@mamaedefamilia – that would be nice!
I exchanged emails with his test prep tutor, and she said at this point it’s all mental for him. He needs to be in the right head space for the test and not rush, make careless mistakes. Use the tips they give him on how to tackle the test.
I can tell he’s anxious and am worried that will get in his way on the actual test day. Ugh – hate this for him!
@mamaedefamilia My older D, who also tended to get anxious over standardized tests, got her highest score ever on the real ACT, boosting her composite by an extra point vs. the practice tests. Maybe the test favored her, maybe the adrenaline ended up focusing her, who knows? It can happen!
Our school has 8 blocks and the counselors highly, highly encourage early release or late arrival junior and senior year. As class rank is determined on weighted GPA and it’s pretty much impossible to fill a full schedule with weighted classes, it’s pretty rare to find a senior with 8 classes. My D20 had 7 first semester and 6 second semester senior year and did just find with college results.
I agree that, sometimes, a little nervousness can help. Also, @AlmostThere2018 remind him that there are many tests dates left. If it were Oct of senior year, then the pressure is much higher. He’s got time for multiple tries.
@Maud_dib I think that looks plenty rigorous. My S21 also has Virginia Tech as his top choice, applying as a math or statistics major. Unless he changes his mind, his schedule looks like this…
AP Literature
AP Calculus BC
AP Statistics
IB Economics
Astronomy
Geospatial Tools & Techniques (DE)
Free period so he’ll be out early
Definitely leaning into his quantitative interests. I was surprised that he opted for AP Lit since reading fiction really is not his thing but he’s done very well in AP Lang this year so perhaps that’s built his confidence.
I think the only class he was still thinking about is the Geospatial. It looks really cool, lots of data visualization which he likes but wants to find out a bit more about work load on top of his other 4 AP/IB classes. Alternatively, he could do a 2nd year of graphic design which he’s doing now.
Also, this is a block schedule where most classes are every-other-day but one class is in a shorter daily period.
I’ve never heard of early release. That’s not done at all around my area. It’s always fascinating to me how different schools can be. We also don’t have TA, and study hall is not a class the “smart” student take. College bound students always take a full schedule. I don’t know how admission officers can compare kids from such varied programs/schools.
@Rue4 I agree! We’re in an urban school district that doesn’t allow much flexibility or variation. Definitely no early release allowed. And our older daughter has a block schedule, but it’s nothing like I see described on here. All classes are year-long, not semesters, for example, except PE in 9th/10th. I wonder if there are similarities at least among AO regions, for example?
Well, things just got real in our household. We got this month’s counseling newsletter last night and the junior meetings are starting.
My daughter has to fill out a counselor survey before the meeting and it is going to take her forever - it’s intense. All I can say is - thank goodness we are in the second half of the alphabet.
One section says - cut and paste a draft of your personal statement here. What??
Another section:
Which one of the following prompts regarding your high school experiences would you most like to write about? Feel free to write about it.
a) Give a specific example of a topic in class you’ve found inspiring and the reason why it motivated you.
b) What personal challenge have you encountered and how have you grown from this experience?
c) Choose something you’ve been involved in and describe how this group would have functioned without your contributions.
d) Describe something you’re so passionate about that you would cry if it were taken away.
e) Describe the last time you laughed so hard your face hurt.
Most of the rest of the survey is fine - almost a resume of sorts, plus college/major interests, etc.
I have to guess that many, many kids will look at this survey the first time the evening before their meeting and won’t complete it. At the meeting the counselor will probably just say - keep working on this — we NEED it by early senior year.
But maybe it’s good to start thinking about these types of questions. The more thoroughly you complete this survey, the better the counselor’s recommendation will be.
@JESmom That Geospatial class would be right up D’s alley.
We don’t have PLTW, so wished we did. D’s learning so much from the NASA High school Aerospace program. Currently she is dreaming of a NASA career.
We have 8 periods a day. 8-4 daily. Many seniors get early release or late arrival. D is trying to hold on to her to her rank so no early release for her.
@3kids2dogs I really like that survey, I like how it really forces the kids so take a deeper look at themselves.
+1 on liking the survey!!! I wish DS school had these types of expectations/conversations.
Hi to the lovely parents of 21. Question:
Is your kid taking or did your kid take Calc AB?
If so, did they take or will they be taking: Calc BC?
Would this be the natural progression?
My older kid who didn’t love math, took Calc AB & BC and she got A’s in both. D21 loves Math, got an A Semester 1 but doesn’t love Calc and isn’t likely going into a STEM major. Next year her AB friends are taking Stats and are trying to convince her to do the same. Give me your wisdom 
Yes, my 2021 kid did take AB and then BC, but will be going into STEM or at least math and economics.
I think that if your daughter doesn’t like calculus, there is no reason to take BC if her current goals lie outside STEM. Do well in AB, get a 5 on the exam, and no one will question her ability.
In the long run, an understanding of basic statistics is going to be much more relevant than a second year of calc for 99% of the people out there anyway. I say take AP stats, and don’t look back.
I think if your D21 for sure isn’t going to go into STEM (not all will even require calculus. I am a ChemE major and I remember other sciences required a different level of calc/math in college), I would recommend skipping calculus BC. I do think stats is a useful class. I think it’ll help her be mentally prepared for college. Many majors require stat (Psych, Business, too!) and stat is just useful in real life applications. I took stats for the first time in college and wished I had taken it in high school. Just seeing other twice is just a nicer pace.
If he’s happy with his ACT exam, I would skip the SAT. Colleges don’t need both scores and I think it’s a money maker thing for the College Board company. My S21 got a great score on his ACT in Dec. He is skipping all the school SAT stuff, if that is another set of data point to put you at ease
Will the rest of her schedule show sufficient rigor @meddy for the counselor to select most rigorous available? AP Stats is significantly easier that AP Calc BC - although if your school breaks it up, it might not be as challenging. AP Calc BC is offered after precalc at our school.
@Meddy At my kid’s school, students are placed in Stats, AB, or BC after precalc, depending on their precalc teacher’s recommendation. Kids who take BC in junior year will go on to MV Calc or a DE course at a local college. Those who take AB, often take AP stats in senior year. My older kid found statistics very challenging when first encountering it in college. Some background in HS could be helpful and many majors in the social sciences require stats.
@3kids2dogs That is some survey! Sounds like a more personalized “brag sheet” for the counselor. If counselors at your child’s high schools have a lot of students to cover, answering those prompts probably helps to make the counselor recommendation less generic and more memorable.
We had both parent and child surveys to fill out earlier in the month (no essays!) and will be seeing the college counselor at the end of month.
@Meddy at our high school AB is taken mostly be seniors who take precalculus junior year. If you took precalculus sophomore year, you go straight to BC junior year. Then senior year for Multivariable if they love math or AP stats if they don’t but want to take a 4th year.
So, these kids never really encounter that choice.
If your kid is not a STEM major I don’t think BC vs. Stats matters as long as there’s other rigor on her transcript. Admissions folks don’t expect everyone to take all the hardest classes, and they know that Calc does not make everyone’s heart sing. If she’s a social science / humanities kid I think Stats is a good choice.
Calc AB this year, Calc BC next. Would have gone straight to Calc BC this year but our school hadn’t started offering it yet.
What will your D21 need to take in college? My S21 is undecided about STEM, but in the event that he does a STEM degree, he figures the BC will help with Calc 2 in college. (He would take Calc 2, just have some useful background.)
He is taking AP Stats this year. Stats will be useful no matter what degree.