We started calling things "High School" on our transcript when our kids were the age of public school ninth graders in our state. Any courses they had done earlier, even if they were high school level, we didn't list because we read that colleges were interested with what students did with those four years and we figured that if the child was taking calculus in ninth grade, they'd know he had taken the classes that came before it. So my kids just had four years of really advanced classes.

Teenage boys are expensive to feed and I don't do organic, grass-fed, special diets, or anything. Ds 17 is working as a lifeguard this afternoon. For lunch he packed, two wraps (large tortilla with lettuce, meat, etc.), a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, three hard-boiled eggs, two Greek yogurts, a peach, and a banana. He said, "I don't want to take too much because I want to have room for dinner." He is tall and very thin, by the way. He runs and lifts weights. He goes through A LOT of calories!!!!

My kids heard the "the hard work is getting into Harvard" and found that it is not true at all. They worked their butts off in college. Also, my kids' friends are mainly from the Christian fellowship, so maybe they aren't typical, but I haven't met any who are like students you describe in your second paragraph. I know a boy who grew up on a farm in Kenya and wrote his essay about a summer he spent growing and selling cabbages for his dad. His dad required each of his kids to take some aspect of the farm and run it themselves for a year in high school. He also had excellent grades and scores, but I think it's his unique experience that made him stand out. I know a girl whose dad works at Olive Garden. She always dreamed of going to Harvard and becoming a doctor, but it's not something her parents had on their radar. I could go on and on. And I'm not just talking about surface interactions. These kids have spent holidays in my home. I know them. It could be that my kids aren't drawn to the kids who just go to Harvard for name and prestige, but I think the kind of students you are describing are the exception not the rule. They are not the kind of kids Harvard is looking for. I also know students who had their hearts set on Harvard or Princeton, didn't apply to many other schools and ended up miserable. That doesn't mean that the Ivies are filled with miserable kids who are just pushed by their parents to succeed. Go there. Go on a tour. Talk to kids. You'll see that the atmosphere and the opportunities offered are not the same as a state school at all. Of course the name and connections have value, but there is so much more. Just one example -- my oldest dd was a history major. Her first semester, she did a freshman seminar with Laurel Ulrich, a Pulitzer-prize winning historian. There were six kids in the class. They went to museums and looked at old quilts and helped her with research for her new book. She had them over for hot cocoa and cookies and ate in the dining hall with them a couple of times. Dr. Ulrich went on to become my daughter's thesis advisor. Sure, something like this could happen at a state school, but at Harvard, it's the norm. These kind of interactions are a part of every student's experience.

Two of my kids went to Harvard and two are currently at Princeton. I've met many of their friends and have had them in our home. I have been so impressed with them. They are bright, articulate, talented, but also down-to-earth and friendly. They are confident, creative, and obviously gifted. I've seen lots of intellectual curiosity and no one who could be described as "anxious, timid and lost." I'm sure those kids are out there, but they're not the norm. Maybe there are kids there that just did what they needed to do to check the boxes, but I haven't met them. I've also been impressed by the really rigorous, challenging coursework my kids have encountered and the amazing interactions they've had with the top researchers in their fields.

Thank you for starting this thread. I never even thought about men having hormonal issues. Dh has been moody lately, and realizing it may be biological helps me deal with him the way I like him to deal with me when I'm hormonal -- with compassion instead of frustration. I am surprised by how much opposition there is to Miniwannabee's list. I don't agree with everything on it, but the basic idea, sacrificing yourself for someone else, is spot on. Isn't that what love is? I'd encourage all of you who's immediate response was, "But what about my needs?" to try putting your needs aside for a few days and really focusing on your husband's happiness. I bet you'll be surprised at the results!

The last time I signed up an under 9th grader, a red box popped up warning me that scores would be purged and I had to click "okay" before I could continue with the registration. Did they get rid of that when they updated the software?

We had all of our kids do an internship in 12th grade after they'd finished their high school requirements.

It's not true. Kids can take any tests before 9th grade and they stay on their records. I promise. My kids have done it. So kids can take a test in middle school for a talent search or just to have the experience without worrying about it staying on their record. It's a great thing! We always had our kids take the SAT several times in middle school for practice, off the record. Then they took it one or twice in high school and colleges only saw the high scores.

My kids took APs before 9th grade and they stayed on their record. I never needed to do anything special.

AP scores from 8th grade stay on the record. Don't worry about that. It's only SAT scores (regular and subject tests) that are purged. If you want to keep the subject test score, I believe you need to write a letter to the College Board. Youngest dd is going into 11th so it's been awhile since I've done it.

It's been the policy for at least 10 years. My oldest ds got 800 on the math as a 7th grader, but we didn't the CR score on his record so we didn't have it kept. We did keep some of the high subject test scores from 8th grade.

My kids have never been able to get typical, burger-joint type jobs, but they've always been able to earn their spending money, because, well, they've had to! In high school, they ref soccer and lifeguard. My college kids have had paid internships, they've tutored, they've worked for the University raising money (i.e., harassing alumni!). If they absolutely couldn't find something, we'd help, but they want the freedom and independence that comes with earning.

I think a 4 is fine. I wouldn't have her do 2 FL APs in a year. I missed that she was also doing Spanish. In that case, I think dropping German is fine.

For burgers -- Use 80 % ground beef For one pound ground beef: Beat 1 egg Tear up one slice of bread and 1/4 cup milk and mix well. Add about 1/2 cup finely chopped onion, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper. Add ground beef, mix, and shape into patties. "All beef" patties will always be dry. You need some bread in there to soak up the yummy juices!

??? You'd think so, but who knows what admissions people are thinking. We ran into this with our kids because we started foreign language very young and some of them took APs in 8th or 9th grade. We thought it was best to let colleges see them keeping up those languages so we came up with fun classes to do that -- French through the Ages, German Conversation, etc.

I wouldn't drop the German. A lot of schools want to see four years of the same language in high school. Can you do a low-key, fun German course? Something she designs herself -- maybe German cinema or 20th century German novels? That's what we did post-AP with our kids.

Did anyone else have a student take the new Chemistry exam? Dd took it and got a 5, so she was very pleased!

Our kids earn their own spending money through summer and/or term-time jobs and spend it as they wish. I can't imagine looking over a 19 or 20-year-old's shoulder at what he is spending!

PhD programs are still free for engineering and science majors. My ds is studying computer science and he gets full tuition plus a stipend of about $25K per year. It's a different story for his wife, who's in med school!

Yeah -- it's hard to trust them to handle things like that. I remember the first time dd went abroad alone at 19 for a missions trip. I was really bothered at first because all of the emails, etc. went to her. She was over 18 so I was out of the loop. She'd forward me things if I asked for them, but she didn't always think to. It was hard for me to learn to let go and let her work it all out. And I've seen mine mess up some and have to deal with the cost and hassle that results. But I guess that's how they learn, right? I'm sure I drove my mom crazy when I was 19 or 20!

I wouldn't expect the college to send YOU any information. Your child is an adult! My oldest dd did a semester at the Sorbonne in Paris. There was an agency that handled the details, matched her with a host family, etc. In her case, housing and food was included and her financial aid transferred. We paid our share to the agency instead of to her college. She bought her own airline tickets through Travelocity, but she was used to travelling so that was no big deal. She just bought a cheap cellphone there and communicated with us by Skype. She had a great experience! She is my traveller -- this fall she is going to Morocco to teach English on a Fulbright.

This version is abridged, but it's very good:

Definitely The Man Who Knew Too Much. Our kids also enjoyed Rear Window and North by Northwest, but The Man Who Knew Too Much was their favorite by far. They were laughing at The Birds. They said the creepiest thing about it was that there is no scary music in the suspenseful parts. It's just silent. They didn't find it nearly as disturbing as I did. I saw it in college and am still slightly freaked out when I see a flock of starlings gathering....

National History Day! www.nhd,org Students really dig into primary sources, conduct interviews, etc. and put together a website, paper, exhibit, documentary, or performance. It's especially fun to get some friends together to do a group project.

I used it for middle school. I like it a lot! You don't need the teacher's manual and it can be used independently. For high school, I'd use it as a part of a larger program. It will teach the student to understand meter and a little figurative language, but you need to go much deeper. Your student also needs to explore meanings and themes in poetry and write analytical essays. I always did poetry as part of a larger English class. I used anthologies like Adventures in American Lit and Adventures in English Lit, then Perrine's for AP Lit in 11th grade.