@payn4ward wow, I cannnot stand something other than food/dishes on the dining table!! I love organization! But somehow I’m blind to all the dust. Our house is very neat and dusty… 
@stlarenas - I have not read the replies, so I might be duplicating some of them. I would not let my kid stay enrolled in a class where the grade outcome will be a C. There are colleges that rescind admission if the student got a single C in any senior year trimester or semester.
@MACncheez, uhm, liar liar pants on fire? ;))
@oldbrookie. I am so glad that I set down my drink before reading your response! 
At Thanksgiving dinner, Rod passed the mac across the dinner table, got a concussion on game day, and woke up thoroughly disoriented.
^oh I also forgot about senior prom, another big expense.
@mommdc – it is probably best that none of us sit here and tally up the expenses—too upsetting! AP exams will cost me more than Prom, but I have a boy, so less expensive to outfit, and no hair appointment!
@stlarenas If you are 100% sure her colleges won’t care then sure drop it but I would be VERY sure because dropping an AP and math could be a deal breaker for many schools. Otherwise like everyone else I’d say stick it out in BC and get a group together for a tutor. Our school has about 10 kids per year who take BC as a junior and they make good money the next year tutoring their peers in Calc plus tutoring those in Physics C which is calc based. My daughter has to turn down clients to do her own work 
The school counselors recommend these students here so perhaps ask them? Even if she just pulls a C all year if she has to take it next year in college it will certainly help having already been exposed to the concepts.
No hair, no pedi, no makeup, no dress. Sad mama :((
At least AP exam fees will reduce college costs (to the extent sufficient scores are obtained and at least to the extent a given college will allow those credits to be used). Not so with prom costs.
I like the way our school handles AB vs BC. If you take regular level Pre Calc and get an A you are recommended to take AB otherwise you are recommended to take Stats. If you take Honors Pre Calc and get an A you are recommended to take BC if you get an A- through B- you are recommended to take AB and lower to take Stats. It’s not a hard and fast rule but generally people follow it and do well in the next class. It’s rare to take both AB and BC since they have so much of the same content. Lots of kids seem to choose to repeat some in college rather than take all the credit which I think is fine just to be sure they have a very solid base particularly if they will be doing a STEM major.
These last two weeks leading up to “mid-December” decisions are torture (yes, I know the ones in March will be worse). Tension headaches, tummy upset, and even weird nightmarish dreams (these are all just for my kid – not even touching on what’s happening with me!). Any good relaxation suggestions for a senior? Trying tea, candles, aromatherapy, hugs and distraction so far…
Can you give me an example of a school that would retract your acceptance for dropping a class? Are these policies on the web? I want to check the policies of schools on our list. Thanks.
@DMV301 Not a nightmare, but I did have my first sleepless night. I thought I was tougher the second time (first one was D13).
Yesterday, I learned that one document was missing for D’s ED school’s financial aid office. I emailed them and asked a question but it was already late at night so I had to wait till this morning for their response. I kept thinking about it and couldn’t fall asleep!! I thought, “Oh no… it started…the sleepless nights…”
Oh well, after all, I’m in Seattle area!! (get it?)
@HiToWaMom Ha Ha, got it. I hate those nights when you can’t get your brain to stop churning on one thing… I try reading something distracting, but that often doesn’t help, just passes the time.
I think D17 appears pretty sanguine about the upcoming decisions, but I am freaking out and poring through the 380 best schools book again and scouring old threads about good CS schools “just in case”. Just in case what, I have no idea. It’s completely irrational. It’s not like I don’t have a lot to do, either. That just seems to be my procrastination go-to lately.
I did get to help another one of her friends with colleges-he hadn’t even started the common app yet (horrors!) and D17 had him over yesterday and they got one going for him. I have him tasked to send emails today to two teachers and the GC for LOR’s, D will follow up with him. He wants to stay in the southeast, but I encouraged him to also look in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, because he’s LGBT, but he’s not “out” about it to anyone other than D, who is his closest friend. and I think a lot of the schools in the southeast that are smaller are not LGBT friendly.
I weirdly came up with Bentley, in MA, because he possibly wants to do computer information systems, but from a business perspective, not a techy perspective. I also recommended NC State because he’s a HUGE gamer. He wants to be involved with the video game industry, possibly, but not as a programmer. I’m looking at UX design degrees for him, too, and human-computer interaction degrees (not a lot of those out there). I think I picked Virginia Commonwealth, um, University of Central Florida, Perdue (that would be a serious reach for him), Clemson, and College of Charleston.
Any other recommendations would be welcome-he got an 1100 on the new SAT. He has a 3.5 unweighted gpa.
@stlarenas and @curiositycat333 After more thought, I am falling into the “drop the class” camp. Mainly because of a personal situation with my S where he didn’t drop a very difficult class and ended up putting 75% of his effort toward that ONE class. Guess what happened…he passed the tough class but all of his other classes suffered for it. In hindsight, he should have dropped the tough class (with little consequence).
@MotherOfDragons I don’t think he would be admitted to NCSU as an OOS with an 1100. NC schools only accept 18% of OOS and NCSU is fairly competitive admissions in general. His test scores would put him in their lower quartile.
VCU …I can’t imagine paying OOS tuition to attend VCU. Would he like VCU’s city runs through it campus environment? (I have had kids DE at VCU and they hated the campus. They would never have opted to go there for UG, but some kids might like that non-campus feel.)
Is he considering schools like Kennesaw State? His SAT score is going to limit some of his options. I just looked and even KSU’s required score is a 1030 for the new SAT. http://admissions.kennesaw.edu/apply/freshmen.php
QoTD: So how many of your kids applied to schools they were sure they were excited about, have been accepted, and now wonder why they ever wanted to attend there? And then schools they didn’t think they wanted to attend are now rising up their list?
I personally feel like dd’s current view is like musical chairs. I have decided to give up understanding for a while and wait for the music to at least slow down.
And I would like for the music to start playing and for there to be some chairs to sit down on