makemesmart: I am familiar with those groups on the whole and also throw them out without consideration.
Will do some more looking into this one later, though, as now my interest is piqued. I don’t see the same level of organizational branding to the programs on that first page.
I know the gist of what you speak, however.
I’ve got to admit, I’ve caught the bug! Off on the chase for more information. That Collegeprepresults site is a start for sure, so thanks for that look @makemesmart.
Something about this intrigues me.
D20 applying to small liberal arts colleges and a few large public universities in the Fall of 2019
Dec 1, 2018 1480 / 750 EBRW 730 Math
March 9, 2019 1450 / 690 EBRW 760 Math
April 9, 2019 (school administered SAT) 1420 / 710 EBRW 710 Math Essay 6 / 6 / 7
(4/9/19 school administered SAT on 8 x 11 desks - mercy!)
Colleges all superscore, so SAT score I would be trying to break is 1510 / 750 EBRW 760 Math
Should she review and retake SAT in late August or just concentrate on completing the Common App and essays this summer?
My instincts tell me she could study all summer and NEVER break the 1510.
(Never took a prep class and didn’t complete the College Board Blue Book, so improvement is realistic 
)
Only prepped for the Dec 1 test. Took others well rested, but no review or anything.
Should she take Subject Test Math2 to ‘strengthen’ her app even though her top schools do not require it?
3.98 GPA 4.67 WGPA
AP Calc, AP Bio. AP EngLit, AP Spanish, IntRel/Psychology and Yoga will be senior year schedule.
(IL requires PE)
National Merit Commended
Won’t qualify for any financial aid
She posted this a few months ago in the High School Life forum and received replies that to take the ACT. Why would she bother with the ACT? Common Data Sets for the schools she is interested in have a higher % of students submitting SAT scores. She’d would have to get a 35 or 36 on the ACT to beat 1510 superscore…is there any reason?
All comments appreciated!
@Waiting2exhale
Let us know what you find out.
DS has done a few piano competitions (so-called international/winners go to play at Carnegie hall type), we finally realized that many if not most of them, are money-making schemes, where application fees/performance fees are the main draws for the organization, we are trying to “buy” some awards to be put on DS’ resume. We learned.
@asiancaucasian
I think your DD’s SAT scores (super or not) are good for LACs and if she wants to add more, she might want to give the subject tests like Math II a try, and focus on her essays/applications.
DS got his driver’s license!
Haven’t called the insurance company to get that shock over yet as he is out of town for a camp.
Bittersweet moment. Boy is growing up, too fast. 
My D is getting ready to leave for her summer program and we had a meeting to see what she needs to do for colleges:
-Visit 2 more colleges immediately when she comes back. One is local, the other 2 hours away.
-Arrange for 3 interviews to colleges near by.
-Write “the” essay. She has no idea yet of what to write. I want her to have the experience of the summer program and get a small rest before she writes it.
-Write about 8-9 supplements!
Ok I am not sure how the last part would go. She will give the common app essay to her English teacher for editing but what to do with the supplements? I can not imagine her teacher accepting to see so many essays. For the families that do not hire editors who looks at the supplements?
@asiancaucasian Since she already took the SAT three times and the score is high I would say to let go and move on. For the ACT, does she have a burning desire to practice all summer long? ha ha ha I doubt it!
The subject test I do not know what to tell you as more and more colleges now say they do NOT want them. Lots of recent info session we heard “REALLY we do not want them”. It is funny how some colleges went from “required” to “useless” just in one year. My D has a few because she took them freshmen and sophomore year when they were recommended. But if she were to take them now I think she would probably skip them.
makemesmart: get ready for your rates to rise! we pay insurance for 5 drivers right now; and each person has to be on every car; we can’t just have our 17 yo on the 20-yr old car he drives. We are midwest; and pay around $100/person/month. ** but you are right; they grow up fast. bittersweet.
Stupid question probably, but how early can you start applying to schools for Fall 2020? I know the Common App comes out in August, but we won’t be using that. Also, is there any advantage to applying early (as in really early before the EA deadline which looks to be? The only schools we’ll be applying to are University of Minnesota Twin Cities and Duluth, Huntsville and maybe Iowa State. We can’t afford Iowa State, so we should probably just skip that one.
As for teens and car insurance. I bought my son an old beater (97 Camry) and just carry liability on it. State Farm will rate them on their vehicle only, so I pay about $70/month for his car…which is more than I pay for full coverage on my 2007. He won’t be taking a car with him when he goes to school and my agent said we could get a “out of town” student discount if he was away and not taking a car with him, so I’m hoping for some relief at that time.
@asiancaucasian what major is she looking at? She has a high GPA and the Dec test looks good on its own but, to me, the March EBRW stands out. Can she bring up the EBRW section with a little review?
My personal opinion is that 730 and 760 in math shows competency for most majors so an optional subject test shouldn’t be necessary. Do any of her schools require the SAT with essay? If so, I would have her take it again and try to bring that April score up.
Finally, would a higher score qualify her for merit aid at any of the schools?
@lkg4answers She is looking at small LA colleges in MA. Undecided major.
Why would she bother doing it again to bring up her EBRW score with a 750 in Dec? It must have been an off day, except for the math, but her colleges all superscore, so won’t they want her best scores for their stats?
Do you have any insight into why to take Subject tests if you have AP test scores to report? We are trying to decide whether she should take Math 2.
Thanks so much for your advice! So appreciated!
@asiancaucasian Very few schools require the subject tests. Caltech and Georgetown to name a few. Check directly with the schools she wishes to apply to clarify.
@asiancaucasian Unless a school requires the math 2, I definitely would not have her take Math 2 unless she can do very well on it - perfect or almost perfect. Otherwise, I think that it takes away from an application.
On another note, my S20’s teacher asked him why he didn’t ask her for a letter of rec. She expressed confidence in his abilities. He explained that he had already asked another teacher. He now feels torn thinking that he should have asked her instead of his other teacher. He did excel more in the other teacher’s class but this teacher knows him really well and he has shown an upward trajectory in her class. I tried to tell him not to worry - that she was just trying to help him but that he will be fine with the other teacher’s rec. Anyone else’s kid have second thoughts?
ACT scores are to be released tomorrow morning. We had S’s score sent to Bama, as he will be applying there and he was confident he got the score he needed for the desired merit scholarship. S got an email from Bama today, letting him know they received his ACT score. But…No…they didn’t tell him what his score is. What a tease! ?
@cshell2 UMN-TC’s site says “please check back in mid-July when [the 2020] application becomes available.” That’s S20’s first choice so I’ve been keeping an eye on it. Iowa State is June 29 (if you make an account, which we needed to do to schedule a tour, it will tell you you can start the application now but not submit until 6/29).
I think the main advantage for both is hearing back sooner. Iowa State, I believe, lets you know right away. It sounds like some students who applied early and were strong candidates, started hearing back from Minnesota as early as mid-October last year.
Also make sure you have them apply for housing at Minnesota when it opens (early November I think) even if you haven’t heard back yet, because that sets the priority for dorm preference.
@asiancaucasian in my opinion (and take that for what it is worth), superscoring can be a double edged sword. As much as it showcases one’s strength, it can also point out weaknesses. In your daughter’s case, she has a very high GPA which is great. She has 730 and 760 in math which are both great scores and are relatively close to each other. In EBRW she has a 750 which is awesome but the second score is 690 which is good but not as awesome as the 750.
My point in the earlier post is that she scores well in math and she’s had another year of math under her belt since the Dec 2018 score. She may not need to put in much work to achieve another high math score but if she can review the questions she missed in EBRW in March and April and maybe bring up that score then I think it might be worth a shot. If you feel that it isn’t worth it then don’t worry about it.
Subject tests and AP scores are two different beasts. If she is looking at a STEM major then doing well on Math 2 might help. If she is doing International Relations then I personally don’t think it is worth it unless a school asks for it.
@CAtransplant Basically she took English 3 in e-school during summer and yes it’s an online school option. Online school courses do not impact GPA calculation, but are mentioned in transcripts.
I did not see any response… so re-posting my question here hoping to get some response this time 
:
Hello,
First post here to ask a question bothering me. DD16 did English 3 in Junior year summer in an Online E-School to make up room for additional AP course during junior year. Does this impact in any way negatively her prospects for top 50 schools if she could qualify otherwise?
Other stats:
1530 SAT / 35 ACT / Weighted GPA after Junior Year 4.245 (10 APs so far till end of Junior year).
Thanks.
@sibpuri I don’t have an answer to your question. I was just going to point out that some might have been confused because D16 would indicate she graduated in 2016. I assume you meant that she was 16 years old, but the standard use on this site is to indicate the year of graduation. It MIGHT have impacted responses as people might have been confused on why you were asking about a previous graduate.
My only question would be whether the online English class during the summer would be viewed as rigorous - particularly for the counselor in choosing most demanding schedule. At my kids’ school, most are taking AP Lit for junior year or are in the IB English HL sequence. You would have better insight on whether the class would be viewed as equal rigor for typical students in your high school.