Melabella
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Posts posted by Melabella
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I am looking for recommendations for ACT prep. My daughter took it cold in April and did fine, but we believe with some practice she can bring her score into the range needed for some very good merit aid.
Other than the Real ACT book, what has worked for your child(ren)? Specific books, online programs, private tutors?
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Currently on the top of the list for her are Roanoke, Warren Wilson, Guilford, Berry, and some women's colleges, though the list is ever-changing at this stage. In our case, she's at the same 30 ACT, looking for a small liberal arts school that isn't ultra-competitive and within about 5 hours of Charlotte, NC, where she has a hope of good merit aid, preferably with lots of trees, and programs in creative writing, psychology, history, and women's/gender/sexuality studies, where a fairly outspoken non-Christian liberal UU would fit in (not totally sure Berry would work for that last reason--anyone have input?). She likes aikido, kickboxing, outdoor activities, and theater (backstage work).
Two of my best friends from high school attended Berry. One of them I would classify as a far-left liberal, Catholic upbringing but not at all religious, and extremely outspoken with a love for theater and political activism especially in the women's/gender/sexuality realm. To say she loved it there would be an understatement. She was active in the theater department and graduated with a degree in political science, I believe. She has done very well for herself professionally. Very, very well.
This was in the 90's, of course, but based on the time I spent at Berry with my friends and their friends, I would say that your daughter should not worry about fitting in...at all! In fact, I was exposed to much more drugs, drinking, sex, and "liberalism" when visiting my friends at Berry than I experienced at my own school - Auburn University. Not that that's what you are wanting, just that Berry is not THAT conservative in reality.
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This isn't set in stone yet, but here is the current version of our plan:
AP US History at co-op
US Government/Constitution at co-op (with AP US Gov't test self study)
Pre-calculus - Derek Owens
Physics - Derek Owens
Greek 2 - Lukeion
French 4 - need to find a tutor
American Literature & Composition - homemade course (possibly AP English Lang self study)
Electives: Art and Music
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Fifteen years ago, my husband and I moved to a community much like the one you described. It is, without a doubt, the decision I regret most in my life. We HATE it here. I have had no friends in 15 years. Not one. My husband has one "friend" here - a neighbor. They don't have any interests in common, but they borrow tools from one another and talk a bit. My dd has participated in girl scouts, a handful or recreation department sports teams, and multiple homeschool groups/co-ops in the area, but has only made two true friendships. Neither are really kindred spirits. She now attends homeschool classes an hour away and has a large group of good friends there with which she spends a lot of time. Of course, that means, we're travelling a minimum of two hours round-trip three to four days per week for school and friendship. It's also 20+ minutes to shopping other than Wal-mart and restaurants that are not fast food. Healthcare options are limited. Recreation options are very limited. Cultural activities are non-existent. The library is pitiful. Actually, there isn't even a library in our town; it's in a neighboring town.
When the housing market tanked in 2008 it hit this area very hard and prices still have not recovered. The last time a house sold in our neighborhood it was over a year ago and it was for 1/3 of what we paid for our house in 1999. On many occasions, we have seriously considered walking away from this house and just taking the hit to our credit. It really might be worth it.
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Rosie, I am so very sorry for your loss. :grouphug:
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I do not have experience with either, but I know Write at Home has been discussed on the High School forums a lot. I believe it is well-regarded.
In the upper right-hand corner of this page, you will see a Search box. You may find a search for "Write at Home" helpful.
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Thanks, 8!
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Auburn University's homeschool admission policy states that science courses must have a documented lab component. Does anyone know what they mean by documented lab component? My dd took a Biology course which included about 20 labs through a hybrid/university model "school" this year. I have saved her lab reports.
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This board is a wealth of information. I have learned so much from the parents and their students who have already travelled this road.
One source for free AP classes in Georgia is GaVS (gavirtualschool dot org). I cannot attest to their quality, however.
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What do y'all think about bolding the final decision in the second part of the list thread? Where we are listed by user names and then have a string of schools after those? I always think this sort of information is helpful for the future. If someone sees in a couple of year's that Regentrude's dd was accepted at UChicago and Cornell and chose UChicago, s/he could reach out to Regentrude to ask that all important..."what made your dd choose...." question.
As the mom of a 9th grader, I really like this idea.
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Thank you!
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Congratulations to your daughter!
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DD will be a 10th grader next year. I am still working out so of the details, but this is where we are headed as of now.
Algebra 2 (Derek Owens online)
Chemistry (Apologia in a local class, but supplemented to prepare for the SAT Subject Test)
French 3 (local class - Holt text)
Greek 1 (Lukeion)
AP Human Geography (PAH)
I still haven't decided on Literature and History.
Electives - these are only .25 or .5 credit per year
Art (local class) and Art History
Piano + Music Theory
PE - Tennis
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It is not your son. We had a similar experience with DO Geometry earlier this year and many other here on the boards have also reported similar stories. Reluctantly, I pulled my daughter out of DO and switched to Teaching Textbooks. She is at least progressing at a normal speed and is not pulling her hair out.
Frankly, I am surprised that in all the years I've been on the WTM boards I have never heard of these issues with DO Geometry until this year. It has always been highly recommended as far as I can recall. My dd has several friends who are taking his live Geometry classes and they seem to be doing well.
I may have the opportunity to chat with him over the next few days. I'll be sure to discuss this with him.
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My DD had a wonderful experience with DO's Algebra 1 course. I highly recommend it. DO Geometry, however, was a disaster.
I've found that there is frequently a big disconnect between what is taught in the lectures, what is assigned as practice, and what is actually graded (the HW sheets and the tests).
:iagree:This. Exactly. We bailed in early December after only making it through the first four chapters.
We plan to return to DO for Algebra 2 and hope to stick with him through Calculus.
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My daughter's junior NMQT year = new PSAT fall 2015 and new SAT spring 2016. Lovely.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/12/03/college-board-pushes-back-revised-sat-one-year
My daughter is in the same boat. I'm very unhappy about this.
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I did not e-mail Dr. Gillespie before she submitted the application. On the AP Human Geography page it says, "If you are interested in taking this course, please complete and e-mail me the attached Information Form as soon as possible." It also says that the class fills quickly so early registration is recommended.
I guess I will e-mail her because I am not sure whether I need to wait for an acceptance to send payment or if making a payment will mean that she is registered.
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Some of you mentioned that you have registered for PAH AP Human Geography. My daughter applied last Thursday and received a "Thank You" reply that night, but when will we find out if she was accepted into the class?
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Like DianeW88, I always plan my own trips. We did a land/sea/land trip once and I also planned it; however, we had our own car and did not need ground transportation to the port. You could contact Disney for that or use an outside vendor.
We have always stayed on property except our last visit and we vowed never to stay off property again. As for the meal plan, you really need to plan out your days and meals to see if it makes sense for you. It was a much better deal five years ago than it is now.
We have always liked park hoppers, especially for shorter trips. Although, if you haven't already, you need to study the new Fast Pass+ and Magic Band information as that could change the way you tour significantly. You will only be able to get a Fast Pass for either Soarin' or Test Track in the same day, and you won't be able to get Fast Passes at multiple parks for the same day.
I didn't care for Coronado Springs, but every resort has its devotees. I much prefer Port Orleans Riverside or French Quarter.
Le Cellier has good steaks, but it may be too late to get a dinner reservation for April/May. The Yachtsman also has good steaks and is a short walk from Epcot. The best meal I've ever had at Disney World was at Jiko. We were at the chef's table and sampled most of the menu. The steak was divine.
I do not think you need an agent, especially since you have planned a long WDW trip previously and know all of the planning sites to check. But, if you decide you want one, I would recommend you stick with an authorized Disney agent. I like Lesley with Pixie Vacations (www dot Destination Magic dot com).
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That's a good idea to take the SAT in October of 2015, but I'm most disappointed that the PSAT will be a new test for her junior year sitting.
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My dd will be a junior in the 2015 - 2016 school year. Given that the PSAT/SAT is slated to change that school year, should we even bother prepping for or taking them? Seems that would be a waste of time. Maybe we should just put all of our efforts into prepping for the ACT.
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Thanks, Lisa. Based on your thoughts and LNC's post about AP Euro, I think we will stick with AP Human Geography for next year.
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First, I just want to say thank you to everyone who posts regularly here on the high school and college boards. I read the forums daily and learn so much from all of you.
For next year, I am considering AP European History for my rising sophomore as her first ever AP course. After reading the info on the PAH Euro history courses, I realized that two of the teacher's use Spielvogel's Western Civilization, 6th edition, beginning with chapter 13. We used the same text this year for history and will complete up to chapter 12. I had originally planned to use the remainder of Spielvogel's text next year for the completion of her World History credit (I add in a few other sources for the Eastern hemisphere) and have her take AP Human Geography as her first AP because it is widely considered to be an "intro" AP.
I'd prefer she do the European History because we will already be studying the same material anyway, but I am concerned it could be too much. She enjoys history, but she's definitely not a "history buff". She is an above-average student who works hard, although I wouldn't necessarily classify her as gifted. She has been taking outside and online courses since 7th grade, so no worries there.
Her other courses for next year are as follows:
Algebra II - Derek Owens
Literature - at home WTM style with the possibility of an outside writing course
Physics or Chemistry - that's a topic for another post, but a typical HS Honors level course
French 3 - outside instructor
Greek 1 - Lukeion
Art/Music/Tennis - she takes classes in all of these, but none are too time consuming
If you have experience with AP Euro, how would you or your student rate the difficulty? How much time did your student spend on the course each week?
Which PAH instructor do you recommend? Why?
Do you think Human Geography would be a better starting point? Even if she still has to do the history course (albeit an easier version) at the same time?
Any other thoughts or advice?
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We are getting our 14dd the following:
- Guitar case for her electric guitar
- Polymer Clay craft supplies
- Papasan chair
- Charcoal art set and new paint brushes
- Four shirts
- Boots
- 2 pairs of pajamas
- Blanket
- Clinique makeup
- InStyler
- another regular hair straightener
- Athenaze (Yep, that was on her list.)
- Percy Jackson book in French
- Essi nail polishes
- a ring (nothing expensive)
- Amazon gift card for her Kindle
- new laptop
- various stocking stuffers
ACT Prep
in High School and Self-Education Board
Posted
She did not do the writing portion in April. She is taking it again in June, and I will probably have her do the writing section then. Her weakest section was math. She has completed through pre-calculus. Overall, she needs to work on speed and pacing because there were several questions she did not get to in each section.
Thank you for the suggestions. For those who worked through the books, was there a schedule or method you used or did you just read/work from cover to cover? We have about 5 weeks until the next test and I'm trying to work out a plan of action.