Wow… lots of newcomers! No PSAT scores, since we decided not to take it, but D3 just got her report card for 1 semester and had all A’s so we are continuing the 4.0 + trend. She has Governor’s School for the Arts Audition next weekend and is feverishly working on her portfolio. We are not sure where she will go visit next… kind of depends somewhat on the D1’s med school invites (though she’s been accepted at a few already) we may tag along if her interviews coincide with colleges D3 wants to visit to share expenses. D2 had a great semester at her University as well (junior) and just went back… miss her so much already. I really cannot believe we will be in full tilt of the application/acceptance/decision treadmill this time next year!
@CT1417 I know!
Colorado ended 15 yr contract with ACT and signed up with SAT during rebidding. CB must be using all their $$ in winning state biddings right now. So CO announced quietly during Christmas week that all juniors will take new SAT that will appear on the final transcript. Public outcry ensued both from students and district superintendants. Our school has been running bi-monthly ACT prep classes for all juniors since October during school hours. Thus, the state is backing down and is considering to have current juniors take ACT one last time as a graduation requirement. We are abandoning PARCC test, so that is a silver lining.
I’m not sure if the ACT includes the writing portion. I’ll need to ad the counselor. That’s his weakness, another reason to go with the new SAT test ;). He did take the old SAT with writing (of course since there is no choice). We may just take what the school forces on him and then go with the new SAT in March, after FRC has calmed down a little and he has time to study. This years takes sounds difficult for those whose kids are in the FRC program. S’s team will be sophomores this year.
Wow, a whole community of parents as neurotic about the college admissions process as I am! I have found my people. Saw the invite in the PSAT thread and came over to introduce myself. I’m the parent of a DS17 and DD21. DS just received his PSAT scores (1460, SI 218 for Illinois). He currently attends a specialty math and science school but his passion is anything computer science. He isn’t too interested in doing college visits, although we have done a few (UChicago, UIUC, UT-Austin, Rice, UCLA, and the USNA). He is more interested in the rankings of their comp sci departments. Luckily, we are in state for UIUC as their program is highly rated. He hasn’t taken any SAT or ACT yet but did get a 790/800 on the Math 2 SAT II’s and is self-studying for the chemistry SAT II. He just finished the first semesters of both Organic Chemistry and Advanced Chemistry, but there’s a lot of material on the test not covered in his classes.
He will likely attempt the ACT this spring and possibly the May SAT. I heard that the March SAT is not recommended because a lot of SAT tutors will be taking the test to get a feel for it and they might throw off the curve? I dont know how true that is, but I’d really prefer not to wait months to get the test scores back either.
For the summer, he might be going to South Korea on the NSLI-Y scholarship if he moves from semifinalist to finalist, but we won’t hear back until April. If that doesn’t pan out, he will resume the comp sci research he worked on last summer at this national particle accelerator lab.
Class of 2017 got really screwed over by being the first class with the new PSAT/SAT format. Not to mention, FAFSA rules changed this year for class of 2017 and beyond by changing the “base year” used for financial aid calculations. Also, the $$ threshold of parental assets that are safe from fin aid calculations decreased in 2015 for the class of 2017 too. That means more of parental assets will be expected to be used for college costs. Ahh well, we are all in for a bumpy ride, folks!
Thanks for some thoughts. Ucla is on the list by my demand. If he gets in, with instate cost, it will be strongly considered. Notre Dame is a good idea. Has the things he wants. Thanks for that one. We know about UVA not offering direct admit. Cornell is a good idea. Never really thought he was Ivy material… Maryland is on a longer list of ideas, but he can’t get excited about it. He qualifies for direct admit to Kelly school of business at IU…I think that will be his safety/backup. Now I have to research if Notre dame is achievable. Can a 2130, all A’s, and 4 AP’s to date get in there?
So many kids looking at big name schools. Please tell me I’m not the only one with a high achieving child who is perfectly content looking at states schools. My son has the stats to get into a more prestigious university but has shown no interest in even pursuing ones that do offer competitive merit scholarships.
My S is looking at a lot of state schools plus some privates. It’s a money thing. Sometimes merit aid makes private schools less expensive than OOS publics. S is high stats but a type B personality. I don’t think he’d thrive in a pressure cooker environment of a top tier school. He is planning to be a computer science major, so many schools to choose from.
Hi all, I have been on here for a few months but have hesitated to post anything testing/college counseling began in earnest. We live in the mountain west and my daughter is a junior who is a high achieving student, musician, and professional dancer. She’s very well rounded academically so her major is anybody’s guess. At the moment, cognitive science, but she loves poetry and dead languages as well, so who knows? Although she has fantastic stage presence, in person she can be extremely shy. I believe that she would do best at a LAC or smaller university where the learning environment is more nurturing than cut-throat. We have been doing research on places where she has a reasonable chance of obtaining a merit scholarship and where she could be a medium-to-largish-sized fish in a small-medium sized pond. She would like to continue to dance and play clarinet, but not to major in either. So places like Oberlin, St. Olaf, Lawrence, Dickinson, Muhlenberg, and Macalaster are currently are on our radar. Reaches would be WUSTL and Brown.
I have a second daughter who is in the 7th grade and is currently prepping for the last sitting of the current SAT in a hopes of qualifying for some gifted programs. She’s a math whiz, a natural athlete, and is very outgoing socially.
I have found a lot of useful information here, although it’s easy to get intimidated by the extreme high achievers!
How many subject tests should the kids take? DD took 3 so far. 760 in Math II (freshman) 760 U S History and 800 Biology (last year). She wants to take Chem in the summer, but would that look that she is making EC out of taking subject tests:-)? She wants another 800!
My dd is taking both AP Calc and AP Physics her Junior year. She liked the idea of how well they mesh. Plus, now she can take the next AP Physics class as a Senior. She does NOT want to take AP Calc BC.
She’s doing fine, though it is hard. My othe dd took AP Calc as a Junior and AP Physics as a Senior.
S is taking AP calc BC and AP physics this year. He too the SAT II math last summer and will take the SAT II physics this spring. He isn’t going to take more SAT II tests. Most schools want only 2 in out experience.
My son is in IB Mathematics SL (AP Calc AB) and Physics HL (AP Physics B) AP Physics is trig based until Physics C so Calc BC is not really a requirement. He took AP Physics concurrently with precalc as a sophomore.
It drives my son batty that even the second year of IB Physics is trig based making it essentially useless for college credit for his degree.
Neither of the schools my son is looking at require SAT subject test except for homeschoolers. He wants to take the Physics test for fun but I’m not particularly interested in paying for a test he does not need.
Hello, I am a lurker to all the class of…threads, so very helpful. Just wanted to add. I too have a daughter of class of 21, so I will join you as parent class of 21 in a few years. Until then, I will lurk away.
@SincererLove I also think two good scores is the most they want (except Georgetown or for homeschoolers). But, I can understand the desire to have another 800. DS has 2 800s in subject tests from freshman year and hasn’t taken any others since. I’m not sure whether he might. He is taking APUSH and AP Biology this year, so could take either one, I suppose. But, we have a lot of “submit all scores” schools in CA, so maybe not.
I forget–is she planning on a STEM major? If she got a 760 in Math II as a freshman, her best move might be to just retake that one and shoot for an 800 there.
@Mom2TwoDDs and @mtrosemom Which AP Physics? DS took Physics B in 9th grade–the last year it was offered. He’s frustrated that his school won’t offer Physics C because they need at least 20 kids to offer a class. Since he plans to major in physics, many colleges want you to take their calc-based physics sequence anyway.
He’s a Student Teacher for the Physics 1 & 2 classes twice a week during an embedded support (mandatory study hall) period the school has on the 2 days with fewer but longer classes. He’s learned some of the calc-based physics on his own, but probably not enough to take the AP test (which is the same day as the AP Biology test, anyway).
DS is registered for online multivariable (Calc 3) classes through 2 community colleges for this spring. We’ll see what the syllabus and test dates look like, and then drop one of them. We have to arrange for test proctors, because the schools are far away.
@SincererLove --I agree with @Ynotgo about perhaps sitting for the Math II exam again. I understand what you mean by asking if sitting for another exam will make it look as though standardized testing is an EC. (That is the reason I am not pushing the ACT for my son since he is completely set with his SAT I score.)
In your D’s case, she took these exams pre-Jr year, so I don’t think it will be viewed quite the same way as someone who takes the SAT five times or takes the same subject test multiple times, trying to break 700.
My son has two subject test scores which would allow him to avoid future SAT IIs, but he will probably take Physics this spring, assuming he thinks the content of his C-M class overlaps well with the subject test. (I think he mentioned waiting until next fall so that he would have six weeks of E&M under his belt but I would love to avoid having testing on the calendar for Oct.) USH is an option also, but of less value to his major.
Bottom line: I would not worry about her taking too many tests but I wouldn’t have her put herself out to sit for extras.
Does anyone else miss the days of wandering into the testing site Dec of Sr year and just deciding which Achievement tests to take? I think I registered for three but decided to leave after two and had to sit around for an hour waiting for a ride.
Hi! Coming from PSAT thread too. I have a DD17 and DD16. Thankfully finished with all of the applications and waiting now to hear back within the next few months. Very stressful indeed. DD17 did well on PSAT but probably won’t make NM. She’s ok with it because she wants to go OOS and the schools she wants don’t give merit aid, so besides the prestige it won’t help. Bummer for me and my wallet. She wants to go into pre med. We visited Vandy and she loved it. Emory not so much because it’s not a rah rah kind of school. She’s going to Northwestern next month and then in March Duke and UNC. This now whole process is crazy and I haven’t even finished one kid when I’m starting with the 2nd. My DD17 took the ACT in April and is staying away from the whole craziness of old/new SAT. This class is s a bunch of Guinea pigs. It really stinks!
Is probably in the equivalent of physics C. We don’t have AP specific classes, but he is in advanced physics (w/calc) so I assume it’s the highest level. His calc class, taken concurrently with physics, if first year calc first semester and second year calc spring semester. He gets college credit for the math through credit by exam tests.
@higheredrocks I looked at Emory a while back, but forget now why it fell off the list. I think it had to do with merit becoming more difficult? I’ll check it out again. Thanks for the tip. We’re doing a tour of a mixture of schools over spring break. LACs may not end up making the cut in the end, but I want to keep our options open.
@CT1417 One reason my D didn’t like UIUC is that it is in-state :). I don’t think she like the layout of the campus much, either (I, know…pretty weak). Maybe the biggest reason is that she saw it the same weekend that we toured WashU. And, for us, it is almost as expensive as some OOS options. It’s not cheap at all in-state. It’s great of CS, of course, and would be higher on our list if my D was going in that direction.
@2muchquan – thank you! And I know what you mean about ‘weak’ reasons for cutting a school from the list but sometimes I was so happy to have any reason to cut a school as they became indistinguishable after a while. (At least with the first son’s tours.)
I think I read that UIUC’s CS admit rate is 6% so it’s not as though it is a guarantee for anyone. Son is also very interested in math, so he may steer that way once we start visiting schools.
Hi! Oklahoma mom to a DS17. He got a 215 Index on the PSAT, which I hope will qualify him for NMSF status. Attends an IB school, what most consider state’s best public school, and so far has straight As…unfortunately at his school, even if he maintains straight As he may not graduate in top 10 percent because there are a bunch of really smart brainiacs there 
and he plays varsity sports and can’t take all weighted classes. On the plus side, he is a three-year varsity starter in football for a well-regarded 6A team, and will probably be good enough to play at weaker D1 or lower team, which we have already learned may open some doors, even at more academically elite schools where academics alone wouldn’t get him in. Beginning the freak out over college choices, and having a hard time narrowing it down.
University of Tulsa is good school and gives great credit for IB Diploma, so that is our strong backup school. But having a hard time figuring where else to target. He doesn’t know what he wants to major in – probably business, law or something government-y, so that isn’t really helping us pick. We’d like to apply to at least one Ivy League because, hey, why not – I also bought a bunch of lottery tickets for tonight, lol! We are not sure which one yet – the focus is probably on which ones football would give him the best edge. And probably a couple of top 25-type schools – we know he can get into TU with a great financial aid package even without football, and he likes it and US News and World Report ranks it #86, so no point to me in applying anywhere not significantly better than that. I’d prefer he be within a day’s drive of us or another family “support system,” so we are focusing on midwest or northeast/midAtlantic, since we have a lot of family in DC area. Right now, based on recruiter visits and online research, we have Duke, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Northwestern on the short list. Maybe University of Virginia and University of Pennsylvania. He got a 29 on the ACT last year as a sophomore with no prep…he is taking the SAT in a couple of weeks because we wanted to try the old system in case he happens to test better on that, and will be taking the ACT again later in the spring with a bit more prep, and goal is to get up to 33. Appreciate any thoughts you all have on best way to help narrow the focus – we definitely can’t afford to do campus visits to more than a couple of schools, so will have to do most of our research long distance.