quick question: anyone know about girls/boys state? D23 texted she was nominated, but not seeing much info about it. anyone had a kid go through it or going through it? thx
Thing 2 has been nominated for Boys State as well.
My Class of 2021 son was chosen as a delegate for our school in 2020, but because of Covid, it got moved to a virtual/Zoom format so he didnāt really get the full experience or enjoy itā¦Being at the state Capitol in Austin vs sitting at home in front of a computer screen for 7 hours a day for a full weekā¦no bueno lol.
Iāve got high hopes for Thing 2, I think heāll enjoy it, heās my little politico and History nerd. Iāve heard nothing but great things about the experience from friends whose children have participated in the past.
2 Likes
once nominated, is your kid in? or is there something else they have to do? trying to figure that out. I canāt imagine doing it online. No way would mine do that. I give them all the kudos for trying to make it work, though.
So our high school is a Title 1 school, the only one in the district, and there isnāt much competition for this sort of thing, so if youāre ānominatedā and apply, youāre basically in and selected as a delegate lol without having to do much.
At other high schools in our district and area though, from what Iāve heard, thereās a lot of competition for the slots and itās a big deal to get nominated, so the ones that do get a nomination, go through a more rigorous selection process. I donāt know anyone thatās turned it down though, except for the Covid year. At our school, out of the 7 delegates that were supposed to participate, only 3 (including my son) followed through and did the virtual format.
1 Like
Have any of your students taken AP Human Geography and if so can you please share your and their thoughts on the class? DC is going over course request choices and unfortunately AP Environmental Science is in conflict with another requirement so weāre looking at alternatives. So far the current schedule includes AP Lit, AP Stat, and Genetics.
My daughter took AP Human Geography her freshman year. She wasnāt fond of the teacher but overall thought the class was good. Thatās when Covid hit, and she was out of school then brand new virtual class the last part of the year. Her teacher did no review at all! My D only got a 3 on the test (she wasnāt happy about it at all). They didnāt do the regular AP format though, it was two essay questions only. Unfortunately my D got one question about something that was never covered so she kinda winged it - probably lucky to have gotten a 3 lol.
2 Likes
Easiest of the AP classes, in our school district, itās a 9th grade course and meant to ease kids into AP level courses. All 3 of my kids easily made Aās and got 4ās/5ās on the AP tests
3 Likes
Not sure what else would fit at this point. DC was considering AP Physics C also but after we looked at possible transfer credit, itās over and beyond for their areas of interest. In AB now so maybe BC? Our DC will ask advice from some teachers tomorrow and maybe thatāll be fruitful.
Is AP Comparative Govāt or AP European History an option? Maybe AP psych, all 3 are higher level SS APs. Or maybe just a fun class, piano, photography, something to break up the day.
What are your Dcās goals as far as level of school? Some kids have T30 etc dreams they feel like seriously chasing (not saying that is necessary at all)āif that is the case, AP Physics C and BC need to be in there, especially as it sounds as though kid is qualified for both in your school. Great idea for them to talk to the teachers .
Thanks for the suggestions. DC took Psych DE last summer at a local college otherwise AP Psych wouldāve been great. I like the idea of a fun class or non-AP like Nutrition or Forensics but those donāt seem to be interesting enough. I guess what Iām really struggling with is DC is worried about what the colleges will think about rigor. I think, will 1 class make such a difference? Itās sad to me really, so much pressure and itās not from us. Kids get these notions from other students or somewhere. My other DCs had interests in music so took classes in orchestra, chorus, and theater but #3 is a little intense, but honestly loves science. Says thereās already one strike against them since they took AB instead of BC. Where does this stuff come from? Geez!!! Anyway, weāll see what the teachers say today and Iāll keep saying itās just one class, take what you want.
4 Likes
Our DCās list does have some high reaches and a number of safeties as well. I think youāre spot on about why theyāre advising Physics C. There are a number of seniors who are friends/classmates and I think their stress about acceptances is rubbing off on the other kids, too. I do not want an over-stressed kid next year. BTDT. I definitely donāt want to discourage rigor in classes that they want to or have to take, but Iām opposed to taking classes just because someone says itāll be what certain colleges are looking for and otherwise youāll be rejected. I donāt voice all of this instead I ask questions and have them read class descriptions, target collegesā requirements for the major and AP policies; and talk to other students and teachers in order for them to make an informed decision.
Howāre your students doing with senior course selection?
1 Like
Frustrated Texas Mom here. Our high school FINALLY got the updated transcripts and class rank yesterday. The fall semester ended Dec 17, Report cards officially posted The week they got back after the winter break, the week of Jan 7th. Class rank is updated after the end of each grading period, we have four, 9 week grading periods. For Texas residents and the stupid top 10% auto acceptance (top 6% for UT Austin), junior year is crucial and very stressful. All of Jan went byā¦the 4 other high schools all got their updated transcripts second week of Janā¦not us. I emailed our counselor and got a generic, canned response. Posted on Facebook. One of our school board trustees who is a friend of mine saw and texted me privately. She started to look into itā¦this is week the school district shut down for 4 days due to staffing shortages/Covid. We came backā¦still no transcripts. Another week goes byā¦Ice/Snow storm hits and again, no school for 2 days lol. Checked Skyward again Monday morning, still nothing, but there is an email from our counselors that 12th grade course selection have started and to use your updated transcripts from Skyward to plan your classes. Umm okay. So i texted my school board friend a screenshot and she was very upset and rattled off a chain of
emails lol. Lo and behold, 2 hours later, updated transcripts and class rank appear.
Like Iāve said before, we are the only Title 1 high school in our district. Majority of parents donāt have the time or knowledge to chase this stuff down and advocate for
their kids. I love our school admins and staff and am usually very supportive but this was ridiculous. Itās just a long line of very unsatisfying occurrences in general that make me very relieved weāre almost done with public schooling in Texas.
Anyway, the twins are doing great, one is #51 in their class and the #61. 4.9% and 5.9% so just within the UT Austin acceptance line which is what most everyone strives for but I donāt think either twin will apply.
Thing 1 wonāt get his desired major for Engineering/Comp Sciā¦itās too cut throat there and heās not a super aggressive cut throat kid, doesnāt have any apps heās developed, hack a thins, engineering awards etcā¦Heās not going to break 1400-1500ās on his SAT, this is what it takes to get into the Cockeral School of Engineering at UT and my kid isnāt it lol. He has lots of other instate options that would suit him betterā¦and he doesnāt like the gritty, super Urban environment that Austin has become anyway.
Thing 2 could be a maybe for applying to Austin, if he decides to go with a major in the College of Liberal Arts (Econ, Govāt etc), he could get it, the caveat is heās really wanting a smaller LAC environmentā¦so
he would also have to be accepted to one of the Honors programs, ideally Plan II, to
make UT a fit for him. Weāll see.
For now, a formal college tour at Trinity University in San Antonio is booked and while weāre there weāll do a self guided/drive walk through at UTSA (itās their Spring Break as well so couldnāt book an official tour since theyāll be closed)ā¦If the boys like San Antonio and what we see of UTSA, Iāll take them back for a Roadrunner Day in April.
So far this is how our college list is looking:
Thing 1: UTD, UTA (Arlington), UTSA, Texas Tech, Texas A&M. All are safeties and auto admits to all. Toying around with SMU, he really liked the one week engineering camp he did there but the $$$$ is making me wince. And the overall vibe there may not make it a good fit.
Thing 2: Privates: Austin College, Trinity University, Southwestern University.
Publics: UT Austin (wonāt call it a safety because even though heās auto admit, getting your major of choice isnāt guaranteed, so maybe a match or semi reach?)ā¦Texas A&M, Univ of Houston (Honors College), UTD, UTA (Arlington). These are all safeties and auto admits.
Neither wants to go out of state, although I would love for Thing 1 to apply to Univ of Alabama Huntsville, curious how much merit aid he could get.
Thanks for coming to my TedTalk lol.
12 Likes
Senior course selection: Due to recent events showing his mind wasnāt at the greatest place, I let this one go. I have talked to him about post grad options. He isnāt ruling anything out. If he could find a college where he wonāt be in huge debt and he likes the vibe, he would attend. But hes open to just working/gap year as well.
His senior year heās taking music classes, an Auto elective, and English. (He already has 4 credits of math thru pre calc and tech college level math. Science thru physics. And 3 units of history).
2 Likes
I posted a thread elsewhere about my son struggling in the Death Star that is honors pre-calc at his school. Heās planning to move down to regular pre-calc this week but the musical starts Friday so heās completely distracted. And all college stuff is completely off the table for discussion so Iām just fretting in my corner over here. I hate having theater kids. Thereās always zero time for anything else.
We talked briefly about senior year classes last night; heās taking the two-class AP Seminar this year, which he says is the highest level, so heās at sea about what to take.
He was considering AP Econ and some random basic English class, and I was all, no, I donāt think so. If you are gonna present yourself as a pointy verbal kid whoās not as strong in STEM, then you canāt coast on the English/humanities side of your schedule.
So heās rethinking. I thinking that was the right advice? (The college counseling dept has been less than useful, so itās kind of all on me.)
2 Likes
Honors Pre Calc is kicking our booties here too. I gently suggested that Thing 1 and Thing 2 maybe level down to regular Pre Cal as well and they both gave me horrified looks. Okā¦itās yāallās ship to sail kiddos, just making sure they know Iām not about that Asian Tiger Mom life lol.
3 Likes
@Gatormama
Got an email from the GC that my son didnt even turn in his senior class choices which were due last week. With the musical next weekend and him working, he just was not in a place to formally make the decision. They have late rehearsals every night and he just zones out. I am told he emailed the GC back yesterday.
He actually independently brought up that he wants to take a hard look at colleges this summer so I am taking that as a good sign. His voice teacher says he could likely get some money for college. She does not tell everyone that I guess so it helped calm his financial concerns a bit. It will be interesting to see what colleges he comes up with. I have a list of 32 for him to glance at which could fit in budget if everything lined up.
6 Likes
Itās so frustrating sometimes, but then I have to remember that kids mature at different rates, and itās really impossible to expect every single kid to be at the same point in the process.
We moved my D19 up early in her school career (she has an October birthday and we threw her into first grade ābeforeā the expected year) and she was slow to grasp the intensity and reality of COLLEGE IS COMING!!! ā it ended up being a bad decision on our parts; she coulda used the extra year of maturity.
They all get to where they need to be, itās all good, Iām just going completely gray in the meantime.
6 Likes
@2plustrio - I have to always remind myself that my S23s brain is not fully matured yet and itās not unusual for him to space out on something with everything else going on.
What Iāve done for my kids is try to elevate some of the administrative work and keep them focused on classes and their activities. I maintain a spreadsheet to help them with their scheduling and another one for college information, deadlines, etc.
The downside is that my daughter thatās a Junior in college asks me to put together schedule options for both her and her roommate to prepare them for meeting with their advisors 
3 Likes
I agree wholeheartedly, @SoccaMomma ! Taking the rigorous courses should be first if they want to, then factor in whether it is perceived as needed for application goals.
Some kids LOVE the challenge of āthe hardest classā the school offers, even before they have a clue about college! My D21 in 9th gr chem decided she wanted to be in APChem (same teacher) the next year, and on her own met w the teacher and asked what she could do to be given permission (she had a bumpy 1st Quarter but by 3rd quarter was really loving chem). The teacher had told them she rarely lets in 10th graders and told them it was brutal and expect hours of work each weekend. D thought that sounded amazing. She is not STEM-y, just wanted to try. In hindsight, because it was a rare choice then, it set her apart when it came time to apply. But absolutely agree the desire from the student has to come first.
2 Likes