D’S 2020 is at GPA 2.96, but hope he can get it up to 3.2 after this year. His SAT last summer was 1470 (700v770m). He has some college class A’s which will help a bit. We are awaiting the psat to see if he nailed it, like he claims. That is a big one for us as NMSF gets free tuition at WashSt and Ole Miss. No chance for NMF given the slew of poor grades strewn across his school record, but his high SAT gives us hope for NMSF.
Any other tuition covered schools for NMSF?
Welcome to @theally1 and @sekere and anyone else just joining! And good luck to everyone awaiting PSAT results! DS is not doing any testing until spring so we’ve just been laying low and trying to enjoy the calm before the storm. Semester had been progressing pretty well so far, so hoping he can keep it up. Happy Halloween to everyone tomorrow!
How’s everyone doing? The college counseling office uploaded Oct. 10 PSAT scores to Naviance, so S20 has his score already – 1300. Basically the same as his best score from the summer SAT prep class (1290). He did better in math (650; best score over the summer was 600) and worse in English (650; best summer score was 700). He did a free practice ACT test at a local test prep place a few weeks ago and scored . . . the equivalent of 1300! That said, he disliked the time pressure of the ACT and absolutely hated the science section. His plan is to take the SAT in March. He will start prepping the first week of February, when his winter sport is almost over (unless they go to playoffs–doubtful), and get in 5 weeks of prep before the test.
Son took ACT yesterday. Feels pretty good about it; crossing fingers. He got 29 in September without a calculator (he forgot!) - math was 27 then. Difficulty-wise, felt that test was similar to September. No weird reading or science passages, like the rumors from October test. Hoping for better math grade this time since he is going for computer science and they focus on math and science most. Some Results will be posted as early as 12/18. Best of luck to those who took!
One more semester in the books. DS 20 gets to stay in this thread. (At his school A+=A=A- = 4.0 and B+,B,B- = 3.0)
He makes the most of his minuses.
I’ve been radio silent for a while…busy with work then had family emergency…my D20 is working hard to get her GPA up and will be formally tested for Dyscalculia math learning disability in March so that it is documented. So far the plan is to note that she has the math learning disability on her application. That way when colleges see her grades they will understand the As/Bs in all her classes except math. If it were not for her math grades (Cs, Ds, and Fs) over the years her GPA would be closer to 3.2.
She got a 1020 on her PSAT and 22 on her ACT diagnostic exam (each without any prep or studying). ACT prep begins this weekend (delayed due to snow cancellation) and she takes the actual exam on Feb. 9. Then she begins SAT prep leading up to actual exam on March 9. It will be grueling with back to back ACT and SAT prep/exams.
My S20 is skipping the ACT and focusing on SAT and will be taking the prep/exam with his twin sister.
We are working on scheduling college tours now and first stop is UMW, mainly because S20 will be at College ID Camp (soccer) and so D20 will do college tour while waiting. Next month will be day trips to tour GMU and JMU. Saving the further down I-81 colleges for Spring Break (Va. Tech, Roanoke, Radford and OOS Appalachian State).
Still need to plan visits for CNU, Longwood, Richard Bland and potential visits for OOS WVU, West Chester Univ., College of Charleston.
@scoutmom2002 My D20 is also doing the February ACT and March SAT. Everyone at her school takes the ACT in February. March will be her first SAT.
@scoutmom2002 - I did the whole small VA school trip with D19. I see your from NOVA so you probably have more insights than I, but D loved Roanoke and we put her deposit down already. She really liked CNU, thought Longwood was ok, RMC was nice but too small, JMU was too big and she just did not like MWU for some reason. We had Radford on the agenda but a friend who works at UVA said he wouldn’t let his daughter go to school there :-0 You may want to check out Salisbury in MD. They have a nice campus, some great programs and I keep getting emails and letters about the $$ they give to OOS from nearby states.
@eb23282 I’d forgotten about RMC…will add that to list when touring other I-95 schools to include VCU. Roanoke does appear to have more academics in fields she is interested in (Education/Sociology/Human Development) and also a more lively town surrounding the campus I think. I also have family friend who is alumni of Roanoke. Good luck to your D19 at Roanoke!! Radford is mainly on our agenda because it has great options for 5 year Education related degrees where she could her Masters in Early Childhood/Special Ed. during 5th year.
Well…fist college visit/tour with D20 to UMW, done! Had great visit and tour. D20 liked the small campus feel very much and especially liked that there was also a lot to do in surrounding Fredericksburg - very nice Spotsylvania Towne Centre mall and connecting Villages At Towne Centre. We were impressed with their Gen Ed course requirements and discovered they were renovating/building a new College of Education. UMW College of Education offers four, accelerated five-year undergraduate-graduate initial licensure teacher education programs. Next stop, GMU, JMU…in between ACT and SAT prep and exams of course 
Checking in. I don’t post much but appreciate all the info everyone posts. Thanks for the tour info @scoutmom2002. keep em coming!
Amidst all the crazy with my other kids, a miracle happened in our D20 kid…first time in LIFE that she got straight A’s. 1st time!!! All while on no medication for her social anxiety, no medication for her possible ADHD (tried meds…too strong even at half dose, so none). Anxiety is still there but she is managing it and learning a lot through it. She basically told me all these years she was just too lazy to do anything and now she cares about her grades. uuuuugggghhhh we’ll see if it lasts, but now her GPA is 3.87 wooooooooo!
Had to tell someone 
Thanks for listening!!!
I can still stay here tho, right?
@cakeisgreat that is fantastic!! I clicked on this thread by accident as I don’t have a 2020 kid. However, one of my kids has an LD -I don’t think he ever made honor roll in middle school as he struggled tremendously. We celebrated when he had all Bs! He’s a sophomore now and has been doing pretty well in h.s., for him (mix of As and Bs) but just today he told me he made first honors - all As and one B+. I know that incredible feeling you are experiencing! Hopefully now that she sees how great it feels and that it is attainable, she will keep up the great effort. In the meantime, congratulations to her!
I’m on this same thread for the 2019 class - I find it a more comfortable place then the regular thread for his class so I’m sure they will celebrate your D’s achievement here and “allow” you to stay! ?
@cakeisgreat Congrats!!
@cakeisgreat Congrats! My D20 has Dyscalculia (math LD) and poor working memory LD and is being formally tested soon for Dyscalculia so it’s on record. She is currently getting all As and Bs in all regular (no APs or Honors) subjects except for math. We are in NOVA and visiting almost all in-state schools and plan to see a few OOS schools. This is my plan…even though I’m pretty sure her stats give her low chance for some schools I want her to visit them all. That way if she applies and gets denied but still really loves the school and wants to go there she will have option of (a) going to community college and transferring after 1 yr or after 2 yrs with guaranteed admission; or (b) going to any other college admitted to and transferring after 1 yr. I am instilling in her the fact that it does not matter where you start but rather where you graduate from. Also, there truly are no “bad” schools in VA…even Radford IMHO as I have friends whose kids are currently there.
The only issue we are trying hard to grapple with is the simple fact of being from NOVA - coming from a county and school full of over achievers and peer pressure related to APs/Honors courses, college searches, etc. I say “we” because as a parent I’ve also felt the pressures when talking to other parents whose question is “What APs is your daughter taking?” I don’t lie and respond “none” with no need to further explain myself…the parent then replies “Is that wise?” Ummmm…none of your &^%%*@ business is what I think in my mind…but I politely respond that its what’s best for my daughter. OK…thanks for letting me vent on CC
@cakeisgreat I’ll let you stay! (My own D20 teeters on the GPA.)
I just need to vent.
My D’s first semester grades are not great. At least two C’s. I even suspect one teacher felt sorry for her and gave her a break because she got the lowest possible points for a C. The school is 93 and up for an A and I’m still not used to their system, so I had to look it up to make sure she was not getting a D.
Her problem? Not handing in bigger assignments because her executive function skills are terrible, she’s unmotivated, and she isn’t taking her ADHD meds.
She surprised us with a good PSAT score, so I’m investing in some SAT math prep to make sure she is accepted into a decent state school or somewhere else affordable.
But at the same time, I’m stressing out about her difficulty managing bigger projects. How will she survive in college?!! I’ve even asked myself, what majors require no big projects?
Honestly, I think what she really needs is to fall in love with a subject. That’s the only way she’s going to become motivated enough to do what she has to do to get a college degree.
The good news is that she has a good work ethic in her jobs and has been well-liked by her bosses and co-workers. That’s the one thing that is giving me hope.
Ugh. This is hard!
@MACmiracle if it’s any consolation, I have one just like this. Only he didn’t have great PSAT scores. I’m actually considering an EF coach bc I am out of ideas here. My son does have a passion, engineering, and I do think he will do well in college because he’s capable of crazy effort when it’s of interest to him, but first he has to get there. And though he’s got an ADHD diagnosis, he doesn’t even want to try medication. When your daughter is faithfully taking her ADHD meds, did you see an improvement? Is she excited to go to college/does she have a desire to go? I started college tours early-ish hoping that would help with motivation, but it hasn’t really.
@taverngirl It’s good to know I’m not alone. I think it’s great that your S has his passion.
D20 has had a lot of side effects from ADHD meds and I think it’s turned her off of ADHD meds in general. She currently seems to tolerate a name brand of one med but with the past issues, she seems to avoid it. She did take it during midterms and her midterm grades were good.
I wanted to get a 504 plan for her yesrs ago but she and her dad were against it. Then when it became clearer at the end of last year that a plan might help, I was told her private school only does IEPs, not 504 plans for ADHD. Does your S have accommodations for ADHD?
She wants to go to college and likes Stockton U. It has the major she’s interested in, and looking collegedata, it seems to be a good fit. It meets more need than Rowan or TCNJ, and we will have FAFSA determined financial need because we will have other kids in college for three of the years she is in college. I actually love Rowan but I think Stockton has a better freshman retention rate and six year graduation rate than Rowan, factors that seem more relevant for this kid than they were for her D18.
I’m afraid of taking her on tours because I don’t want her to fall in love with a school that she could not get into or we can’t afford. If she fell in love with a school, she might have a hard time letting go. She can be… tenacious.
I’m just hoping she will be tenacious about her studies once she’s in college. 
^^When I was going through figuring out the kid I just posted about having one good semester in 11 years, I thought I was alone. It was heartbreaking, and I felt like she was the only one struggling in her class. I wish I had found this thread/website so many years ago. When each of you type about what is happening with your kiddos, I can relate in so many ways! The ups and downs. I felt so alone, especially when everyone else’s kid seemed so perfect. (Really felt great when every other kid except mine multiple years got an academic (or an “I’m so amazing”) award publicly in class in front of all the parents because we were all forced to go to this thing every bleeping year. They’d stand there on the stage while my kid sat in the audience all by herself. It was a thrill. You think the teacher would catch on and try for two minutes to find something…anything nice to say about my kid academically…she tries really hard? Anything!)
But I dont feel alone anymore…seriously because of this website!
@4kids4us that is fantastic - all A’s and 1 B+! I can see it in my head now. We celebrated every B in middle school too and sometimes she only had a few back then (and up until this semester).
@scoutmom2002 so glad you D20 is getting great grades! I had never heard about dyscalculia. Math is definitely the worst subject for my D20 and she has fading memory as well. I wonder if she could have that as well. LOVE your second paragraph, and I think the same thing often. People (hmf!)
I hear ya @macmiracle about the executive function things… it’s so great to hear about the excellent work ethics. I am not ready for my kid to go to work. Hoping she will do well then.
So…the semester changed and she has math this time…already not so good. But the whole year will continue to be sunny seriously just because of those A’s.