@kbm770 yes, I was writing my most when you posted yours. Sounds like your daughter’s got it well in hand. 100 points away on the SAT is pretty close!
@Momof3B Wow, what a mature attitude on the part of your son! Sounds like wherever he lands, he has the mindset to have a good experience.
@kbm770 Is the test date at her school the same as the national test date (April 4)? I have heard of testing dates that are different for when they take it at school, but I can’t remember if that’s for ACT or SAT.
If April is not an option, I strongly recommend June or July. My older kid took her ACT in August of senior year and not only did prep overshadow her final summer at home, it was also stressful not having final scores in hand when we planned our college visits. She had taken the SAT in Spring of junior year and didn’t get the score she wanted, so this ACT ended up being a high stakes test. Getting kids to prep over the summer when they’re burned out from junior year classes and gearing up for college apps is also no fun! Finally, sometimes scores can be delayed and if your kid is looking towards EA or ED applications, waiting for those results to come in can be agonizing.
One more thing - it is possible to register for standardized tests at locations far from home. So if your family happens to be vacationing in July, she could take the test at the nearest testing center. I once ran into a family who did just that while waiting to pick up my kid after the SAT.
Just when I thought I’ve heard it all on these boards. This anticdote could be included in the Race to Nowhere sequel. 
We have an SAT sitting at school in April. It’s mid-April sometime. I forget the exact date. It’s just four weeks or so after the March sitting. I’m not a fan of how our school does that all-school sitting. They put all 700 kids in the field house at long tables. It’s a completely distracting environment. There are only two bathrooms close to the field house if the kids want to try to get to one between sections. Same set up for the PSAT. Not ideal.
I don’t want to discount the all school-test but I do wonder if it’s not quite the same. The kids don’t seem to complain too much about it but I think the environment isn’t conducive to getting the highest score!
Just a FYI, I checked the ACT site and there doesn’t seem to be a March test date for 2020?
D’s in-school SAT sitting is also mid-April, a week or two later than the national test date and days after spring break. Definitely not ideal!
When D took the December SAT, they tested in classrooms, but at the ACT on Saturday, she said they sat at long tables in the school gym. I wondered if that was an ACT/SAT thing, or if it each school administers the tests differently? If so, we’re heading back to the other place for future testing!
D asked yesterday when she’d get her scores back, and I asked if she had a target in mind. She mentioned that she’d looked up the scores she’d need for a chance at her current favorite schools. I wouldn’t have guessed that she’d have researched that on her own, but I’m glad she’s thinking about it. As much as I’d like her to relax and not think about testing over the summer, it looks like July would be the best time for an ACT re-take.
Our in school SAT day is March 25th, I’m not sure where in the building they administer it, I forgot to ask lol.
@homerdog - my daughter has the exact opposite problem. She has to test alone and she HATES it. She says there’s just an energy in a room full of kids taking the test that she doesn’t get. Sometimes, because they have nothing to do, the proctors literally just stare at her for the entire time (well, it feels like it - that’s what she says)
But there’s nothing she can do about it. She has type 1 diabetes and wears an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor that make noise at random times (her glucose can rise really fast with adrenaline, etc) and it’s not fair to other students to have her beeping and buzzing over three hours while they are trying to concentrate.
Edit to add - our all school SAT is April 14th. The freshman and sophomores take the PSAT on the 15th. I kind of wish it were reversed, so that the juniors had the day before the SAT off instead of the day after.
@3kids2dogs I never thought about it like that but it makes sense that being alone would be rough for such a long test!
She says the worst is when she finishes early. Then they are both just staring at each other waiting for time to run out!
@homerdog So glad your D had a fun weekend. I feel that way a lot with D19 now that all the pressure of the college process is behind her. I can even hear the lightness in her voice over the phone. Love it!
I wanted to share with everyone that D21 and I have been raising a puppy for Canine Companions for Independence for 21 months, and Friday is the day she goes back to our regional CCI campus for intensive training to (hopefully) become a service dog. Of course we knew this day would come before we even received her, and we want her to do what she was born to do. But I’m worried about what it’s going to be like to adjust to life without her. Raising her together has been such a positive project for us—it’s a topic we can always unite over. Training her and walking her lifts D’s mood every day. She has been this puppy’s mom in many ways.
We’ll have to figure out some coping skills. I’m worried that it’s going to be hard for D to focus, and there’s so much pressure on juniors right now. She wants to take her first SAT on March 14th, and she has a big project due at the end of March. Plus all the usual stressors. I wanted to give a heads up that I may come looking for suggestions on how to give D a positive distraction etc.!
@3SailAway - that is so incredible that you raised a puppy for Canine Companions for Independence. I really admire you and your D for taking on such a big responsibility for someone else. I’m sure there will be a big adjustment period when she’s gone, but you can have such pride in what you accomplished together.
@3SailAway You might want to check out local animal shelters to see if they need any volunteer help. It might ease the transition as you say farewell to your furry friend.
Thanks, @3kids2dogs ! We have also been 3 kids, 2 dogs, so we will still have our pet dog, which will help. Raising the puppy was D’s idea and she had to convince me. I managed to mostly block this part out until now. I like your phrase “adjustment period” because it reminds me that we will slowly adjust.
@mamaedefamilia , I think you are right that we are going to need furry exposure therapy. D wants to apply to foster dogs and/or babysit CCI puppies when their puppy raisers go away. I will think about that, but maybe volunteering at the shelter would be easier on my heart!
@3SailAway CCI sounds like such a great experience. Have you seen the Pick of the Litter documentary on Amazon Prime, about raising puppies for guide dogs?
We’ve been working through course selection with S21 and he’s surprised me by wanting to take AP Literature but does not want to take AP Physics (he’s in regular this year). He’d prefer not to take a science but I told him he had to so he’s picked Astronomy. With AP English + AP Calc BC, AP Stats, IB Economics, he has plenty of rigor without a higher level science. Still need to make a final pick on elective, but he’s leaning towards a DE class in geospatial tools and techniques. A lot of data visualization that seems like it’s right on target for his interests. He just want to see if he can talk with anyone who’s taken it. Otherwise, he could take a 2nd year of computer graphics, which has been his light elective this year. And, then he’s taking a free period for the 7th slot, as many of our seniors do.
@3SailAway When I was in college, one of my good friends was from a family that helped raise seeing eye dogs…they also kept the ones that didn’t quite make the cut. So they had, I believe, 4 Labs as family pets, all of whom had been in the program but hadn’t made it all the way through. As a result of having been trained that way, though, they were incredible dogs! I met them multiple times since her family had a cabin on a big lake not terribly far from school. I think that’s such a great activity that you did - though it will be a bit hard to adjust now, I’m sure. Strangely enough, we also have 3 kids/2 dogs, haha.
Ok - need feedback from all of you. S21’s HS has an SAT day where all the juniors take the SAT. He took the ACT last June and he’s pretty happy with his score, as am I. As far as I’m concerned, he’s done with testing, with the exception of AP tests and subject tests. His ACT score will serve as the qualifying score for the October PSAT for him. Is there any reason that you can think of for him to take the SAT at school? I’m inclined to let him skip that day, b/c I really can’t think of any benefit for him to take it. Thoughts?
@carlson2 No reason to buy into the CC hype. If he has a score that he’s happy with, than why would he take it again?
@carlson2 If you live in Illinois, that SAT is mandatory for graduation. Believe me, I tried to get S19 out of it. I couldn’t understand why they just couldn’t use his Aug SAT score. There’s no way around it. Just make sure that this school SAT does not show up on his transcript and then don’t even worry about how he scores.
Anybody in NY familiar with the N.Y. S STEM scholarship?