@nw2this Pretty good summary by @greeny8 I think. Since you have Naviance, you will probably do things through there. Not all school’s buy the same Naviance features, but I would hope it talks to the common app. Steps are just like @greeny8 described, but you do that through Naviance, except for the FERPA acceptance. I don’t remember, do you have a GC or College Counselor?
Also, if you’re applying EA/ED anywhere I would line up LORs this spring before school is out.
@greeny8 …look up the Museum Hack! They are on Groupon and the reviews on Trip Advisor are fantastic…it looks really fun! D was excited about our trip but admitted to not looking forward to hours wading through museums. This looks like a fun and engaging way to see at least a little bit!
In our district APs are paid for by the school and are required to get credit for the class. Near the end of the first semester the AP teachers hand out “tap-out letters” (what my D calls them). Students must sign a document committing to taking the AP exam or the sign the “tap-out letter” which is a pre-approved request to transfer to the honors level of the class for the second semester.
I just found this thread, it’s my first time here. Do I go back and read from the beginning when this was started 3 years ago? Or just start today? My DD got a 34 on ACT first time, but only 32 on math portion. Should she take it again? Should she take the SATs also. She has a 98 unweighted average. Any advise would be helpful.
@“Queen’s Mom” …well I’m just a newbie here too but that sounds like a fantastic score! Congrats! From what I have learned here on CC that is a great score for most schools and a great score for merit aid at most schools. What type of schools are you looking at and how important is merit aid in your search?
Welcome @QueensMom. That is a great score! How’d she do on the PSAT? That may help to determine whether to take the SAT. Also, how did she prep for the ACT?
Eh, 1440.
I’d ride that ACT 
@“Queen’s Mom” …sounds like she may be in National Merit finalist territory? If so, she will need to take the SAT unless she has taken it already. Or will you not be pursuing NMF $$ at all?
@carachel2
We are in NY, and it looks like she just may miss the cutoff for NMF.
@“Queen’s Mom” …ouch! That’s painful! Still a fantastic score. What colleges/degrees, etc. is she considering?
@carachel2 She wants to go to an Ivy or top tier. Told her she needs to think reality and safety schools a little more.
Awesome! Good luck to you both!
@QueensMom Good advice for your D! Can’t hurt to throw an application at an Ivy if you are pretty competitive, and a 34 is part of that puzzle that makes for a competitive candidate. Only a part, though. Some good Matches and Safeties are always a good idea.
Welcome QueenMom. 
@queenmom My son is in a similar spot, with a 34 ACT, but a 31 in Math. He is applying for engineering, so he decided to retake the ACT because it seems like the math score is the most important for that major. He just finished pre-calc and thinks he can score higher in math. I told him if he likes the automatic merit aid schools, like Temple, then there is no point, but it he wants to shoot higher it is his decision. So I’d say it depends on what your daughter plans to major in, but 34 is a very good score and as I reminded my son there is no guarantee the score won’t go down.
Our kids are told to ask for LoR 3 weeks in advance, but DS will probably ask before the end of school this year. He’ll ask his AP Physics teacher and either his APUSH teacher or AP Language teacher. What @greeny8 said matches how our GC described the Naviance process for LoR to us.
@carachel2 We went to DC last Spring Break, and I got a lot of great advice here about fun things to do. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1744424-washington-dc-with-a-grumpy-tween-p1.html Have fun!
Welcome @QueensMom !! A 34 on the ACT sounds great. Unless her planned major is very math intense, I think she’s good to go. Most colleges don’t superscore the ACT, but some do say they look at the highest subscore in each category, which is kind of like superscoring.
@queensmom - Welcome to the group. my advice is retake ACT to improve on math unless she is planning to apply non-STEM majors.
Science Olympiad is a good and fun competition. My S’s team is nationally ranked, so getting into the team itself is highly competitive and kids are expected to spend good amount of time preparing. They also go to 2 invitationals. Teachers use the performance @ invitationals to select the teams. Certain events have more competition than others.
@QueensMom I didn’t go back to the beginning of this thread when I joined-I lurked for about a week, then jumped in mid stream. You have to paddle fast just to keep up sometimes :).
Congrats to your kid on the scores!