oof good luck! We might not find out until July if there is an issue in d25’s schedule. I don’t look forward to that phone call! Keep us posted!
We usually find out late, partially because every year they monkey around with how they do it. But it seems to be settling into a more normal routine the last couple years, so hopefully next year will be the same way. I’ve had to do it the week or even day before classes start a few times.
Mixed results today. Kind of need Spanish 4, AP Bio, and AP Lit. AP Bio and Spanish 4 aren’t popular, so only offered in one slot. AP Lit offered in 2 slots. The 2 slots occupied by Spanish 4 and AP Bio. So she had to pick 2 of those classes, can’t do all 3.
Our weighting system kind of requires her to have 2 AP’s every semester or lose her class rank, so she will have to drop Spanish 4. Next year, she HAS to get that 4th Spanish class, and hopefully can also get AP Spanish, although that’s less critical I think.
Here’s where we ended up:
1st semester:
APUSH
AP Calc AB (the only one offered)
Chem (regular is required, will take AP next year)
2 blocks free for an early college class (likely Psychology or Environmental Bio)
Second Semester:
AP Bio
AP Lit
Weight Lifting/Outdoor pursuits (one quarter PE classes)
Sociology/Philosophy (one quarter classes)
Overall I’m bummed about Spanish, but otherwise pretty happy with it. The Outdoor Pursuits class is hard to get because it’s really popular, and she needs the PE credit. And we wanted Philosophy mostly so she would have that teacher junior year to get a recommendation. She had him for 2 full classes last year, He’s a great teacher, likes her, knows her well, and I’m guessing writes a good rec. He wrote one for D21 who was accepted to Amherst.
So mixed results but I guess overall it’s ok. She’s happy with it. I’m not excited that she only is through Spanish 3, but when she does college apps she will have 4 and possibly AP on her senior schedule so she should be fine. I think. My understanding on language is that it is less important to have every year like the main 4 subjects, it’s more important how far you get (really want through level 4 for selective schools).
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Did any attend? What were the majors?
We had liked Richmond and URichmond’s campus during accepted-student days, but (possibly by chance) we realized we both got the vibe that everyone was in some sort of economics or finance program, while the English / languages departments had a lesser presence?
I’m impressed those AP classes are only 1 semester classes! They’re all the entire year at our school. My D25 will only have 2 years of Spanish, possibly 3 (if she takes it senior year). There are plenty of schools that only require 2 years of foreign language. We’re not aiming for tippy top schools though (we’re chasing merit). We’re playing the class rank game too. We’re currently waiting on report cards (supposed to come out today) to see if D maintains #1 or if she dropped to #2 because of a transfer student being allowed to take a higher rigor course. If D remains #1 then no one will be able to catch her as long as she maintains her grades over the next 2 years. If she slips to #2 then she will probably be back on top next year. Of course that can change if she changes her mind about the classes she wants senior year or her schedule can’t fit something she wants.
No. No one has attended … yet! My D25 is strongly looking at it though (she’s visited twice now!)
D18 went to Vanderbilt (VU22 grad) would have been at UR but we got better finaid - she was a Chem major with a focus on wanting to teach 2ndary Ed and LOVED the science department at UR (the building has just such a cool hogwarty feel she said!). Vanderbilt however has one of the top Education Schools in the country and their Chemistry dept is even stronger. My S23 is headed to Emory as a CompSci/Math major with possibly a psych minor (again, finaid better from Emory). My nephew also 2023 was almost going to Richmond, top of his list (he’s leaning towards premed/bioengineering) but got the Johnsons Scholarship from W&L.
The business school is pretty amazing and certainly tops but so is their leadership major. When we visited (I’ve been on 4 tours at this point… and we live 14+ hours away!) we heard a lot of talk about the sciences and the English dept. Ultimately it’s a liberal arts education and you just have to decide is it the atmosphere and location and type of school you want to attend.
Editing to add that we do have a bestie who is committed to swim there starting Fall of 2024. She is leaning towards either English or Psychology (or both!)
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She is still up in the air about what she wants. Probably not chasing Ivy or other tippy top like her sister, although Smith is definitely in the mix. I guess not quite tippy top, but not far from it either. Lewis & Clark is also super high on her list. It only works with good Merit, but I think she is setting up well to be chasing merit there and at comparable schools. So who knows.
Since everything is either a semester or quarter, it’s not unlike college, with a pretty compressed schedule. The bad thing is that if you are sick for a week, you essentially miss 2 weeks of material and it’s a bear to make up. S19 took 2 weeks off twice to wrestle in Europe, so that was like making up a month. Fortunately he’s smart enough he could get caught up, and his teachers were understanding and both let him work ahead and also gave him time to catch up when he returned. But generally all of my kids (including him) hated missing more than a day if it could be avoided.
The good thing is that it prepares them for college. They are used to the compressed schedule. So it isn’t the same learning curve that most kids have transitioning from year long classes.
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These block scheduled APs must be so hard in terms of taking the test! I am not a fan of block schedule for HS - super tough for math and languages. IMO those require continuity.
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Yep, math and languages both suffer. And it doesn’t work well at all for the tests. When D25 took AP World she still had material left to cover. And AP Human Geo was done in December, so she had to remember back to what was covered. Maybe not as big of a deal for that one, but I anticipate the AP Calc exam will not go well 5 months after her last class.
I wonder if she could do some weekly AP Classroom through the spring? Just 30 minutes to keep it fresh? I think this works well for math/chem/phys where it’s more about practicing the material than remembering the content.
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At least in college the exam is right after the semester. The AP tests with a semester off would be tough. Kudos if your kids were able to pull out 4’s and 5’s with those! We have a semester system also but some classes take 2 semesters. So gym/strength training and her Bible classes are just 1 semester while English etc are 2 semester classes.
As far as Spanish goes can she do dual enrollment or just take it at a community college to get in all the Spanish she needs for college?
DD found her schedule last night as she has everything she wanted for the year. She was very excited and then started freaking out since she’s taking 4 AP level classes!
I would agree with you, but two of my older kids had block scheduling, and for one of them, it’s the way she was able to deal with her foreign language classes—having it all year was a slog for her, but when the school switched to block scheduling she found that the periodic brain break was incredibly helpful. So, like so many things, it depends on the student.
Also, my other kid who was in that schedule realized that block scheduling meant she could double up on math, and so blew past her high school’s offerings after junior year and took calculus DE at the local college senior year, which gave her a definite leg up when she started her engineering program.
We are on our way home from a fabulous 8 day trip to South Dakota. What a beautiful state! We also just completed S25’s first college visit to South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. I had zero expectations going in as there was no way in my mind I was going to encourage my son to go to schools 17 hours away from home. My husband organized the visit because his company hires engineers out of the school. Well, we were all blown away. The chair of the metallurgical engineering department spent a solid two hours with our family. He showed my son all of the cutting edge equipment they use, allowed my son to do some experiments with him, and introduced us to a number of faculty members. They also shared outcomes of their graduates and some of the top firms that compete to hire interns and grads from SDSMT. We were all so impressed and my son said the school is definitely on his list. It doesn’t hurt that their OOS tuition is ridiculously low and S25 would qualify for good merit aid based on his grades/PSAT that he has so far. The experience reinforced how important fit will be for my son. Glad we have a potential school on the list that I think would be a great option for his quirky personality and could lead to great career options for him.
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That sounds like a wonderful experience! How did he feel seeing the school without most of the students on campus? Did it make a difference for him? I’m sure a school like SD SofM draws a very self selected type of student but I’m curious if he noticed any differences about the feel. Thanks!
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I think he probably enjoyed it more without a crush of students. He is a pretty introverted, shy kid before he gets to know people. He also has a touch of social anxiety. I’m realizing that a smaller school might be a better fit for him, but we need to go visit some big schools for him to see the difference. We will probably visit a few larger schools in the fall, and he is spending a week at a slightly larger (but still similar in culture) school at the end of June for an engineering camp (Missouri University of Science & Technology). It was wonderful finally seeing him engaged and excited about college after our visit!
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I love hearing stories like this about schools many of us haven’t heard of or don’t know a lot about. Sounds like a fantastic school and a bit of a hidden gem.
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SDSM&T is one of the great values in college education. Lots of things to do outdoors in Rapid City and the Black Hills. School has a solid academic reputation with great job placement with alumni all over the world. I went there years ago and know lots of alumni who have gone on to successful careers. I went to school with lots of alumni kids who could likely have afforded other options but sent their kids to Tech. It is a school that will challenge you and that is why they only graduate about 1/2 of their students. However, if you do graduate, there are lots of job opportunities.
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A reminder that theres so many great schools beyond even the top 100.
Smaller less known schools of Jacksonville U, Baldwin Wallace, and Gustavus Adolphus treated us well during the decision process.
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My son really liked Gustavus. We did a self tour but plan to go back in September for an official tour. We live in the South but my son loved Minnesota!
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Here are some tips for those getting a head start this summer 
Happy touring!
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That's great to hear that your daughter's ADHD has improved with medication and tutoring! It sounds like Juniata is an excellent fit for her. It's important to continue to make sure that she's getting the support she needs to succeed in college. There are many resources available to students with ADHD from [url=https://www.evokelearning.ca/coaching/adhd-and-executive-function-coaching/] tutoring services
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