I get the cheapest store brand powder and add 3/4 cup TSP (trisodium phosphate -- you can get it in the painting aisle at Home Depot or Lowe's) for a large box. My dishes always come out sparkling!

I guess I'm spoiled! I just stop by the high school in September and give the lady a check.

The PSAT is cheap. easy to sign up for, and convenient to take. The testing environment is similar to that at the SAT. You get the test book and all the students' answers back so you can go over everything they missed. Even if your child is nowhere near the National Merit cutoff, it is great practice for the SAT. I'd strongly recommend having your child take it each year in grades 8 or 9 to 11!

1. Adam and Eve truly had free will. Since the fall, our natures are bound by sin. If we are regenerated, we are free to choose God and we will because our eyes will be opened. KrissiK's tiger analogy was very good! 2. No, God is not responsible for evil. Read the story of Joseph. His brothers' desire to kill him came out of their sinful hearts. God directed, restrained, and used that evil desire to accomplish His purpose. God wasn't controlling them, though -- they were doing what they wanted to do. 3. Paul asks that question in Romans 9 and concludes that God is God and we're not. Can the clay say to the potter, why did you make me this way? Someday we will understand! 4. We all deserve hell because of our sins. It's only because of His grace that anyone is saved. If it was up to our "free will," no one would choose God. 5. A person who has a genuine salvation experience won't fall away. They may seem to for a time, or it may be that they weren't really saved.

Practice, practice, practice, practice. I know this is hard with bio since there aren't a lot of materials for the new test. Find sample tests in guides like Barron's, etc. Have her do as many as possible even if the tests themselves aren't that great. You want her to get to the point that the test itself doesn't feel new and stressful.

We learned to love Döner in Germany too. Here in America, shawarma is easier to find. It's very similar! Unfortunately, I live in the boonies. When we visit our kids at college, we always hit a shawarma place at least once!

My son took an AP test late and there was no extra fee. He did have two exams scheduled at the same time, though, so maybe that's why. I missed what year your son is. If he's a junior now, I DEFINITELY wouldn't give up anything for an AP test next year. He'll already be admitted to college by the time the test rolls around. Have him take some AP classes, so colleges can see he's working hard senior year, but don't worry about the tests. A friend's dd is at Cornell and loves it! So far, none of mine has applied there. Ds19 was planning to, but he got into Harvard EA.

I'm a young earth creationist who believes in the big bang! I just think the early part went way faster than scientists think -- like timelapse photography or something. =)

I don't think two years of high school Spanish would give you enough grammar to do well on the SAT Subject Test. My kids have never taken the Spanish subject test, but they have done French and German and they are difficult tests. They did them the year they took the APs. You could get the College Board's book of subject tests and take a look at it. I'm not familiar with CLEP at all, so I can't help you there.

That's how it's done here as well. Years and years ago, when my kids were still small and I was just starting to think ahead to high school, one of the moms at soccer was an AP English teacher at the local high school. I talked to her a lot and learned a lot about APs and so on from her. She told me that doing both courses was redundant, and we should choose one or the other. We've had all of our kids do just AP Lit in 11th. Now I see many homeschoolers doing AP Lang as well. I considered having youngest dd do AP Lang in 10th, but I really wanted her to do American Lit with me instead along with APUSH at PAH like the older kids had done. Honestly, AP Lang has never looked like that interesting of a course to me and we have plenty of other things on our plate.

The last time we went without passports, we were told we needed birth certificates and photo ids for the kids. That's been a few years, though, so it may have changed. They grilled us at the border about why our kids weren't in school, why we homeschooled, etc!

Lots of things -- poor educational background, no one encouraged them to read, parents weren't involved, whatever. If they're less prepared for college, they're less prepared for college. Yes, we should try to do something about it, but what's wrong with a standardized test picking up that lack of preparation? Isn't that what it's supposed to do?

This is true -- BUT -- there are many, many programs aimed at reaching out to low-income students in an attempt to level the playing field. For example, my oldest dd volunteered for a program in which Harvard students go into troubled Boston schools to provide free, weekly, one-on-one SAT tutoring for any student who wants it. I just don't believe the difference in scores is due to a lack of access to expensive test prep services. FWIW, my older four all scored above 2300 and we never spent a dime on prep classes or tutoring.

We never did Pre-Algebra at all -- our kids went right from 6th grade math to Algebra 1. If she's getting the material easily, I say jump ahead.

My kids covered most of the material over the summer and then just did some programming projects and test prep during the school year. They thought the exam was very easy.

We flew out of Amsterdam last summer and security was quick and easy at the gate. I'd say definitely go for it -- The Rijksmuseum is my very favorite!

Thanks -- I will definitely share this with my dd. I might even see a science fair project along these lines in her future... Creekland -- I completely understand! If my kids had chosen one of the mid-level schools they were accepted at, we would never have been able to afford it. The EFC is completely insane, especially considering that we have six kids! I just like to share our experience with aid at the Ivies in case people aren't aware. I'd hate to see a qualified kid decide not to apply because of the price tag.

Eight -- I don't know your financial situation, but we've gotten amazing need-based aid and we are solidly middle class. Neither we nor our kids have had to take any loans. I know your son has already applied, but I want other people to understand that they shouldn't be afraid to aim for top schools because of the price. They give very generous financial aid to families making up to 200K per year. Our kids have gotten various merit scholarships, but so far no offer has beaten the need-based aid we've gotten from the Ivies.

Your dd sounds a lot like my middle dd, and maybe my youngest dd as well. Part of the problem for my youngest (10th grade) at least, is that she loves math and is really good at it, but she wants a more "people-focused" career. She told me, "Mom, I love computer programming. It's one of my favorite things to do, but I would hate to have to do it as a job. I couldn't stand just sitting there by myself, staring at a screen and debugging all day." I told her that's fine, but it won't hurt to keep improving her programming skills. It's something she likes to do and if she's ever in a pinch, it will pay the bills. For now, I want her to excel in all her subjects. She doesn't need to specialize while she's in high school. I don't think it's a problem at all to start college without a clear direction. Middle dd is a junior at Princeton and is just now figuring it out. She started out by fulfilling most of her distribution requirements (courses in different areas) and gradually settled on psychology as what she likes best. She's still not completely sure what she's going to do after college, whether she'll go straight to grad school or do something else, but she is applying for summer internships and hopefully her experience there will help to solidify her goals.

Definitely get this book and have him do a practice test to see if he's ready. If he is going to continue with French, you might want to wait to have him take the subject test. My kids took it the same year they took the AP (equivalent to French 5).

Do you need to put it on the transcript at all? I just teach health as part of life -- I've never made a course out of it.

No -- at least in the past, he has taken anyone who signs up by the deadline. I don't see that that has changed. I think I will have two in that class next year. I am surprised that PAH will let kids take Physics C concurrently with Calc AB. Here Calc is a prerequisite for the course, and you need Calc 2 (BC) for the second semester. My son is taking it now at the CC and doing AP prep at home and he uses lots and lots of calculus.

I've had four dc accepted at top schools, and we've NEVER done a summer enrichment program!

Definitely Macbeth! Kids love it and there are so many deep themes that are fun and easy to discuss and write about.

I don't feel like my kids have focused all their time and energy into getting into Ivies. We provided a rich, challenging environment from the time they were young, and they thrived in it. No one even thought about Ivies when they were young. We moved them along in math as they were ready, read lots, did foreign language as a family, and so on. When oldest dd got to high school, dh and I wanted to be sure that the education we provided didn't close any doors for her. We didn't want her to get to 12th grade and not get into whatever school she wanted because of a decision we made. So we read some books and looked at what the top colleges recommend. We decided to have her take AP classes because (a) she was ready for them and they were the next natural step, and (b ) colleges understand and appreciate them. If anyone gave up their dream to follow this approach, it was me, not her. I had been planning to stick with the great books/ history and lit together/ chronological approach that we'd been using all along. I was crushed to think of doing European History in one year and taking an exam. Dd liked it better. :) As far as extra-curriculars and so on, other than requiring our kids to play sports and an instrument, they've done what they wanted. They haven't given up anything. We've required a big project in 11th grade, but they've chosen the project, and an internship in 12th, which again, they've chosen. No one is asking them to give up their dreams. No one is obsessing over getting into an ivy league school. Would they have chosen to take so many hard classes? Probably not, but we believe hard work pays off and we want to teach them that. They've complained some, when they see local homeschool peers taking a couple of easy classes at the CC and coop and being done by noon every day, but they've been thankful in the long run. When our kids applied to colleges, they had a variety of schools they liked and would have been happy at. They always looked at the ivies as a long shot and never as a sure thing that they'd be crushed if they didn't achieve. Dd 21 actually had a hard time deciding whether to go to Princeton or Grove City! She did end up at Princeton and she's very happy, but I promise you, it was never a dream that either she or we were obsessed with. Also, I've met MANY of my kids' friends at Harvard and Princeton. They are amazing, well-adjusted kids with clear goals. The ones who have graduated are doing great. To the OP -- encourage your daughter's dream, but also encourage her to be realistic about the odds of getting into one particular school. As she gets older, be sure she gets to visit other schools so she can imagine herself happy other places.