@carlson2 what state are you in? In NJ no reason to take it. D’s school doesn’t offer in school testing at all.
@AndreaLynn I’m in NJ but from NY and have family there so know a little bit about it. Believe there’s a class rank component to that one, unlike Excelsior.
@NJWrestlingmom yes their is a class rank of top 10%, which at least as of now she is. I’m just trying to understand the possible loan repayment. The plan is to stay in NY for the 5 years. But should an incredible job offer come around and she takes it and the disbursed scholarship converts to a 10 year loan with accrued interest and she was going to take a loan anyway, does it make sense to apply. Worse case she has a loan either way I guess. Am I overthinking this?
Since he will likely score well, his participation will boost the average score for his school and district. So from that perspective, there’s a ‘public good’ reason for him to sit for the test.
@AndreaLynn I guess just research what kind of interest rate it would default to? If it’s reasonable, I don’t see the downside if you would need to be taking loans at a non-state school anyway.
@AlmostThere2018 from the perspective of the school, I guess. I wouldn’t let that sway me!
@NJWrestlingmom some states use the SAT slew of tests to keep track of how their students are performing. In Illinois, at least, high schools give the PSAT 8/9, the PSAT 10, the PSAT and then the SAT and kids have to take all of those sittings to graduate. If a student is sick or misses that day, there are make up days available but they have to take it.
@NJWrestlingmom - we’re in Ohio.
@AlmostThere2018 - interesting perspective. Thank you.
@homerdog - we’re still finalizing his college list. I guess that I thinking that I don’t want him taking it on the off chance that if he doesn’t do well on it and he ends up applying to a school that will want to see all of his test scores. I also thinking mentally that it would be a good break for him to not have to worry about another test. I will check to make sure it is not a graduation requirement - thanks!
@carlson2 One, find out if Ohio is the same as Illinois and, two, if the test isn’t mandatory and his ACT score is outstanding, then there’s no reason to take any SAT.
Just fyi, though, there are very very few schools that get all tests. And that number gets lower every year. There are lists out there but it’s probably best to check each college’s website to get most updated info.
@homerdog yes, I’m aware. That’s why it’s a state specific issue. Some NJ schools (my son’s was one) start the kids taking it during school hours in 7th grade. D’s school never uses a school day for testing. If you want your kid to take it, you have to sign up and pay for it, taking it on a Saturday.
@carlson2 What does he want to do? I think I would go with that. I do not see too much downside to doing it so would leave it up to him.
@yearstogo - I will ask him. I think if given the choice of sleeping in or taking the SAT, he would choose sleep!
D21 made out her preliminary schedule with her guidance counselor today. We have block scheduling and she wanted early release for her senior year to work at a PT job. Here’s what they came up with:
AP Bio
AP Stats
AP Environmental Science
AP Comparative Gov’t
DE (Dual Enrollment) English (writing)
TA for chemistry or biology, in lieu of a resource (study hall) block
They have four blocks a day, so she would be there for three blocks on “A” days and three on “B” days.
This looks like a rigorous enough schedule but we’re afraid colleges might be put off by the early release. Her number one school is Virginia Tech right now. What do you all think?
Almost all the seniors at our school do early release and we have great college results. I think her schedule looks plenty rigorous.
We don’t have early release. I wish we did!
@Muad_dib looks like she’s got two science, a math, a history, and an English so she’s covering her bases on everything except foreign language but I know lots of kids drop that before senior year. Looks good to me!
I like what I know about the block schedule. I hate that our kids have all seven classes every day. It’s such a grind. Plus it leaves no way to be creative at all. All classes every day and school from 8:00-3:00. Really no exceptions.
@homerdog : She’s taking Latin V this year and doesn’t want to take AP Latin (it might not even be offered).
We are on traditional 7 period schedule, and almost all seniors have either free 1st or or free 7th. For one thing, it decreases congestion in the parking lot, lol! You don’t get to choose which one – it depends on the schedule you get. We are a top public school with lots of kids going to highly selective schools.
Here’s my S’s schedule next year:
AP Calc AB (he was going to take BC but the current teacher is not great)
AP Lit
APES
AP Physics 1 (block class, 1st semester)
AP Physics 2 (block class, 2nd semester)
PLTW - Aerospace
Can you tell he’s a STEM guy?
Poor kid is def. in the Feb. slump right now. Pretty stressed out. Takes school-based ACT later this month and he’s nervous. He’s not a natural test taker. He can do practice tests at home and get a 34, but when he’s done 2 mock tests at his tutoring center his highest score is 30 so far. He’s doing another one on Sat. We aren’t talking about a goal score, but if he got a 32 I’d be thrilled. Realistically, I think super scoring is going to be his friend, and the fact that in the Fall he can just sit for one or two sections is great.
I hope he can keep it together for a few more months. Every time I give him a pep talk he doesn’t want to engage. His mental health is most important to me so I make not to put pressure on him around grades, etc., but he puts a lot of pressure on himself.
@AlmostThere2018 Aerospace? That’s so cool! We don’t have anything like that. Just core subject classes, art, music, lots of business classes. What does PLTW mean?
Project Lead the Way. It’s a national pre-engineering program. He’s taken the two intro classes already and this will be his first PLTW elective. He loves it and the teachers. They helped start a FIRST robotics team at his school last year which is currently taking a ton of his time, but he’s all in.
The nice thing is that PLTW courses have AP weighting at our school, so it’s been a nice boost for his class rank. He’s got a 4.0 and was 5th out of 250 last year (we’re a small public HS). I’m not sure he’ll be able to hang on to his 4.0 this year, though, which is totally fine, but I think he wants to follow in his older sis’s footsteps as a valedictorian. (All 4.0 kids at our school are valedictorians, regardless of rigor. I like this policy as it reduces competition.)
@almostthere2018 I have heard anecdotally that sometimes the tests at the test center are harder than the actual test so that when your kid gets a great score on the real thing they can claim the credit for the improvement in scores. This may well be an urban legend but I thought I’d mention it as a potential morale booster!
FWIW, my kids only prepped at home under timed conditions with real ACT/SAT tests that had been retired by the testing agencies. Those tests fell within a fairly narrow range and the result on the real test fell within those numbers.
I like your school’s policy of all 4.0 students being valedictorians. My kid’s HS doesn’t rank at all and I like that too! 