schools - not because you want her to apply there. Play down any desire for her to consider Yale (although it is a tremendous school with countless programs and opportunities) and emphasize the ability to use in comparing other schools. Recommend the program only because its local and easy to get to - nothing more. Good luck. If you convince her to go, maybe she will be pleasantly surprised again. :)</p>
<p>@AvonHSDad- Great advice. We had a chat yesterday before I left for work. Upon waking this morning, she announced that she would go. I gave her an āairā high five and didnāt make a big deal about her change of heart. For fear that she would change her mind again. 
Teenagers, can be such a frustrating, fickle bunch!</p>
<p>The past 2 admissions cycles, 2 kids were accepted into Yale from her school. Not sure what their stats were but I know that one young woman matriculated and the young man from this past year(asian, VERY smart, 5ās on all his AP tests, well liked) wasnāt sure about his plans when I last spoke to him in the spring. Those adcoms tend to like our kids. I hope she attends the event with an open mind, likes what she sees and applies(as long as she has the right stats). Lets keep our fingers crossed!</p>
<p>I discussed it with my daughter and we have decided she should take the ACT first in Feb. The only issue with that, is the testing site that offers it that day, is not that close. But this way , she can retake in April or June, and we will have 2 test scores before the summer. Thanks for all the suggestions.</p>
<p>Anyone have a crystal ball I could borrow, so I would know whether itās worth it to nag D to prep for the PSAT or not? Her life is so busy with all the AP homework and ECās that thereās not much free time. How to know if she could hit that NMSF score or notā¦</p>
<p>MImama, I wouldnāt have her bother studying. The kids who do well on the PSAT, are either gifted or great test takers. Donāt put the added stress on her. See where she falls on her own.</p>
<p>MImama, if you think she could be close to that NMSF score, perhaps have her do one practice test if she can find the time, and go over the incorrect answers from it. That alone will probably boost her score by a few points because she will already be familiar with the format and how to manage her time. For my older son, a single session with a private tutor proved quite helpful as she had a number of time management tips and other test taking suggestions which my DS found helpful. He did barely make NMSF, so for us that was worth the time invested. He did one practice test at home, then met with the tutor to go over it and get test-taking advice.</p>
<p>On prep for PSAT
With K1 we didnāt even think of prepāand NMF wasnāt something we worried aboutābecause I guess we didnāt know what the point wasā¦naiive perhaps.
K1 did very little in the way of review/prep for the SAT and the ACT turned out to be a better formatā¦though K1 also did 3 SAT2s in Calc, Physics and Chemā¦
Landed fine in HYP</p>
<p>For K2 I would like to see a bit of prep however I tend to agree with ELKyes hereā¦timing vs pressure etc
I want K2 to review for the sake of familiarityā¦not NMF etcā¦
and if it canāt be done asapā¦then I spent $ on a big book on the desk for nothing :(</p>
<p>The Path to Becoming a National Merit Scholar</p>
<p>The National Merit Scholarship competition lasts 18 months, beginning with the PSAT in October of your junior year of high school. Students must pass several qualifying stages to become eligible for a scholarship.</p>
<p>Program Recognition Students. In April, following the October PSAT, about 50,000 top scorers are selected out of about 1.5 million entrants. If you are a Program Recognition Student, your high school will be notified, and you will select two colleges to be notified at a later date if you become a finalist.</p>
<p>Commended Students. In late September, about two thirds of the Program Recognition Students receive Letters of Commendation. Although Commended Students do not continue in the competition for Merit Scholarships, some become candidates for āSpecial Scholarshipsā sponsored by corporations and businesses.</p>
<p>Semifinalists. In early September, the National Merit Scholarship semifinalists are announced. The semifinalists are the highest scoring entrants from each state. If you are one of them, you will receive the National Merit Scholarship application, along with instructions and requirements. The requirements include keeping up your grades in your junior and senior years of high school, doing well on the SAT, writing a letter describing yourself, and submitting letters of recommendation from adults in your high school who know you well.</p>
<p>Finalists. In February of your senior year, if you have met all the requirements, you may be named a finalist. If you are, your high school will be notified and so will the two colleges you named earlier. About 15,000 finalists are selected. Reaching this level of recognition is noteworthy.</p>
<p>Winners. Finally, about half of the finalists are named āMerit Scholarsā and receive National Merit Scholarships. These winners are notified beginning in March.</p>