Barbara H
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Posts posted by Barbara H
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Here's something I didn't expect: The orthodontist gave my son a huge bag of candy. So, what minor discomfort there was getting the braces off was quickly forgotten once he was eating Starbursts and Tootsie Rolls.
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What else does she have on her summer agenda? It can work if it is her primary thing but it may be tough to juggle with a job.
Do you know what length sessions your community college offers? I've seen four week, six week, or eight week sessions. I'm wary of the shorter summer courses as a first college experience for most students. Yes, there are some teens that can handle it but for many the pace is just too fast and it is stressful. I'd be particularly cautious about math because it just takes some students more processing time.
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Has anyone read any solid information on whether rinsing or soaking lowers arsenic levels?
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I'm sorry she is going through this. Yes, she needs to be seen. If you don't know who you want to take her to, as your pediatrician for a reference to a child psychologist, preferably female. I would suggest interviewing the psychologist on the phone ahead of time and trying to find out if they have experience working with kids who have trauma (not quoting, but the specific type mentioned in your post). While that may not be the central issue, you want her with someone who can understand that it may be playing a factor in her anxiety.
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Big congrats! Wishing you a lifetime of happiness!
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I have two suggestions:
1. Read a variety of quality non-fiction. Target a list that covers a variety of topics: politics, science, history, etc. My suggested sources would be Scientific American, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, etc. This isn't just general read and enjoy it, but very targeted reading where the student marks vocabulary they don't know and they learn those words. They should be prepared to discuss the articles critically. This is not about volume reading. You can pick just a challenging article or two a week and really work on that article. The thing I like about this approach is that it doesn't just net higher critical reading scores, but it can build foundational skills that are really important to have for college.
2. Practice tests. Take the test, carefully analyze the results, learn stuff, test again. It isn't particularly fun, but this is probably the single most effective method for raising scores. It breeds familiarity with the format and style of the test and in time it will improve scores. This tends to work best for students to take a student from average/good scores to great scores.
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It is frustrating because there isn't a blood test or a clear cut answer. It can be difficult to sort out what part is the age, the personality, and what part is sensory dysfunction. The OT evaluation will include both checklists and observations of how your child does with various activities. The treatment typically includes both time "playing" with the OT and also home activities or a "sensory diet." For many families the most helpful thing is just understanding sensory integration better and learning ways to build appropriate sensory activities into the day.
The Sensory Smart Child book is worth reading (from the library or buying it). The other classic is the Out of Sync Child book as well as the Out of Sync Child Has Fun (which is a good source of activities). For me the Sensory Smart book is a bit more substantial and it felt like a better starting place.
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Well roundedness or major probably have nothing to do with it. They are looking at test scores and zip codes. And, yes this is in large measure about driving selectivity through rejecting more students and being able to accept students with very strong academic profiles (high grades, high test scores).
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And I appreciate the mention of Hope College. I keep on hearing about it and then crossing it off the list and hearing about it again. I think I'll keep it on the list for a while this time!
It is a nice supportive liberal arts college - especially strong in sciences.
There's a mom here with a son at Hope and I'm sure she can answer any questions.
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I don't think the resume is too much of a loss. Every admissions officer I've spoken with dislikes the resume. They feel like the essays, activities list, letters of recommendations (and supplementary materials for homeschoolers) is enough to communicate what needs to be communicated.
Getting rid of the topic of choice is a big surprise because it is really popular.
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I agree with the suggestion of good strings. It makes a world of difference.
Also, I would encourage you not to feel too rushed in your decision. It is really about hand size more than body size. We extended the time on the 3/4 size for a while because we needed to and it wasn't a disaster to wait a bit longer.
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The hard part about all this planning is that kids don't always know what they're going to do and where they want to go. Make plans for the most selective colleges that your student is looking at, and head towards those.
Thanks for sharing your story. I'm glad it is working out for her. This passage I've quoted is excellent advice. It is important to keep options open when we can. The majority of students change their major after they start college. It is really important that students get GOOD advising on campus - even at some schools where you'd assume students will get great advising they don't.
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The website that goes with the book "Raising a Sensory Smart Child has a lot of good information." Here's the link http://sensorysmarts.com/ check out the section What is SPD? and look at the sensory checklist.
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A few general ideas for an organ student (these may or may not be a good fit for your daughter)
1. Talk early and often with organ teachers. Get their recommendations. It is a world where connections matter and she would be well advised to get professional guidance on schools and what will best prepare her for auditions.
2. If she's applying nationally and is serious about scholarships she may want to think about pursuing a summer program. Here are a couple of examples: http://camp.interlochen.org/scholarship-opportunity-interlochen-organ-scholar http://new.oberlin.edu/office/summer-programs/organists/
3. More so than with many instruments, organ has some specific scholarship opportunities particularly from religious schools that need to have organists available to play for services. Here are a couple of examples: Hope College - see the profile of the bottom student on the right, http://hope.edu/giving/scholarships1.html Holy Cross http://academics.holycross.edu/music/scholarships
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It is great he's looking into becoming an RA. One thing to check carefully is the exactly job commitment. In my college days the RA just lived on the hall, dealt with crisis issues (like you said roommate conflict, drunken stuff, locked out of room), and they planned occasional programming.
A couple of students I've spoken with recently who are RAs at larger state universities, had additional job requirements. In addition to living on the hall and dealing with student issues, one student also had to work 15 hours a week at the dorm front desk and it was busy enough that he couldn't get a lot of studying done during this time. So, it quickly added up to more hours than he should have been working. My policy is 10 hour a week jobs are great for a lot of students - 20 or 30 hours a week is too much for most to earn top grades.
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My oldest almost lost her Hillsdale scholarships but in the end, they decided not to transfer her credits in until the first day of class, thus saving the day. She magically became a sophomore then.
We had problems with the Army not wanting dd to have as many credits as she did--they were concerned that she'd graduate in less than 4 years. She had to write a long explanation of why she'd taken what she had. She almost lost her scholarship (full-ride) because of it.
If you are comfortable with sharing, I'd appreciate hearing more about this. How many dual enrollment credits did she have? Did she have an ROTC scholarship?
You raise a number of important considerations in your post. Students who are looking at the military and NCAA sports need to be especially careful. Also, your point about math is a good one. In my home state (and in some others) students are required to take math all four years in high school even if they have completed high school level coursework in middle school.
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You've gotten a lot of good advice here. Kids really do change and grow and it is hard to predict. My suggestion would be to proceed with the four year plan and then revise as needed down the road. By completing high school requirements on time you will have more flexibility down the road. There is no risk of "running out" of stuff to do because when they are older they will have all sorts of additional options - more independent study in areas of interest, AP, CLEP, dual enrollment, work, volunteering, study abroad, starting a business, internships, writing a novel, etc. These are options that are less open to younger students. So, if they are ready, I say go ahead and start working on requirements and don't worry if you finish up before they are ready to go to college other options will be obvious at that time.
If high school runs five years you have a few options. 1. You could organize the transcript by subject and not worry that some courses were completed in the first year. 2. You could organize by date and list some of the 8th grade courses as "Credits completed before high school". 3. They could wrap up after the fourth year and opt for a gap year. Personally that would be my last choice just because as a homeschooler you don't need to go that route and it is a bit simpler not to. You can always graduate your child symbolically and practically but for official transcript purposes chose another date.
Any college courses taken after high school graduation can remove a child from entering college as a freshman - which typically comes with the best scholarship options. Courses taken while still enrolled in high school do not have this same problem.
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It is really your choice. If you decide to include SAT subject tests though you really need to include all of them. If it helps, most traditional schools include the ACT, SAT, AP and SAT subject tests on the transcript. Some schools don't so their students can take advantage of score choice if the schools they are applying to allow for it, but the majority of public and private transcripts I've seen have the information. The PSAT score would not be included.
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http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_bio.html You can find a list of topics covered and sample questions here.
I haven't seen the product you mentioned, but I would be wary of preparing for the AP bio with a combo CLEP/AP product because the tests are really different from each other, both in the format and the depth of topics covered. Also, if your student decides to go for AP bio I would be sure to buy a current year book because the test has changed.
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In order of importance, they want 5 things. (1) transcript - which classes you took and what grade you got. Did you take the most rigorous classes you could? (2) essays - this is a one sided interview. Be real! Each essay is read at least twice. (3) extra curricular - no one activity is more important than others. They want to see impact and passion - were you filling a seat or were you doing? A president of a club could be filling a seat, a member could be out there doing everything. (4) letter of recommendation - must be a high school teacher. Choose a teacher who really knows you. (5) test scores - they know most high school students don't want to do this at 8 am on a Saturday. They superscore your scores.
It sounds like you had a great visit!
I have to say though, I really don't believe for a minute that they weigh essays, extracurriculars or recommendations more heavily than test scores.
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One important consideration with CLEP is that the student can take the test again but they need to wait six months. My suggestion would be to take sample tests (preferably a few different ones from different companies) first and wait to take the test until they are scoring solidly in the passing range. The score would only be seen by colleges if you sent it and there would be no reason you'd send a failing score.
As far as the SAT subject tests... while the College Board offers something called "score choice" which allows you to pick and choose what scores you send out, many schools opt out of this and require all test results. It is possible to retake SAT subject tests and if so most schools are really only going to look at the highest result you send in for a subject. They understand anyone can have a bad day. Again, I would suggest that your student take practice tests and make sure they are scoring in their target range before they pay to take the test.
While there can occasionally be overlap, most students thinking about CLEP exams in high school are not aiming at highly selective colleges. At these colleges CLEPs carry no weight for admissions or credit. And, SAT subject tests really tend to be helpful only with highly selective schools. Many less selective schools don't really even understand the value of them. So, your first step may be to sort out what tests make most sense given your student's goals.
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Fun thread! Washington University in St. Louis is a popular "stalker" as well.
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Please forgive my ignorance (my oldest is only in 10th grade), but is Honors College something the student could seek out and apply for, or is it a situation where the college seeks out the qualified students and offers this opportunity (based on test scores, transcripts, etc.)?
That's a good question. It is typically something the student would seek out as part of the college admissions process. Students who are thinking about honors colleges can ask the admissions office about that and may be able to include that on their college visit.
Some schools have a set cut off criteria like a particular test score and GPA and they do require a separate application for the honors college. Others require students complete a separate application with essays. Deadlines can be the same as the regular admissions deadline or they can be different so that's another thing pay attention to.
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Disclosure: In addition to being a homeschooler, I have been a writing tutor for 25 years and I am a college consultant.
I'm sure we would all be in agreement that any service that sells essays or writes essays for students is unethical and inappropriate. Unfortunately this happens quite often in college admissions and is particularly a problem with international students.
I see this as entirely distinct from the type of service provided by a good writing tutor. What I do depends on the needs of the individual student. One group I end up working with often are STEM guys who are bright but may struggle with personal writing. Often through English class or parents, they have the idea they are supposed to write an emotional essay on a topic they can't relate to at all. Sometimes all they need is a little help with brainstorming and the confidence that it is appropriate to write about the geeky topic of their choice.
A third party (whether it is a tutor or a friend) can also be helpful in diffusing tension. College admissions can be a tough time for parents and kids and tempers can flair over essays. As we all know, sometimes the exact same suggestions that were totally rejected when mom made them, are brilliant when they come from another source.
Asking for feedback on your writing is not cheating. It is a good lifetime habit we should all learn. College admissions officers expect, and will suggest, that students have their essays proofread. The suggestion that students have essays read by both a teacher and a friend is a common one. Many students who attend school have college essay writing as part of their English curriculum senior year as well.
which graphing calculator?
in High School and Self-Education Board
Posted
Is Ebay shopping an option for you? There are oodles of TI-84s on Ebay in the $30-$40 range.