Parents of Class of 2018 thread

[mrsv98]

Can't believe Sophomore year is almost half done! One more week of work/review and then finals. DD will be very happy, her math class has been kicking her butt. At conferences in Oct, we found out instead of being in advanced Algebra, she was accidentally put in super duper advanced algebra. I am telling you, this kid has never worked so hard for a B in her life! Actually, I think it is good. She generally doesn't have to work very hard for good grades (All DIS kids are gifted, right? ;-) ) so having to work and ask for help and struggle is a good experience. She has learned to advocate for herself which is hard since she is pretty introverted.

Anyone else's kid take the PSAT in Oct? We got the scores today and are very happy. Still work to to but an excellent starting point. What is great is that DD also received a personalized study guide showing her where she needs to put in some work and access to the Kaplan site.

Is anyone else finding their kid reluctant to drive? DD took the course and has had about 20 hours of driving but she is just not interested. I have found this to be common with her friends too. I am going to have to nudge her along. We live in the 'burbs so no public trans and I am DONE being a chauffeur!

Hope everyone is well!

 

[ahutton]

DD has her permit, and we are doing the behind the wheel lessons. She is excited to drive, but gets rattled pretty easily at this point. I told her we will keep practicing until DH and I are sure she is ready, even if that is after her bday (which is in 10 days!)...

School has been a mixed bag this year. She has a full honors load, and does not really want to step down, but is struggling to keep her GPA where she wants it to be. We keep telling her to do what is best for her, and offering support and help, including tutoring if needed.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

Happy New Year!
This year is flying by way to fast. We just have so much happening in the next few months, I feel like it will be May before we know it. We started driving and it is already driving me crazy. Let me preface by saying I am not a good passenger with anyone so I am truly a mess. I have said that it is not fair to my son or myself to be uncomfortable so I let my husband drive with him. He does great - it is just me. I just want to put him in bubble wrap and big flashing signs on the car so everyone else stays away. Yup, I'm that mom.

Soon course selection for next year will start. I have been telling our son he needs to spend a little more time on Naviance/CollegeBoard and a little less time on Netflix/Snapchat. I loathe that Snapchat.
We did receive PSAT scores and we were happy as well. I wanted to check our more on the site this weekend.

Have a great weekend!!

 

[Mickeypooh99]

My DS has his driving permit now. He's doing great except for parking. He really needs to work on that. I can't wait until he's 16 (that's not until December though. He's the youngest sophomore in the district) so I don't have to be his ride to/from work 3 days a week! Although I'm not looking forward to the insurance bill.

I don't know if he took the PSAT. He didn't mention it to me. He has taken the ACT before. I think this is the first year Michigan is switching to the SAT. I can't remember exactly what the letter said about that, but it used to be all the kids took the ACT around here.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

Okay, DS just looked up his PSAT score and he seems very happy with them. This is all completely new to me so I have no idea. What scores are you all "happy" with? He got a 1230--630 in math and 600 in language. I'm assuming those are pretty good but I have no real reference point! Guess I need to do some exploring on the site this weekend!

And your kids are getting their permits already? Before they're 16? Here they can take classes at 15 years, 9 months, but no permit until they're 16. Then license at 16.5 (or six months after permit). His birthday's not until May so we've got some time!

 

[clori]

At our high school all Sophomores and Juniors take the PSATs. DD was pleased with her scores. The link where scores are checked includes a bunch of info on what scores mean. My dd may take the classroom portion of driver's ed over April vacation but can't get her permit until she turns 16 in May and can't get a license until 6 months after the permit. The school doesn't offer driver's ed so I'm a bit in sticker shock over prices. There is also a 2 hour required parents class on top of the 30 hours classroom 12 hours driving, 6 hours observation.

School is going well. She has midterms coming up. The only class changing is health to gym which she isn't thrilled with but will be done with gym/health requirements after this year. DD is finding that she needs to study a bit more this year. She did have one not so good grade in algebra 2 honors at the start of the term but has since improved. We will probably look into visiting a few local Boston colleges this spring but more to get a feel for what type of campus she likes etc. DD taught a youth class at a local public tv station which she loved and has been helping serve food once a week at the local soup kitchen.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

In Michigan they can start drivers training at 14 years 8 months old. My DS started it in early October, and he had his permit before the end of October. He didn't turn 15 until December 12. Now he has to log a certain number of hours driving with an adult before he can take session 2 of drivers training and can get his actual license after session 2 and he turns 16.

 

[Vicki926]

In NJ they get their permit at 16, after passing the written test, and having 6 hours with a driving instructor.
My daughters birthday is in October, so she had Drivers Ed first marking period, took the test in class, and we paid the $300 for her lessons. (we checked, that was how much all the driving schools were-was hoping to find it cheaper, but no luck.) So now she can drive with us for the next year until she gets her license. She drives slowly, but well. I'm trying to get her to drive at least 2-3 times a week do she gets more comfortable.
Plus she needs to know where shes going, she's so clueless. LOL
She was going to her boyfriends house over break and I told her she had to get there without me telling her.
He lives on the other side of town, but our town is like 3 square miles, she's been there a few times before, and she was still a little confused. She made it, though.

PSATs were good, (to the previous poster-1230 is very good, they tell you where you fall in the percentiles of all 10th graders on the collegeboard site)

Other than that, she's busy with winter varsity cheer and school work. Struggling a bit with Alg 2.

 

[Vicki926]

Happy New Year!
This year is flying by way to fast. We just have so much happening in the next few months, I feel like it will be May before we know it. We started driving and it is already driving me crazy. Let me preface by saying I am not a good passenger with anyone so I am truly a mess. I have said that it is not fair to my son or myself to be uncomfortable so I let my husband drive with him. He does great - it is just me. I just want to put him in bubble wrap and big flashing signs on the car so everyone else stays away. Yup, I'm that mom.

Soon course selection for next year will start. I have been telling our son he needs to spend a little more time on Naviance/CollegeBoard and a little less time on Netflix/Snapchat. I loathe that Snapchat.
We did receive PSAT scores and we were happy as well. I wanted to check our more on the site this weekend.

Have a great weekend!!

Ugh, course selection.
Julia was going to finish with Spanish this year, having done her 2 years, especially since she was very unhappy to get a B last marking period. But her senior friends are telling her colleges like to see 3 years, not just the 2, so she's sticking with it.
It's so hard to fit everything in, especially with the Spanish and band(they're going to WDW next April, and even though she doesn't do marching band, all the concert bands, choirs and orchestras go, so she's definitely staying with clarinet at least through junior year). anyway, she wants to start taking some of her health career classes-next year I think is Anatomy and Physiology, I'm guessing that would be her science class.

I'm overwhelmed, honestly, thinking about colleges and what she needs.

Julia lives on Netflix. We got her a Smart TV for Christmas and she told us not to bother hooking it up to fios, she's happy with the Netflix, YouTube and Spotify she can use on it.

 

[DawnM]

Update on my middle son, a sophomore.

We have homeschooled up until this year. He is now a sophomore and at a local charter school.

He is considering transferring to a magnet program for next Fall where he can get a high school diploma AND the first two years of college for free. The school is on the campus of the community college.

I ultimately don't care either way, although getting 2 year of college for free is awesome and they even pay for all his books and fees.

He still has no idea where he wants to go to college and as of right now I am planning to return to work in the Fall so that we have have more $$ to allow for more college choices.

 

[Vicki926]

Update on my middle son, a sophomore.

We have homeschooled up until this year. He is now a sophomore and at a local charter school.

He is considering transferring to a magnet program for next Fall where he can get a high school diploma AND the first two years of college for free. The school is on the campus of the community college.

I ultimately don't care either way, although getting 2 year of college for free is awesome and they even pay for all his books and fees.

He still has no idea where he wants to go to college and as of right now I am planning to return to work in the Fall so that we have have more $$ to allow for more college choices.

That is awesome-what a money saver!

 

[clori]

DD had her second high school figure skating competition today. She came in second in her individual skating routine for her level, her team came in second for their team skate, and her school came in second out of 7 schools. Since the girls come from a recreational program background compared to a skating club background I think they did great and better than we would have originally anticipated. I just wish it wasn't the day before midterms start.

For foreign language colleges tend to go by the level you finish vs the number of years so since dd is in Spanish 3 honors this year though its only the second year of high school language class (Spanish 1 was before high school and does not count or show up on transcript - just implied) it is considered 3 years of a foreign language. Colleges tend to want 2-4 years up to AP level with the more competitive schools wanting the most. DD only needs two years for high school graduation but for that Spanish 1 doesn't help at all.

As for graduation requirements all that dd officially has left after this year is 2 years of English, 2 years of math, 1 lab science, 1 modern world history plus 3 credits in anything to obtain the required amount of credits. She is finished with foreign language and gym/health. She needs 2 years of art, music, technology or business classes and will be done the minimum of that by the end of the year.

 

[Vicki926]

DD had her second high school figure skating competition today. She came in second in her individual skating routine for her level, her team came in second for their team skate, and her school came in second out of 7 schools. Since the girls come from a recreational program background compared to a skating club background I think they did great and better than we would have originally anticipated. I just wish it wasn't the day before midterms start.

For foreign language colleges tend to go by the level you finish vs the number of years so since dd is in Spanish 3 honors this year though its only the second year of high school language class (Spanish 1 was before high school and does not count or show up on transcript - just implied) it is considered 3 years of a foreign language. Colleges tend to want 2-4 years up to AP level with the more competitive schools wanting the most. DD only needs two years for high school graduation but for that Spanish 1 doesn't help at all.

As for graduation requirements all that dd officially has left after this year is 2 years of English, 2 years of math, 1 lab science, 1 modern world history plus 3 credits in anything to obtain the required amount of credits. She is finished with foreign language and gym/health. She needs 2 years of art, music, technology or business classes and will be done the minimum of that by the end of the year.

Good to know, my dd is also in Spanish 3 honors. She took Spanish 1 in 8th grade.
In NJ, you need 4 years of gym/health and sports don't count like they do in some areas, so that's going to be on her schedule every year.

Congrats to your daughter on her skating performance, that's great!

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I found out my DS did take the PSAT. He was happy with his score. He really doesn't know what he wants to do with his life at this point. He does know he wants to go away to college right after high school. He has mid term exams this week. His hours at work are getting cut from 3 days a week down to 1 day. We live in a recreation area that just isn't busy in the winter months. He's not happy about it, but I am. He has so much going on with Science Olympiad, Boy Scouts, Business professionals of America, and environmental action club.... He does too much.

I feel like his high school years are going by way too fast! Before we know it he will be off to college and I'll only have my youngest at home. At least my youngest says he wants to live at home and commute to college. Maybe I'll have him at home a few extra years.

 

[Vicki926]

We did course selection last week! Junior year already..wow.
I have an appointment for my son on Tuesday, he's going into his freshman year. When did I get old enough to have 2 high schoolers??

Anyway, Julia is taking Spanish 4 Honors, Band, Gym/Health, US History Honors(she decided against APUSH, against her teachers recommendation-she just has so much going on, I really dissuaded her from taking 3 APs, and after thinking on it, she agreed), AP Lang, Pre Calculus Honors, AP Bio and Medical Terminology.
Starting to take those med classes since she wants to go into nursing.
She's decided to only look at colleges that direct admit into the nursing programs, which cuts the field down a lot. Some have you apply to the program for your junior year. But not everyone gets in, even if you have great grades.
JMU in VA, which she was seriously thinking about, for example, has 90 spots for 200 applicants. And then if you do t get in, you can apply again (adding another year of school?) or you end up getting a health sciences degree instead of a nursing degree. Forget it.
When they gave us her transcript, we saw that she is currently ranked 3 out of her class of 329. Crazy! I would have never guessed.

I guess we'll start looking at some colleges this summer. There's only a handful in close-ish driving range that do direct admit, so we'll start with those. One is only half an hour away( Ramapo College) and she's actually seriously thinking about that one. (Yay)She'd still live there, which I fully support and encourage, so she'd still be away, but I wouldn't have to go months without seeing her.
I keep my mouth closed and let her come to her own decisions though.

Anyone else narrowing down college ideas? Tips on college visits?

 

[StephMK]

Ha, I was thinking about looking for this thread today. DD16 has picked her classes for next year and took the pre-ACT version with her class. Her school gives it to everyone but we haven't seen any scores yet. She is fighting growing up in all areas! We are nudging her to practice driving but she really doesn't want to. We are hoping she will drive herself and her brother to school next year. She was supposed to start drivers ed yesterday but we postponed it a few weeks ago until this summer because she was not ready.

She did finally choose a possible major and wants to study interior design. I think it's a great fit for her but she doesn't have much interest in looking at schools or starting that process. Worst case, we have a good state school in town and another campus not far so she can live at home or be close. The one school she wants is in CA and we are not too excited about that idea, plus the acceptance rate is so low. I told her to get her degree someplace cheaper then she can move to CA if she still wants to. She wants to live with a guy friend who plans to study fashion but they are struggling to find a place that is not outrageously expensive for out of state and would let them live off campus. Any ideas of an artsy school that is reasonable in price and not overly competitive? They fell in love with the idea of Boulder CO but it is sooo expensive out of state! Who knows if they will even still have the same idea in 2 years but we're working with what we've got at the moment. LOL

 

[Vicki926]

Ha, I was thinking about looking for this thread today. DD16 has picked her classes for next year and took the pre-ACT version with her class. Her school gives it to everyone but we haven't seen any scores yet. She is fighting growing up in all areas! We are nudging her to practice driving but she really doesn't want to. We are hoping she will drive herself and her brother to school next year. She was supposed to start drivers ed yesterday but we postponed it a few weeks ago until this summer because she was not ready.

She did finally choose a possible major and wants to study interior design. I think it's a great fit for her but she doesn't have much interest in looking at schools or starting that process. Worst case, we have a good state school in town and another campus not far so she can live at home or be close. The one school she wants is in CA and we are not too excited about that idea, plus the acceptance rate is so low. I told her to get her degree someplace cheaper then she can move to CA if she still wants to. She wants to live with a guy friend who plans to study fashion but they are struggling to find a place that is not outrageously expensive for out of state and would let them live off campus. Any ideas of an artsy school that is reasonable in price and not overly competitive? They fell in love with the idea of Boulder CO but it is sooo expensive out of state! Who knows if they will even still have the same idea in 2 years but we're working with what we've got at the moment. LOL

What state do you live in?
Even the in state tuition in NJ. Is ridiculous, I'm so jealous of other states rates for their residents.

My daughter needs to practice driving more, too. I told her she needs to go at least once a week, even if it's just driving around town. She just doesn't ask and I always forget. LOL She hates driving my car( Pilot) because she says it's too big, she likes to drive my husband's car (Accord) because it's small, but it's a pain to wait until he's home.
I want her to drive herself and her brother next year, too!
We'll see if they can get along for the 5 minute ride. @@

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We did course selection last week! Junior year already..wow.
I have an appointment for my son on Tuesday, he's going into his freshman year. When did I get old enough to have 2 high schoolers??

Anyway, Julia is taking Spanish 4 Honors, Band, Gym/Health, US History Honors(she decided against APUSH, against her teachers recommendation-she just has so much going on, I really dissuaded her from taking 3 APs, and after thinking on it, she agreed), AP Lang, Pre Calculus Honors, AP Bio and Medical Terminology.
Starting to take those med classes since she wants to go into nursing.
She's decided to only look at colleges that direct admit into the nursing programs, which cuts the field down a lot. Some have you apply to the program for your junior year. But not everyone gets in, even if you have great grades.
JMU in VA, which she was seriously thinking about, for example, has 90 spots for 200 applicants. And then if you do t get in, you can apply again (adding another year of school?) or you end up getting a health sciences degree instead of a nursing degree. Forget it.
When they gave us her transcript, we saw that she is currently ranked 3 out of her class of 329. Crazy! I would have never guessed.

I guess we'll start looking at some colleges this summer. There's only a handful in close-ish driving range that do direct admit, so we'll start with those. One is only half an hour away( Ramapo College) and she's actually seriously thinking about that one. (Yay)She'd still live there, which I fully support and encourage, so she'd still be away, but I wouldn't have to go months without seeing her.
I keep my mouth closed and let her come to her own decisions though.

Anyone else narrowing down college ideas? Tips on college visits?

We are in a different place than we were a year ago. While my child is still exploring all options, she is sticking to an idea of starting local. I think that will be a good fit for her. But so far, no interest in jumping directly into University.

Present plan is to commence Dual Enrollment in the fall. She is doing an on-line drawing course right now and will take the next class over the summer so that she can start taking animation classes in the fall.

She is in the career consideration phase of life at the moment.

So--I guess our current course expectations are:
Physics (unknown where)
Pre-Calc
Literature (Middle Ages) + Essay course
Animation (art elective)
Social studies TBD
Possibly taking French (she did 2 years of Latin and is sooo done.)

Unsure of course #7.

She also took the PSAT this year and did really well. So she will try again next year. She has potential to do well, but I don't know if that is realistic.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

What state do you live in?
Even the in state tuition in NJ. Is ridiculous, I'm so jealous of other states rates for their residents.

My daughter needs to practice driving more, too. I told her she needs to go at least once a week, even if it's just driving around town. She just doesn't ask and I always forget. LOL She hates driving my car( Pilot) because she says it's too big, she likes to drive my husband's car (Accord) because it's small, but it's a pain to wait until he's home.
I want her to drive herself and her brother next year, too!
We'll see if they can get along for the 5 minute ride. @@

Mine is too interested in driving either. But my truck is big and the small car is a stick. She drove today. I shoot for once per week for a minimum of 30 minutes. I hope to get that to 2-3 times per week or she won't ever meet the expected practice hours.

I find it so weird because when I was a kid we all wanted to drive and couldn't wait.

 

[Mom2DDs]

Glad to see this thread up at the top! I have a Senior who's deciding which college to go to, none are in the state we live in (NJ) even with the fantastic merit scholarships she got offered.

My Class of 1918 DD has already told us her list of colleges and they're all in the South - she wants marine science and vet. We went to her high school college fair this past week and it interesting the questions that she asked with out my prompt - guess her older sister has rubbed off on her

About driving - she can't wait! I just booked her driving school appointment and then my DH will get her on the road as soon as she gets the permit! She's going to be driving a Santa Fe but would love for us to get her a Jeep Wrangler, yeah, right! She also wants to learn to drive manual as well so she's lobbying for me to let her drive my Fiat.