Yes, Clemson is on the maybe list; just forgot to add! 
@AlmostThere2018 Clemson gives some merit aid based on test scores and top 10% ranking you can get a pretty good idea if you go onto the Clemson NPC. They also accept tons of AP credits which can allow you to graduate early and or double major.
Another couple of public universities with good engineering programs that give a merit money are University of Delaware and Miami University. Both have pretty pretty campuses.
As a Pittsburgh resident and son of a Pitt engineering graduate I think Pitt is a great school. It has come a long way from a commuter school to a truly national university.
Obviously Pitt like CWR, CMU, and GT are very different types of campus than Clemson, VT or UNC. Really depends on type of environment your son is looking for. They are all great engineering school and he canāt go wrong with any of them.
Jealous of all these Spring break tour plans! Iāve loved visiting colleges but S21 is not interested in seeing anything more. We hit a range of VA colleges last Spring break and heās quickly settled on VA Tech as his #1. Weāll go to their March open house for a 2nd look and if he still feels the same way, weāre probably done since his stats are >75%ile and itās in budget. Oh well, Iām glad he seems content and I expect D23ās search will be a lot more complicated so there are more college tours in my future. And, this means we can take a fun trip to Florida instead.
@JESmom Iām jealous of you! While the college tours are fun and interesting, it should would be nice if S21 knew were he wanted to be and the stats and finances lined up to boot!! Enjoy Florida.
Ugh.
What kind of teacher gives an in-class, closed-book test consisting of ONE essay question that will count more than 30 percent of a marking periodās grade: one specific unknown question chosen from material convering four AP chapters (around 30 years of post-war/cold war US history). And not a broad, thematic umbrella question that any solid student WILL be able to develop and pull at least a B or C on, but a lottery question specific enough that a good student could bomb totally if the student is a little weak in that particular area. So what if the student has read, re-read, taken note, created charts and studied the chapters for hours and hours and has learned a great deal about that 30Ā±year time period She may still come out of that test with a low āF.ā Shocking for a 4.0 UW kid who has consistently set the curve in all her history classes, who had a 99% average and now faces a possible āCā in the class.
Hard day for D (and so, for me). Texting me like crazy at lunch. Saying tears were running down her face all morning. Inconsolable. I donāt know whether to be more exasperated with her ( a little) for not being more systematic in her studying, or with her teacher for not designing a fairer assessment, or just philosophical, as in ālife can be disappointing and hard sometimes and better to learn that now.ā (Not to mention the urge to say ācount your blessings,ā which I did NOT say!!!)
This grading period has been her hardest yet. For the last month sheās been grappling with the likelihood of getting, not one, but two Bās in AP Physics and AP LANG (first Bās since 2nd grade). Nervous that Physics COULD even be a C, as the teacher has left many assignments ungraded for weeks.
Even though I think maybe thatās a good life lesson for her to deal with, her ego has taken a hit and anxiety sky high. And now this. A rock-solid A in history down the drain. She studied throughout Christmas break. Even read a chapter Christmas afternoon. This afternoon she said sheās so, so tired of it all.
I went to DH for a little sympathy/support/guidance. To shore me up since Iām the one emotionally trying to shore HER up. His response? That Iāve made her anxious by talking about colleges too much. Gee, thanks! When do we start talking about all thisā¦senior year? Itās not as if Iām pressuring her for T-anythingsā¦Iāve been trying to talk up her safety schoolsā¦
I could use a hug 
@inthegarden Iām so sorry! Itās hard to watch kids run up against tough times at school. This too shall pass. Is she back to school already? These finals were this week?
Yes, thank you, @homerdog. She started back yesterday but they had a morning delay and she didnāt have her history class until today. What a shocker to have to start school after the holiday with a major test like that.
Youād think heād let them have at least one review class before taking an important test covering four chapters. All his other tests have covered only one chapter at a time, usually with at least 25 questions each test, so never before such a high-stakes risk. Only two weeks left in the grading period and not much chance to pull up her grade. Maybe she didnāt do as poorly as she thinks but she doesnāt think sheāll be able to keep even a low āAā.
D and I are indulging in a little Downton Abbey therapy now. She hasnāt seen the series yet.
@inthegarden That is terrible! I too get uneasy when D is upset with school stuff.
D and I have been binging on Netflix āCrash Landing on youā Such a fun K-drama
We donāt go back to school until Tuesdayā¦finals were done before Christmas break, semester is overā¦new terms starts with 4 new/fresh classes. S21 has Pre AP PreCal, Debate 1, the second term of DC History and band this semesterā¦heās also taking AP Govāt outside the school day through our districts virtual learning academy offerings (basically an online class). After getting his first and only C ever last semester in APES, he knows this term is his last chance to keep a hold on his GPA and class rank. Weāre waiting on the report card (already know his end of semester grades through) and fresh class rank list to be released next week. Hopefully that C didnāt ding him too much. He did very well in the Dual Credit History class which is weighted the same as APā¦end result for fall semester was DC History 96, Band 100, AP Lang 89 (so close lol!) and APES 79.
Holiday break was good, husband was away working (heās a commercial pilot) for most of it so the kids and I took a trip to NYC alone to soak in the last of the holiday decor and funā¦had a great time. S21 came back and hit the ACT prep studying right away, plan of action is Feb ACT then March SAT and hopefully not need to take either again!!!
@inthegarden Iām so sorry for your daughter. D21s APUSH teacher puts bonus questions on the quizzes, except theyāre all baseball trivia questionsā¦ so she never gets any of them. We had a similar experience with AP physics last semester, one big test that was pretty awful and then rushing to bring the grade up.
Mine goes back Monday. Iāve been off this week too and itās been pretty relaxing. Not looking forward to the Jan/Feb slump. At least I know to expect it now, those two months tend to be really down ones. One attempt at the ACT pending in February, likely with little prep aside from that she took it years ago as part of Duke TIP and then Iām looking forward to spring break.
@inthegarden Iām so sorry for your D and you.
My D is also have a tough quarter and my Husband is the same way, says I put pressure on her, his feeling is if she doesnāt do well it doesnāt effect us. D is a great student, certainly not the top of her class and a bad test taker. He doesnāt understand that that I am the one she cries to when she doesnāt live up to her standards. We just started medicating for her anxiety and depression and we are hoping it helps her not be so hard on herself.
Sort of related, Iām so mad with D English teacher. Itās not her strong subject so she didnāt take AP or college level, she is in honors. The teacher is such a hard grader and D has a high C right now. And she is apparently doing well compared to the rest of the class. He had an assignment due by 11:59pm on the last day of school before break, why?!?!? He didnāt even look at them and does t plan to until āmaybeā this coming week. Iām so mad that she had to stay up late to do this paper and itās supposed to be 5 points off for each day itās late and she said half the class didnāt even do the assignment when they got back to school. So unfair. Just needed to vent on that, been bothering me.
I feel your pain @inthegarden. Dās had several classes where it really seems like the goal is to make sure nobody ends up with an A! Her school is very high performing, wealthy and stressful! I find it ironic- on one hand, they push mental health (several suicides in recent years) and balance; on the other they make classes so difficult even to top students canāt get Aās. Itās a bit baffling. Iāve gotten many texts from D after coming out of impossible tests and quizzes. I just hope iām Right in telling her it will pay off in the end - making college less stressful!
Weāve bit the bullet - SAT tutor starts next weekend. We were going to wait until June, but sheās in the groove and with AP testing in May, March might be better. Fingers crossed this gets her math up closer to her verbal. We need 30 points for her safetyās Honors College threshold. Anything over that is gravy! Praying this will be her last test!
Thanks, everyone, weāre starting to feel better and pick up the pieces.
I donāt mind hard and thorough teachers, and while I donāt exactly like it, I donāt mind the less-than Aās in AP Lang and Physics because those teachers are challenging and stretching her in ways she needs. And itās better to have met hard challenges and hit walls before college. Iāve been telling D for years itās OK not to make all "A"s as long as she does her work and tries her best. I also tell her that the reason I want her to do well in school is to have āopen doorsā for anything she decides she want to do in life later, but the learning is more important than a laser-focus on grades.
But I just canāt get over a teacher giving such a lottery high-stakes test where several weeksā work (and more than a third of the grade) is asssessed by a single, rather narrow question that doesnāt begin to capture the breadth of a studentās learning, especially since heās never given a test like that, let alone one covering four chapters. D said itās to practice for the essay section of the AP test. Well, fine, but why not give three short essay questions to spread out the risk, or one essay and fifteen short-anwer/multiple choice questions? Ugh. My hands are tied and she doesnāt want me to contact the teacher.
@mm5678, so unfair about the baseball trivia stuff! I want your D to ask him if he thinks the world revolves around baseball, lol. She should propose another topic!
@AndreaLynn, I hope the anxiety/depression meds help your D. Watching them cry and suffer this way and feeling powerless to help is just the worst.
@Momof3B, glad you had a great time in NYC. I love NYC at Christmas time! I would never drive into the city, but thereās an Amtrak station on a NYC route about an hourās pleasant drive from us (then several hours on the train). D and I went for a few days between Christmas and New Yearās last year and had the best time (H stayed home with the pets). To celebrate her upcoming 16th birthday we stayed at a nicer hotel than I would normally spring for, saw a Broadway show, went to the MET, and the general things you might do in mid-town/Central Park. Would love to do that more often. Do you get to travel a lot (given that your husband is a pilot?) So envious!
Good luck everyone, with upcoming test prep! I really hope the March SAT will be it for our D. Since all of her target schools superscore, that will be it for her if she can just get her math score up 30 or 40 points. I want to take a nice trip with D in June, and band camp for the whole month of August is all-consuming (some days 9am-9PM) so July would be the only time to prep for August/Sept tests, and there will be summer homework and college essays to begin then. Sometimes I wish January was the standard time for college freshman year to begin, so these exhausted kids could have a gap semester without taking off a full year.
@inthegarden we travel a fair amount as the kids schedules allowā¦you know how impossible it is to do anything during marching band season!! Basically end of July to November our lives are on hold and revolve around band lol. But believe me, itās not as glamorous as it soundsā¦took us 36 hours and a reroute to Houston to get back home to Dallas from NYC this weekā¦so glamorous right?! Lol!!
NYC was great thoughā¦except for one nasty rainy day we had good weatherā¦I have a cousin who lives in Manhattan (Midtown area) who just happened to be back visiting in Dallas the week between Christmas and New Years who graciously gave us the keys to his apartment to useā¦timing worked out great for us.
Coincidentally, S21 decided he could see himself going to school in NYC lolā¦I told him to hold off until grad school because he certainly doesnāt have the stats for Columbia right now and if he were to get into NYU, We couldnāt afford it without a crap ton of financial/merit aid lol. Thank god S23 twins have no desire to apply to NYU!
@inthegarden What kind of teacher does this? One who seems a bit lazyā¦it is easier to come up with and grade a single, specific question than something broader.
Your poor D!! Especially on top of the other classes. Help her to just take a breath and think through how to deal with the physics and lang. One bad grade - history - isnāt the end of the world, but colleges would rather not see a trend.
@AndreaLynn My D suffers from anxiety. She is on Lexapro now. Helping some. She still has crying spells, mostly because she never gets invited to parties/ social things from girls from class that she is friendly with.
She had bought 2 girls earrings for Christmas because she thought they would have a sleepover at one of the girls homes this break (they had talked about it) well the gifts are still wrapped, no mention of sleep over. The struggle is real. I think if it werenāt for the boyfriendā¦she would have no social life at all.
@BingeWatcher she has been on Wellbutrin since Thanksgiving. They started with that since I also take it. I do see a difference and she says she feels itās helping. Itās so hard, and I probably should have done it sooner but we were hoping she would be able to avoid it.
The social life thing is so hard. D was exactly like your described, but thankfully last year she started getting included in with a group of girls that she dances with. They are a grade younger but because D is an October birthday many are her age.
D doesnāt know yet, but a friend of hers that is in this group who D thinks is a very good friend and was just in her sweet 16 Court is planning a night out for her Sweet 16 and D wasnāt invited. The girl is only taking like 7 kids and their āgroupā is double that, so clearly canāt invite all. This one will hurt D feelings. I know itās coming but donāt want to say anything
The social aspect is so hard, specially now with everything being posted on SM. S is the type of kid that is always waiting for someone to invite him to do something and we are always pushing him to take initiative and plan things also. He is lucky that the XC team is very close and there are always parties or outings where the entire team is invited.
Ugh. Weāve been there. In the end the girls who excluded my D turned out to be an unpleasant bunch, with a nasty habit of making up ugly rumors about people. Sheās so much better off without them, but it still hurt like heck at the time. And yes, especially when they would post pictures on SM of themselves hanging out without her with captions like, āthe gangās all here!ā Ouch.