D took APHG, she thought is was easier than she expected. She put a lot of effort in her preparation.
Received her May 5 SAT. I was hoping this year of 9th grade would move up her CR score…than did not happen. Her grammar score went up quite a bit, math and CR stayed the same. Still a good score though.
Will have her reading some articles from The Economist, National Geography and the such this summer.
@BingeWatcher what is CR?
@burghdad It is the critical reading section of the SAT (the one that is hardest to improve on). My D is not a natural reader. I was hoping the reading she did this year in 9th grade, which was significantly more than 8th grade would help.But there was no change. Interestingly enough, her grammar came up from missing 12 to missing 6. At least her CR or math scores did not decrease.
@BingeWatcher why is your D taking the SAT?
@homerdog, where we live in WEst Texas, I have not been able to find experienced tutor that comes with a proven tract record. or any type of sat prep like “More than a Teacher” which gives timed practice test.
So I feel for us, periodic real Sats help. She does ZERO prep other than she rereads the instructions of each section the night before she takes it.
I am trying to find out if she will increase her score with just the school work and maturing. Every time she takes it, she becomes more familiar with the material, the type of questions and the style of the test.
Since we are not targeting ANY schools that require all test to be sent. I don’t think it hurts her at all.
I do not want to use ANY of the official released SATs yet. They are being saved for next summer when we will have our intense home SAT prep. I want to use all of the released test leading up the the 11th grade PSAT.
her sub scores are Critical reading 52 Q, 44 right, grammar 44 Q 38 correct, math 58Q 56 correct
700V/ 790M
Remember NMF is our goal and NFM means she will get close to full ride at NMF schools. I can’t tell you how important this for us. ( single mom w/o college fund). EFC 36,200 totally unaffordable.
D likes to take the test with nothing on the line, so no stress, but she is very invested in her scores and wants to see if she can beat her scores each time she takes it.
I think the next time will be March 2019…I know this is unorthodox but it is what we are doing…
Edit: if she is scoring this high without official prep…Then Erica Meltzer may be enough to push her up.
The SI currently in Texas is 221. So very little room for errors. .
@BingeWatcher If NMF is your goal, make sure your D is practicing PSAT tests next summer. Not just SATs. The tests are a little different. S19 scored a 1540 SAT (740 EW 800 math) on his first try in Aug of his junior year but then got a little stumped on some of the math on the PSAT that Oct. I think it was stats kinds of problems that didn’t really show up on the SAT. We aren’t sure if he will be NMF since he’s right at the cut off for our state at 221. He’s not looking at any big NMF scholarship schools so it’s not a deal breaker for us. but I just wanted to give you a heads up.
I am definitely having D21 take a PSAT in Ocotober next year for practice and comfort for the real thing in 11th grade. Did not do so with D18 and regretted it as she just missed NMF. I think with some earlier study and practice she could have gotten it.
@mom2cats, yes PA. I’m a big history buff so looking forward to some site seeing over the next 4 years!
D got co-section leader officially! Now just has to earn the respect of 11 teen guys.
Hello all. Last day of 9th grade was last Friday. D got her Learner’s Permit today but in no hurry to get behind the wheel right now.
She is enjoying Netflix, Nintendo Switch sleeping late and just not having to “think”
Mad Props to @mom2cats D on getting section leader!
We are under an extreme heat wave.We are just trying to stay out of the heat.
@mom2cats, congrats to your drumming D and more power to her!
Stay cool, @BingeWatcher! I’m taking my D19 to Virginia to see my alma mater at the end of June and I really hope it’s not above 80. She isn’t fond of extreme heat! Neither is D21, so something to consider.
Always dangerous to visit hot, humid places in the summer, @3SailAway! :)) Maybe you’ll need to return for a trip at the end of October or in the spring. I think Virginia is the prettiest place in the world in April.
@EastGrad, I know! It’s alumni admissions weekend, though, so we didn’t want to pass up the opportunity. D19 will go back in the fall if it turns out to be a favorite . . . As for D21, I think you’re right–I grew up in VA and it’s lovely in April!
Congrats to your daughter for finishing 9th and getting her Learner’s Permit, @BingeWatcher! You just reminded me that my own kid gets to start driving later this month. Ack. The time is flying.
D21 is finishing up her SAT2 Chem exam as I write, and then she is DONE for this academic year. She still has an ungraded, extra coding class that goes until mid-June, but that is not stressful and it doesn’t go on her transcript. She will spend the next two weeks catching up on some extracurricular duties that she put off in May while studying for her AP exams and today’s exam, then it’s vacation, camp, and her summer extracurriculars.
I am proud of her for finishing strong after that temporary distraction (new cute boy in her circle of friends…she lost all focus for a couple weeks and bombed a test and a couple quizzes) in Feb. She worked her tail off to recover her grades and ended with As in everything except AP Chem, in which she got an A-. We also casually toured a few colleges this year and she really likes one that has an acceptance rate of 50% - so she feels pretty good about her future possibilities and ended the year upbeat and confident, so I’m happy for her. Of course, her college preferences may change over the next couple years, but for now I am glad she knows there is at least one place she likes that isn’t impossible to get into (she is surrounded by Ivy people in her daily life due to her father’s work and my background, so I am trying to make sure neither of my kids think she MUST get into an Ivy or that other colleges aren’t wonderful just because they aren’t HYP etc).
It has been a good (yet hectic) year. Soon off to get my kid ice cream and hear about the exam. 
I hope all of you have a great summer and that everyone’s kids get some down time in front of TV for a bit.
3 weeks left. I’m not sure any work is getting done! Every night is an awards thing and every day a picnic or party. It’s too much. My son is a senior so there’s extra stuff and then finally graduation. When do they rest? When do I rest? lol
Our flights to Colorado are booked and now I have to plan everything else quickly. We were waiting on college orientation dates and then hoping for a sale, but at least we have tickets now.
Hello everyone! D finished school on Friday. She was a little stressed during exam week but as far as she can tell she was able to hang on and get all A’s. She has done nothing but relax since then and now we are packing up for a family trip to WY this week. When she gets homes he has a few weeks off (hoping to volunteer at the library) then she heads to a summer program where she gets to live on a boat and scuba dive for three weeks in the Leeward Islands - I am so jealous! After that she flies straight to my mom’s house in MA so we can do our annual family visit to MA and ME. We usually don’t get back to FL until about a week before school so I know her summer is going to fly by!
She is working on her schedule for next year and we are having a hard time due to the AICE program our school offers. You need to have 7 AICE credits by the end of your junior year to get your AICE diploma. This is really hard to fit in with your regular classes less you skip having any electives. She decided to do theater this year knowing it would make her schedule tight later on. Now she has decided to quit theater (makes me sad because she loved it, but the high school teacher was terrible and she could not wait for it to be over) and she applied to join newspaper. She got accepted and is so excited but now we are trying to figure out how to get these AICE classes finished. The only possible way is if she does spanish 3 online her junior year. She didn’t want to do that but she has to make a decision soon I guess.
My S21 finished finals a week ago and is still in decompression mode. He was so stressed after finals he slept for 14 hours. It paid off as he kept his straight A’s. There has been some minor disappointments as he didnt win a small scholarship competition he wrote an essay for and was not accepted into a summer program he was mildly excited about. As it is he is planning to on taking an online elective and playing basketball for his HS team and travel team. Really, really proud of him - I forgot how taxing school can be.
Luckily we find ourselves in Hawaii this morning for our family vacation getting awakened by roosters. Aloha!
So jeoulous of @momtogkc’s d and @dronedad’s family! Gosh, it is so hot in West Texas! But so glad others get a relaxing and fun time as it is well deserved.
DS21 finished his last exam on Monday so does not have to attend school for the last few days. He says he will finish with all As and it looks like this will be the case but it is amazing how often his teachers put in very bad grades that he has to contact them over. He says they just make mistakes and so far they have all been corrected but it is starting to get annoying.
We found a local SAT tutoring company that gave him an old SAT (new version) yesterday for free. He scored a 1510 and has a better idea where to focus his efforts over the summer as he will take the SAT for real in August. He only missed one question due to carelessness in math but has some work to do in Reading/Writing but even if he can repeat the 1510 in August it should help his admission into our state’s 11/12 grade residential boarding school he hopes to get accepted into.
Have a great summer!!
D21 took her last final today and her freshman year of high school is officially over! She has always struggled with transitions, and I know she’s going to be sad for a week or so. When she was little, I would be all ready to celebrate the end of school–Summer’s here! Freedom!–and she would come home crying! She really loved her teachers this year, too. Best cure for the blues is to be busy, so thinking of ideas to suggest before her summer sport starts.
Congratulations to all the kids who are finishing!