My daughter will have taken the ACT at least 4 times, possibly 5 if we feel it's warranted, in high school because we use it to cover our state yearly testing requirements (this doesn't count the two times she took it in middle school since I think those are dropped from the record). For those who've seen 3 listed as a cap for the SAT, can you give an example of the reasons people are citing? I'd also go ahead with the March date to get it out of the way and in case anything else comes up.

I doubt Wake Forest is going to be Christian-centered enough and possibly conservative enough for what you're looking for, if Liberty and Bob Jones are on your radar.

I graduated from Wake Forest in the mid-80s and, while I would say it was pretty moderate overall at the time based on my experience then, I'm not sure it will fit the conservative Christian-focused aspect you are looking for overall if BJU or Liberty are even anywhere on your radar. I will say that I was raised a very sheltered, very conservative Calvinist and found Wake at the time to be much, much more liberal (especially socially) than anything I had experienced, so it will depend on your starting point. I'm sure my parents blame Wake for my currently being what you would likely describe as "uber-liberal," but it was likely more conservative overall than many places I could have gone, and really just started the process. :) We did do things like read one of John Updike's Rabbit books in a theology and modern lit class (along with Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, CS Lewis, and Flannery O'Conner), and my roommate kept the keg for a party in our room at one point (drinking age was 18). Now there was also a very active InterVarsity chapter on the campus at the time, as well, and WF Baptist Church did meet on campus. I wasn't terribly political at the time, so don't remember how I felt it came down in that aspect. The NC State Baptist Convention dropped their affiliation with WFU in the 80s http://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/12/us/north-carolina-baptists-sever-ties-to-wake-forest.html It looks like all the first year dorms, at least, are now co-ed (wasn't the case when I attended, though there were a couple of relatively new co-ed options), and they now even offer some gender-neutral housing http://rlh.wfu.edu/current-students/you-choose/processes/room-selection/#gender-neutral-housing. I like to look at the directory of student clubs/organizations at a school to try to get at least a bit of a feel for the likely atmosphere on campus. https://wfu.collegiatelink.net/organizations It may be telling that there is a College Republicans group but not a College Democrats or Libertarian group, so it probably leans more conservative than a lot of schools. They have several Christian-focused groups and some that describe themselves as conservative, but they also have an active LGBTQ Center on campus http://lgbtq.wfu.edu/programsandevents/, which I don't tend to see on campuses I consider really conservative. You could also take a look at their religion department course descriptions http://college.wfu.edu/religion/program-of-study/course-descriptions/ to get a feel for their approach in that area. Another school you might consider is Berry in the mountains of Georgia http://www.berry.edu/academics/nursing/. It's supposed to have a gorgeous campus, and is one that we considered very iffy for our daughter's search because we are concerned it will be too conservative. They have a large program funded by Chic-Fil-A (Win Shape Foundation).

For those wanting a conservative Christian college, but want something other than nursing, Patrick Henry College in Virginia may be worth a look. It doesn't look like they have a nursing program, but they are supposed to be very receptive to homeschoolers, and are certainly very conservative Christian. http://www.phc.edu/

You might also check into Gardner Webb University in Boiling Springs, ,NC http://gardner-webb.edu/academic-programs-and-resources/colleges-and-schools/health-sciences/schools-and-departments/hunt-school-of-nursing/index or Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC http://ww2.campbell.edu/cphs/academic-programs/bs-nursing and Wingate University in Wingate, NC https://www.wingate.edu/majors-programs/nursing/ Of the three, I would probably rate Gardner Webb as the most conservative, and includes required chapel attendance.

Bob Jones University is about as conservative Christian as you can get (I believe even a fair bit more so than Liberty), is in Greenville, SC, and has a nursing program. http://www.bju.edu/academics/programs/nursing/

Sit N Spin? My little sister had one of those. http://www.skooldays.com/categories/toys/ty1147.htm We had a monkey swing (flat disc swing with the rope coming up out of the middle) and a tetherball. We also had a lemon twist---a plastic lemon with something inside that rattled attached to a ring, put the ring around your ankle and start swinging the lemon with the goal of skipping over it. We played a lot with Colorforms, Lite Brite, our Easy Bake oven that used a light bulb, Mystery Date board game, Toss Across, and our Wheel-O.

I was just at Target and saw a Stretch Armstrong! My little sister had one in the 70s. I vividly remember a time when we were home alone and heard a noise. I grabbed the Stretch Armstrong as a weapon (it was filled with a gel and was very heavy) to see what was going on---never did find the source of the noise.

Space Food sticks! I had forgotten about them. http://www.metv.com/stories/space-food-sticks-were-the-coolest-snack-of-the-1970s Do you remember watching SeaLab 2020? It was a Saturday morning cartoon. Others: Herculoids Fantastic Four Banana Splits Johnny Quest Journey to the Center of the Earth Fantastic Voyage The Perils of Penelope Pitstop HR Pufnstuf The Bugaloos Josie and the Pussycats the Groovy Ghoulies The Monkees Land of the Lost Sigmund and the Sea Monsters Inch High Private Eye Shazam and Isis

Preppy was big when I hit college, though I was never in fashion. I received as a high school graduation gift one of those wooden handled purses with the covers that buttoned on, including a cover with my college logo. In looking for a picture, I just learned it was called a bermuda bag. Who knew? http://www.liketotally80s.com/2011/07/bermuda-bag/ You'd see these around campus with girls in long walking shorts with knee socks and monogrammed sweaters in cooler weather, while the guys wore madras plaid patchwork shorts and pastel Lacoste polos with popped colors (often several layered) and boat shoes in warmer weather. My roommate's side of the dorm room looked like the Lacoste alligator threw up pink and green everywhere. I've been trying to find a photo similar to a particularly hideous skirt one of the preppy fashion leaders of my high school liked to wear, but I can't. We called the style an umbrella skirt. It was alternating skinny vertical panels of pink and lime green prints forming pleats, with, I believe, lime green piping on the vertical seams (maybe it was solid green panels alternating with pink print panels). I noticed recently that bodysuits have come back into the stores, which I don't recall seeing since the 70s.

I hadn't heard that one. Ours was to the "Say, Say, Oh Playmate" game: Say, say, oh hippie, come out and play with me, and bring your LSD, climb my marijuana tree, Slide down your needle into my [we said "sailor's door" which makes no sense but we didn't have cellar doors locally, so it was no more odd than that] and we'll be jolly friends, forever more, more, more, more It was definitely for shock value.

I don't think childhood has ever been as sweet and innocent as nostalgia paints it. Kids can be very bloodthirsty. Read the full text of some of the Grimm's fairy tales or books like Pinnochio. :)

Thanks, that's quite helpful. :)

Having been raised very Calvinist Presbyterian and later becoming Episcopalian, in terms of changes in the elements, the Episcopal doctrine is quite different than that in the Presbyterian Church, as can be seen in the handling of the elements (as I think MotherGoose intended to say). At the Presbyterian church where I grew up, we used wine and bread or crackers, which were handed around on trays while people sat in the pews, and the little cups were left in cup-holders on the backs of the pews. While Christ was seen as spiritually present in those elements during the Communion, they were not seen as substantially permanently changed in and of themselves, therefore they and the vessels that contained them needed no special handling after the conclusion of the service. My mother used to do clean up for it frequently. The wine could be consumed by anyone or poured out in the regular sink, for instance. Caveat: this would have been from the early 1960s to the early 1980s, again, just in case something has changed. :) When I served on the Altar Guild in the Episcopal church I attended from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, it was a different story. You had to come up to the front and receive the elements under the supervision of the clergy. At the end of the service, leftover hosts had to be placed in a special tabernacle with a presence light perpetually burning, leftover wine had to be consumed by the priest or poured out on consecrated ground, and the vessels had to be washed in a special sink that was plumbed directly to consecrated ground rather than into the regular plumbing system. There was one lady on the Altar Guild with me who was scandalized by an associate priest who she felt was a bit too cavalier in his handling of the host during service because, "I just know they are hoovering up the Body of Christ every week when they clean." Clearly, the teaching was that the elements were substantially and permanently altered in some way. I hope my question about the difference isn't seen as too picayunish or as combative in some way. As I am no longer a Christian of any sort, I don't have a dog in this fight, as they say.:) I'm just really trying to understand the nuance correctly and why my memory of it is apparently so different than current terminology or teaching because it's an intellectual irritant to have unresolved questions.

Just fyi, your post could be read as intending to imply that no one other than Roman Catholics "take [Communion] seriously," which I am confident is not the case in terms of those other groups and don't think you meant to say. Differences in theology and in liturgical practices don't mean that other groups care less about it and what it means.

Religion nerd here, and admittedly have not been part of the Episcopal Church for over 20 years. I don't want to derail, but my curiosity is piqued. Could you point me to something that explains the difference between consubstantiation and Real Presence? I'm having trouble finding anything online other than how Real Presence is not transubstantiation. Both my husband and I remember consubstantiation being the specific term used in our classes for confirmation (in the late 80s for me, early 90s for him) but don't remember the particular phrase Real Presence, and I don't recall coming across it in the three years of the Education for Ministry classes I did (also in the late 80s, maybe it was in year 4?). Perhaps it's a change in terminology?

Within martial arts there can be a wide range of costs, depending on the structure of the art and the structure of the dojo. Our family is involved in aikido at a USAF dojo that is run by a sensei with a regular day job and the dojo is in his backyard (literally), so he is not trying to make a living out of it and doesn't have to deal with some of the overhead other places do. Monthly dues are low, there are no national dues until the student gets to adult ranks (no national system of ranking for kids, only within the dojo), no testing fees until you get up to (I believe) black belt and that is not an option until you are either 16 or 18 (forget which), no tournaments or competitions, occasional seminars that aren't required until you get close to black belt level and we typically have 1-2 a year at our dojo so no real travel, no sparring equipment. The gis are a minimal expense and the dojo does a lot of handing down for kids but you do need a $5 dojo patch. Practice weapons are available but you can purchase your own if you want. I compare that with what I've heard of a friend's TKD experience with lots of frequent testing fees, required travel to tournaments regularly and they are often out of state, sparring equipment, having to get their uniforms dry-cleaned before testing, etc. Other low-cost things we've done have been 4-H, Girl Scouts, library book clubs, community theater (the adult version rather than for kids which seems to cost), and art classes through the local parks and rec department.

My guess is that Eucharist itself is the sticking point. I remember this being a struggle for me as a teen in the first Episocopalian service I attended as a visitor. I was raised very Calvinist Presbyterian in an area where the three big world religions were Presbyterian, Baptist, and Lutheran ;), but was very much an Anglophile and wanted to experience a midnight Mass since I had read so much about them in literature. I sat flipping through the Book of Common Prayer frantically trying to figure out if they believed in transubstantiation and whether I could go up or not (aside from being a bit weirded out by the common cup ;) ). As I was taught (caveat--this was 30 or so years ago when I was a practicing Episcopalian, but I think it is still the same), the Episcopal Church teaches consubstantiation rather than transubstantiation as the Roman Catholic Church does or representational (don't know the theological word for it) in Protestant denominations. Roman Catholic Eucharist is closed to non-members because of this and they aren't allowed to take Eucharist/Communion in any churches that don't teach transubstantiation (maybe at any others, not sure). In the Episcopal Church, it's open to baptized Christians, I believe (I don't think there's a denominational limitation like there is in terms of confirmation if you want to actually join), but it's also okay to not go up at all, or to go up, kneel, and cross your arms over your chest as a signal you just want a blessing rather than to receive. We had this at our wedding, which was attended by people of a wide variety of faiths and of none and it works out fine.

"Say, say, o playmate, come out and play with me..." was popular with us as well, along with variations. We had one including hippies, marijuana, needles, and LSD (it was the very early 70s, even in very straitlaced small town NC), and one with monsters that I don't remember as well. Our other favorite playground songs in elementary (not clapping games, though) were "Great green gobs of greasy grimy gopher guts," "On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese," and "My eyes have seen the glory of the burning of the school." We had jump rope rhymes like "Cinderella dressed in yellow."

My white rabbit fur muff had matching wide fur earmuffs rather than a hat when I was little in the 60s. We played a lot with caps---not so much in the pistols but taking the strips and setting them off by laying them on the sidewalk or concrete step and hitting them with a rock. Pixie sticks were a favorite treat. As a teen in the 70s, I remember trying (unsuccessfully) to walk in my mother's Candie's high heel mules, and I had several pairs of Dr. Scholl's wooden exercise sandals. I was very proud of the platform macrame sandals with long laces that wrapped up around the ankle that I had in 8th grade---until I fell off of one of them in the middle of a church service so I was suddenly tilted sideways. You could try the Cadbury Curly-Wurly as a replacement for the Marathon Bar http://www.oldtimecandy.com/walk-the-candy-aisle/curly-wurly-marathon-bar/

I miss the liturgy and music of the Episcopal service as well.

As DawnM said, yes. We are not Mecklenburg residents but use CPCC, for instance. When we went to the CPCC presentation, Julie mentioned they had a student from Wilmington who was taking an online class through CPCC. You can also take classes at two different colleges at the same time, if I'm not mistaken, but would have to pay fees (if required) at both schools. Confusion may come in because I believe Charlotte Mecklenburg public school students who use the dual enrollment program are funded for books (not sure about fees) through the public school system and are limited to using CPCC to get that funding (the same with Cabarrus public school students and RCCC). As a homeschooler, you can do whichever you prefer because you don't get that funding. The Middle College and Early College high schools are under the Career and College Promise umbrella (as the Cooperative Innovative High School portion), but are full-on public schools, not accessible to homeschoolers without giving up homeschool status, and operate under different rules than the jr/sr dual enrollment program. They are limited geographically. Unfortunately the NC Community Colleges website page with the nice chart showing the differences seems to be down at the moment With online classes, be careful to be sure there are not any requirements to be on-campus for anything if it will be a problem (exams, tests, projects, handing in things, etc). There was a thread about that recently, I believe, where someone was taken by surprise that the student had to hand in projects in person.

Nobody seems to dislike any of the coordinators or feel they've done a particularly bad job. Ashley was responsive and sympathetic though not able to do much when we had some issues with registering for a particular class for this semester, and Kimber answered a question quickly this week. The only interaction we had with Julie was our info presentation. IMO, it's probably because it's more work than a part-time position should have, which is why I say go in prepared to be the advisor/guidance counselor yourself. In our info presentation prior to enrollment, Julie made it very, very plain that her goal was to have families do it all of it--registration, course selection, compliance, etc---as much all by themselves as possible. The primary survey question at the end of the presentation was actually (to paraphrase because I don't remember the exact wording), "Now that you've seen the presentation on the website I've built, do you think you could do it all by yourself?" It's been our experience this year that minimal interaction with the student is the expectation. The most we've gotten without specifically asking is a reminder of the deadlines to submit paperwork and a reminder that if you register courses off your pathway you will be automatically dropped from them---no requirement to have any meeting, sign-off, or contact with an advisor. The stark difference in the information presentations and apparent interest in active involvement with the students in this area was the primary reason I was strongly tempted to go with SPCC even though it is much farther away. To be fair, the CPCC program is huge compared to the one at SPCC. The position covers (or did when Julie presented) dual enrollment for everyone, including the public schools, but the advising for that is pushed off onto the high school counselors, while the dual enrollment coordinator is supposed to advise homeschoolers.

In fall 2018, unless things change, three of the NC public universities are going to have in-state tuition capped at $500 a semester (doesn't include fees, books, room, and board)--Western NC, UNC Pembroke, and Elizabeth City State University. http://www.northcarolina.edu/news/2016/09/Western-Carolina-University-Prepares-New-Tuition-Plan The goal was to have all residents within 150 miles of one of the cheap universities. These aren't the higher-rated schools in the system (Western is probably the highest of the three), but it will make college more affordable. The article goes on to say, "Beyond the NC Promise plan, the budget legislation also requires fixed tuition rates (for eight consecutive semesters) for incoming freshmen and new transfer students on all UNC campuses. It also limits future increases in student fees to 3 percent per year; and creates a merit-based scholarship program for students at two historically black UNC institutions – NC A&T State University and NC Central University."

I believe this is the 4th person in the position since the program started (it replaced the previous dual enrollment option in about 2012, as I remember). I haven't met Kimber but she has been quickly responsive to the one question I've had to email about. At any of the schools, I would strongly suggest to parents to do your research to understand the options, both possibilities and limits, of the program and be prepared to handle the guidance part primarily on your own. I have been quite impressed with what I've seen of Jeff Jost, the guy at SPCC in Union County, and their main campus is closer to Mecklenburg than one would think. He seems very involved with his students and I was impressed enough (and tempted enough by the fee waiver) to seriously weigh the option of driving past two of the CPCC campuses to take my daughter there, but it was just too far for anything on a regular basis, particularly in the winter. We may consider them for any online classes, though. That campus actually looks like two large warehouses out in the middle of nowhere. I briefly looked at RCCC, which is closer than SPCC for us, but farther than the CPCC Cato campus, but they don't offer ASL there. Levine is very pretty but far for us, though she'll have to hit it next year for some classes not offered at Cato campus where she is now. She's enjoying Cato, which is very intimate (only four buildings) and close to home. We are trying to avoid Central downtown because I absolutely despise driving downtown. Cato and Levine campuses look more like a traditional campus to me, while Central is very much an urban campus in the middle of a large city with tons of concrete and very little green space, rather than set apart. This may be influenced because I went to college in a more "set-apart" type of campus. :) I haven't seen the other two CPCC campuses. She hasn't tried any of the online class options as she is really enjoying the classroom interaction.