I agree with @STEM2017 S17 was in the exact same position - took the Chem subject test after honors chem because his teacher said he should be fine (like your son, he was a straight A student in that class). Let’s just say we do not speak of that score in our house. He shouldn’t take the test if he isn’t comfortable it at this point, particularly because some schools require all test results be submitted. Curious as to why he is taking math so early - if he waits until next year this time he’ll have the advantage of another academic year under his belt. Has he already taken Honors Pre-calc?
According to my college sophomore, they just use the monitors to watch movies/Netflix when they have company over. She wants one for her birthday. :))
QOTD
My D is expecting to need to do a lot of work in the library or study rooms so if it is not portable she does not want it. She is will likely go with a 13 laptop, she also is looking at a portable printer and portable scanner.
Small is better too as her desk space in the dorm is a little tight.
Same here with S17. :))
I think you really have to study to the test for Chemistry. S17 is a cold test taker so did not do well … neither on AP Chem test.
He took Math 2 and Physics subject tests cold and did fine.
S19 is taking Math 2 on Saturday. I just printed his test ticket, and of course the color toner is out. Well, the grainy picture will have to do. He took PreCalc and will take BC Calc next year.
S19 doubled up in science this year, and took both AP Chem and Chem subject tests this month. We will have to see, but I expect his scores will be better than S17’s.
I gave him this prep book https://www.amazon.com/Sterling-Test-Chemistry-Practice-Questions/dp/0989292592/ref=la_B00CDR67QO_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496175104&sr=1-1
with about 1000 problems,
and S19 claims he did about half the problems in that book.
RE: Monitor, I will check first if the school/dorm have a limit on the monitor size due to space, fire hazard, etc.
@RightCoaster - You should know that if he feels like he bombed the Chem test, he can cancel his scores within I believe 48 of 72 hours. The caveat with that is that he would have to cancel his math scores too as all tests from a given test date have to be canceled.
We learned the hard way that – unless a student is really confident in all subjects – he/she is better off taking them one at a time. D knew she aced the world history SAT and did less well on Chemistry (after honors chem). Had D taken only the chem test, she would have cancelled, but she didn’t want to cancel her history score.
No big deal, most schools all you to pick which subject scores to send, but frustrating nonetheless.
@RightCoaster - I would also recommend skipping SAT II Chem. Even most competitive schools requires only one science SAT II. DS took after honors chem but he studied chem for science competitions and took AP chem exams around the same time he took SAT II Chem.
Keep in mind that the most important aspect of a laptop (even for an engineering student) is that it’s light and portable (with good battery life). They will be dragging it everywhere.
For work, I use a laptop/docking station with multiple monitors. For me, it’s a lot easier working with a full size keyboard and monitor, so I thought that may also work out for DS.
I did purchase a USB-C docking station (about $130), and he’s testing it out now. We plugged in an old monitor which works well. In college he can also use the larger monitor to watch videos/TV/Hulu/Netflix and for his XBox, no need for a TV. We’re planing on one monitor, but he can always add a 2nd later, if needed. With the USB-C, it’s only one cable that plugs into the laptop. It also charges the laptop, so he doesn’t have to dig out the power cord, every time he wants to charge his laptop.
I also purchased a new 87 key mechanical keyboard (it’s much more compact without all of the useless buttons), which was about $21 on Amazon (on sale). It should make writing those papers easier, especially during his first year when he has to take ENC 3246: Professional Communication for Engineers, and his GE requirements (which include a substantial amount of writing).
My DD may go in a different direction. She purchased a Chromebook (about $200) in January and loves it. It’s light, has an extremely long battery life (no need to drag along the extension cord) and works well for most of her classes. This summer she’ll be replacing her old laptop with a newer model. She’ll use the new laptop for classes that require it, but when possible, she’ll leave it at home and only take the much lighter Chromebook to campus.
So, a smaller laptop + docking station, or a slightly larger laptop + Chromebook.
QOTD? Are your kids getting these incredibly annoying surveys from schools they turned down that are so long that they take over an hr to complete. She completed the one for Fordham b/c they had offered her a full-tuition scholarship. But she just stopped and said forget it for the school that only offered her $16,000 and has pronounced that she won’t be doing any more.
I personally think it is ridiculous.to expect that many responses.
@rightcoaster I would have him skip it. Most kids who take AP chem take it. He could also change his mind and take a different test. The actual subjects don’t matter until test day with the exception of foreign language with listening.
D did a couple of them - mostly schools that she was cranky about (mostly those with whom she had less-than-optimal communications surrounding merit or FA).
She sent personal emails to schools that she had received generous merit based on scholarship weekends or those with professors or local reps with whom she had back-and-forth communication and felt a connection, esp. if they went out of their way to arrange overnight visits.
The surveys just go to marketing and enrollment management companies, so they seemed less important (and more annoying).
@RightCoaster my son took honors chem sophomore year and his school offers supplement to help study for the subject test. Clearly not enough because he wasn’t happy with his score. It is really for kids who take AP Chem IMO.
Kind of a waste of time looking back…
@RightCoaster , my daughter only took “regular” chemistry (a homeschool program at that) and scored well on the chem subject test. BUT she did prep from a book just before the test to cover any holes the curric might have missed. I agree with STEM2017 in that I’d probably encourage my student to skip the chem if he is not feeling prepared. Perhaps he could prep and do it at the August test date.
Mine took the SAT 2 chem after honors chem sophomore year with no real extra prep and got a 730. Her teacher said that was pretty good usually his AP chem students score in that range. I’m guessing she’d do a lot better now after IB HL!
Will get son a 24"monitor in St. Louis. We bought him a Dell from Costco for his room a couple of years ago. He used it everyday with his laptop, which went back and forth with him to school. In addition to being easy on the eyes, my son is very tall and the external monitor allows him to not be so hunched over when working.
Thanks for all of the comments regarding the SAT II Chem test. I think son19 will just skip it. I don’t think there is any way to learn the material in with such short notice now. I think he assumed he was just going to ace it, and didn’t realize the test had stuff that he hadn’t been taught yet. Maybe they save some of that material for AP Chem at our school, I don’t know. I doubt there is any chance at a “good” score on Chem test right now, so not worth taking it IMO.
He’s just going to take Math 1, that’s what he is prepared for. Next time he try something else I guess. He has a few schools on his pre-mature college list that require at least 2 tests. I didn’t have to deal with this for son17, no school required them.
@RightCoaster if they only require 2 you definitely want to be judicious as some require you to sen all scores. Spanish is the test that we do not speak of here. It was dismal and that could have been predicted.
My D was signed up to take the Chem SAT subject test two years ago, but decided to skip it at the last minute even though she had an A in the honors chem class. Other students told her it was better to wait until after AP Chem to take it. She took US History instead and did very well. If it is too late to get a refund on the fee your kid can use the application fee and take any other subject test instead.
We accompanied D17 to a lovely breakfast this morning that was held to honor the scholarship recipients from the national corporation which employs H. I was really surprised that the President / CEO of the company was on hand to speak and hand out the awards to each student!
@RightCoaster – S, and most of his peers, took SAT Chemistry the same month as AP Chem exam, so they could study for both concurrently. But even at that, he said there was material in the test that wasn’t covered by the AP course, so he used a couple of study guides to cover that additional material.
Also, as STEM2017 mentioned, the scores for that test are really high. IIRC, one of S’ friends has something like a 790 and was about 90th %ile.
If your S19 will take AP Chem next year, then that might be a better time for the SAT chemistry exam too.
Today son17 has a senior breakfast and walk thru for graduation. Then tonight they have a Sr Ball. Graduation is Sunday, His HS lax game won a playoff game, so they might play again tomorrow or Saturday.
I appreciate the help regarding son19 and SAT Chem test. I think we are going to have him take AP Chem next year now. He’s a good Chem student and could use another AP class junior year ( taking AP stats too). Then next year he can take the SAT Chem test when he’s more prepared.
@Rightcoaster, does your S19 have a sense of what kind of engineering he is interested in? Congrats on the LAX win and best of luck in the next round. This is turning out to be an exciting playoff season. My son’s team has a game tomorrow afternoon, and we are hosting the pasta party tonight. We have a ton of food on order, so I hope they are hungry and ready for carbs. Thank goodness the weather is good - all set up outside.
Old QOTD re: Surveys. I confess that I completed a survey for state flagship on my son’s behalf and vented a wee bit. In my defense, they sent us two or three reminders dangling prizes of iPads and Amazon gift cards as bait. How could I resist??
Congratulations to all those with DC’s receiving awards and scholarships!!
@robNNN her teacher said the scores are really high precisely because so many do take after the second year. HE felt anything 700+ was very good for a one year chem student but expects his 2 year students to get 750+