We also got an invitation to a parent night about course selection for the first time ever this year. There was a separate college information night a couple of months ago.
I wonder if they’ve had issues in the past with parents complaining about course selection too late in the process? Our kids don’t get confirmed schedules/teachers until the last week of summer before school starts, and it’s very hard to switch, especially when there are only 1 or 2 sections for certain classes. I imagine this is especially an issue for senior year, when there are more electives, less of a standard progression. I’m also thinking that some juniors want to take it easy senior year, without realizing the ramifications of that choice for college admissions.
@carlson2 My kid also applied/is applying to a number of summer programs and there was a LOT of essay writing in our house over the last month. The good thing is that some of these can probably be repurposed for college essays next fall. I don’t think that writing about yourself is ever easy at any age, but for teenagers I think it can be especially difficult.
Thanks for that very helpful link. We are looking for merit and good OOS honors programs and there are a number of schools and awards listed there that are new to me.
I just texted S21 a picture of Lubbock,Tx blanketed in snow with the caption “this could be your future at Texas Tech”…his reply: “I’m not discounting it”
Gah…this kid is going to make me drive him 5 hours to the Panhandle…I can feel it
@Momof3B I wish there was a laugh button to click. I know a number of very capable kids who have gone there, attracted by NMF money and/or the strong engineering programs. Could do worse!
I know I know!!! I just need to let go of my own Dallasite bougie pre conceived notions about life in Lubbock lol. He’s not NMF, but is already an assured admit with his current stats…if he can conquer his testing anxiety he’ll have a shot at Honors College I think. He’s looking at Business programs, Rawls is pretty solid, but yes, I know they have a GREAT engineering dept. I have a good friend whose son, a senior this year, passed over his TAMU engineering acceptance for Tech and has done amazing.
I also LOVE that TTU has a campus in Sevilla Spain. My husband and I recently celebrated our 20th anniversary in Andalusia and we walked past the Tech campus in Sevilla…I really love how Tech supports Study Abroad with an array of offerings…that’s definitely something that’s important to our family. Our kids have traveled through Europe and Asia a fair amount and would like to continue that in college.
We have a regional event we’ll be attending at the end of March, if it goes well and my son likes it we’ll make the drive up there!
We have a friend’s kid who’s in a cool learning community at Texas Tech for kids who’ve had substance abuse / addiction problems. He struggled in high school with addiction. Went to TT all the way from NC b/c of this program. Last I heard now he wants to be a recovery counselor. It’s been a godsend for the family!
@Momof3B How does that work with all of the DE classes? Just curious. We don’t have those here. And what are English 1301 and 1302? Why wouldn’t he just take English at the high school?
And I know it’s sad to think about him leaving. I’m still mourning S19 leaving. I was pretty sad for the whole first semester. Missed him so much even though we text every day and talk quite a bit. It’s a big change and seems so permanent. Kids leave for school and they never really live at home anymore. Boo! But I will say that I feel better this semester. The transition was hard on me but, when it becomes the new normal, it gets easier.
So here in Texas, the community colleges and state public universities have unified courses that transfer. When a high school junior or senior takes a dual credit course it not only satisfies their high school graduation requirement but also the college class. So Eng 1301 and 1302 are core curriculum college courses (Might be called Composition 1 & 2 at TAMU for example) but will also give him credit for high school English 4. Our district gives these dual credit classes the same multiplier/weight as an AP. So he had the choice of taking AP Lit or Dual Credit Eng 4. My son does better with DC, then AP, again, because of his testing anxiety. He has a 4.0 in all his community college classes, with no stress of AP exams. By the end of his senior year he will graduate with 21 college credit hours…basically 6 core required curriculum classes. The cost at community college is like $130 per credit hour, so each class costs like $390, paid directly to the community college. Since we know he’s staying in state and public, it’s saving me money on tuition as well! The more classes he can take DC, the better. When planning his classes for 11th & 12th grade, we pulled all the course sheets for the schools and majors he was interested in to make sure that the classes would be accepted and needed.
The kids go to the community college campus to take the class or depending on how many kids are registered for that particular DC class, the instructor can come to the high school and teaches the class on the high school campus, Tuesday and Thursday…on M/W/F when the dc class isn’t being held the kids in that class have advisory/study hall.
Sigh, I know, I agree with your last part!! I just have such a special bond with this one in particular …he was our miracle baby…after multiple miscarriages and surgeries and IVF when we were told I probably wouldn’t ever be able to carry a baby to full term we had him!
@homerdog so great to keep up with your d’s progress. And all the other parents here. Great insight. You’ll survive. Lol.
The BC ED change info has been dripping out. 2780 or so applicants. 36 percent Ed 1 acceptance rate. 30ish for Ed 2. Roughly half the class will be filled early. 29500 total applications. So about 26000 plus for rd and a much lower acceptance rate than early. Total admissions rate is expected to be in the 18 to 20 percent level including Ed this year.
Stats will be slightly towards the median early and higher for rd is the guess. We will see.
It most likely will come out very near historical. Lower acceptance rate and much higher yield.
Some of this is tbd obviously. That’s just some of the public feedback and some other info I’ve been told.
@privatebanker Oh how I hate ED and the above BC stats show why. Now, kids who want to go to schools with ED practically have to decide by early senior year that they have a first choice and apply ED to have a chance. God forbid that kids need more time to decide or that parents want to compare financial offers. It’s even worse than it was last year when S19 went through. I’m seeing the same thing happen on the Tulane threads. Hardly anyone getting in EA, only ED. Unfortunately for D, what this means is that she may have to choose an ED school and we have to once again be ready to be full pay and not compare offers in April 2021.
Y’all are making me feel so much better as many of the experiences you are posting are happening in my home. We are near Richmond, VA (where nobody takes the ACT and SAT is king). After all my research, I had DD take a practice ACT over Christmas break and it looks like it’s her test- 3 practices are significantly better than her Nov. SAT. I bought prep books, printed out things I found online and have been encouraging her to prep. This time of year is her only lull (3 season Varsity athlete and I made her sit out indoor track this year so she could get a break and study more, plus year round competitive dance). But she - in my opinion- hasn’t prepped like I envisioned her doing. She is SO focused on her classes and maintaining straight A+ that she left herself no time and I allowed her to sleep in most weekends until well past noon to catch up on rest. 4-5 hours a night is her standard. She take the ACT this weekend, and I already have a tutor lined up for the math section (her weakness) to get her ready to take it again in April. For the first time, all JRs will take the SAT in school in March, but I won’t ask her to prep at all for that specifically and hope, perhaps, the ACT math prep will rub off! We will qualify for need aid, so are targeting meets needs schools or those with substantial aid possible. She really likes W&L and Richmond and will apply in state to W&M too. We are looking at Davisdon over break and will tour Furman and maybe Wofford too. Tulane, Rice and Vandy are also on her list for now. We don’t have Naviance, but are at a smaller, average performing school and the “smart kids” typically all stay in state and go to UVA or W&M. I’m not sure if guidance will be of any help as we continue to build her list. I would LOVE for testing to be done and dusted before summer. Fingers crossed.
@homerdog I think your d would be a great applicant. And with those super sat practice scores holding up it would be certainly a possibility. But it does up the ante to choose early. I think it would exactly what she’s looking for tbh.
I believe they went Ed for yield and to lower admissions rates. Money isn’t a issue. They have a big endowment and lots of full pay students. It’s the whole yield issue as its bandied about and effects admission rates which in turn effects the selectivity and rankings.
My guess is BC was internally very angry at moving from 29 or 30 in usnwr to 37 despite much higher stats and lower admit rates than some in the vicinity.
They seem to really have an eye on the diversity and economic opportunity quotients in the new rankings. Plus adding the school of engineering and big integrated sciences school.
For what it’s worth they seem to want solidify themselves towards the t 25 type level. They certainly feel as or more competitive than some test optional but fantastic schools like wake at 29 and always have gtown and Nd in their sights.
This is all just my personal observation. Nothing first hand.
@homerdog - I’m with you. I hate ED too. We did not do ED for D16 b/c we’re a need-eligible family and we really need to compare offers. S21 and I really have to look at his list and rerun NPCs to figure out if there’s any school he wants to ED at. This is random information, but I also finally found out that USC (California) will stack tuition exchange (we are eligible) with NMF. Given this, USC will now be on S21’s list.
Regarding how many times to take the ACT, the tutor we used insists people do best on their 3rd attempt. My S took it with a little self study prep and did worse than on the practice tests - and worse than we expected by several points - so decided to do some tutoring. He worked really hard, gained 4 points with a rise in every section, and was then burnt out and did not test a 3rd time. I think he may have only stood to gain a point or two (or none) and it would have been so much work. He looked at me and said “Isn’t this good enough?” And I said yes, of course it is! He tested in December and then April of junior year. It was nice not having that over his head in the summer.
Another hater of ED here. We need to compare financial offers. I think D would be a great candidate at a lot of schools, but we can’t take the chance on the money. It really kills the large number of people in the middle - too rich for need based, too “poor” to pay $75k+ a year for the kid’s top pick. We may get some at the super expensive places, but I can’t risk being on the hook for $60k/year.
Good luck to all the kids taking the ACT this weekend
our son will be taking it for the first time and his practice tests really been pretty average…
crossing fingers as he’s just not doing great at standardize tests right around 1200 SAT
24/25 ACT on practice tests
but he’s a solid A student with lots of honors and AP math and science very very frustrating
Math and science sections are high reading in English or Lau which makes total sense to us
we did private SAT tutoring I honestly don’t think it made much of a difference?
he might need a new approach but he’s getting burned out already and I feel like a broken record and it’s only February!!!
Re: Jr meetings
in our area (Upstate NY) parents are invited and encouraged to attend for junior year. I did not go freshman or sophomore year I think it’s just this year is the big meeting.
He’s our oldest of three boys so this is all new for my husband and I.
@homerdog@carlson2@NJWrestlingmom I also hate ED with a passion. How is the average 17/18 year old to have a decisive opinion in the fall of senior year? Especially for students who might not have the opportunity to visit many college campuses or students whose parents need to compare financial offers, etc. etc. I would love to see a nationwide non-binding SCEA as a substitute for ED (with accommodation for a limited number of early applications elsewhere if they are required for merit scholarship consideration). That would enable schools to better manage their yield without unduly restricting the student and their family.
My older kid had a favorite school early on and it was the one she ended up attending. However, she did want the opportunity to consider multiple schools. D21 is all over the map at this point but is also very adaptable. She would not want to be hemmed in at this point. Having written this, I am now envisioning a request to apply ED next fall, LOL! But seriously, she will be chasing merit and I would like to see what scholarships are out there for NMF qualifiers as some sort of graduate degree is likely for the future. RD, here we come!
With the ACT, the timing is so tight. that’s why it’s so hard for some kids to get their scores up. It isn’t really that they don’t know the material, for a lot of them. The tutor had my kid a use watch to keep track, and advised him on how to use the time he had - i.e. you have 60 minutes for 60 math questions, but the questions get harder and harder, so don’t use one minute each on the early questions. I sort of wish I had him do the SAT which has more time, but apparently trickier questions than the ACT. That is the line we were told, anyway. But by this time he was already burnt out on testing so he never took the SAT. With my younger one I will have him do full practice tests for both before deciding. If I can convince him to, that is.
Since math was my kid’s weaker section, the idea was that the SAT has 2 math sections and the ACT only one, so the ACT would be better for him. Maybe it was…
