My son is going to UCI in the fall. In the Facebook group he's in for admitted students a few kids started posting about being rescinded, and then a few more, and then suddenly it felt like hundreds of kids were posting. It was quite traumatic for these students. Although some of the students did not meet the academic requirements, many of them did but their transcripts weren't received on time or they were lost. UCI was also overwhelmed by the number of students in this freshman class and they dropped the ball in regards to communicating about whether transcripts had been received or not. I will say that the students banded together really quickly and took action. It seems that many of these kids have been re-admitted already which is great. But it was very distressing for everyone involved and not a great way to start the year.

My twins applied to a handful of California schools this past year. Schools that I was impressed by - Loyola Marymount (although they do not give great aid), University of Redlands, Saint Mary's College of California, UCLA and UCI. My son is going to attend UC Irvine and we are already so impressed with all the support he is receiving there.

For UC schools you can either go the a-g route or you can do admittance by testing. If you have a student who is a strong tester I would just have them take the classes you plan and then do the SAT subject tests with the ACT or the SAT.

I was going to suggest the same thing. There is a Facebook page and I believe a Facebook group. You may have better luck over there.

I think it is worth it to apply to some private schools as their aid packages can sometimes end up being quite affordable. As far as out-of-state public schools we found out last year that these schools are almost always out of reach financially if you are on a tight budget. I would definitely run the net price calculators to see what the numbers are but for us the out-of-state publics schools were not financially doable.

My son will be starting at UCI in the fall. We had no PE on his transcript.

My son sounds very similar to your daughter. We have tried many of the programs mentioned here and most did not work for him. What we ended up using towards the end of this year was the Key to series. We are working through the books slowly and I have to be there teaching the material to him as we go through it. He seems to be grasping the concepts and is starting to make some progress.

I am planning on using High School Chemistry in the Kitchen in the fall with my youngest. He struggles with math and dislikes science. I showed him the curriculum and he was very interested in it. We have started getting some of the books and kits in the mail and he is excited to begin.

My daughter was accepted to IU for music this year. She and I both spent time at the campus. My thoughts were that it was huge and would be a better choice for a masters program. I was very impressed with the music program but felt it had a competitive feel to it. My daughter loved it and it was her top choice. Unfortunately the out of state tuition price was too much for us even with the three scholarships she received. She is going to a smaller LAC school close to home (which I feel is a better fit for her) and she is hoping to get her graduate degree at IU.

I haven't decided yet. I am hoping to have that figured out before we start up in the fall.

My 9th grader will be doing a pre-algebra/beginning algebra mix in the fall. He worked through half of pre-algebra teaching textbooks this year and then burned out. Right now we are working through the Key to Algebra books which he really likes. He is almost done with book 1 and we will keep working through them over the summer. I am not sure what we will move on to after that but I don't see any major algebra work happening until 10th grade.

I would also suggest getting accommodations on the ACT if possible. The extra time helps so much for students with disabilities. Also I would look at Earlham. They have a good lacrosse team, are test optional, and give out lots of merit aid.

DS has decided to attend UC Irvine where he will be majoring in film and media studies and minoring in digital arts. He had trouble making the decision but feels confident about it now. He chose UCI because he can live at home and commute. Tuition is free for him so he will not need to take out any loans (that was important to him) and he feels that as a student with a disability he will find the support he needs at UCI.

My son cannot decide at all. He has narrowed down the list to two schools, UC Irvine and Earlham. They are two very different schools (one small LAC and one big state school) which I thought would help him choose. Instead he feels they are both good in different ways and can't decide which is better for him. It is weighing on him heavily and I hope he is able to make a decision soon.

I think it depends on the community college and the school you are transferring to. I know when my daughter went out for her auditions this spring there was a good number of transfer students auditioning at many of the schools she auditioned at. Also at many of the schools previous transfer students who were seniors now were graduating two years following their transfer.

For us the key was getting academics done first thing in the day and then spending the afternoon hours on creative pursuits. We also used weekends and the summer for creative interests. It is definitely a balancing act but it can work. My daughter pursued music all through her high school years and will be majoring in music in college. My son worked on film including many outside classes and summer internships in his high school years and has been accepted to numerous film programs. The key is to balance the academics with the creative pursuits. Both are important when applying to college.

DD has decided to go to The University of Redlands and will be pursuing a bachelors of music in performance. Although IU Jacobs School of Music was her first choice she didn't receive enough scholarship money to offset out-of-state tuition. She is actually very happy with her second choice. We have visited the campus numerous times and she has fallen in love with it. She likes the intimate feel of the campus and the music school. I think it will be a great match for her and I imagine she will really grow over the next four years. Her twin brother still cannot make a decision about where to go. Hopefully I will be updating the thread with his decision soon. :)

My DS has worked through all the levels at The Animation Course. He has loved it! The instructor is wonderful, very funny and engaging. He also give direct feedback to all student assignments which is great. I highly recommend these classes.

DS was accepted into LMU and UCI this year. At LMU he got in for film production and at UCI he is in for film and media studies. LMU is very hands-on and the students are allowed to get involved in productions from day 1. They also have a nice editing lab for those interested in editing and being in LA there are great internships available. My son was very impressed. Unfortunately cost is an issue as LMU is not known for giving the best aid.

My twins are both struggling. My daughter is full of anxiety waiting for scholarship news. My son is struggling with making a decision about where to go next year. It is down to a huge state school or a very small LAC. He has no idea what to do. Both are burned out with academics and all the essays they have had to write this year. I had no idea how hard this whole process would be. I will be happy when it is over.

My son studied astronomy in high school. Here is a post where I talked about what we used in case it helps.

DS had a very good day today. In addition to UCI he was accepted to UCLA and Pepperdine. We are waiting on just one more decision (UCSB) and financial aid news, and then he will decide where to go.

DS just found out he was accepted to UC Irvine too. He is so excited about this one.

We are waiting to hear from several schools, and we are also waiting to hear on financial aid. I really don't like waiting and wish the whole process was over.

For film production check out Loyola Marymount and Chapman. They both have great programs.