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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Mon Apr 16th, 2007 04:39 am |
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The teachers in charge getting to pick is true at our school, too. That's one of reasons I was sure my son hadn't been chosen when we didn't hear on time - the teacher in charge was my son's 10th grade English teacher, and not one of his fans. 
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Mon Apr 16th, 2007 04:43 am |
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hummingbird wrote: He has been pretty apathetic & lazy about this whole college thing. I think he just figured he could pick a few schools based on a few qualifications, and let it ride. It's frustrating for us as the parents, because of course we want the best for him and know he could aspire to greatness. But it has to be HIS idea or it's a no-go.
Hummingbird, how did MY son end up living at YOUR house? LOL!  Last edited on Mon Apr 16th, 2007 04:46 am by CarolynLawrence
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hummingbird
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Posted: Tue Apr 17th, 2007 12:20 am |
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| At least I know he's not the only one. I see all these excited kids posting on CC, and I wonder why my kid isn't excited? I'm hoping after some college visits, his interest will perk up...?
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Tue Apr 17th, 2007 02:39 am |
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That's one of the dangers of CC -- you begin to think that your kid is a pathetic slacker, when, in fact, they're really like the other 99% of kids who don't post on CC.
The truth is, most kids take the stop-and-go road to college admissions, not the expressway. It's really common for kids to experience what I call the "College hunt stall" -- just a period where nothing much seems to be happening. "Teen time" is very different than "parent time" when it comes to figuring out where to apply and getting the applications in the mail.
Yet, somehow, the vast majority of the same kids who seem to be moving at a snail's pace (or not at all) in the spring of junior year will all end up actually going to college. 
That's where the parental duct tape comes in handy. Put your order in for a couple of cartons now, and apply firmly whenever you feel a severe case of naggingitis coming on. 
Last edited on Tue Apr 17th, 2007 02:39 am by CarolynLawrence
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Consolation
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| Joined: | Mon Apr 9th, 2007 |
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Posted: Tue Apr 17th, 2007 01:04 pm |
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bumpyroad wrote: The PSATs seem particularly foolish as a measure of a student's abilities - it's a one day snapshot of something with a high variance. I expect a fair number of kids are like one of my daughter's friends, who scored high enough last year when it didn't count, but this year had his score fall below last year's NMS cutoff. Maybe he didn't get enough sleep the night before, maybe he didn't eat a good breakfast.
On the other hand, if my daughter's skills at test-taking get her more merit scholarships I won't complain.
Does anyone besides me remember when the NMSQT was a completely separate test? It had something like 5 subject areas, if memory serves, including science and social studies as well as the usual reading, writing, and math. It was much more content-oriented than the PSAT/SAT sequence. Yes, all the kids I knew who did very well on it also had good SATs, but not necessarily high enough to make the current PSAT cutoff.
At least that test measured something slightly different. The structure--cutoffs determined by state scores--was the same.
I've never understood the point of using the PSAT as the NMSQT, other than ease.
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WestrnMom
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Posted: Wed Apr 18th, 2007 02:44 am |
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Consolation, I thought they used the PSAT because students don't take prep classes for that so it's more likely to be a true test of their abilities, but that is no longer the case. Once it was tied in with potential money and admissions, students started prepping for that test, too.
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Consolation
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Posted: Wed Apr 18th, 2007 03:16 am |
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WestrnMom wrote: Consolation, I thought they used the PSAT because students don't take prep classes for that so it's more likely to be a true test of their abilities, but that is no longer the case. Once it was tied in with potential money and admissions, students started prepping for that test, too.
No one prepped for the original test, that I know of. Of course, almost no one prepped for the SAT then either.
I graduated from high school in 1971, and I think we may have been the last, or one of the last, classes to take the original NMSQT exam.
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CalifCarolyn
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Posted: Wed Apr 18th, 2007 04:35 am |
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I am also a 1971 HS grad and no one took prep classes or studied for the SAT at my HS....
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atlantamom
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Posted: Thu Apr 19th, 2007 12:03 am |
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I am a 71 HS grad too. I don't even remember the NMSQT exam and no one studied for the SAT. I took the SAT one time and the night before was not acting in a way that I would expect my children to act today!
Yeah, the world of college admissions is different today.
My son was a NMF but got no money at all. One of his friends who was not a NMSF got money because his father worked for a company that used the PSAT to give awards. All I can say is that the whole NMF stuff is overblown.
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Descartes
Super Moderator
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Posted: Thu Apr 19th, 2007 01:36 am |
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I'm a '77 grad and the PSAT was used at that time to determine NM. atlanta, you are right; the money associated is not much. If your parent worked for a company that had scholarships, you got a little for being a finalist. If not, it was likely that nothing was going to come your way.
I didn't do any prep for the test except read the test booklet in advance and had no idea what the consequences could be for testing well. I had never even heard of the test until its was advertised at registration time. Perhaps it was a bigger deal elsewhere, but in the Midwest at the time testing was encouraged but not a big deal.
Last edited on Thu Apr 19th, 2007 02:33 pm by Descartes
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Chedva
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Posted: Sat Apr 21st, 2007 12:48 pm |
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Hi, folks - hope you don't mind a parent from the Class of 2007 butting in here. Just wanted to share some "lessons learned" during this whole nutty process.
D and I worked very hard to find colleges that seemed to "fit" her needs (OK, she told me what she thought they were, and I found them). We viewed websites & books, talked about learning style, size, programs, visited 15 schools before coming down to a list of 7. She wanted a small school, with no or few graduate students, with a dance program where she could concentrate in jazz or at least avoid modern and that had an interactive, discussion-based teaching style.
In the midst of this, her guidance counselor, a close friend in her class, and her SAT tutor kept pushing a small university. To get them off her back, she decided to apply. Without question it's a phenomenal school but on paper, has nothing she wanted. It's bigger, lots of lectures, minimal dance program (albeit lots of student-run dance opportunities), and grad students lead some of the discussion sections of the lecture classes. We didn't visit, but if we had visited in junior year or in the fall of senior year, I doubt she would have applied.
So where's she going? You guessed it - the university! Everyone told me that she'd change her priorities and herself from the beginning of senior year to the end, and I scoffed - I knew my kid too well. I was wrong - it does happen. The small colleges she re-visited following acceptances were now too small. On the other hand, she fell in love with the university at first sight, even though it was during an April nor'easter (for those who don't know, it's a windy, cold, raw, rain-and-snow driven storm). Doesn't care about grad students, loves the kids she met, loves the administration, spoke to graduates that we know who can't say enough about the school, and is now happy as a clam.
So from this let me suggest a piece of advice - if people who know your child well suggest a school that they think is great for your kid (based on things other than the name and/or the prestige), consider it, even if it seems categorically ridiculous. They may see something in your kid or in the school that you don't.
Good luck in the hunt!
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Sat Apr 21st, 2007 04:38 pm |
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Chevda, Thank you for sharing that. My daughter had a similar change of heart, but her's happened between spring of junior year and the time she actually sent out applications. This time in her junior year she was absolutely convinced that she would apply ED to a particular college, no ifs and buts about it. Over the summer, she attended a summer program at this school and came home seemingly even more convinced. Then, as the time to send out the ED application drew near, she rethought what she wanted from a college, and decided that another college was really her best fit. She applied EA there, was admitted, and that's where she is today. She never even applied to the school that had been her "dream school" just a few months before.
I have seen students go through similar rethinking many times. Sometimes it happens before applications go out. Sometimes it happens between the time applications go out and the final decision has to be made.
There is nothing wrong with changing your mind. Senior year is a time of enormous change and growth for many kids, so don't panic if the plans that seem set in stone today, in junior year, morph in a different direction next fall, or even, as Chevda notes, next spring.
Last edited on Sat Apr 21st, 2007 04:39 pm by CarolynLawrence
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Wed May 2nd, 2007 01:40 am |
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I'm bumping this thread up. It's our turn now, folks. Get out the duct tape, and get ready to rumble. 
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outwest
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Posted: Wed May 2nd, 2007 06:10 am |
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LOL. You're so funny.
I was glancing through this thread and noticed alumothers sons interest in marine sciences. I just wanted to suggest UC San Diego might want to be added to his list. It is on the ocean and right next to the UC owned Scripps Institute of Oceanogaphy (a graduate school). With his stats UCSD would be a good fit, too.
I could have sworn I put my DD's final senior class list here, but maybe it was on the other board?
Anyway,
1)AP Statistics (only math left)
2)AP Literature
3)AP German
4)AP Government (1 semester)
Economics (1 semester)
5)Physics (right now regular, but may end up Engineering physics due to schedule
conflicts. Will find out this summer).
6) Sociology/Psychology (1 semester each)
Will end up with 8 AP's total
Right now I am feeling very sorry for her. All this week she has California state testing for the school. In the next three weeks she has three AP tests. Then she has two SAT2's in May, also, and a retake scheduled for her SAT's in June (2050 in beginning of Junior year). She will be taking another SAT2 next October in German with listening (only offered then).
Last edited on Wed May 2nd, 2007 06:28 am by outwest
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Wendy (wjb)
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Posted: Wed May 2nd, 2007 12:41 pm |
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"Get out the duct tape, and get ready to rumble."
No need for duct tape here. Nature provided my son with built-in ear plugs.
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Wed May 2nd, 2007 04:43 pm |
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Wendy (wjb) wrote: "Get out the duct tape, and get ready to rumble."
No need for duct tape here. Nature provided my son with built-in ear plugs.
 LOL! That is the funniest thing I have heard in a long time.
Outwest, I feel for your daughter. I don't know why all of the testing has to be so bunched up. Really, the College Board needs to offer some test dates over the summer.
Last edited on Wed May 2nd, 2007 04:45 pm by CarolynLawrence
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mathmom
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Posted: Wed May 2nd, 2007 05:48 pm |
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I'm a 1973 grad and they'd combined the PSAT and NM stuff by my jr. year. I didn't study for it or the SAT, but I kind of wish I had. I did considerably better on the SAT, if I'd had the same score on the PSAT I'd have been a finalist. 
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Consolation
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Posted: Sat May 5th, 2007 12:35 pm |
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Well, I just came back from dropping my son off at the high school to take the SATs. While I was there, a kid came in and told the teacher standing by the entrance that he had left his admissions ticket at home. The teacher told him that he wasn't the only one, and suggested that he go get something to eat. (They were serving breakfast.)
This just boggles my mind. I can't imagine not getting up on the morning of the SAT just to offer moral support and make sure your kid has at least the 2 sharpened pencils and his ticket--let alone the "acceptable calculator"--especially if your kid is not the organized, academic type, which this kid clearly wasn't.
It's clear why they are feeding them. Apparently for some people getting up and pouring cereal into a bowl would be too much effort. Our state is now requiring all juniors to take the SAT in May instead of the former MEA (Maine Educational Assessment, I think.) exams. I have the feeling that in past years kids like this wouldn't have taken them at all. It really makes me feel bad for the kids who seem to have so little support from home. (Our district, while far more diverse socio-economically than one might think, is one of the top 5 in the state academically.) It also explains why our state has a high rate of high school graduation and a low rate of college graduation.
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jocelynDAD
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Posted: Sat May 5th, 2007 03:33 pm |
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Consolation:
I know nothing of the individual child's family situation but I can state that in some families, there is only one parent, others the child is with Grandparents or other adult family members, often one parent families work odd hours, even saturday mornings, or late shifts friday night.
There are a host of circumstances that one could imagine besides a lack of desire to support the child.
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HijinksAndSue
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Posted: Sat May 5th, 2007 04:10 pm |
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This just boggles my mind. I can't imagine not getting up on the morning of the SAT just to offer moral support and make sure your kid has at least the 2 sharpened pencils and his ticket--let alone the "acceptable calculator"--especially if your kid is not the organized, academic type, which this kid clearly wasn't.
It's clear why they are feeding them. Apparently for some people getting up and pouring cereal into a bowl would be too much effort.
Is there a blushy-face emoticon for me to use here? Consolation, in my post from about a half-hour ago on the "Support group for May 5 test-takers" thread, I explain exactly why I DIDN'T (technically) get up with my daughter ... she didn't want me to. It would have "stressed her out" too much ... I laid her ticket out for her the night before, made sure she had the sharpened pencils (asked about 8 times if she'd sharpened them), made sure she knew where her calculator was, and suggested we stop off at the supermarket for the healthy snacks etc. She answered that she'd leave early and stop for drinks and snacks. Then I double checked when she'd set her alarm.
And then, as requested, left her to her own devices.
Of course I was awake when she left (after she apparently hit the snooze button three times, taking the "leave early and stop for drinks and snacks" was out of the equation). I stayed in bed (this was not easy) but did call out "Do you have your pencils? Do you have your calculator" "Yes mom, YES MOM!" I did NOT ask if she had her ticket. I figured, how could she miss it? It's next to her purse.
Four minutes after she left, the door opened again. She forgot her ticket (but remembered quickly enough to come back and get it). And her healthy snacks? Apparently, from kitchen detritus, cold pizza and Oreos.
Maybe it makes me a "bad mom" ... I know I had to force myself not to get up with her. But she HATES it when I do. She is not a morning person and I am not sure I would have helped matters by asking her 18 times if she had everything she needed. The last thing I wanted was to stress her out more ... MY idea (and yours) of "moral support" would have been, to her, "LET ME DO THIS MYSELF MOOOOOOOOOM!!!"
And she likes cold pizza and Oreos.
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