@3scoutsmom thank you very much for that info. DD did do Khan academy, I will encourage her to do the rest. wow Your DS schedule is set for summer!
My wife has a busy work week the week of spring break, so Sā18 and I are going to take a drive to visit a few schools and hang out a bit. Weāll probably take a look at Emory, GT and Vanderbilt. But nothing set in stone and we could turn west toward Tulane and Rice instead.
We are all going to DDā12ās graduation in May, so DDā18 will get in a couple of east coast college visits then. She got her 10th grade PSAT back last week . . . a good start, but lots of work to do.
Hi Parents of 2018! Iām a student of the class of 2018 and have been looking through this thread for sometime now. Iām also apart of the High School Class of 2018 page for students here on CC. Iāve been hesitant to post on her because I know itās not common for a student to post here. If you have any questions about our class and anything relating to, feel free to ask.
@ak2018 per CC rules anyone is allowed to post in any forum here. Please know you are welcome here, Iām also on the parents of the class of 2016 and we have a regular student poster there.
@3scoutsmom Oh I never knew that. I just thought it wasnāt common.
Not common, but always welcome. I was part of the HS Class of 2013 thread and we had two regular student posters.
@glido congrats on the upcoming college graduation. You must be very proud. Hope post graduate plans are coming together.
Thereās also at least one regular student poster on the Parents of 2015. I found that one kind of late in the process (i.e., last spring), so I donāt āknowā all the people, but decided to seek this one early so I would.
Well now that I know Iām welcome, might as well introduce myself. Iām from Virginia (NOVA) and am a STEM fanatic and enthusiast. My dream school, as of right now, is Virginia Tech. My dream career since I was in the 8th grade was Mechanical Engineering. I would say Iām a pretty hard working student currently taking three Honors classes, Pre-AP English 10, Pre-AP Chemistry, and Pre-AP World History. I also spent a year in Africa during freshmen year. I love Robotics and learning about Programming. Hope I can be of help and service to some parents on here. Iāve been using CC for over a year now and found it to be a very resourceful place. Iāve met a young group of students in my class that are as enthusiastic about school as I am.
Hell, @ak2018 and welcome. Weāre from the same nick of the woods ( hence my user name). I have an older son double majoring in mechanical and aerospace engineering so if you have any questions about that path I can try to get info from a current studentās perspective.
Welcome @ak2018, you and @2014novamomās DS are choosing a major with promising future! I work in Aerospace company and my DH and I are engineers; but my DDā18 doesnāt like engineering (because we are) and she doesnāt like liberal arts (not an avid reader), her favorite subject though is math, her hobby is drawing/poster design/video making. My DH and myself both think she would like mechanical engineering or computer graphics because it involves some sort of design and drawing. She has no clue what to major in college and seems not have time to research further, is that normal for 10th graders? I admire students like @ak2018 who knows what they want and pursue the knowledge to help achieve that goal. I also hope my DH can be like @dadotwoboys who is more involved and at least do some research regarding colleges, he just let me handle it but whatever I share with him, he always have a different opinion. Sorry to complain a little here.
@jjkmom ā this is the place to complain so that we donāt constantly annoy our kids and spouses! My DH too is very hands off re the college process. He is constantly on the road though (flew 150,000 miles in 2015) so he doesnāt really have the time to be involved.
My DD is not interested in engineering at all, but she is not particularly strong in math (only in Algebra 2/Trig this year). She is not yet sure what she will study in college but thatās ok too. She has time to think about it and if she is still unsure when it is time to apply to colleges she will just have to focus on finding a school that will give her flexibility (as well as being a good fit for her in other ways).
She is doing well in chemistry and enjoying it, although she does not care for the other sciences too much. She also enjoys her government class a lot. But her real passion is sports. Not just playing (she is a 2 sport athlete, both for school and club level) but also the business side of things. She is a sports reporter for her school newspaper (and is slated to be the sports editor next year) and she also runs a fan account for one of her favorite teams (it has 2,500 subscribers). She already has some industry contacts at the professional level of her favorite sport, which she made at the summer convention I mentioned in an earlier post. It will be interesting to see where she goes with this, but it is good to see her pursuing it with passion and dedication.
@2014novamom Is it safe to assume your son goes to Virginia Tech? Also, at school, Iām currently getting ready for course scheduling. Iām planning on doing Engineering Explorations I/Robotics, PLTW Principles of Engineering, AP Chemistry, U.S. and Virginia History, Functions/Trigonometry, Spanish II, and English. As you can see by my class choices Iām very enthusiastic about Engineering. My strategy for Virginia Tech was rather than taking so many AP classes, I would show them how interested I am in Engineering.
For reference point, Engineering Explorations I/Robotics is basically like Robotics club as a class. We build robots and compete against each other and other classes. While Principles of Engineering is learning more of the aspects behind Engineering. It is very Physics-based.
My question was if your son took any APās or Engineering classes. And if Virginia Tech likes to see a bunch of them?
Thank you!
Also have you seen the snow, it ends at around 2pm and it wonāt likely stick.
No, my son doesnāt go to VA Tech. He goes to school at Case Western in Ohio. They gave him a nice merit scholarship and an opportunity to keep playing football while still pursuing an engineering degree. He was looking at DIII and small DI schools and Case was the perfect fit for him.
I would suggest talking to your counselor about the best strategy for VA Tech. In general, schools want to see that you are challenging yourself and you want your counselor to be able to check off the box that says you pursued the most rigorous schedule available to you at your school. The one thing I would note is to make sure you are on the path to take at least AP Calc AB by senior year. Even if you donāt get the AP credit for college, it is good to be familiar with the course before you take it in college. Itās quite difficult to get the credit for it at most engineering schools (I believe UVA requires you get a 5, for example and although Case will give you credit for a 4 they suggest students who score below a 5 retake the course because the average grade for students who get below a 5 is a C).
My son took a mix of AP classes and engineering type classes. He took AP Calc BC, but not AP Physics. He also took a bunch of non science AP classes, such AP US History and both micro and macro economics. His engineering type classes included Robotics, Prototyping, Energy Systems, Materials Science, CAD and probably several more that I have forgotten. He was also required to have a senior capstone project which he did in the Energy Sysytems department. He converted a gasoline car to electric.
@jjkmom Thatās very cool. Iāve been interested in Engineering since I was 10. I actually found out I wanted to be a Mechanical Engineering when I was 14. However, my parents, especially my father, are not exactly all the way there on the idea of me going to Engineering. They want me to go into the medical field, the same career my father is in. Iām pretty sure that Iāve hinted many times that I want to become an engineer, but I guess heās just not willing to know that his first two sons arenāt going into the medical field. My little brother is planning on going into video game design and since he is kind of seen as the troublemaker/rebel of the family my father is okay with pretty much any career he chooses. I guess he wants me to go into the medical field so my two little brothers will follow my example. My little brother is also in the class of 2020, by the way.
@jjkmom Also, I think computer graphics would be perfect for her. Mechanical Engineering isnāt for everyone, believe me. So far the only experience Iāve gotten with it is through the Robotics club at my school. My little brother is planning to go into video game design and computer graphics is really close to this, I believe. Also it is common for a lot of sophomores, 10th graders, to not think too early into college. However, I would expect that this is going to change as now is usually the time most sophomores start to experiment with AP classes for next year. Last week, in my Chemistry class, the whole class was abuzz with chatter about choosing and picking a good workload for next year. Thank you for the admiration as well. When I went back to visit my old middle school and was asked to give any advice to the little sixth graders, I said to āFind your interests early on and experiment with them while you have timeā. I also wish my parents were more involved into looking into researching more into colleges. He has only stated one as it has a good Biotechnology program. And itās okay to complain, at least on here.
@jjkmom Thank you for the advice. I actually am on the track to AP Calculus AB by senior year, I am currently in Algebra II. Also, due to affordability, my parents have said I cannot go out of state. Even if there are full-ride scholarships out there, they want me to be close to home and I understand. Also, alot of the stuff you mentioned about what he learned in his Engineering classes is what is typically learned. I am planning on taking three APās, AP Chemistry and AP Calculus AB, and either AP Economics or AP Physics.
@jjkmom Another reason he doesnāt like Engineering as a career is because he doesnāt believe the hype that surrounds it as being our generationās most-preferred and up-and-coming career. He also doesnāt believe that there are that many places that engineeers could make a good living in NOVA, but maybe @2014novamom could verify this. I know he means well and just wants me to make an informed decision and consider more options, but when the time is right, Iāll finally tell him what I want to do with my life.
Sorry @jjkmom This post was meant for @2014novamom
Thank you for the advice. I actually am on the track to AP Calculus AB by senior year, I am currently in Algebra II. Also, due to affordability, my parents have said I cannot go out of state. Even if there are full-ride scholarships out there, they want me to be close to home and I understand. Also, alot of the stuff you mentioned about what he learned in his Engineering classes is what is typically learned. I am planning on taking three APās, AP Chemistry and AP Calculus AB, and either AP Economics or AP Physics.
@jjkmom your daughter sounds exactly like my DD2021. Her strongest subject is math but she loves to draw as well. A LOT, but mostly Anime. Sheās even teaching herself Japanese and mostly listens to Japanese/Anime music. She told her Dr she wants to be a Pediatrician, so DD was promised once she gets into HS she can shadow her. We will see if things change in a year.