I feel it's my job as a parent to research schools and then instill some reality. For that kid who has an ACT 30 and EFC $10,000 then it's okay to look some at top schools, but be realistic and look at other schools as well and do some research to see what schools might offer automatic merit aid at that score. It's much better to have some (or one) good offer from a decent school in your back pocket before you think too much about the super-competitive.

I can't compare. I can just say that I've been happy with Brave Writer online and I've not looked any farther as it suits my needs beautifully. Pros of BW - pick and choose classes as needed; great feedback; great classes for my family Cons of BW - cost, short classes are not year round so you might have to fill in with other stuff (or not); some classes are hard to get into

Yes the classes are worth it to me. My kids have tended to do about half the classes live and half delayed. They have my permission to not talk in class so they choose never to talk. For them it makes no difference if it is live or not. For others, I could see it making a big difference.

For Center for LIt - whether he needs/wants to attend live depends on how he will interact in the class. If he needs the motivation to finish the book, then a live class might be good. If he like to interact and answer questions, then the live class would be good. If he's like my kids and just wants to listen to the class, then he can listen at any point after the class. The audio recording is usually posted in a day or two. For my kids there is no benefit of doing it live other than feeling like you are part of the class even though they had no intention of participating. My kids would do it live if it did not interfere with anything, but they had permission to bump it for anything (including play) as long as it was done later in the week.

With any investments, you have to take into consideration the costs of fees. I don't like paying out much of any fees so I look for ways to invest without paying out fees.

If her written and spoken grammar is fine, then I don't see much point of studying more grammar. I "learned" formal grammar through a foreign language. I'd target any grammar that she is making mistakes on as it comes up as well as any specific grammar for SAT/ACT that she needs to work on.

The Brave Writer MLA Research Essay class is a great class. It focuses heavily on MLA structure and procedure - very worthwhile if you are ever going to do it again or even any other cited paper. It does fill quickly.

OK, that makes some sense. There are a wide variety of plans from state to state, but you may be limited to one with crazy fees or rules.

Why does your financial adviser recommend against them? 529s are investments and subject to risks. There are certainly good and bad investment choices and some are riskier than others, as well as good and bad years. Generally an investment can double in 7-10 years. Mine have more than doubled. I would definitely back off to low risk stuff right before college.

I agree with Kiana. If they look like they'd be similar fits for your family, then have kids look at samples to make sure nothing is a horrible fit and then sort by price. Don't bother showing kids anything you don't already think might work.

The AoPS prealgebra book is a great book. For most kids, I think it would be a good step between Beast and Algebra. It's not entirely necessary, but I would recommend it. It's certainly possible to skip on to algebra and it works best with math talented kids. My oldest (math geek) skipped the prealgebra book because it hadn't been published yet. I was actually going to do something else before starting that book with him, but he picked it up off the shelf and said it looked fun and could we do it. My second did SM, AoPS Prealgebra, then onto Intro AoPS books and has moved on to Derek Owens for Precalc/Calc. He would have found it rough to skip to the Algebra book as it moves faster and deeper than the prealgebra book. My third did Beast at the rate it was publlshed, did through SM 5, Derek Owens Prealgebra, and then did AoPS Prealgebra (while doing AoPS Geometry alongside it since she had learned the basic algebra skills). She struggles more with the arithmetic side of math and can do the logic fine, and thus multiple passes through prealgebra material.

I'd use an unabridged version as well. You might see if your library has it on cd and listen to it rather than read it if you want.

I think Derek Owen's physics is a solid choice for your daughter. It teaches physics well and is solidly math (algebra/trig) based. One of my son's did that course and I thought it was very good.

Your son is at end end of JR year - I'd make some college visits sooner than later. It's probably fine to wait until after finals if your schedule is hectic, but get started May/June. The main reason I say to start soon is not to motivate for now, but because you might not know the reality of where you'll end up visiting. As my oldest visited schools he decided he wanted to look at more, but it's exhausting to do too many to quickly. My advise to myself for my second son was to start even earlier simply getting a feel for some varied schools that are real choices and then talk more about what appeals - size, location, campus vibe, selective school, etc. Also look realistically at costs and scholarships and have those discussions with your student.

If you are confident in teaching, then I'd just get the textbook and workbook. Personally, I like to add Cuisenaire rods to any math program in an unstructured way.

Yes, I"m having this conversation with my second right now. Finances must be taken into consideration as do many other factors. I've said that he doesn't necessarily have to go to the school that meets the biggest need, but there needs to be a clear reason to go elsewhere and the price difference must be manageable. The cost will be taken into consideration.

So cool.

Derek Owens - online videos, self-paced. He will do all the grading and support unless you want to do it yourself.

I think schools requiring insurance goes way beyond being able to treat for drug and alcohol problems. It covers students for a meningitis outbreak, campus violence, intramural sports injuries, car wrecks, pneumonia, mono, etc. Whether or not schools should be able to mandate that you have insurance is a completely different question. Should schools be able to mandate this or should families have the choice on financial risks related to health? I have my opinions, but my opinion is really not important.

I think the math and music recommendations would do a better job at describing him as a person rather than a classroom teacher. I know the "teacher" recommendations have some supplemental (classroom) questions that may not be applicable for a Math Olympiad coach. Be careful which recommendors you pick if the schools limit the number.

Are you needing the school to accept the classes to appear on a high school transcript? If you are just wanting the school to accept the student at where he is at and not repeat classes, then it is probably much easier depending on the area of the country. In my area, the high school would place into math and other courses based either on the parent's word that geometry is done and needs algebra 2, or a placement test.

Common App - only uploaded what was requested; no additional teacher recs or anything else. Admitted to first choice very selective school. Other universities - I added my counselor letter and course descriptions that I had done for common app; I figured the course descriptions were really a part of my transcript, my counselor letter was bonus and they could simply ignore. We did not add anything else that was not asked for. Received good merit scholarships.

If you (as a parent) think it might be a good fit, then I'd definitely visit again as it may save big bucks in the long run. It might also make everyone feel better about turning it down if it remains "meh".

In answer to your question, I'd look more at classes taken and grades rather than simply test scores. If I were to design a scholarship, I'd look at more.

I'd call Susan Barton and talk to her about your situation.