Back after a long sabbatical. My S21 is my youngest.
@BingeWatcher Wanted to encourage you in regards to your daughters NMF goal. My #2 is NMF (#1 missed it by 2 points). It is definitely worth prepping for - even over prepping - if you are interested in a school that offers one of the fabulous scholarships. I would definitely try to make it through as many of the practice exams as she can reasonably manage - or at least the sections that seem to need the most attention. S21 is prepping too! Finished Meltzerās Reading and is now working through a few practice exams with the help of the SAT Black Book. He knows that the reward can be great, but that missing his goal will not mean the end of the world. He has seen the outcome on both ends, thanks to his brothers.
@burghdad itās pretty much known as the best book to help with SAT Reading. Her writing book is good too. Erica Metzler is the author. S19 used them too.
@rjm2018 Glad your kid finished strong, must feel good all around! My daughter also ended up with a very nice report card, which was a happy confirmation of all of her hard work this year.
Re SAT prep, my older kid just used Khan Academy and one of the official SAT practice test books. She ended up preferring the ACT and did meaningfully better with it. So your child might want to compare the two using a timed practice test, if she hasnāt done so already.
My D17 took the PSAT this year and also took a timed ACT. Unlike her sibling, she prefers the SAT format so thatās what sheāll focus on. Her PSAT this year cleared the bar for NMF in our state, so I am thinking sheāll do some low-level prep the month before the test and then take her first official SAT around the same time. @BingeWatcher Good luck - I hope the stars align for this yearās PSAT.
@Momof3B, thanks for the Magoosh recommendation. I need to look more into that. I think Iām also gonna get her PWN the SAT: Math Guide, The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar, 4th Edition by Erica Meltzerās and The Official SAT Study Guide, 2018 Edition.
She needs to brush up on Algebra I and II and Geometry since she hasnāt had those classes since MS. She also needs to brush up on grammar. Her PSAT score was 1260 w/o prep and she definitely needs to bring that score up as much as possible bc IU Kelly Business School was 1380 for direct admit this year and it was 1360 last year. So competition is definitely pushing that score up. I think the ACT score for DA was 31.
@mamaedefamilia, I agree, she should also try some ACT practice tests and see if she likes that format better. Glad your D finished the year strong as well and I wish her luck with achieving NMF along with @BingeWatcherās D.
Hello! I need some test prep guidance. I bought both Metzler books and the PWN math book several months ago to be ready for summer prep. She had 1270 no prep PSAT 10. I had her take SAT test 1 Saturday and tie the results in with Khan. Again, with no prep she scored 1280. Now she needs to study. Iām not sure what to tell her to do. Just start reading straight through the books? Verbal was 680, Math 600. She is interning this summer, 12 hours a week with a Physical Therapist (her career goal), taking online drivers ed (30 hr state mandated course), and training for XC. She was highly motivated when we talked about SAT study time back in the spring- now sheās balking. Her goal is mid 1400s.
@Rue4 We are right there with you. Dās PSAT does not put her in range of her desired schools, but I know she can get there with some studying. This summer she has many hours of swim practice, driving practice, online driving class and required summer reading. Trying to get her to study for SATās is torture. She has asked to wait on the SAT until October. While I thought it would be nice to get it out of the way over the summer, this plan may work better because sheāll be in āstudy-modeā with school work. I just hope sheās not overwhelmed. At a minimum, I bought her the College Board book of 8 practice tests and hope to have her take one as a baseline before school starts (our very short summer is over in 4 weeks. Ugh - No fun.)
@Rue4 our S19 did all chapters in the PWN book. Yes, it was a lot of work. If he felt like he really understood a chapter, I think he skipped a few problems. Went from a 720 to an 800. As for the Metzler books, I think he did the same. Worked through from beginning to end and did most questions but was self aware and honest enough to know when he understood a concept and maybe didnāt need to answer more questions. He did take real SAT sections while working in these books. So he would work in the PWN book for a few days and then take an SAT math practice section from the real tests, etc.
He would go back and forth a bit. Do math and English one week. Then English and reading. Then math and reading. Then took full practice tests every other weekend for two months. It was a lot. But, once he started school and XC, he was thankful he did the work during the summer. He was one and done in August but that was his pie in the sky goal. If he had to take it more times, at least he did the majority of his studying before school started and he could just keep doing practice sections in between tests.
D21 is focusing on the ACT and is kind of working the same way. Her test isnāt until Sept so sheās got a little more time though.
@Rue4 and @Acersaccharum, I know the feeling. I have been somewhat successful in getting D to do at least one hour on most days, but she has missed days and will be gone all next week at Purdue for her business camp. Sheās also in XC and will be doing the Oct. SAT, but I am worried about how busy she will be once school and practices/meets start.
Funny story though, took her to Sylvan Learning Center for a full, complimentary SAT practice exam and they said her score was again a 1260. In talking with her, she said she took one section after another w/o any breaks in between and by the time she got to the last math section she was spent and just started guessing. She just wanted to be done. So, we will be doing practice exams at home making sure she gets the allotted breaks in between sections.
We live in a county with two school districts. DS is in one and his good friend is in the other district. Our district typically requires honors chem before allowing anyone to take AP Chem but they granted DS a waiver. In order to ensure he was ready he went through KhanAcademy Chemistry over the summer.
His friendās district does not have a prereq for AP Chem and allows ātop studentsā to take it. We told the friend and his mom that it would probably be a good idea to do the KhanAcademy course over the summer but they did not think it was necessary.
Both boys received high As in the course. Thankfully DS got a 5 but his friend got a 2.
I have seen several comments on CC in the past indicating that course grades are more important than the AP score or SAT, etc but the grade inflation that is out there is crazy. How can you get a high A in a class and wind up with a 2 on the AP exam??
@yearstogo Maybe he was really stressed out or not feeling well on the day of the exam. Maybe he hadnāt gotten a lot of sleep for studying. Maybe he had another AP exam a couple of days before and just couldnāt devote as much time to studying for this one. Thereās a lot of reasons why a kid might have gotten an A in a class and a 2 on one exam, one day in May.
@3kids2dogs Perhaps but we know the kid and family very well and I am fairly certain that is not the case. He is a very smart kid with a great personality but has no work ethic. I think his high school did him no favors by allowing him to take the course in the first place.
I am venting and while I do think his high school does a decent job overall, the parents are incredibly supportive and constantly praise the school and I see no results to justify it. I also get tired of seeing folks say that grades are the best indicator as I have seen similar situations quite often.
Or maybe he didnāt study. Maybe heās bright enough to do well on the periodic exams because the material is fresh, but not bright enough to remember everything taught going back an entire year. Regardless, it doesnāt matter and it really rubs me the wrong way that you are essentially gossiping about a teenagerās grades, so Iāll bow out of this topic before I say something I regret.
There are some SAT prep books that I want to buy on Amazon. Does anybody here know if these prep books might go on sale for Amazon Prime Days? I could always wait a bit to purchase these since D will be gone all next week. Amazon Prime Days are July 15 and 16.