Some of you have kids applying to Dickinson - Dickinson just went test-blind for this year, FYI.
@homerdog Yes my D is a ballet major (and Psych too - double majoring). According to Fiske strong programs include Communication, Psychology, Economics, Nursing, Engineering, Business, Film and Media Arts, and Ballet and Modern Dance. It seems like Game Design may be a popular area of study too. I donāt know too much about many of the other programs.
@JanieWalker thank you for the info re: Dickinson going test blind (even for homeschoolers). S21 was in the middle of a practice test when I found out that info from you. After discussing with my H, I walked in and told him he was done. (then I explained and let him decide - he agreed. Heās done).
He has a score from the one time he took it last Fall. Itās a reasonable score for 7 of his 9 schools - in the middle 25th to 75th percentile band at all those 7, right at the 50th for many, above the 50th for a few). He prepped for March. Cancelled. May and June cancelled. Prepped for Aug. Cancelled. Was prepping now for October.
He had already decided to submit his existing score to those other 7 schools. We were considering going test optional at Denison and Dickinson, his two biggest reaches (but not necessarily the best schools for him on his listā¦remains to be decided - I think there are others that are likely better fits, but weāll see). Now the score doesnāt matter at Dickinson anymore, and Denison is a reach regardless. (His score improvement, if any, would have been maybe 30 points). Itās just not worth it anymoreā¦heās sunk so much time into this. Heās moving on. Itās a bit frustrating to have done all that work, but I pointed out that he can feel good about doing the work and about the improvement in his math skills/understanding as a result. But this test and this ADHD kid - not a match. Heās volunteering for a political campaign and would much rather put the time into that. Done. Phew. Off to cancel his registrations.
@nichols51 I am really glad this info is helpful.
I personally feel all colleges should go test-blind this year. I say this as a parent of a kid who studied really hard and got some great SAT2 scores over the years and who has SAT scores at or above the 50th percentage mark for almost all the colleges to which she is applying. The stress and uncertainty involved with finding test centers this fallā¦along with worrying about health risksā¦itās all insane. No teen should have to go through any of this.
S is continuing to not study for the test. It is very unlikely to happen here this fall. We are focusing instead on taking extra time with the essay and the supplementals. There are 14 schools on the list (counting all UCs as one), so lots of supplementals but we just want to have a lot of options in spring when we know whatās going on and can see how schools handled 2020. If an ACT opportunity comes up, Iām hoping he will cram and is speedy but I also told him first quarter and semester grades are important. Testing during application season is not ideal. His high reaches are all RD. Iām debating signing up for December when he would be done with all essays but will keep an eye on things.
Meanwhile, I listened to some commentators who estimate that a lot of other students will not submit scores. A woman from a Bay Area high school said 80% of her students do not have test scores at all. So at least on the West Coast, it seems like a lot of other applicants will be in the boat with S.
@nichols51 Do you know how much we lose money by canceling the registration for SAT? I thought if they do cancel, we get full refund and Iām very positive thatās likely going to happen. Just wondering if you knew by any chance of CB providing full refund for cancellation from our side, pls update me, I also have three exams lined up for S21 until December and with UCs (univ of CA) going test blind, wouldnāt want to test any further 
I have a younger D (D23) who is already thinking about her course selections for next year. (She and S21 are sooo different)! I hoped some folks here with more experience could give me some insight on this -
She is not a STEM focused kid. Her love is writing.
She wants to apply to selective LACs and especially to those with great departments in creative writing, art, and maybe either foreign language or East Asian studies. The Creative Writing is her top priority. And sheās concerned that opting for AP Physics 1 instead of C will hurt her.
She took both Bio and Chem last year (this is the accelerated path at her school and sets her up to have to take 3 AP science classes).
For this year (sophomore), she opted for AP Chem.
Next year, it seems that she will take AP Physics (thatās the expected path at her school, and although I mentioned to her that she could try shifting it to senior year, she wasnāt interested). And then senior year either AP Environmental or AP Bio.
Her school offers AP Physics 1 and AP Physics C. I think sheāll struggle some with calculus, and sheās hardly headed for engineering (HA! not even close), so Iām thinking AP Physics 1 should be fine. She would not follow it up with AP Physics 2. She would move on to Bio or Env senior year.
So the questions -
- I would expect C to be tougher than 1, but Iāve read different opinions. Anyone here have an opinion, particularly for a kid who isnāt a super STEM kid ?
- She is concerned about rigor. Iām not. She seems to feel she needs the top rigor in absolutely everything. Sheās already going to have, I think, 13 AP classes. That feels like plenty to me. But sheās worried that by opting for AP Physics I instead of AP Physics C, itās going to hurt her (applying to SLACs as a probable english/writing, maybe social studies/foreign language focused kid). Sheās no engineer. Would AP Chem, AP Physics I, and AP Bio seem like a plenty rigorous science curriculum for a non STEM focused kid ? What if she opted for AP Chem, AP Physics I, and AP Environmental ?
Any insight? Sheās going to talk to her guidance counselor as well.
Iām looking into this this afternoonā¦as of now, my understanding is that normally you get $10 back as long as you cancel at least 5 days in advance, but this Fall they have cancellation-by-dates so you can get a full refund. The cancellation date for Oct 3 was 3 days ago, so I missed it. I think I can cancel Nov still for a full refund and get the $10 back on the October.
Utah also has interesting opportunities for very strong students to become well positioned for nationally competitive scholarships, notably most years Utah has a Truman scholar (awarded on a state-by-state basis to college juniors) and a Churchill scholar (awarded to about 14 top STEM students nationally to study for a masters at Cambridge University - its a common route into top math PhD programs, and Utah has a strong math undergrad program and faculty). They get a lot of NMFs attending (50+ per year), particularly instate students who get significant merit (grade and test score cutoffs for the various levels of merit scholarships are lower for instate than OOS).
There also seems to be a pipeline through the Hinckley Institute to various DC thinktanks (especially the more conservative ones like AEI) and to work in the state capitol down the road (not solely limited to Republicans, in fact the local Democrat congressional representative attended Utah). And there are 30 competitive full ride (Eccles) merit scholarships per year of which 30-40% go to out of state students, where they put together a cohort with diverse backgrounds and majors, many of whom form quite a close knit group.
I know Iāve been absent for a bit and I have tried to keep up with all the new posts. But not sure if the NM notifications have come out already or are starting to come out. D21 just received notification she is a winner for the CB National Recognition program and I believe that usually comes after the NM notifications. She really wishes she would have studied as she missed Commended by 1 point. Oh well. This will be something extra to add if she never gets to take the actual SAT or ACT. Now scheduled for October.
I do wonder if there will be more schools going test blind. The judge in CA ruled in favor of it and this decision would have likely been the same no matter what state he was in. Just because there arenāt law suits in other states doesnāt mean itās not a good decision for all schools. Selfishly, I hope this becomes a thing and then D21 can burn her SAT books. Iām not sure how I would feel if she had a high score to use already. If test blind had happened in S19ās year, I would have been bummed out because he studied so much but I wouldnāt have been too worried about it. His score matched the rest of his app and Iāve read thats true for something like 80 percent of students.
Itās a fact, though, that certain schools have AOs who have read apps without scores in the past and know how to evaluate. Some schools will have enough AOs and time to train and other schools will not. UC admissions might seem a bit random this year since SO many kids apply and it might be hard for admissions to figure out how to evaluate so many apps in a new way.
@nichols51 I asked my D21 about Physics 1 and Physics C. BTW She is planning to major in Physics and considers Calculus a fun class, so definitely a STEM kid. Calc AB and Physics 1 would be pre-requisites for Physics C. At her school Physics C was Electricity and Magnetism, but some schools offer Mechanical. She took Physics 1 as a sophomore and AP test, then Physics C-Electricity and Magnetism as a Junior but was able to use the knowledge to take both the AP Electricity and Magnetism and AP Mechanical tests. D says if not a āscienceā person, she would probably recommend starting with AP Environmental Science or AP Bio because in her experience the content was conceptually easier to understand. She said she received the advice not to take an AP class just because it is an AP.
@1Lotus, thank you for that info from your D21! I definitely agree with her perspective not to take an AP just because it is an AP. Unfortunately, our school has only AP or on-level for math and science. No in between (they donāt have honors level for math/scienceā¦they have honors level for social studies, foreign language, and English, but those are the subjects where D23 shines so AP works for her there). Once she took both bio and chem freshman year, she locked herself into taking an AP science every following year as a result of the offerings.
I appreciate the info!
@nichols51 I had a feeling that as a parent you shared the philosophy of not taking an AP just because it is an AP. Our school is probably similar in having regular or APā¦she took regular History/government, but APs in Science and Math. She had an accelerated English 9-11, taken in 2 years instead of 3, then took AP Seminar. Her other options would have been AP Composition or AP Lit, I think. Sometimes it helps to hear a student perspective, but especially a student perspective from the same hs. Good luck and glad D could help.
I called and they told me that I could either get a $10 refund on each test or possibly a full refund is my reason for cancelling was āvalid.ā I asked how they would determine whether my reason was valid. She explained that they would escalate it to have it considered and let me know in 5 to 7 day business days. Then she gave me a case number so I can follow up if we donāt get a response, but we should expect to get an email in 5-7 business days telling us whether weāre getting a $10 refund or a full refund. I gave COVID as our reason because that is the upstream reason. Having had 4 tests cancelled weighs on the psyche. Having to test in a mask seems to affect my S21ās score. COVID is the reason Dickinson went test blind. And all along Iāve been debating whether I really want him to go sit in a room for 6+ hours (extended time accommodations) during COVIDā¦wasnāt completely certain I felt comfortable with it given the COVID situation here in GA. I expect weāll get the full refund, but weāll see.
@nichols51 thanks! Thatās what I heard too, that after giving valid reason for not sitting for the test, CB may refund fully. Letās see
@EGHopeful NM is announced to the media on Wednesday. Schools have the information, I guess it depends how they choose to let the kids know. S19 received commended and I found out from a picture in the school paper, my son did not think it was a big deal and did not mention it.
@nichols51 For me, most rigorous doesnāt mean ātake as many of the hardest APS you can cram in.ā Most rigorous means āchallenge yourself and take the APs that make the most sense based on your interests and ability.ā It sounds like she will have plenty of APs. I say take Physics 1 and donāt look back!
My D21 took Physics C last year (both E&M and Mech) and found it challenging. She said that students that had prior calculus background had a much easier time of it than the students who were taking AP Calculus and Physics C concurrently.
āMost rigorousā at our school, according to our GC, means the student took mostly honors in all subjects and up to the AP level in all five core subjects. Iām sure that cut off is just a guideline though. I know some kids who took regular level English classes all four years but took every math and science AP available at our school (and that would be a lot of APs.) I believe that type of student would also get that designation. Our GC was likely just answering my question in regard to our kids who are more boring in their class choices and take each subject each year in honors or AP but donāt max out the AP offerings in any one particular subject. Also, if the school profile is good, the AO himself can decide how rigorous any transcript is.
@AOP1925 Awe, well at least it looks like your D21 is more interested and thinks itās a bigger deal. Good for her! 