@WasIDremin they offer standardized tests on computers now?
@lilmom UCSD has been on and off the list for various reasons lately. Iām curious how you define a ācollege community feelā, and why UCSD didnāt have it? And, are in in-state?
My D17 dubbed UCSD the eucalyptus school. Maybe that is why they rejected her.
Congratulations @WasIDremin !! I also didnāt know that they offered the ACT on computers.
@bigmacbeth UCSD is very large, spread out and has kind of an anonymous feel to it. Kids joke that you can call it āUC Socially Dead.ā
@bigmacbeth, what @lkg4answers said. 
We had toured the Claremont Colleges earlier this week and the environment there was vastly different from UCSD which D felt was too big and impersonal.
We have friends who go/went there and they enjoyed their experience. So, it really is about fit.
@milgymfam Apparently they do, I know last year they tried to role it out and failed because they couldnāt take the server load. My D20 says that they have been selling it as a way to get your scores faster. It might only be for district/state tests now.
Congratulations, @WasIDremin! Itās got to feel good to your D, even if it makes no difference in the long run.
@Itisatruth My D20 also took the ACT last weekend for the first time. She had taken practices tests from the ACT website and been OK on time, and done pretty well. This ACT, she ran out of time on the math section had to randomly bubble a few at the end. She was very unhappy about this. Sheās really strong in math. She almost aced the SAT math section.
Her comment was that there were many āheavy readingā questions that just took longer to get through near the end of the math section which caught her by surprise, she thought she was OK on time until she hit those.
@WasIDremin
Congratulations! ACT 36 is pretty impressive, not many kids out there with perfect scores!
We are in the final stretch here, School will be out in a month! Canāt believe this. DS Is looking forward to a four-day weekend. Happy Easter everyone!
DD is bummed because a teacher is loading them up with work this weekend to make up for too slow of a pace earlier in the year in an AP class. She already had other projects and papers to work on this weekend and we are going on a college tour tomorrow. She will be doing much homework tonight to try to squeeze in the extra, not previously scheduled work. Donāt these teachers understand how their lack of planning stresses out these kids?!?
@lilmom what did your daughter think of the Claremont Colleges?
@Cheeringsection
Same here and on top of this everyone is squeezing in those useless but extremely time consuming āprojects.ā
@Cheeringsection @am9799 donāt know whether your schools started in August or after Labor Day, ours always starts in Mid-August, was told that this way the timeline is better suited for AP/IB exams. We donāt enjoy starting school 2-3 weeks before most other kids in town but do appreciate the teachers having more time with teaching the courses/prepping for the exams.
@lkg4answers, I really learned a lot about my kid this week. Sheās a serious student but really works at maintaining balance in her life. Think āwork hard - play hard.ā
The Claremont Colleges are very different from one another in terms of culture and philosophy.
She appreciated the distrinct separation of campuses and also the distinct collaborative nature of the schools. When she focused on just one campus she was underwhelmed by its small size. I reminded her that her experience could span across at least 3 of the campuses offering her more opportunities to meet people.
Have you toured? I highly recommend it if possible.
Our school also starts in August. I do not think there is a problem with time. It is the idea that some of the teachers have that they constantly have to give busy work to the students and the lack of organization.
The busy work and overload of homework (especially on holiday weekends and ābreaksā) were a big reason why we chose to homeschool our youngest (D20). We were just fed up and burned out from the ridiculous amount of homework with no consideration for downtime or family time. D20 is full time at the community college now and itās less work than high school was for her older brothers but sheās receiving an excellent education (we have a wonderful community college).
Below is my review of three colleges we visited this week:
Tulane University (Rating B-)
Pros:
Tier 1 research institution
Not admitted directly to major programs. Academic flexibility /design economic path 120 credits to graduate,
Average 21 students per class. Faculty 8-1
Student. Adventurous and involved
250 clubs
Type of person, take advantage of opportunities
Service learning program, 2 service classes or internships. Most engaged college for service
40% acceptance early decision, donāt apply RD 5%
Write the āWhy Tulaneā essay
Holistic admissions but
Merit is about stats.
Tour
Campus intersected by two streets
1 New bldg every year.
Nice gym
Nice business school bldg
NOLA City is Diverse, Music festivals, Food, Vibrant and alive.
Cons:
Downtown seems dirty and rundown especially near French Quarter, Party culture
Maybe unsafe in certain areas.
Lots of upper class students from New England.
Duke University (Rating A-)
Pros:
As soon as you enter campus you feel that this is a world class institution of higher learning.
Beautiful sprawling campus, green
Adcom has an air of arrogance
Tour guide smart and confident
Can take lots of classes even if only 3 students in the class (e.g. Persian language)
Diverse student body
West & East campuses.
Freshman housed in East
Have to take a bus to West campus
Architecture gorgeous
Impressive Chapel
Duke Engage summer program
Alumni and grad student
Flunch and grunch (lunch with faculty and grad students)
Small class size
Academic flexibilty. Lots Minors and certs
1/3 Greek 1/3 social housing (live and learn) 1/3 independent.
Smart and engaging student body
Food good
Good mix academic and school spirit / sports
24 hour van service after hours
Big on arts, music, academics, sports
Friendly, helpful student body
Research triangle for internships / jobs
Cons:
Durham city. Rundown and unsafe
Campus big and freshman somewhat isolated from main campus.
Canāt pick roommate.
Might have hard time getting professor you want in popular classes.
Overall an awesome college experience for very bright students, who like great school spirit and sports and boundless opportunities.
UNC-Chapel Hill (Rating B+)
Pros:
Beautiful brick buildings, wooded areas. Clean, safe, college town
83% NC residents.
Somewhat large Greek presence.
Quintessential college experience
Great school spirit
About 10% of classes with 100 to 200 students but many small classes
Tour
Knowledgeable but uninspiring tour guide (transfer student from College of Wooster)
Lots of traditions, history (oldest public US college)
Seem to have a little chip on their shoulder living in the shadow of Duke only 20 minutes away.
However a top public university
Cons:
Lots of NC students, not a lot of national and international diversity.
Fairly large Greek prescence
Some very large classes
Maybe a little too much Tar Heel pride?
Difficult admission for OOS students
Overall, we really liked UNC and were pleasantly surprised how nice it was.
Big thanks to @chb088 who recommended we stay at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill. It was a wonderful stay!
@lilmom Yes we have been there. Both of my kids felt that the campuses were too small and too quiet. They are great schools but just not what my kids were looking for.
@socaldad2002 Thanks for your summary. We havenāt been to NC (yet). Iām surprised that adcomās arrogance was a positive to you. Can you explain why it felt that way?
āIām surprised that adcomās arrogance was a positive to you. Can you explain why it felt that way?ā
Sorry I took a bunch of notes and donāt consider it a āProsā. Wasnāt a fan of his attitude that combined with the bow tie. Interesting that both UNC and Duke Adcom presenters wore bow ties. Maybe a south thing?
Yes, bow ties are big in the south.
@makemesmart Our school does start in August. Much time was spent on some chapters in the beginning of the school year so now there is much less time to spend on each remaining chapter. Seems to be mainly about poor planning rather than content needing the time, hence the frustration. Also previous AP teacher provided a schedule at the beginning of the year and stuck to it so this teacher is not living up to my DDās expectations.