Our school had their mandatory ACT test this morning. My child did not study just went in blind. Lol. Actually none of my children study for this test or any other standardized testing so I should not be shocked. But I was hoping he would at least look at the test prep guy on tik tok. Lol
FYI some of you may know this already but it appears that common app essays will remain the same for next years cycle. Per our college advisor.
No ACT, but he is taking the SAT this Saturday. Prep has not been what Iâd like, but that is on him. He is a good tester so I expect heâll still do well, but he is shooting for a very high score and Iâm not sure he has put in sufficient effort . . . we shall see.
Yes, I have heard the same from counselors and various other media. I think it does, however, place more of an emphasis on stuff like AP scores, national merit and other standardized academic criteria. We are likely to have our son submit scores because that part of his app is stronger relative to super impressive ECâs, national/regional awards, tons of community service engagement, starting a non-profit etc. His ECâs and activities are regular high school stuff around clubs, sports and volunteering for stuff he likes
Apparently, all of the 11th graders were given a packet today w/options for picking 12th grade classes. D24 left hers at school. 
All I know so far is that there are 2 options each for some of the capstone classes: 2 math options, 2 Humanities (history/english) classes, 2 science classes. Everybody takes a foreign language capstone class + the college counseling class.
D24 did say that both of the math classes have prereqs - 1 is multivariate calculus, which apparently you need AP Calc BC first, so she wonât be taking that one. So sheâll take the other math class, but no idea what that actually is yet. LOL.
There are 2 science options - 1 requires AP Bio first, the other class needs you to take both AP Chem and AP Physics first. Well, she didnât take AP Chem or AP Physics, so sheâll take the one that has AP Bio as a prereqâŠand, again, no idea what the class actually is yet.
We had a good laugh about it on the way home because I half-jokingly yelled at her, âYOU GOTTA FEED YOUR MAMA THE INFO, OK? âCUZ IâM DYINâ HERE WITH NO INFO! FEED ME, SEYMOUR!â 
My kidsâ school doesnât have APs or Honors classes, rankings, awards, or other âstandardized academic criteriaâ so it probably would have been better to have submitted the scores. Again, no harm, no foul as she ended up exactly where she should be. 
I am here to pass on my own personal advice from going through the college app process twice and being a family that hunted merit$. Take it for what it is worth.
We went by the philosophy that more apps the better. We wanted to keep as many options open as we could. Most scholarship apps for schools have due dates from 11/1-12/1. Once those due dates are past there usually is no going back.
This is mainly in reference to schools that donât have set merit$ based on GPA/Test scores. Even some schools that give amounts based on GPA/Test scores will have additional scholarships that require an app due in the fall. These can be for full tuition or even a full ride.
The schools that publish a $$ range for merit based on GPA/Test scores can go either way for your student. Scores and GPA are not the only factors. I have seen kids with higher scores get less in the range than those with lower scores. It is hard to predict, which is why we put out many apps.
Also just because you havenât visited the school or if your student isnât fond of the school on paper isnât a reason to dismiss it. It might be a school that likes your student and give them more money.
This was mainly geared for people hunting merit$, but really overall it is good to keep your options open partly because things can change over the course of 4-5 months.
Ok, kiddo brought home the form today for class sign ups. Hereâs the class options for 12th graders:
Humanities:
She chose the latter. Hereâs the course description in case anybodyâs interested. Heck, I would like to take this class
We are going to delve into the fascinating theatrical and social contexts that shaped Shakespeareâs plays. In this course, students will explore the language, themes, and contexts of some of Shakespeareâs most widely studied and frequently performed histories, tragedies, and comedies. We will look at the life and works of William Shakespeare and take students from his birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon to the Globe Theater in London, from where he secured his central place in English literature. As we explore the genius of the plays on the page, we will also study the lives of the plays in performance, from Shakespeareâs own theater to the stages and screens across the globe today. The course is suitable for anyone new to Shakespeare, as well as those looking to build upon prior experience with the Bard.
Math:
Sciences:
Biology & bioethics description:
Students will learn about current topics in biology, some of which are controversial. The intent is presenting material for students to discuss, question, and evaluate the various areas. Materials will be presented from newspaper and magazine articles, powerpoint presentations, videos, and case studies. Discussion is an integral part of the course. Topics will include but are not limited to epigenetics, allergies, energy drinks, genetically modified foods, ethnobotany, high fructose corn syrup, breast cancer, and eating disorders. Students will suggest and contribute to the topics covered. For the final project, students will plan and create a case study in any area of biology which interests them.
The description for the Earth & Space Science class sounds cool, too:
Students will study the physics & chemistry of Earth and Space. This course will include an algebra or calculus based description of the origin and evolution of the solar system, with an emphasis on Earth. We will study the formation of the moon and the evolution of oceans, continents, and the atmosphere on Earth. We will also study the formation and evolution of life on earth, how Earth works today, biogeochemical cycles, hydrological cycles, plate tectonics, and recycling into the mantle. We will look at both the chemistry and physics of the modern atmosphere, up to the edge of space, including the upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere of Earth. We will review satellite studies of earth and planets and discuss other planets in the solar system, especially Mars and Venus.
Cool stuff!! Canât believe all of our kids will be seniors soon.
D24âs school is giving the ACT next week, unfortunately we know from the PSAT that they put kids in testing rooms alphabetically, and the kids around her in the alphabet donât really care to take these mandatory tests. The environment was a bit distracting, Iâm trying to figure out if I should politely ask the testing coordinator to remind the proctors that phones are supposed to be turned off, not silenced, because alarms still go off on silenced phones. My bigger concern is the announcement that APâs were going to be done online. I know everything is moving digital and maybe if they had practiced that way all year but they havenâtâŠand D24 is like me in that she canât leave a word misspelled until the end, she has to correct every typing mistake as she goes. She also is not the fastest typer to begin with, and is already a slower test taker, so this doesnât feel like its going to go very well at all for her no matter what her knowledge level is after putting in the work all year and that is frustrating me.
Arenât only a few APs(English, APUsh, CSP) available as online options for 2023? And is her school making them do online for those tests? That seems unfair. D23 had APStats Covid spring(2020) and â21 had four of them that yearâit was a glitchy mess especially submitting the FRQ/essays. I hope they have improved it a lot.
Very interesting and different classes. We donât have any of those. Hope she enjoys the classes.
Yes, her school said they asked the kids to vote(um, what?! the parents are the ones paying and are more capable of discerning all of the challenges that might poseâŠyouâd think theyâd also have a âvoteâ) on whether to do the traditional paper or online for the ones offered (for her its AP World & EnglishâŠChem fortunately was not even an online option yet). There is a special program they have to download, I took the tutorial, the online multiple choice seems straightforward, and they give you the option of âannotatingâ the FRQs with technology features youâd find in MS Word like you could do in the paper version BUT (and this is BIGGER to me than all caps captures) the time for the online and paper versions are the exact same. I contend that the online FRQ at least is going to take longer than the paper version for a few reasons. Iâd love to see the data that led to that decision though.
For my D24 in particular, which doesnât apply broadly, but her tablet randomly shuts off. Sheâs had the fan replaced, but it still happens. There is a a backup plan built into this new test for when WIFI is dropped that the studentâs work is saved and able to be reconnected to wifi to submit within 24hrs. But other technology issues donât have a backup plan - I will be praying if that happens that she is at least allowed to retake on the makup date but that is not ideal either. I just honestly would prefer her to be able to take the paper version, I donât think theyâve allotted enough time to prepare them to be comfortable with the changes.
Our school handled it the same way, kids voted, they are doing it online. It will be in school on school chromebooks so technology should not be an issue. Does your school not have school based technology they can use? They have also been practicing online testing the whole year so everyone is comfortable with the format.
I hear ya about the online testing. I am not a fan.
Can she maybe wear noise blocking ear pugs or something??( obviously they wonât let her wear air pods- Iâm thinking old school ear plugs) Poor kid. As if these tests arenât stressful enough.
The proctor really should have kids leave their phones outside the room, this is customary.
I am leaving the country quite unexpectedly tomorrow for a week to help my mother and of course it is right in the middle of course selection, SAT is Saturday, etc. Nothing I can do, I guess I need to just trust that they will figure it all out. I of course made a crazy spreadsheet of who needs to be where when (SAT Saturday being the most important) and have made a list of what goes into S24âs SAT bag (calculators, etc.). Maybe this will be a good opportunity for them to all realize they are quite capable of figuring everything out (or not and it will be a $hitshow ).
Apparently, I have practically ruined D24âs life because she didnât realize that weâre only going to be out of town Sun-Tues next week instead of for all of spring break and âMy friends have been making plans to do stuff during spring break and Iâve been telling all of them that I canât because Iâm going to be out of town the whole week WHAT THE HECK, MAMA!â
UmâŠsoâŠcall/text them right now and tell them that you actually WILL be in town Wed-Sun. Whatâs the big deal?
NopeâŠher life is over. Itâs all my fault. LOL.
In other news, D24 was talking about which teachers to request letters of rec from for college apps. School counselor told all of the 11th graders yesterday during a Thurs âlunch and learnâ thing that they need to ask teachers whoâve taught them within the last year.
So this eliminates her 9th & 10th grade Bio teacher as an option because she doesnât have that teacher for any classes this year. The Bioethics class teacher for 12th grade - D24 last had that teacher in 8th grade and she doesnât like her as much as the AP Bio teacher, so that oneâs out.
Counselor said to pick 1 humanities and 1 STEM. D24 thought to ask next yearâs math teacher (same as this yearâs physics teacher), but she isnât doing well in physics this year. D24 had it in her head that she could ONLY ask 12th grade teachers. Ah, noâŠ11th grade counts, too.
I suggested her current Calculus teacher. D24 has been going to student hr every week, working hard, asking for help, is engaged a lot in class, showing that sheâs making an effort. Unlike the spring break âOMG MY TEENAGE SOCIAL LIFE IS NOW OVERâ debacle, D24 said, âOhâŠhuhâŠthatâs a good idea. Iâll do that.â
For the humanities letter of rec, sheâs going to ask the Shakespeare capstone teacher, who is same as her AP English language teacher from 10th grade. Also had same teacher in 9th grade. She loves that instructor.
We are having the same debate. Precalculus teacher is a definite but the apush teacher doesnât really get to know anyone and the ap lang teacher is new to our school. I think it will work out but it is more stressful than it should be!
Got the counselor emails for the parent survey today. Fun!!
We also have started discussing the same discussion in our house. We were also told to pick teacher from 11th grade.
He wants to use his Physics and APUSH teachers. I would want a Math teacher if possible as he is considering Engineering but he had a B in AP Cal BC first sem. So not sure if he will be a good fit.
The other we were considering if we should do AP French teacher instead od APUSH as she would have taught S24 for 3 years.
Any thoughts if it is ok to with a teacher if you have a B?