@mommdc thank you! Changing from SAT to subject (as well as test date) is $28. I guess I’ll wait and see after she gets her score back.
@HiToWaMom …no academics planned here really. Three week language trip with fun and language stuff mixed in. The rest is read, sleep, read, sleep, see family, work a bit, sleep, read, repeat.
My biggest regret in life is getting so busy in high school and college that I did not make time to go spend with my grandparents. D will be spending at least a 2-4 days with her two remaining grandparents.
There was a free SAT offered? Missed that somehow.
@Agentninetynine , it depended on your school district.
D took Chem and Math II subject tests and thought they were gone so doesn’t went to cancel score. We’ll see how she does.
Summer programs - for us they are a way to explore possible careers. So last year she did a stem 6 week program where they took Calc and Comp Sci 1 and explored various stem careers (medicine, engineering, actuarial science, etc). D, who had been thinking about medicine, decided after the program that she didn’t want to major in a stem field unless it was math. So the program was beneficial in that respect. She also grew so much from living on her own for 6 weeks and decided that she really wanted to go to a school near a big city and with a lot of diversity. So overall great learnung experience. And it was free. For this summer, I wanted her to explore other possible careers, especially accounting and finance. So those are the programs she targeted. She slso liked the Notre Dame seminars so applied to and got into 1.
Sorry about the summer programs @srk2017. They are very competitive. I’m sure your S will find something interesting and hopefully fun to do this summer. D applied to TASP soph year. She made it to interview round and bombed and got rejected. First rejection ever but good lesson and preparation for admission season. And she bounced back nicely for the summer. It will work out.
Thank you all for your comments. DS applied to highly selective ones knowing that odds are high despite his stats, but actual rejection did hurt :-). I guess it prepares him well for college applications. He is applying to local university labs today an hopefully he will find something.
Not to be a total idiot but…is there some kind of list or search for these free summer programs? Competitive or not. Not so much for S17 but would like to have a better feel for what’s out there than all the fee based ones that come our way in case there is something S19 should really be applying for.
@eandesmom - there are few websites which list summer programs. Some list only STEM Programs. Only few programs are free though. Most of them are there to make money!
The only free one I am aware of is PAN. Ds was accepted the same summer as SSP and didn’t attend, but it looks great!
http://www.jinaweb.org/outreach/PAN/
There is something to be said for having the chance to relax—time is a precious commodity, and enjoying it even more so.
Several state colleges in NJ offer a free 2 week pre-college program for rising seniors interested in urban education and/or teaching in high need subject areas. It looks like other states offer something similar - a search revealed at least one college in Ohio with a similar program. They are day programs and the one d applied to was competitive to get into - many more applicants than spots. They seem to freely put qualified kids on a wait list though.
Edited to add an old link… http://futureeducators.pages.tcnj.edu/files/2010/02/UTA-Fact-Sheet1.pdf
@eandesmom You probably already realize this but there’s a forum on here for summer programs too. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/summer-programs/ I haven’t looked at it closely to know if it shows anything but competitive programs.
Last year, we looked at the websites for nearby-ish state unis to see what they offered with university faculty and facilities. DS went to a week long engineering camp in the next state. I think we paid but it was very inexpensive. This year he’s going to another paid program, more expensive but not too pricey and not competitive, at one of the schools he’s really interested in. This one focuses on additive technology (3d modeling and printing). He already spends hours every week just doing that for fun, so we’re hoping he learns new techniques, besides meeting peers and deciding if he likes the school/faculty.
Other than that week, he will be working and narrowing college options this summer.
@IABooks yes, I did see that forum, though I didn’t find much of use unless you actually knew what those programs already were 
Everything I seem to run across is always on the pricey side, at least it seems to me. In all fairness I have likely not done as much homework as I should to ensure I’ve really exhausted true low cost options.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek PAN looks like it would be a good fit for S19 so I will need to remember that.
I fell behind again. First off, Happy Mother’s Day tomorrow to all the moms here!! <:-P
Hope SAT and SAT IIs went well today and score turn out well (and on time)!
I also wanted to say that I’m really happy this thread is supportive of all kids. My class of '21 kid is completely different from S17. Though fairly bright, he (the currently preferred pronoun) frequently doesn’t complete homework or turn in completed work. He had a 3.2 GPA first semester, if you count As in PE and “tech” (shop). He currently has more As, but a D in history from a teacher who won’t respond to my email or enter grades in a timely manner. I will certainly be needing a supportive group (and probably one that can advise me on art-type majors) when he gets to high school.
S17 has taken 2 APs and has 2 left. He thought he got at least a 3 on Spanish, and possibly a 4. He said his main problem was with the last 30 seconds of the spoken response. “Irradiated nuclear wasteland” was how he described his performance, though he thought the written part went well. He’d be really happy with a 4 on Spanish. He thought the APUSH test went well, but doesn’t want to seem overconfident.
He has Biology on Monday and is studying some things his class didn’t cover this weekend. AP English Lang is Wednesday, and he feels pretty good about that one.
His last multivariable test is Friday. That will be a huge amount of studying because he has to get fast enough to do all the problems in 2 hours. But at least all ~40 looong problem sets are done. Sigh, I hate that class, and I’m not even taking it.
Welcome to the new folks and the delurkers!! :-h
@eandesmom There used to be a really good list of summer programs available to the public on @NoVADad99’s school’s website. But, it looks to be password protected now. They do have a reasonable list of links to other lists of summer programs here: https://www.tjhsst.edu/studentservices/career-center/summer.php Of course, some of those links are geographically-specific.
wow @Ynotgo – that’s a lot to take. I feel for your son17! Hope he last go well. Just AP Lang left here – my son though AP USH was ok - but not sure how he did - wiped out afterwards. My 2 boys are very different too - one STEM (S’17) & the other (S’18) more liberal arts but not as intellectually curious or motivated. Personally I think there is getting to be too many hours of testing and some tests are not as good predictors of college success as other bc the content/format of the test is so artificial. Feel for these kids having to endure so much. Hopefully next week will go well. God Luck to all with more APs.
Re: Summer Plans
S will be at CU-Boulder for 6 weeks in the middle of summer. This will be his first extended time away from home/family. He never did any CTY camps or similar, and previous high school summers he commuted to the local UC. So multiple lessons in independence for him! Hope his alarm clock wakes him up!!
He’ll have 2 1/2 weeks before and 2 1/2 after. We just recently scheduled a 1 week vacation for after his summer program. Before the program, we might go down to LA for tourist things and to tour UCLA and USC. I’m hoping he’ll make time for some college essays, but not super optimistic.
@itsgettingreal17, can you share what summer program that was. It seams awesome.
Re free competitive summer programs---- When D was not named a finalist for NSLI-Y she was devastated but onky for a day. Thank goodness. It was her first ever rejection and, I’m sure, will not be her last! She resolved to apply again this fall for the next cycle, though for the year-long program instead of just the summer. She says she’ll also apply to Kennedy-Lugar YES (SA in Muslim countries).
This year she’ll be studying at Ole Miss in their Summer College for High School Students. It’s not competitive but it is free (minus travel, books, and some food) based on her ACT score. Ole Miss is one of her top contenders because of the international studies program (Croft) + minor in intelligence and security studies + Arabic program (not quite a flagship but with good outcomes and SA) + auto merit money. So the summer is a very good way for D to check out the school, faculty, and surroundings, especially since it’s too far away for her to make multiple visits over the next year.
Governor school for your state, if you have one. We have Engineering, Science and Business. The one for business is a joke. Besides the TASP, RSI, Clark, those Governor schools can be very competitive too, as they are free and very reputable(4-5 weeks).
D is into politics, so a week of girl leadership conference (free).