One of the things we did was look at where we wanted to end up (in 12th) and work backwards. If you have a science-oriented student, your goals -- and the "end line" will be different than if you have a poet. :001_smile: The traditional approach is one way to look at it: physics 12th, chem 11th, bio 10th, physical science or earth science 9th. Then slice and dice, according to interests. I don't know if this is helpful or a "duh"! But it helped us, because we had science-y guys who wanted to pack in a lot. So we moved things around, and started a bit earlier -- so we could get in advanced chem and physics. One relatively new online option for science is Apologia Academy: http://www.apologiaacademy.com/ Hope this is of some help. Best of luck! ~Brigid

I think IEW is an excellent resource for reluctant writers and reluctant teachers. :001_smile: I would start with the SWI-B DVD's. That will give you and your guys a bite-size preview of Andrew Pudewa, and the IEW system. If you find the approach workable, then you can move on to SICC-B, which is about a year's course. It will seem cookie-cutter at first. Because it is. It teaches kids to break down writing into component parts and then put them back together. At first the writing is stilted and forced. But if you and your boys hang in there, little by little, their writing will improve. They will make stylistic choices that are more elegant. One (of many) additional benefits of the IEW approach is that it takes the emotion and subjectivity out of assessments, because there are rubrics for us -- and we move out of a sea of red ink and tears to an objective assessment and a conversation rather than confrontation with our kids. IEW doesn't work for lots of people, but it really worked for us. I think it is worth a try. Good luck. I hope you find success with it -- or with whatever writing curriculum you choose. ~Brigid

For the Works Cited page: http://www.easybib.com/cite/view It's awesome! ~Brigid

First - I completely understand the stress and frustration you are feeling. I can clearly remember being in the same boat a few years ago. One day you will look back and know that all your hard work (and stress) was well worth it! :001_smile: Based upon a lot of research, I believe that the norm for CC credits (not in every school system -- but in most) is that one CC class is equivalent to one year's high school class. That is what I used for my ds's transcript, and that was totally accepted by the five schools he applied to. I cannot imagine how a high school can give one full credit to a semester-long "block" class (if you are familiar with the block system) and not give one full credit to a semester-long CC class. So for foreign language, 3 semesters would equal 3 years. If your regional or state school system has a different way of calculating credits, and you are planning to apply to a state school, I would attend an admissions presentation (they are conducted all the time -- in many cases daily), and then ask the CC-credit question during the Q & A. I'm certain that all colleges have their own "take" on CC classes, and will be able to answer immediately the .5 vs 1 credit question for you. The schools that my ds applied to liked AP and CC equally; however, some out-of-state/private colleges were less inclined to give credit for CC classes than they were for AP classes. So, that's another question to ask when you visit prospective colleges (it's not too early to inquire, so you can make CC/AP decisions/adjustments). Good luck with all of your testing plans. We found that one year of science was not enough to perform well on the SAT II/AP chemistry tests. A second year of advanced chem (for us it was at the CC) made a huge difference. But don't take my word for it. If your dd is doing well in biology, check out a Princeton Review SAT II test prep book and have her take a practice test. That will give you a good indication of her score potential. We found that the practice tests in the Princeton Review SAT II Chem test prep book were pretty indicative of the score that my ds ended up with after taking Apologia's chemistry class (the first one). His score was respectable, but not stellar. After taking advanced chem, his score was much, much higher. We learned from that that the advice to take an SAT II right after taking the class in high school comes with the caveat that one year of hs might not be enough to score well. Best of luck to you! ~Brigid

1 high school credit for a 3 credit CC class. My ds took some 4 credit CC classes too (science w/lab). I gave 1 credit for those too, to keep it simple. ~Brigid

Brigid in NC - ds - accepted @ Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State (attending) CherylG's ds-UCLA, graduated, UCSB, UCSD, Westmont, all accepted. UMD-attending for master's in engineering. CherylG's dd-SBCC school of nursing-graduated. Creekland's ds - Covenant College, Union University, Calvin College - all acceptances at this point. Deb in NZ's dd - Bay of Plenty Polytechnic (begin Feb 2010) dkholland- ds - Covenant College (accepted), Patrick Henry College (accepted) Grove City College Gwen in VA -- Washington & Lee (attending); acceptances from U Chicago, U Pitt, U Dallas, U Delaware, Hillsddale, UVA, William & Mary, College of Wooster, Case Western Kate in FL-ds-Cornell University (accepted Early Decision so all other apps had to be withdrawn) Kathy in Richmond - ds - MIT (attending), also accepted at Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, U Michigan, and UVA. Kathy in Richmond - dd - accepted at MIT, Caltech, U Chicago, William & Mary, and awaiting 3 more decisions Katia - ds- Ellsworth Community College (AA Computer Science) , Anderson University-attended , University of Northern Iowa (BA Computer Science), Kansai Gaidai University, Kyoto, Japan-attended Katia - dd#1- Hilldale College-attending , accepted at: Luther College, Ball State University, University of Northern Iowa, Oberlin College Conservatory of Music Katia- dd#2 - applying to: Hillsdale College , Warner University (accepted) Lady Lorna - dd accepted at Fordham University, Hillsdale College, The King's College, St John's College, Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, Thomas Aquinas College. Still waiting to hear from Columbia University, Harvard University, Middlebury College, Princeton University, Yale University, The University of Chicago LaJuana - dd#1 University of Dallas - graduated Summa cum Laude. Also accepted to Hillsdale. LaJuana - ds#1 University of Dallas - graduated Summa cum Laude. Also accepted to Hillsdale. Attending Westminster Theological Seminary (MDiv). LaJuana dd#2 Attending Oklahoma City University Bass School of Music (Musical Theatre and Vocal Performance). Also accepted at Samford University (AL), Whitworth University (WA), George Fox University (OR), Covenant College (GA), Houghton College (NY), Oklahoma Christian University. LaJuana ds#2 Attending Whitworth University. Also accepted at University of Dallas. (Except for dd majoring in MT and VP, my dc knew where they wanted to go, applied to two schools only, and were accepted at both.) Laughing Lioness - DS -Boyce College (KY) attending. Accepted to Augustana College (SD) and St. Mary's School of Nursing (SD). Lisa in TN's dd - Vanderbilt University - attending. Liza Q's dd - Saint Francis College - attending. Kings College, St. John's University, Brooklyn College - accepted Luann in ID ds1 and ds2 - LeTourneau University - attending (They both knew they wanted to go there, so this is the only place they applied.) Margaret in CO--dd accepted to Western State College for dual credit, accepted to Hillsdale College, graduated, accepted to CU Boulder School of Music, finishing Master's Margaret in CO--dd accepted to Western State College for dual credit, accepted to USNA, attending finishing Firstie Year, accepted to flight school, acceptances: Hillsdale College, USAFA, USCGA, ERAU (on NROTC), School of Mines Margaret in CO--dd accepted to Western State College for dual credit I'm going to stick my should-have-been-son-in-law (killed last spring), accepted to Hillsdale College, transferred to WVU, graduated, accepted to Toledo Medical College. Mary in GA ds: Clayton State University (attended & transferred) Georgia Tech (attending) Michelle in GA ds- University of Georgia (accepted); Berry College (accepted); Georgia Tech (currently attending) Moira in MA dd -- Acceptances at Dalhousie U (Nova Scotia), McGill U (Montreal) Mommyfaithe's dd #1 (accepted College of St. Rose (NY) attended Sage College Albany, NY Graduated Summa Cum Laude Mommyfaithe's dd#2 Attending Russell Sage College. Accepted SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Albany, waiting to hear from Simmons College in Boston Mass. MSPolly's dd- Acceptances at Covenant(TN), Union U(TN), U of MS, Belhaven U(MS) Osmosis Mom Dd 1, Wellesley College (attending), accepted to Merrimack College, BU, Simmons, Emmanuel College Sharon in MD's ds-Drexel University -attending; UMBC-Meyerhoff program, UMD-College Park-College of Engineering, Messiah College- acceptances Susann-dd-Rose-Hulman, Purdue, University of Evansville, Trine, Taylor, Cedarville-acceptances Susie-Knits ds1 - Rose-Hulman, Valparaiso, U of Evansville, TN Tech - acceptances TransientChris's DS- George Mason U,attending; Hillsdale College- attended, Abilene Christian, Hampden-Sydney, St. Olaf- accepted Valerie(TX) - ds UT Arlington attended Valerie(TX) - dd accepted Biola (CA), Messiah (PA), Belhaven (MS), Mary Baldwin College (VA), UTA (TX), Hardin-Simmons (TX), Univ. of Mary Hardin-Baylor (TX), and Ouachita (AR). I'm missing one. ?? Outtamyshell - BYU Provo

It is typical in North Carolina for grades to be weighted this way, so that's how I weighted grades for my ds: Regular class A=4.0 Honors class A=5.0 AP/CC class A=6.0 I put both weighted and unweighted on his transcript, and indicated the weighting method. I think colleges expect to see weighted grades on transcripts -- although I doubt any would require it. Lots of schools (most?) re-weight the weighted grades based on their own formula. ~Brigid

Without restating what others have said, I'd like to give you our variations on the prior posters' comments. I have a freshman who earned a full ride scholarship at a state university and is majoring in aerospace engineering. This is what we did for my now-graduated ds (and I intend for my 10th grader). We started with the ACT in 9th, and my ds took it in each year of high school in the spring. Unlike the SAT policies (of the past), only the individual ACT scores you choose, are sent to colleges. It was good practice, and his scores improved a lot over the four sittings. I think this was due to the normal -- getting more schooling under his belt -- as well as to his learning to be a more skillful test-taker with practice. My ds took the PSAT in October of 10th and 11th. A sizable gain. Well worth the "practice" in 10th. He took the SAT in May of 10th, June of 11th, and Oct. of 12th. Scores improved dramatically from 10th to 11th. A slight gain in 12th. He took 1 SAT II in June of 10th, 3 SAT IIs and 3 AP tests in May of 11th, and 3 APs in May of 12th. The SAT II he took in 10th he re-took in 11th after one more year of the subject (chemistry), and his score improved dramatically. While AP tests are not part of the admissions process, we felt the 11th grade APs would validate the rigor of his coursework, and we knew the 12th grade APs would enable him to earn college credit at the schools he was considering attending. Every family is going to have a different testing plan -- and each plan will be right for their student. :001_smile: The most valuable advice that I can offer (and that I wish had been offered to me early-on) is, in trying to decide what direction you want to take with the SAT/ACT -- and especially the SAT II and AP tests, I highly recommend that you take a campus tour, and sit in on an admissions talk (that every school offers almost daily) at a school that might be of interest to your student. The admissions office talks (they last about an hour) that we heard in the summer after 11th would have been far more valuable to us if we had heard them in 9th -- when we could actually re-tailor our courses and testing. The admissions sessions at all the campuses we visited were extremely valuable in clarifying school policies on superscoring (all that we visited did), SAT II/AP test preferences/requirements, and course rigor expectations. Very best of luck. :-) ~Brigid

Is your ds a senior? We found it really hard to get my ds interested in visiting schools during his junior year. My ds applied to five. Two were "reach" schools. Four out of the five applications took a lot of work (for me -- transcripts, course descriptions, etc. and for my ds). We found that it was a challenge to apply to even that many, and do a stellar job on each of the essays. We visited four of the five. The one we did not visit was in CA (we are in NC). We told our ds that if he got accepted, we'd fly out. He wasn't accepted, so we didn't. :001_smile: One of the reasons my ds applied to five schools was to see what scholarship money he was offered. Scholarship offers did help him solidify his choice.

I really don't have any firm answers on what college admissions folks think about SAT II scores. Many schools require or recommend SAT IIs -- not just from homeschoolers. Our feelling was, if a school recommends SAT II's as a general rule (not just for homeschoolers), then it seemed like a good idea to submit them. In our case, one school (Georgia Tech) required three, so we chose the subject areas where my ds was strongest, and just went with that. :001_smile: For the score to have any bearing on admissions decisions that are taking place right now, a retake would be too late. Personally, I think a 710 is a great score anyway. I would only retake it if the student was a junior this year, and was looking at Ivy League-caliber schools. ~Brigid

I really don't think this reporting is to college admissions offices (or the part of the admissions office that collects and retains student data in an admissions file). I might be wrong, but I think the reporting is for recognizing/contacting high scoring students for scholarships and academic recognition. I believe that the ACT policy of --only sending the scores you request-- is still in place. I would not send any colleges any scores (you get to send a certain number free) until 11th/12th grade. Then you can cherry-pick the one or two best scores. We sent two ACT scores to colleges -- both with the same composite -- because certain sub-scores were better on one than the other. A note to consider - the school where my ds is a freshman considered the ACT Writing score for college English class placement/exemption. If your student has a score that is close to exempting him/her from a freshman English class, it might be worth a re-take if you are on the fence. :001_smile: ~Brigid

You may already have this, but if you go to this link, enter a college name, and then click on "deadlines," you will see when that college says it will notify students. :001_smile: Good luck! Hope all your news is great! ~Brigid http://www.collegeboard.com/

The SAT II percentiles are eye-opening! A 710 in Bio (which I think is a terrific score, and will be viewed as stellar by any school :001_smile:) is 68th percentile, and a 690 in literature is 79th percentile. The percentile scores for subject tests are completely different from the regular SAT. Here is a link to the subject test percentiles. http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/SAT-Subject-Test-Percentile-Ranks-2009.pdf ~Brigid

I think this is a great letter of rec. It might be nice if you double checked to make sure that that the name of the class in your letter of rec is the same as the course name that the student (mom) put on the transcript. I had one student who listed the class I taught slightly differently than what I put in my letter. "Mom" was appreciative of the catch. :001_smile: ~Brigid

Looks like an outstanding job! :iagree: You know, a lot of high schools are on the block system, with a year's classwork done in one semester. I would say, absolutely, be done if you want to be! A terrific reading list, and lots of writing. Well done! ~Brigid

Congrats to your son and to YOU who helped him reach this level of success. :001_smile: ~Brigid

It was required in the dual enrollment calculus classes that my ds took at the local community college. A very expensive calculator! But now he is using it in college, so I think we have gotten our money's worth. :001_smile: One note, the TI-89 is not allowed if your kids are taking the ACT. Just fyi. ~Brigid

It was my understanding that the kids could take snacks, but they had to eat them outside of the classroom during the break, and they could not bring them back in the room. That was my ds's experience in the December ACT. Good luck to all tomorrow! ~Brigid

We used a TI-83 until Calculus, and then bumped up to a TI-89. Those choices worked well for us. :) ~Brigid

I just cannot believe the misinformation coming from this teacher! I hope that outtamyshell has the reason for this, otherwise it is just plain academic malpractice! OK, I'll calm down now. :001_smile: I just hate to hear information like this thrown around and confusing homeschoolers. I know that some private schools are very picky about credits, and every school is different, but there are lots and lots of schools that offer college credit for dual enrollment classes taken in high school. My ds is a freshman at a state school, and entered as a freshman (not a transfer student) with oodles of science and math credits. Yes, every school is different, and lots of schools limit credits offered, but there is a heck of a lot of opportunity for homeschooled kids to get credit for the CC classes they've taken. Every college expects to get AP/CC credit questions -- and they are all prepared with ready answers. So if you don't see the AP credit breakdowns and CC credit policies on their webpage, you can certainly get the facts by calling them. It could be a significant factor in choosing a school. Best of luck! ~Brigid

Yep - with the ACT you decide what scores to send. Here is the link to register for the ACT test: http://www.actstudent.org/ We like the ACT for annual testing starting in 9th. :) ~Brigid

My ds took the AP and SAT II very close together. We used the "Real SAT Subject Tests" book (unfortunately only one chem practice test in it) and several of the released exams from AP Central (link in the prior post). If your dd is well prepared for one, she will be equally well prepared for the other. Scheduling the SAT II in May, close to AP exam was a successful approach for us. Don't want to hijack this -- so please forgive me. I have an additional AP Chem question. My older ds took the AP chem test after high school chem (Apologia) and college chem at the local community college. Changes at our CC may not allow my younger ds to go the same route. I was wondering how well the Apologia Advanced Chem and the Apologia Advanced Physics texts prepared the kids for the AP tests? Any comments from those whose students used those texts and took the APs would be appreciated. Not sure if we would go the Apologia Academy route or try to do it on our own. Many thanks. ~Brigid

It would be wonderful if Josie would publish the whole list intact, with everyone's additions. Then we can all copy it, or know we can search for it when we need it. This is very valuable! Thanks for the thread.:) ~Brigid

It sounds like you are more than covered with Bio/Chem/Physics/CC Physics. I would not think that physical science would add anything or be needed. Some schools want a "physical science" course -- but physics fills that bill. And as you said, your son will have more than 4 "years" of science (with 2 CC semesters being equivalent to 2 high school years), so it looks like your son will be VERY well prepared! I know that some of the schools my ds applied to wanted to see some lab-science classes. We listed science classes as "Biology w/lab, Chemistry w/lab," etc., on the transcript, just to make sure there wasn't any doubt. ~Brigid