[Questions on these two majors?]

In this day in age anyway that you can find out about money and then use that knowledge is good. Accountants are needed everywhere. My acct. that I use to do my taxes and give advise has several interns and some part-timers working for them. It is not a big firm. I know non-profits are always looking for volunteer "money eyes", so you could have some interesting experiences that way. You can interact with people as little or as much as you want in this field as well. Liking talking to folks will probably help you go far.

And then, there's my personal favorite option....forensic accounting...follow the money and all that.

[Does anyone have experience with an IB program?]

I looked around the web at IB vs. AP curricula. I thought the IB ones were much more substantive; more writing and creative thinking/analysis. From what I understand, it is best to go to a school where the IB program has been in place for a while. It is quite a shift of gears for teachers as well as students.

[Looking for AP u.s history with lit./writing]

We did it on our own. We used Voices of America Past and Present that went with the Am P and P text and Norton Anthology of American Lit. There were essay topics in VOA and I got some ideas off various Am. Lit. and APUSH sites on the internet. It is doable and ultimately way fun for the student.

[Dd was just invited to first honor society!]

I'm so proud of your dd!!! You could have the youngest drive on the backroads for an hour or so. That's how I used to catch a break when traveling with the dds. Kids "tire" easily when driving, an hour is about all they can handle.

[Sophomore son just changed majors....]

Quite exciting. Doing research is really, really, fun. You get a lot of education out of it as well. This is just what we all hope for when our kids are in college.

[Poll: Do you like your job?]

... I am am really enjoying reading literature and learning history that I never did before. It really balances out my life.

 

:iagree: And physics and math and art history too!

[he is going to be ok]

Bravo - funny what goes on upstairs in their little minds at times. One of the joys of parenthood is that you just never know.

[college debt s/o question - hypothetical]

We would look for a school that "fit":

A school that was the right size.

Had the right philosophy of education.

A school with rigorous, interesting, and challenging academics.

A school with a high graduation rate.

A school that had extra-curricular activities that fit our kid's passions.

A school that had a strong mentoring program for all 4 years.

A school that had a good variety of classes in our kids' academic interests, plus plenty of scope outside of their interest b/c w/ teens you never know.

A school where the majority of the people - staff, professors, students are happy to be there and love it.

More.....

[AP Calc BC vs dual enrollment? Stats? Online class recs?]

I think the AoPS or one of the canned calc. programs might be nice. She could go along and do them over 2 years if she needs to. Then she could try for an AP exam.

[Thinking about transferring s/o?]

I'm bumping this for Distancia - there's some issues raised that you may want to think about/ talk about?

[College Debt Question]

My eldest dd got an almost free ride at her SLAC, due to being v. smart. But, she will end up with some loans to pay back. We are hoping it will only max out at about $7500, which seems pretty do-able. We have been living on the edge for the last few years, economics wise....I just hope both kids can get through college somehow with out a lot of debt.

FYI - My eldest dd really wanted to attend NYU for a while, I nixed the idea b/c all I saw was an opportunity to run up debt....It is v. expensive to live in NYC, never mind try to go to school there as well.

My youngest dd will have to go to whatever one of her college choices winds up being the "cheapest" for her and for us (she applied in a v. focussed way for v. specific programs). Fingers crossed here for a couple of private SLACs who would possibly do v. well for her in terms of financial aid.

That said, dh and I would like to be able to have some fun once dd2 is at school, I'd be nice to be able to go to dinner and a movie every now and then;) So we do not want a huge financial onus over our heads anymore.

Got to have funds to re-invent our lives for the upcoming "3rd phase" of adulthood.

[Has Anyone Read Cat And Mouse?]

I remember reading it in high school and went on to reading "The Tin Drum". Sorry, don't remember much about either one. Just remember liking them v. much.

[What are your expectations when college students are home on break?]

My dd's going back on Tues. She was not here long enough in my opinion. We may not see her much this summer. Hopefully she'll come for spring break. I hate it when they leave. Will need to pester other dd about her school work instead of just talking to the oldest......Sad.

[U.S. History literature]

We used the Norton Anthology of American Lit. It went along v. well with our US history course. It is organized fairly chronologically and has good introductory essays which tie the writings to what was going on in America at the time. We used the "Shorter Version", it was cheap and did the trick.

You can pick the pieces that your student would be most likely to get something out of....all kinds of reading levels available.

[What are your expectations when college students are home on break?]

Dd is working part time and filling out applications for summer jobs and internships. She is watching a lot of Netflix. She does yoga everyday. We go out and do something together occasionally, like eating or shopping. She likes the "simple life" when she is home. She likes to help cook and plan interesting meals at home, etc.

[Colleges don't get the percentages, do they?]

He's doing great. Have him work on writing. LAW is a good little book. Make sure he writes something everyday. Look around for a variety of topics, creative, self-description, argument analysis and even just straight reportage. Having to put pen to paper daily has really helped my dd...even if it is just a paragraph or two. Journalling may also help. There is a lot of writing at some colleges but, there are also writing labs where they can get help. Many fr. seminars are writing-based these days to iron out and improve skills.

Writing everyday helps get rid of the onus of the blank page at testing time.

[oak meadow?]

I considered it but it was too expen$ive.

[Common Ap: Final Report]

We just finished our last common app. Waiting....for the world to change! Fafsa and Css will just have to wait til tomorrow. I go to the mail box everyday and just hope there's a little something good. My college sends oodles. Dd did not apply. I think they think she is a jr. I enjoyed the propaganda that comes thru the mail. Love to deconstruct the brochures. I really am kind of looking forward to having that "Final Report" to send in....I wonder who I'll be sending it to?

[When class rank is included in consideration for scholarships awarded...]

we just want the big bucks award so I don't have to go back to work full time!

 

Or, I would add, so we can work for the rest of the family (read dh and ME) instead of just paying for college until we are v. old and v. grey!!!

[When class rank is included in consideration for scholarships awarded...]

I think the common app had a "school does not rank" option. We put "n/a homeschooled" on our stuff when there was no other choice. I never used 1/1.

We also included a little few-paragraph essay on our homeschool philosophy and grading techniques where we could. Not sure how effective this was. We've not heard about money yet.

[When class rank is included in consideration for scholarships awarded...]

OMGoodness -- I have twins and that never even crossed my mind! So one is at the top and one is at the bottom. HA -- that sure wouldn't go over well for the family environment now, would it? :001_huh:

I'd do it as .5 of 1. I think they fractionate class ranks in ps like that.

[If not necessarily college-bound . . . foreign language?]

No matter where she's bound, she probably should learn a foreign language for practical purposes. (Spanish?) She'll never know where it might come in handy.

[Culinary Schools]

I've heard good things too about J&W. You might look at CIA (Culinary Institute of America). Also Nutrition depts. that pair up w/cooking schools. I thought I read something a while ago about Cornell or Michigan....for some reason they come to mind.

[High school secular science that you really like? Any format]

We don't use a canned program. I've worked with texts and study guides. Dd works best when I impose a narrative on the problem solving. I like to change variables and maybe call to mind reality shows such as "The Biggest Loser", cooking shows, Star Wars, sci-fi stories with aliens and a running comparison of Hummer vs. Prius. Exercises like these working off the basic questions in the book lead to better conceptual grasp. I try to have her generate graphs and tables to experience the data. She is happier about science (which she loves) when we do things this way. I found a lot of creative incentive and inspiration looking at some of the tests on the MIT Open Course sites.

[Oh NO - It's that time of the year, again]

I got my folders out yesterday. I am doing 2 FaFsa, 2CSS, 2Federal Tax, 1State Tax. Long ago, I remember sitting down for a week-end and doing a 1040 and feeling quite drained. The calculator and my math brain is going to get quite a workout. I want to train my eldest to do her own Federal and State. We'll see how that goes. It may have to wait 'til next year.