Just checked in on Naviance and found that D19 has scaled down her list of schools to 9. Currently on the list: College of Charleston, Clemson, Delaware, JMU, LSU, Salisbury, Towson, West Chester and Xavier.
We are in in-state MD and D is likely going pursue education degree (elementary/early/special). Currently she is at a 3.4 (3.7 weighted) GPA and 1290 SAT. I think her list looks realistic to me.
She really liked the feel of Delaware and JMU and how the campus is somewhat condensed and walkable. Still looking for other options similar to those two campuses. A few people have mentioned Auburn and Alabama. We have family in Alabama so may try to get down there this summer.
I suspect it will continue to change and evolve but always interesting to check in on what she is thinking.
Still have 4-1/2 weeks of school here and I can already see the interest fading. Trying to keep her focused and prepping for the June SAT. She is solely focusing on the reading/writing section. Hoping to push the superscore up over 1300. Not sure it will make that much of a difference but every little bit helps.
@carolinamom2boys â funny, isnât it, how strangers can diagnose a âproblemâ from kids theyâve never met, simply by virtue of reading a few lines on a computer?
Iâve been teaching a long time. If there were a single magic bullet for getting every kid to maximize his potential based on scores alone, I probably would have found it by now.
The thing is this: each kid, like each adult, is unique. Each brings different skills, weaknesses, background stories, priorities, expectations and hopes into the mix.
I have a number of seniors this year who have suddenly found success in math. Theyâre thrilled to death, and have proclaimed me a superteacher. How, then, to explain the kid who got a 29 on yesterdayâs final and whose graduation is in jeopardy? If I could pull the best from those other kids, why didnât the same words work on him? What inspiration did they get that he somehow missed?
The answer is that each person is unique-- there is no one size fits all solution.
@mommdc His SAT is 1220 which is right at 25% for Pitt. By the end of this year, I expect his GPA to be 3.25 uw, 3.8w. His junior year is much higher than freshman and sophomore Iâm hoping that should help. I still think it is a reach. Iâve been following the Pitt acceptance thread for this year and I am not at all confident in his ability to get accepted. He is interested in studying either history or political science in college, which should help since A&S is an easier admit than the other schools. While he likes doing the nutrition and exercise science, on the side, he has no desire to study it in school. He also wants a medium to big school in a big city so thank you for your other suggestions, but I think they wouldnât work for him.
We know he would be full pay. My D16 is there and is full pay. It kind of kills me because she is doing so well, and she knows so many kids on scholarship that are struggling. But, it is working for her and she loves it, which is one of the reasons that S19 is so intent on it.
@mommdc He is retaking the SAT in June. Albany and Temple are on my list for him to look at it. They havenât made it to his list yet. I think we will be visiting Temple in August so weâll see how he likes it. We donât have a visit to Albany planned yet, but probably will sometime this fall.
While ECâs are important, in my experience they wonât make or break an application unless you are the at the very top in your sport, activity, etc. Iâve had three kids go through the college process and I firmly believe writing a compelling essay on something that interests you will go much further. My third never made it past JV sports, but participated in a lot of service in and out of school. She had a 90% average and scored a 26 on the ACT. She still was accepted to 11 of the 12 schools she applied to: University of Delaware, JMU, Elon, Bryant, Salisbury, Quinnipiac, Fairfield, St. Joeâs, U of CO at Boulder, Catholic, and UNC Charlotte. She was also waitlisted at Providence. A few of these schools were definitely reaches according to her schoolâs naviance data - I have no doubt her essays were what got her in.
Slightly tangential but here locally TCU suspended twelve students for using Quizlet to study for a test in a certain class. Someone had in the past posted âreviewâ questions on Quizlet for the class that appeared verbatim in the most recent exam. The prof has used the exact same exam for several semesters.
The students say that they had no idea that they were studying the actual exam on Quizlet. Some were even referred to study Quizlet by TCU employed tutors. The professor found out about the Quizlet issue after the test and gave them all an âFâ and then an administrator added a finding of academic misconduct and a year suspension. TCUâs contention is that the students should have come forward and reported seeing the questions on Quizlet after the test. The suspensions were quickly withdrawn by TCU but the failing grade and misconduct finding have stayed so far.
Suspension seems harsh, but I am not unsympathetic to TCUâs argument that the students should have reported the similarities. Giving them an âFâ for not reporting seems⊠not quite the right punishment. A finding of academic misconduct, depending on the terms of the Universityâs honor code, seems⊠maybe about right? Lots of unanswered questions, though, like how the professor determined the cheating and how long the particular Quizlet had been on the site. Also, giving the same exam for many semesters running invites cheating, either with or without the help of Quizlet.
Thatâs awful, the professor should have been the one with the punishment. My kids study everything they can find online for exams they are nervous about. They wouldnât tell a teacher that the teacher because they would assume the teacher was already aware that he was reusing old questions.
@DCNatFan I am a teacher in a large MD school district and if your daughter is interested in education, you should know that Towsonâs Ed program does a great job of preparing its graduates very well for teaching (and interviewing!).
Quizlet and âcheatingâ: As some of you know, Iâm pretty hard-nosed on cheatingâbut in this case, the students were directed to use Quizlet as a resource by representatives of the university. To my mind, theyâre off the hook at that pointâand finding similarities would simply be reassurance that it was an approved source in that circumstance, I would think.
My kid has had Towson student teachers ever since elementary school and theyâve been uniformly successful. So I will agree that they seem (from the outside) to have an excellent educational training program.
@fwtxmom The teacher should have been suspended. The employees who directed the kids to use Quizlet need to be retrained. If someone in authority acting on behalf of the university gives instruction, then they are responsible. The kids got a âgimeeâ due to lazy teaching. If I were one of those parents Iâd be having my attorney draw up a letter right now.
Outside of collaborative study groups using the notes they take in class, Quizlet is the No. 1 study resource at my kidsâ school. There are groups created by the students for every class every year. If all of a sudden one class one year was decreed to be cheating, and permanent on-the-record discipline was meted out, I would be freaking suing someone.
@cleoforshort, what exactly do you mean, the teacher should have been suspended? I know of precisely zero educational institutions in which either reusing exam questions or overreacting to perceived academic dishonesty are punishable offenses, let alone a suspension from oneâs job (whether paid or not).
