My D22 took the SAT last Wednesday. I saw on College Board that those scores should be out on April 16, so we’ll see. D did take a practice SAT the Sunday before (of course, last minute) and got a 1320. If she gets that, I’ll be thrilled, but she’s shooting for a 1400. I told her to keep studying since you don’t want to lose a month while waiting to get the score in mid April. @Vineyarder I did sign her up for Prep Scholar. It is better for her than Khan Academy because she needs that accountability. I knew the “real” factor wouldn’t kick in until she took a real SAT, even with me coming at her in all different ways trying to explain how a good score can make a big difference.
She already has a high GPA, has enough AP classes, etc. Her public magnet HS doesn’t rank, her class is the first to get rid of ranking, except they need to be in the top 6% of their class to get in to UT Austin, so it’s a bit annoying. They will tell the kids if they are in the top 6% after this semester is over, but then there goes you chance to work a bit harder to get in there. Besides that’s only like the top 7 kids since their class is only 125 kids. 
She’s probably in the top 10% or so, it’s hard to tell especially since she’s virtual. What she really needs now is a good SAT score to bump her up there.
Tonight we have the College Board Big Future Day, the virtual college fair for our region. Not sure how that will go but we will check in and see what it’s all about.
My wife and I were pleasantly surprised that S22, who had opted to stay all-remote after switching from hybrid during an injury recovery, now says he wants to go all-in-person when his school starts that April 8. He’s been doing pretty much fine remote, but I think he realizes he wants and needs the greater engagement that comes with being in-person.
My S22 isn’t very motivated either. He says he wants to go to Purdue for engineering/CS because it’s a great school and my wife spoke highly about it after visiting for a conference. I signed him up for the Princeton 1400+ class but it’s tough keeping him on track with the homework. He got a 1300 on PSAT but just 1220 on the last practice test (w/o breakfast and minimal sleep). He plays a lot of video games on his computer even during class.
I’m amazed at all the 4.0s because he gets As, couple Bs and a C each year but with majority APs. For us, I believe a true 4.0 UW is a 94+ grade in all classes.
@jellybean5 I’m interested in the Texas College Board college fair. I’ll have to look it up. S22 is at a sports event tonight but I’d like to see what it’s all about. I want my son to apply to UT-Austin as a bit of a lottery if he’s going to apply to Purdue which is only a few hundred students smaller per class.
While CC is a great site with lots of helpful tips and advice, it isn’t representative of the universe of HS students who are planning for college. There is a high concentration of super achievers (and their parents) who post here so it is easy to think that perfect GPAs and 1500+ SATs are the norm, and that isn’t actually the case. FYI, my S22 doesn’t have all A’s either - there are a couple of B+s sprinkled in. He has a solid but unspectacular GPA (UW is around 3.65 and W is around a 4.1) and has good course rigor (all honor/AP). Of course he isn’t shooting for a top 30 college so I think we’ll find some good matches without worrying that he needs to find a cure for cancer during summer vacation!
So glad he is able to go back since he wants to. I wish we could but the HS is too big and spacing is an issue, so hybrid it is.
My S22 has been working hard through this year. His school has been hybrid all year. With the exception of a month when my wife had COVID (she is a pediatrician) he has been in class all year. The school had its peak issues around Thanksgiving. Since then things have been much better. We had a massive snow storm in February and that seemed to clear things out in the school even better. Cases reported through the school dropped significantly.
As for S22, he will certainly be a National Merit Commended Scholar. He is borderline for Merit Finalist. He would make the cutoff for this past year. For his year…who knows? He had to reschedule to take the ACT three (3) times. He earned a 34 on the first try. That was good enough. We have not worried about any standardized tests since. As for classes, he is in a full IB program. He has all A’s except for a B in HL Physics (which, I am not too concerned about…it is HL Physics).
After a lot of cajoling he has finally looked into universities and has a list. Originally, he was thinking of applying to about ten schools. His counselor even wanted him to apply to a high reach school. I asked him whether he would go if he got in. If there’s anything, he is consistent. He has never wanted to be a small fish in a big pond. Nor does he want to be in an uber-competitive environment. So, I told him not to worry about applying to a high reach school, it would be less work in applications. He seemed relieved. So, he has list put together. He wants to do engineering, just not sure of the track:
Texas A&M
Colorado School of Mines
Auburn
Iowa State
Utah
Alabama
Tennessee (our in-state option…though, none of us are enthused)
I think it will come down to the top three, and really if he hits National Merit. We will visit A&M this summer. If he can get the National Merit scholarship and OOS waiver, I think that is what he wants. Otherwise, I think he likes Auburn (he feels comfortable there).
Best of luck to you all.
@vistajay 1480 is great! I know that D22 wants to try and crack 1500, and she’s been doing Khan and practice tests, so maybe? Not holding my breath though. She didn’t make the NMSQT score, bummer. I swear, this year has been wild for HS21 kids. Reading CC and A2C on reddit, so many of them are getting rejections they didn’t expect. T-O admissions seems to be skewing things for some, and it’s like no one knows what’s a safety and what’s a match anymore.
@Peruna1998 My SIL and BIL are Iowa State engi alums, both worked at NASA, and now are very successful entrepreneurs. Go Cyclones! I hope your S gets into the school he wants and is a great fit for him.
@Peruna1998 That’s a good list. Is your son interested in a STEM subject? All your son’s colleges have good engineering programs.
@Thorsmom66 the struggle is real! My D22 has struggled with virtual school all year and we’ve watched her gpa slide accordingly 
I’ve been through the college hunt before with D18 so my expectations are tempered with understanding that there are many many good schools out there and many of them will be very happy to accept students with less than perfect gpa and test scores, even with merit money. My D however tends to get anxious everytime her grade dips and panics that “no college will accept her.” I’m constantly reminding her that the schools on her list are right for her. It’s doubly hard because she’s never been good with standardized testing and the SAT is proving to be no exception. It’ll be test optional for us I’m sure. Overall this year has been a real kick in the teeth for her self esteem.
Here’s a link for tonight’s thing:
BigFuture Days today’s event
Just a warning, from what I have gleaned about UT. They only admit 8-10% OOS and a few international, the bulk of admitted students are in state. It is a PITA school to get in. Like I said you can get in if you are in the top 6% of your HS class but that doesn’t guarantee that you get accepted in your 1st choice major. They may say yes you’re accepted but you have to find a major in the college of liberal arts, take it or leave it. Also OOS tuition is very inflated, and not much merit aid if any.
@jellybean5 thanks for the link and UT info. We’re in Texas at a big feeder school. It’s our #1 college destination by far, but like you said (and I overheard my son saying), you may have to go with a major other than engineering, CS or business. Same with pre-med too I suppose, plus architecture, nursing, etc. He won’t be top 6% and maybe not top 25% but UT really seems to like leadership activities. I’ve seen second quartile (and 1200-1300 SAT) students get in with double sports captain in COLA.
I have a friend whose nephew attended a large public in Houston area and is CAP’d at UTSA. He wanted business but will go with the “closest thing” to be a Longhorn next year. It’ll probably work out fine.
LOL sorry I can’t keep straight who is in TX and who isn’t here. I wish we could have a signature so we can put this kind of info as a cheat sheet!
S22 took the SATs in school last Wednesday too. After having test dates cancelled 3 times, he was so ready to just take the darn thing. Then the day before he had a massive wipeout on his skateboard! Ugh. Being an achy bruise on top of being in a classroom with other kids for the first time in over a year, was a struggle. So he doesn’t have high hopes for his score. Ah well, there’s always May.
Hearing all of y’all talk about your kids being in school or hybrid all year makes me anxious. We’ve been distance since last March (Bay Area) and I’m trying not to think about all the things he’s missed… sports, clubs, extracurriculars. Trying to be zen about it with varying degrees of success. haha
Poor thing! My D has been online since last March too. It is so much easier than going to school every day like pre- pandemic days. My D does fine this way, and she is fine without going to school, so unless she is forced to go back to in-school learning, she’s finishing the school year this way too. She does have a few clubs that meet online after school, which seem to be fine with her too. She was done with sports since she finished freshman year, so that was not missed either. LOL!
My D22 online since March 2020 too. It worked for her as far as grades. She actually chose not to go back to school until the end of this school year. School managed to provide all activities online (debate, olympiads, etc), so she wasn’t bored. However, quality of actual learning they acquired during this time period is very much questionable. I think it will be evident by their AP exams scores. I am relived we don’t have to do any testing anymore, but really dreading AP exams…
Our D22 recently started in-person classes 4 days a week. Also started soccer practice again and volunteering. She just got her second Pfizer shot and things are looking up as far as she’s concerned.
I agree! While my son has managed online classes fairly well grade-wise, there’s no question they’re not getting as many instructional minutes as in-person. And not all of his teachers have been equally good at online teaching. All will be revealed with the AP exams. Maybe we’ll find out that in-person school is just 50% nonsense and they don’t really need it! haha
Tonight is his first volleyball practice in a year. He’s nervous since it’s been so long. Hopefully his coaches will figure at least he’s 6’2" and the rust can get knocked off! 
My D’s middle school volleyball coach always said “you can’t teach height” ; )