@Rue4 NMF is our goal too.
Yes, I agree @JanieWalker! Everyone deserves an educational experience that helps them thrive, whoever they are. There are students who would be bored and frustrated without lots of complex and deep intellectual discussion, some who thrill in the spirit of competition itself (academically, athletically) and others who are just very, very creative in a way that may or may not show up in academics. I celebrate all of that! Iām kind of a quirky individual, myself, and I hate the idea that people have to fit in a certain box.
But I do think the solid-but-not-sparkling achievers, who work hard and often excel in a quiet way, who are enthusiastic but not necessarily passionate, can kind of fall through the cracks here on CC. In terms of college admissions, Iām kind of feeling my daughter may have a hard time figuring out where her place is, now that the most popular LACS and mid-sized schools within easy driving distance are getting ever more competitive each year, while a few others grow less so and have a hard time retaining very good students. In our case, Iām a little afraid that the lack of very impressive ECs and the mediocre math scores will hurt her admissions chances at the schools which would be a great fit with her excellent reading abilities in humanities/social sciences. I donāt mind so much where schools are in the rankingsā¦but I kind of want her to be in a place where sheās right in the middle (challenge-wise) with regards to reading/writing ability. It seems thereās little middle ground in our areaā¦either very competitive admissions where ECs are a major determining factor, or schools where her reading skills (as reflected in the PSAT anyway) are already at/higher than their 75%. Our flagship or next-level state school would be fantastic If she wanted a very large or urban experience, but she doesnāt. I love the diversity (academic, social, economic, racial) of the big state schools but small schools can feel claustrophobic or cliquey without the right fit. I wish there were more small universities in that sweet spot of around 3000 to 6000 students!
@JanieWalker Iām glad you feel that way and I hope others do too. The 2019 thread went nuts when one poster said that she thought we were all a bunch of humble braggers and pushed our kids to apply to elite schools. I responded (as did a dozen others) that was not the case and that we were just reporting our kidsā results just like anyone else. She kept pushing and I pushed it back too far and got banned. Iām glad this group is ok with us all being honest. Many of you have WAY better students than our D21 and I think thatās great! Sheās terrific and bright and takes APs and will have a decent SAT Iām sure, but sheās not a superstar Ivy type. And sheās more pointy that our S19 with English, French and History being more her thing than math or science.
She will study for the SAT this summer. Sheās about to finish Algebra 2/trig so sheās ready for the math. Sheās a strong reader. Like a lot of your kids, thereās very little time during the school year to study for standardized tests so I hope sheās done on the early side. She wonāt take any SAT 2s. S19 didnāt either. It didnāt matter.
I sincerely hope the folks with kids who score in the 1000s on their SATs feel just as comfortable talking about their kids here as the ones with kids who score in the 1500s. I think CC can feel skewed because more of the latter than the former speak up. That is not necessarily a reflection of anything other than the parents of the kids with the 1000s arenāt posting as much. So if folks want to change that, then post about your kid no matter what the score or grade or whatever. Each kid is unique, and each success and milestone and news of hard work is to be celebrated. And if a kid is slacking off, why not post that too, because some of us probably had to deal with that at some point and maybe there is advice to be had.
Success in all this is doing whatās best for our individual kids. Thatās it. As someone who has spent a lot of time with really pretentious people (and no longer has to thank goodness), thereās a difference between being happy that your kid made straight As because she worked her buns off and being happy your kid made straight As because itās proof sheās better than others or that youāre a superior parent. The first reason is legit and cool. The latter reason is horse manure.
@JanieWalker I agree. D has to work for good grades, so I know better than to brag when she does do well bc I know how quickly that can change as coursework gets more difficult. When she does do well, weāre thrilled for her bc we know how hard she worked. We had to pull her out of AP Calc AB after the second test last semester bc it was moving too fast for her. Got her into ACP Calc I and it moves at a pace she can handle and, more importantly, understand the material instead of just digesting quickly for the every week-and-a-half tests they were having with a block schedule in the AP class. She was so excited when she earned an A+ in that ACP class last semester. Yay!
@rjm2018 Soooo, taking any calculus as a sophomore is crazy ahead of the game. You should be proud! In our school district, the fastest track puts kids in Alg 2/Trig honors as freshman, Precalc H as sophs, BC Calc as juniors (so that AB and BC topics in one year), and then Multivariable as seniors. A handful, like maybe four or five kids, are one year ahead of that and take BC Calc as sophomores. This is a school of 750 kids per grade so thatās a very small percentage.
S19 was on the track to finish in MV. D21 will finish in BC Calc senior year.
I really enjoyed the 3.0-3.4 thread from 2017 because we were looking for merit for my daughter and there were great suggestions there, as well as being a really nice community. The main 2017 thread was also a lot of fun and we still update from time to time.
It is nice to know that we can be forthright about our kidsā achievements. I donāt want to come across as bragging or insensitive if my kid does something great and I want to share.
This has been a pretty intense year for academics and ECs and I think we are all looking forward to the summer so we can all unwind a bit. We might do a bit of test prep in the late summer/early fall as Iād like D21 to take the SAT concurrently with the PSAT and get it out of the way. Her PSAT score from this year was enough to clear the NMF bar for our state so I hope she can repeat when it matters. She has one SAT subject test completed and may knock out one or two more in June. One regret I had with D17 was not having testing done by the end of junior year because it extended the test anxiety into the fall of senior year.
D21 is likely to have little to no overlap with D17 regarding preferred colleges so it will be an adventure for sure!
@homerdog. Glad youāre back! Did he choose Bowdoin or are you still waiting?
Oh, and there are times we have to get on her for slacking off when I know she has things to do. I often worry about her time management as sheās gotten older and more attached to that phone. ?
@mamaedefamilia Well, he chose Bowdoin. Heās in love after Admitted Students Day. We are figuring out finances and will hopefully deposit soon .
@homerdog - We are visiting Bowdoin again soon. I think D21 will love it; the first time we visited, she was exhausted after a sports event and she doesnāt remember much. I know itās a massive reach for everyone, of course.
Congrats to your son!
@JanieWalker if you ever have any questions about Bowdoin then send me a PM.
@homerdog, yes, we are proud of her. 
Dās MS class was ~300 and her HS class is ~850; so a pretty big class. She was put on that track along with several other kids in elementary; so a decent number started MS taking the HS level courses (Alg I, Geom, Alg II).
At first, she wanted to stick out the AP class bc she kept thinking it would get better bc she never had a problem with math and many of the same kids she went to elem. and MS were in that class with her. She was so bummed she had to drop. She didnāt understand how her friends were able to handle it and she couldnāt; her confidence was shot. After talking with her and the teacher, we all decided it was for the best and, not long after, she was glad she made the change. A couple other kids followed a few weeks after her and one friend wanted to switch out after the first semester but parents didnāt allow it. Now that kid is hanging on this semester by a thread and is miserable. ?
D wouldāve been on the MV track Sr year had she been able to handle the pace. How awesome for your S19 to get that MV exposure before college and your D21 on track to finish BC Calc! D will do ACP Calc II next year, which will be another 5 college credits at our state flagship (if she ends up there) and Finite Math Sr year from DC through a local CC that will transfer 3 college credits to state school.
Sorry to hear you were banned for a time. Glad to have you back and congrats on your Sās choice of Bowdoin!
@homerdog thanks - will do.
@homerdog We loved Bowdoin when we visited. Brunswick is on my long short list for a retirement destination, should I ever be able to afford to retire, that is!
@Momof3B, ? re: āclutching their pearls.ā D will most likely end up at IU due to the many credits she will already have through her HS dual credit classes and it has a good business school reputation. However, she would love to attend a school in Texas and a couple of other states have piqued her interest too. I know one school she has mentioned is A&M but Iām sure thatās a pretty tough admit for an OOS student from what Iāve gathered here on CC (oh and it would probably be too expensive as Iām sure she wouldnāt qualify for any merit as well). We were happy to see Texas Tech get some great exposure with going to the finals in BB, though.
@Rue4 and @BingeWatcher, good luck to your kids with their NMSF/NMF pursuit! I hope they can get some great scores this fall.
OK, I have an idea. Why donāt we share something about our wonderful kids that has nothing to do with their stats or their junior year schedule. While not asking you to breach confidentiality, what has your kid done recently that made your really proud? It could be academic or creative or sports or something about their character, whatever. Whatās a quality in them you admire?
Iāll go first. My D21 is tenacious and she stands up to bullies.
Thanks, @mamaedefamilia, this is a great idea! Is there an anecdote you could share (without giving away too much) where she stood up to bullies?
Last night DD performed in (what was billed as) an all-star high school group in a big-band/jazz concert in our town. The students were chosen (without auditioning) by the band directors of the three high schools in our county. They spent the whole day rehearsing new material together with a university brass professor brought in for the day and gave a fantastic performance in the evening. I was amazed at how good they sounded, and how many pieces they learned in that short amount of time. I was proud of all of them! Last (but not least!) my normally shyish, blend-in-the-shadows kid, who usually wears navy, grey, sky blue, black or white on any given day chose a dramatically, flamboyantly colorful outfit for the event. (This was one concert where black/white attire was not mandatory.) Most kids did wear black and white with pops of red or green ties here and there. And so she DID stand out. But D didnāt second-guess or bat an eye and seemed quite pleased with her choice. So, you never know, lol. I donāt care so much about clothes, but I was proud of her confidence 
D21 just finished her season at her part time job. She works at a ski resort during the school year. This was her third year working every Sunday from November through early April. She kept up all her other school and EC obligations and got a great performance report at work.
@inthegarden Mostly she stands up for kids who are being teased by telling the mean kids to back off. Sheās also very kind to classmates who are struggling in one way or another and participates in a peer support group. I am very proud of her!
@JanieWalker Your daughter has such a fantastic work ethic - good for her!
@inthegarden A dedicated musician and an occasional nonconformist in her clothing choices - sounds like a great combo.
@mamaedefamilia I like the idea of sharing a non-academic thing about our kids.
I recently had abdominal surgery and during my recovery S21 has been really helpful with getting himself rides or skateboarding/biking to places, managing the dogs, and helping around the house.
Iām happy that it sounds like we can keep it to one or two parent threads. It seems like there are a lot of bins we could group them into, but I wouldnāt want to have to keep track of more than 2 threads. We have 2 very different kids in just our little family. Itās fine that S21 isnāt looking at almost any of the colleges that S17 applied to. (I think UC Santa Cruz will be the one overlap in the Venn diagram.)
Welcome back @homerdog ā I was worried.
S21 has agreed to do test prep this summer, but I havenāt figured out whether that will be online or in-person. Iām not clued into that sort of thing since S17 was more the one-and-done type. I guess online would be easier to fit into his summer schedule, since he will be busy 25+ hours/week.