S20 does have a UW 4.0, we are waiting to see on merit aid at his top choice (university of Denver), we should know sometime this week. We did not push at all with him, he was internally driven. S23 is slightly more “gifted” but lacks his big brother’s drive. So far so good during first semester. However, he has a first year English teacher who apparently has gone off the rails with progress based grading. My wife teaches at the same school and has spoken to others in the English, they are very frustrated. Right now he’s teetering on edge with low 90s-high 80s. Funny, S23 has no idea what his progress is (no assessments this quarter), and no updates to Powerschool. UGH!!!
We are not going to push, but it would be nice to know where he stands.
Our DS took the PSAT10 - the results have been sent, but not yet released from school. He already knows what he has to work on, so it doesn’t really matter though. It was a good opportunity to get some exposure to the format. Anybody here get PSAT results back yet?
We get our results on the 11th…we’re in a Dallas suburb…my S23 Twins took the PSAT 8/9, it was optional for Freshman, the school offered it to the first 100 9th grade students that signed up
My S21 took the PSAT as well since it was mandatory for all juniors in AP classes…he’s not a NMF contender so we’re not really concerned about his results lol…he took the SAT Nov 2 to establish his baseline and is now preparing to retake it in March.
@glido we got our PSAT results yesterday from collegeboard-on the 9th- (East Coast release date). However, they showed up in the school’s grading portal earlier (last week, under a section of test results - things like the Cogat, Iowa, etc. that have been taken over the years). I also heard of some folks (parents of juniors who were focused on PSAT results because of National Merit Scholarship hopes) who found theirs early in their kids’ Khan Academy accounts (which had already been linked to their collegeboard accounts for SAT purposes). So if you want to see them sooner, one of those options might work for you. But, agreed on the results for our '23ers…just a good chance for exposure to the format and some insight into what prep needs might be in the future.
My DS23 got his PSAT 8/9 scores back. They were okay (scored well on math-better than 99% of his peers, but english-87% better than peers), but now he knows what he needs to work on. Going to explore possibly doing a prep course over the summer - anyone have recommendations? Are local ones better than online?
S23 twins got their PSAT 8/9 scores back today as well. Both of them raised their scores from when they took it last year…they both scored higher in Math (85% better than peers) and in English around 75% better than their peers). We’ll start SAT prep Spring semester of 10th grade after marching band season is over.
@JaceyK I tutor for another standardized entrance exam (not the SAT) and know from that experience that, as a tutor, I can be both more efficient (which translates into how much you’ll get in each hour you’re paying for $$) and more effective when tutoring someone in person. In my case, I’m tutoring my kids for the SAT myself (since it’s related to what I do professionally these days anyway…though it can be tough to tutor your own kids). ?
We could’t get exact percentiles from D23’s scores because she took the actual PSAT which they only seem to publish percentiles on for 10th and 11th graders, not for 9th graders. Versus 10th grade PSAT users, she was 99th in verbal (most definitely her strength) and 91st in math (which was higher than I thought it would be as the score was only a 590).
We’re going to review what she got wrong over winter break and then just leave it alone until next summer when we’ll probably do some focused math prep - speed is a killer for her on math.
LOL, that was my S19 but it was all self motivated/inflicted. He got one B one semester in AP English 11. It was so close too like an 89 or something like that. He had a hard time with essays in the time allotted. He ended with a 3.98uw but still managed to get Val because of all his weighted classes. We did not put pressure on him for a 4.0 or Val. That was all his own doing. We were the parent that were encouraging him to go out on Fri. night instead of studying. Can’t think of any of the school or potential scholarships where that made any difference.
Not sure what D23 wants to do? She is every bit as smart and even has a leg up on him by bringing more honor credits from MS with her and starting with 2 AP classes instead of 1 like he did. We asked if she was planning to try for Val and she said she is not sure. She started the first grading period off well though.
Hello! Just discovered this thread. D20 was accepted ED to a T20 SLAC, and so now I can take a deep breath and regroup.
S23 will certainly be a different experience. He has always done better in school than D20, and does not need to work nearly as hard for As in his all-Honors courses. (Our HS doesn’t allow any AP courses until Soph year.) The challenge for me will be learning a new field. D20 and I both love LACs, while S23 was bored every time we went on a college visit to a school less than 6,000 students. Tufts was the only “small” school he actually liked. He stated several times there is “no way” he is attending a small college, which is probably good considering his interest in computer science programs (though he also enjoyed his electrical engineering summer program at WPI). H is a software engineer so will be of some help, but I’m feeling a bit lost. I’m an English professor and engineering schools are completely foreign to me! I have a lot of research and learning to do to get up to speed. I will finally have the time now that D20 is all set.
I look forward to getting to know everyone on this thread.
Been a while since I’ve been able to check in here - that lovely “upgrade” to CC locked me out of my account for a while Welcome to all the new people!
No PSAT for 9th graders here, they will take one next year as practice/evaluation. When my D17 was in 9th grade she took something from the ACT called Plan, but our school district seems to have moved away from that. There’s a big backlash against testing in our area - my D was one of only like 5 kids in her grade who actually sat for any of the NY state tests last year in middle school - all the rest opted out. I think it’ll be interesting to see how things develop on the standardized testing front over the course of current HS kids time in school.
Ugh, mornings like today is when parenting really sucks…all 3 of my boys are in band, S21 & S23 Twins. There band program has 4 levels and after marching season concludes, right before Spring Concert season begins, they audition again for a chance to move up (or down!)…just got a text from S21 that he and Thing 1 moved up to the 2nd level Symphonic Winds (Yay!)…Thing 2 did not level up and is still in 3rd band…Yikes! We had this same scenario play out in middle school when at the end of 6th grade And beginning band, Thing 1 placed in the highest band level and Thing 2 placed in the 2nd band level…Sigh…gearing up for some hurt feelings and masked sniffles this afternoon. I’m not looking forward to college app season with these two their senior year…the downside of having twins!!!
@Momof3B Today I know exactly how you feel. I just got a text from one twin, he didn’t make All State Band but his twin did. This year was their best chance since Junior All State ends in 9th grade. Both boys thought the twin that didn’t make it had the better chance since he was trombone and the other plays trumpet.
Things are so much more complicated, my husband had a heart attack while I was taking them to the audition. He has been battling cancer for 4 1/2 years and was already inpatient. It’s been over a month, he was discharged, went to horrible rehab, got home last Wednesday, had to call 911 Sunday night and is supposed to be discharged (hopefully) today.
It would have been nice to have some uncomplicated good news.
Hi! I have a daughter who will graduate 2023. Thinking about dance, dance therapy or teaching as a major. Loves NYC. Any thoughts on great programs in NYC would be appreciated!
Hello! I have a daughter too who will graduate in 2023! These forums have taught me a lot on the schooling system here.
What are your kids plans on EC’s for this ,freshman, year ?
@Ivylege, my D23’s ECs are essentially all music, all the time—she’s been taking percussion lessons since 5th grade, and wants to start on guitar (to make it easier to play around with songwriting).
Of course, she’s much more interested in going to a Big State University™ than the sort of places that get much love on CC, so positioning with regard to ECs isn’t something we’re being terribly worried about, you know??
Only one more week until school resumes here. I hope everyone is enjoying a relaxing break with their families. So sorry to hear about your husband, @Mom24boys. Sending positive thoughts your way.
S23 had a great first semester of high school, earning all As and being selected for a leadership position in robotics. Second semester will be a bit more hectic as there will be some overlap between build season and swimming. He’s also planning to participate in science fair. He works tirelessly on schoolwork and his projects. My job, as I see it, will be to counterbalance his workload with a healthy dose of fun.
Welcome to all the new people!