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This is the new thread. Now I must take a moment and make sure everyone realizes that it is not MY thread and I do not mean to be the central character here; it just kind of happened.

Take it as an extension of my extreme extrovertedness and not self-centeredness.

So with that said this is part FIVE... I suspect we will reach 10 before 2003 is over. Maybe. Probably more along the lines of 3 more which would mean 5+3= EIGHT.

Awww... a loveseat... I wish we had them in the classrooms. It would make for far more interesting classes than your standard rows of desks. Do D and the b/f have another date scheduled for this weekend or are those more spontaneous type things?

Speaking of parents night, we got conference forms in the mail, but I've been in and out of so many classes that my mother would just rather wait until the next round of conferences *IF* she goes. She would rather save the conference time for people with kids who really have problems in class that should be discussed with the teacher because conference slots are sooo far and few between. If there were more she would gladly go to all of them.

My schedule looks like it MAY be fixed... I'm almost there. My mother is happy. Yesterday I was soooo frustrated- "Mom my senior year is falling apart and getting ruined by things I have no control over". But, she was right in saying that I was the one who created this mess that snowballed (not my fault) and I can fix it if I created it.

I'm not going to get the most demanding box checked because I lack math or science. But I know my schedule is demanding and it may be more demanding than someone who has all the core classes but no others. It depends on how you look at most demanding because there are so many combinations that could create a most demanding schedule. Some people seem to think there is ONE way but there IS no "perfect" schedule. It's almost subjective. How could you look at my schedule and NOT call it most demanding... I compensate for what I should have but don't in so many ways. But I regress. Colleges will make their decision one way or another.

1:40 AM... I hope this does not become routine for your D because that would be awful. How did her Calc BC assignment come out? I'm kind of intrigued to as how the assignment would work... that would be a math application that would interest me if I could understand it.

I had a horrible soccer accident today in gym class today and I'm SO annoyed, not because my leg is throbbing but because this is going to hurt dance a LOT. See, I was by the goal on the side my team was on and a girl on the opposing team came charging down with the ball and kicked it out and one of her teammates and I both ran to get it at the same time. Except, we both collided at the same moment and she knocked into me in such a way that I slid (it had rained a little before hand) and I went FLYING!!! LOL. But the way I landed was sooo horrible because my leg twisted out from underneath me and i had to practically twist it around to get back up because it was practically wrenched. I have never had the wind knocked out of me like that before... it was just like WOW. Not in a good way. I can't explain it. I don't know how I got up but I did anyway because I didn't want to seem like a baby so I kept playing. I figured that since I can move it still it's not broken. I probably sprained something, but it kills to bend or run or anything of that nature which is really really aggravating. I will probably get it checked by my pediatric orthepedic surgeon/doctor who is one of the nicest people EVER. I don't routinely go there but I have in the past because I have so many wrist/hand problems and have to get surgery done sometime this year. (I keep putting it off... I don't WANT to and cortisone injections were offered as an alternative but I said I'd rather just have surgery because the chance of the corticosteroid injections working was something like 30% and that's not a very good chance, surgery has a better chance of working but it may not work permanently which is why I'm apprehensive about it, plus it would slow me down in all the things I want/have to do. I don't want to have to deal it right now)

So I could probably get it looked at really quick so I can continue with dance. I hate doing that though, I'm the type that will go around with a torn ligament and blow it off until I absolutely HAVE to get it checked, i.e., my mother drags me to do so. I decided that by goal for a double is HALLOWEEN. So I'm excited. I discovered that Halloween is the night before the November SAT I's. NO FAIR!! I hate Halloween candy but I loooove getting dressed up for Halloween. (I make charitable donations of massive bags of Halloween, usually to family or friends) The one year I wanted to go with the crew with a really rocking costume happens to be the one where I have to sleep so I can get up for more annoying standardized tests. Oh well.

Digmedia by the way it would be very welcomed if you participated more... I like your comments and it makes me wonder if more people read but don't participate in the melodrama.

By Digmedia (Digmedia) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 05:59 pm: Edit

twinkle - it's a matter of !!TIME!! Seems like I pass through here and read new messages on a few threads (including this one), but never have much time for thoughtful responses. Occasionally I'll have some spare time and can post...

By Digmedia (Digmedia) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 06:09 pm: Edit

Why does my son do this to me? At his school, an A is a grade between 90 and 100. And they round up an 89.5 to an A as well. Last term, my son got three B's, TWO OF THEM WITH AN AVERAGE BETWEEN 89.0 and 89.4. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. He's so busy with soooo much stuff, and I wouldn't mind a B THAT much, BUT just a whisker away from an A. So his APUSH average this term so far? YOU GUESSED IT! An 89.2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Homework he gets done. But "studying..." What's that?

By Esmerelda (Esmerelda) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 06:24 pm: Edit

aw, I'm so sorry you got hurt! Get it checked out asap!!!! Otherwise it'll just get worse and worse.

ooh, I have to tell you about this invite I got from a really good friend! we are going to throw a surprize party for another of our friends!! We're meeting on saterday morning at her house at 5:30 (AHHH!) and we're going to sneak up to her room (with her parent's permission, and surround her bed and wake her up with a loud randition of 'Happy Birthday'. Then, we're going to whisk her away still in her PJs to a nearby diner for an early breakfast.
How cool an idea is that??? She's going to be so surprized. We've all sworn not to tell a soul. IT's going to be AWSOME!

School is getting tough. I didn't do well on my AP physics test... and the Calc test killed me today. The first question had no solution (you ended up getting a square root of a negative when you used the quad equation. So, that really freaked me out. But everyone else put no solution as well, so it's okay. It caused me a lot of grief during the rest of the test though. Also I had to totally skip a question. We were supposed to graph the function given the graph of a derivitive. URGH> ANd it was incredibly complicated. Oh well, i did the extra credit so it's okay. hehe, now that I look back on what i wrote i realize that you all might not be interested in a question-by-question rant of my Calc test. Oh well....you got it.

AHHH! THE SATs ARE ON NOVEMBER FIRST????? I didn't realize they were so soon. Where did september go? HOW has october started already> All these due dates are crashing mercilessly upon me and I am stuggling to bear it. It's scary!

Still need a HC dress. I hate shopping. well, I hate spending money, I'm such a skinflint... It's not even like i like money, it's just I don't want to waste it....*sigh* I always go for like three hours and bring back nothing...or maybe ONE thing. Sucks.

oh well, work time

By Thedad (Thedad) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 07:07 pm: Edit

Yowch, Twinkle. An example of why every serious dancer I know gets waived out of P.E. and substitutes Dance via independent study. Soccer? Skiing? Running? No way. Dance, in and of itself, is risky enough. Chicken? Maybe...but it's a burn in the butt if you miss six months of ballet from a P.E. injury.

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 08:26 pm: Edit

Thedad, my school won't waive the P.E. requirement for anyone, so it seems. You have to be like physically incompetent to get out of gym and even then it's tough. Gym is one of those classes where you work your butt off in, but if you don't play a varsity sport, there is not much but a cold day in hell's chance that you're getting out of there with a 90+. They grade hard. C's are common. I've pulled B's and an A last year but this IS hurting my GPA/ class rank a good deal. Soccer is a DEADLY sport, there are kids at school who play it like its rugby during gym. That plus the combination of a wet field was just bad all the way around. My arm hurts too now because it also hit the ground really hard in a quickly slammed awkward position and I didn't even realize it until a few minutes ago. I have ugly bruises, too. Gross. I need a shot or of novacain in the legm which is probably not possible but I would prefer tingly numbness. This is driving me insane. Gym sucks

I have decided gym may be my least favorite subject ever, right down at the very bottom with you-know-what. I wish I could do dance as an ind. study, but I haven't been dancing long enough to be considered "serious" even though I am serious about it.

I don't know what I will do if this turns out being something that is going to make me miss dance. Hopefully whatever damage I did will be gone in a week or so because I was finally starting to conquer some of my dance obstacles.

Gym...as a requirement when you ARE ALREADY physically active just seems... irrelevant to me.

Digmedia, I know what you mean about those pesky 89.00-49's!!! Freshman year I remember getting two of them in English and Geometry. Geometry was something like a 89.48 or something and English I think was a 89.2? Maybe. I think 89's or 79's should not exist in the world of grading....especially when the number is painfully close to being a letter grade higher.

Esmerelda- it sounds awesome what you are doing for your friend's birthday! Except, of course, she has to go to bed reasonably early. I am a BEAR when I wake up, regardless of who it is around me so I would probably snap at you at first, then appreciate what my friends had done for me within the next ten minutes. Case in point: This morning my mother tried to wake me up and I was literally still 85% asleep, so supposedly I said something along the lines up "Stop bothering me, if I wanted to wake up, I would have already done it by now!" Then 10 minutes later I was having a perfectly pleasant conversation with her. (then again, I'm just weird in the sleep department so you probably should disregard what I just said!) We plan surprise things for our friends too but someone always lets the cat out of the bag somehow.

I think it sounds like you did fine on your AP calc test. What was your physics test on?

Homecoming dress... I must get too. Soon. Sigh. I need more money. I know my parents will pay for it, but I hate relying on them for so much in the money dept.

I think the one saving grace of today was that I officially have a 92 in AP English

By Esmerelda (Esmerelda) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 10:21 pm: Edit

Twinkle~ do you have to take P.E. for FOUR years????
Our school is way too achedemically oriented for that. We only need one year of PE, one of art, and one of tech for all four years. I took dance for P.E. but it was an awful class. For one thing, the teacher did NOT know how to dance at all and was and AWFUL coreographer (sp.) . She had us do these really stupid dances. My friend in that class is a serious ballet dancer, she has been doing it since she was like 7, and she was so angry at the teacher. The dances were basic and extremely stupid. ah well, I was a freshman, so whatever. hehe, we also have a Yoga class (they take naps on Fridays) and a weight training class (from what I understand you just sit about with the weight training equiptment and talk). Yeah....
Like your school our 'real' PE classes grade really harshly. My friend is in Net-games and the teacher says that if you do everything and show up and do your best you get a C. YOu have to be really GOOD to get any higher. Which is a bit unfair....some people are on the tennis or volleyball team and others are just trying to fill their credit and have never had a racket in their hands before in their lives.

I know what you mean about waking up. My brother sleeps like a LOG and I used to have to wake him up every morning. He got violent too. I'd end up practically horisantal pulling his blankets off his bed, as he kicked and twisted trying to frantically stay on the bed with the blankets tangled about him. hehe. He once had a viola lession, and I dragged him all the way to the top of the stairs without him waking. He woke up halfway down the stairwell. He is really angry at me when he is asleep, but after he is really up, he is fine. Anyways, i'm pretty sure my friend is easy to wake up (one of her since-elementry school friends says she is) otherwise we wouldn't be trying it. we'll see how it goes.

Oh, BTW, my brother is coming home! He got a internship over the summer at NIH, and they are paying his way so that he can come home and do a presentation or run his computer program or something for a few days. The weekend of homecoming.

MY Lit teacher made our first out of class essay due the monday after the SAT Is.....grrr. Out of class essays make up 60% of our total grade, and there may be only one this quarter because of the days we've missed because of Isabelle...

I had no excuse for doing poorly in AP Physics. I knew the material, and studied as much as I possibly could. And the questions weren't particularly difficult. The test was on Torques. We got a whole bunch of word problems and had to draw the free body diagrams and then find the missing forces. Simple. AND we weren't even doing moving bodies. Just statics. grrr. One question I got wrong was a stupid mistake. I hate that. The other one was the last problem. The thing was, that the test was on a homeroom day, so we had a shortened period. And we started late. Anyways, I didn't even get to answer the second part of the last question and I think I drew the free body diagram incorrectly anyhow. *sigh* My physics teacher officially thinks I'm an idiot. It's ridiculous, this stuff is supposed to be the easy review stuff. I should have been able to finish in time. other people did. I was just being annoying and slow. Slow and steady doesn't beat the race if the stupid race is timed.....
We'll see about the Calc test. At least I didn't come out of it crying. A lot of people were just breaking down it was *that* hard. I hate it when teachers give easy homework questions and then pop a million terribly hard questions on the test. I mean, couldn't they let us practice the hard questions, instead of just letting us figure them out (incorrectly, no doubt) on the test?

Hey, in two hours, tomorrow is friday.... Stupid logic like that is all that keeps me going.

By Esmerelda (Esmerelda) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 10:23 pm: Edit

BTW, Twinkle, congrats on the A in English!!
Keep it up!

By Thedad (Thedad) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 11:05 pm: Edit

Digi, I feel the pain. D had something like a 88.5 in Pre-Calc/Calc A last year second semester and an 89 in Physics. !@#$%^&*!

Twinkle, I hope your injury isn't serious. I simply wouldn't let D play soccer and I'd take it to the school board if I had to. But the local policy has gotten even more reasonable, allowing students to get out of 9th-grade P.E. via ballet, which they never did before. The 9th-grade teacher backed off and wouldn't make D do some things, like running on concrete, that could cause a problem for dance.

By Geniusash (Geniusash) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 11:13 pm: Edit

We only have to take a semester of PE and that can be fulfilled by "Leisure Activities" which consists of checkers, darts, bocce ball, and snow-shoeing. How exciting.

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 11:43 pm: Edit

Yeah, we have to take P.E. for FOUR years. If you don't, you don't graduate. That's the way our cookie crumbles. We have choices like yoga sometimes but 1/2 the time you're stuck running until you collapse or playing soccer/football. I've taken gym outside in the snow before and it *sucks*. I don't mind weight training and I LOVE yoga because I rock at it, but stuff like soccer...football... running forever and ever... I really could do without. They grade us super-hard. Plus, if you're not a 3-sport athlete it makes it harder to get a good grade... so basically it boils down to me losing my shot at val/sal because of a crap gym grade, which I'm sure I will probably get. It's harder to get an A in gym than it is to get in AP Physics.


Esmerelda I'm JUST like your brother... I am extremely NOT nice in my sleep to people if they try to wake me up. I don't know what I'm going to do in college. My mom is the only person I'll let wake me up, and even then I'm not a nice person to be dealing with. I apparently talk in my sleep too if someone talks to me and I'm slightly awake, even though **I** don't know this.

YAY to your bro coming home!! But grr to teachers giving easy homework and hard tests. That makes no sense. I thought the point of homework was to prepare you for the test... if the test is 10x harder than the homework then the teacher's system makes little sense.

Thedad, I sincerely hope that this is nothing serious because it will ruin dance for me which is the one thing I look forward to most these days. I've decided that it doesn't really matter what it is, as long as I get painkillers for it because then I can continue to dance. I'll just have to be super careful and lay off leaps a little bit. I don't think I should have to play soccer either, but I never considered it to be a real problem until this morning.

I wish our P.E. was like GeniusAsh's school...
checkers=P.E.???? Wow. The closest we get to leisure activities is bowling, which is graded based on your performance and let's just put it this way, my bowling avg is around a 65ish. I hate bowling alleys and the balls that have been used by wayyy too many people and the stupid rental shoes that they make you wear. The kids who go bowling frequently are the ones who get the A's for that unit... am I supposed to suffer grade-wise because I don't spend my weekends at our grungy bowling alley?

English homework... then psych... then I think I'm just going to bed because physically I'm completely beat and I'm really, really tired. I have other stuff that needs to get done, but I can do that tomorrow I guess... sleeping now will make me more alert tomorrow.

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 03:03 am: Edit

wow new thread!

yay its 3 AM and i FINALLY wrote my NM essay. i havent edited it but im actually surprised. it turned out better than i expected, keeping in mind i didnt organize my thoughts at all and just began typing when i started. it took 15 min or so to get going, but i found that the words came out easily. its sort of cliche, but you have to admit that theres nothing imaginative to write when the prompt explicitly states all that stuff.

dont worry though i slept from 9:30 PM to 12:30 so its not like im just up til 3 AM. although i was last night...but we wont get into that.

UGH our school is the same with PE. you work your butt off and get a B. i was lucky and got an A- the first time because i took tennis/volleyball and i am fairly good at tennis. then the second time was summer school gym...and our track was getting fixed and our gym was undergoing renovation so we basically went bowling and played ultimate frisbee the whole time. we get tested on all sorts of stuff. like an A+ mile is 5:30 and by the time you get to 7-8 min, its like a C. whatever. i hated gym but we only had to take two semesters. torturous.

yay for homecoming and the fact that its in two days.

boo for Oct 11 SAT's. yeahhh umm definitely have to prep for that big time now.

i hate it when you're like 0.2% away from the next grade up. one of my best friends got an A- in honors pre-calc (the hardest math class at our school). wanna know her percentage? 92.499. 1/1000 of a percentage and the teacher wouldn't round up. awesome huh? i have the same teacher for BC calc. he is a greaaaaaaat teacher but gives no leeway at all on stuff like that. my honors algebra 2 teacher myseteriously gave me an A+ when i only had a 96% solid (98 is an A+). it sort of depends on the teacher.

my parents hate conferneces because its obvious most of the teachres do so they stopped signing up. they always say the same thing "she is doing fine, great student ,great kid, blah blah." makes me wonder how mundane their recommendations will be.

speaking of recommednations. i still have to get mine out and they're Due Nov 1st. AHHHHHHHH.

okay im going to bed now. bye!

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 02:16 pm: Edit

YAY Today made an *excellent* sleep day. I HAD intended on going to school but after 4 days with < 3 hours of sleep I decided that I really needed to catch up on some sleep and MAYBE I could have waited until Saturday, plus I was cranky when I got up because I couldn't sleep because my leg was throbbing all night. I figured that I wasn't going to miss an EXCESSIVE amount in school because there are some assignments that are assigned ahead of time and I figure that today I'll get as much stuff that needs to be done in advance completed so when I get today's work then it won't seem too bad. I got to sleep so it was worth it.

I used to think every school made kids take 4 years of gym...now I'm seeing that 4 years worth of gym is very unusual! Actually, 4 semesters, but you can only take one every year so you can't get your gym credits done by sophomore year. I guess they want to keep us "physically fit" but I think the kids that are going to be in shape don't need gym anyway, and the kids that are really out of shape aren't going to be THAT affected by the exercise they're getting in the class.

LOL, Sunshine, I like those mysterious grades. I figure that a teacher will give you the extra point or two if he/she likes you a lot and you tried really hard because they figure that you're close enough to the next letter grade.

A 5:30 is an A+ mile?? I don't know of anyone who runs a 5:30 mile save the track kids and a few on the soccer team. 6-7 minutes, yeah, but I used to think anything below 9 is very good in the world of gym! We pass if we beat 9:45 for girls and 7:45 for boys ( I don't understand the discrepancy either) but I don't think you get extra points for having a much better time. If you usually run like a 6 min mile and you decided to walk a 9:30 one (I saw a kid do this) you usually lose points for this, even if you did pass. Extra points for vice versa. Well, then again, in that case you would get accused of cheating because it's rare for that to happen.

By Esmerelda (Esmerelda) on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 07:39 pm: Edit

hehe, my friend is taking weight training, and apparently the teachers changed. His teacher now makes them really work. And they are tested. They have to be able to lift some percentage of their body weight. Something like that.

Argh, my bridge project for AP physics is due on Tuesday...and I havent' started. I have to make a model of a bridge and draw the vectors and stuff. I'm not sure..... I'll figure it out though. ALso, I have an essay to write for lit, due the monday after the SATs (i think i mentioned this, but Im so tired I just don't care anymore).
ugh, tired.....no sleep for so so long.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 11:01 pm: Edit

D had a bridge project in middle school: the grade was determined by how much weight you could hang on it before it broke. Crude but effective lesson.

D characterizes b/f this way: affectionate but clueless, even more socially inept than most boys.

You girls.

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 11:33 pm: Edit

We never did a bridge project. The AP Physics class at school is doing a really cool project right now involving CATS (fake ones) but I'm not exactly sure what it involves.

Yeah, in gym they wanted us to be able to bench 100% of our body weight for weight training. Then they realized that was never going to happen, so the goal became 70%. (I never was able to do this. I can bench the bar and that's IT... I think the bar is 45. I never lost points based on it though because whenever we were given the option between that machine and others I made sure I avoided that monster) I hate the fact that I have to take gym now. I liked my gym class last year because we did a lot of non-deadly activities and I didn't have people who were out for blood when they played games either in my class.

Apparently, I can't dance tomorrow... I get to go to class and watch At least I get out of gym... but it's not that much of a perk because not getting to dance sucks.

LOL @ D's characterization of the b/f...it kind of reminds me of how my friends and I dissect a boy's traits.

The current semi-b/f (who is now officially my homecoming date!! YAY!!) is slightly relationship immature but he's getting better and he used to be kind of self-centered... but that has changed over the past six months too. It's a maturity thing. I used to be a commitment phobe too, but we have those kinks worked out now.

The only part that bothers me is that even if we AREN'T b/f-g/f by the time to go to college, he is practically one of my best friends so it's going to be hard when the time comes for college, especially since we're interested in different things and chances are we're not going to end up at the same school.

I wish HS was five years instead of four, but mostly for the social reason. I've gotten so frustrated with not being able to get into the classes that I want, having to put up a fight to do the REASONABLE and EDUCATIONAL things I want to do. Like the fact that I do NOT want to be in study hall for 3.5 hours. That's a waste of my time. If teachers are willing to let me in their classes this late in the year and allow me to make up the work that I missed, then I don't see why it's such a big problem! I actually want to go to class and learn things and make good use of my time. Some kids would love to have that much free time out of class but I sincerely hate it. Then there becomes the issue of me not going to the study hall... um... a BIG waste of my time as well! This is getting fixed and it's going to be a dead issue tomorrow. I don't care, I'm not ruining my college admissions chances over arbitrary "rules". I hate half the things about my school, then there are other things like my friends and great classes and awesome teachers that actually make it worth attending.

I was thinking that maybe I would like to be a lawyer... hmmm... possibly... government class inspires me all the time. I think you need math, though, if you want to get into law :/ Which would present a major problem. This year I discovered that I'm interested in sooo many things... as opposed to last year when I really did not care. Like... I'm interested in psychology and sociology...and I have a great interest in political science/government... and I like foreign languages... and I love performing arts. It's too bad I didn't KNOW any of this when I started high school because my applications won't reflect this. I needed the first two years to simply explore different things and I wasn't mature enough to really understand what I wanted until around the middle of last year. This looks unfocused and as if I didn't care, which was definitely not the case. Some kids know what they're interested in when they're 6, some know when they're 16, and so forth. I'm keeping my fingers crossed this won't work against me. I'm one of those people who "gets it" all at once... like in math... I wouldn't understand a concept, then boom, it would just click (if it was going to)... or a new dance combination... it will just click suddenly. I won't get it the first few times, then suddenly I'll process it all and BAM I can do it almost perfectly. The same with maturity level. I was a little brat until frosh year, didn't have much direction except for trying different things and trying to do well in mandatory classes and (random) electives until junior year, and nothing was very clear at all until this year.

By Geniusash (Geniusash) on Friday, October 03, 2003 - 01:15 am: Edit

It os Twelve o clock and I am still awake, finishing my homecoming pants.

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Friday, October 03, 2003 - 07:35 pm: Edit

I am such a zombie right now. I got no sleep at all last night because of my annoying leg. It is driving me crazy. I couldn't sit comfortably in class because of stupid stabbing pains in my leg no matter how much I shifted! I had three tests today and I think I only did good on one of them because my concentration was sooo wrecked. I tried to be good and wait for it to get better on its own so I wouldn't have to get it checked, something I don't like doing at all but I think I might have to. After today if I don't participate in gym class I start to lose credit. I went to dance today and did some things but it is sooo frustrating not to be able to do your favorite thing. I know I'm whining like a little kid, but I have no patience for injuries at all because they slow me down. I'm practically limping around, which I'm sure is an attractive look. I had to wear... gasp.. sneakers today! I feel so incredibly short without my Steve Maddens which boost me to about 5'6 1/2 or so. Sigh.

A week till the SATs... is it possible for me to switch from I to II's? I want another month's worth of prep for the SAT I's. SAT II's I'm less worried about, save the math section.

We put in our orders for graduation mortarboards and gowns. Graduation is quickly approaching, faster than any of us realize. It kind of hit me today when I was filling out the sizing information... HS went by really fast. It's going to be over before we know it.

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Friday, October 03, 2003 - 09:00 pm: Edit

I think I've lost my writing voice... "me" doesn't come through in any of my essays.

I feel like I'm trying to be someone who I'm not. I want to show them who I am, but it may not be what they're looking for and somehow that makes me uncomfortable. I can't open up to an adcom in an essay. The things that have REALLY made me who I am are things that I don't want to share with them, or I just *can't*. It's like opening yourself to someone and leaving yourself vulnerable.

Mother is not happy that I do not have an essay yet. Especially since she knows that I am capable of writing an essay... she sees it more of an avoidance mechanism because I'm trying to delay something that I don't want to happen right now. Sigh. And now, I am off to the semi b/f's house (LOL... half way between a b/f and not)

I'm thinking, thedad, that I may go with the essay idea of the conflict between academic and non-academic ambitions. About how being "different" in the sense that I have my prom queen/fun/crazy/ "party" (note... not excessive) side... and then I have this other side where I have that overwhelming desire to be so much more, and that comes through in classes, ECs, etc. I'd almost want to include the discrimination that comes with it, but I kind of think an adcom would think, get over it, it's not like you were being attacked by racial/ethnic slurs or something. Still, it is something that has affected how I think and my action and has further propelled me to "make something of myself", as opposed to falling into the party girl/mall crawling girl that thrives off her social status trap. I don't even know how to convey what I say. I know what I mean, but the words aren't there.

By Ellemenope (Ellemenope) on Friday, October 03, 2003 - 10:35 pm: Edit

I don't know where you got the idea that you need to be a math whiz to be a lawyer. Not true. . .but you do need to love to read and write.

By Geniusash (Geniusash) on Saturday, October 04, 2003 - 12:40 am: Edit

Twinkle- I love Steve Maddens, I have 4-5 pairs, they're my favorites!!
Homecoming game was today!! I was up till 3 this morning (yesterday morning now, I guess)finishing my homecoming pants (do you guys do this?) We beat our opponents, 55ish-0. Undefeated, #1 in district, go school!!! The dance is tomorrow, yeehah! I bought a strapless bra today, God those things are akward, oh well.

By Alita (Alita) on Saturday, October 04, 2003 - 11:34 am: Edit

Aaaah! I hate my school. im wasting my time. i go to school and get bored. First period is spanish 4 honors, in which we spend time going over stuff like the past tense and pronouns and i just want to shoot myself because its so obvious and no one gets it! then, when i stop paying attention, my participation grade goes down to a 70% and my grade drops a letter grade. So i have to spend an hour and a half a day going over stuff thats like DUH!In french class, no one bothers to speak french even though its french 6, and weve only done 2 chapters in the month and a half weve been in class! history class i knew would be easy and its at least funny, but honestly, im spending 90 minutes doing work i could do in 30 minutes........calc is the only class i need 90 minutes at least in, and thank god i have it or else id go crazy. and the worst thing, i have all these things i need to do outside of school but i dont have time and im wasting my time 4 hours a day doing stuff i could teach myself!

on the brighter side, homecomings today. i have to find a dress for about 25 dollars......pray for me, lol. i think my homecoming dance is gonna be like all freshmen thougs. that kinda sucks...oh well, theres still prom.

gash-what are homecoming pants?

By Geniusash (Geniusash) on Saturday, October 04, 2003 - 12:06 pm: Edit

Everyone in my school decorates homecoming pants for the day of our homecoming game. Sophs do white, juniors do red and seniors do black overalls. We basically just cover them in glitter, cheers, our year, name, and, of course, the word "score" strategically placed on the butt or pelvis. SOme people will spend 20 + hrs and 100+ dollars doing their pants.

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Saturday, October 04, 2003 - 12:43 pm: Edit

whoa we dont have homecoming pants.

but on the bright side-HOMECOMING TODAY!!!! i have not been able to squeen in a second of hw or SAT prep and i wont be until tomorrow. this makes me nervous

i am scared to death for SAT Is in a week.

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Saturday, October 04, 2003 - 02:06 pm: Edit

I really need to stop doing stupid things. Actually, I think I need to go back and restart senior year.

But I regress.

Progress reports came in the mail today. Good, except for the fact that I need another class **pronto** and that I have a D in gym... WHAT!?!?! This has gotten out of hand. I do everything in that class, except for the class I just missed, which was the fault of rough playing in gym.

I feel bad, because I'm always complaining to the admin about something, but I mean... certain things like a grade in a "class" or needing to change classes are important.

Alita- Good luck finding a dress! I don't know how you're going to find a dress for $25- hard feat within itself, but the one place I can think of is Windsor... you can get dresses for like $20 there, from what I hear. I've never been there before but I've seen some of the things people have gotten and they're cute.

Geniusash... that is such a cool idea with the homecoming dance! It makes me wish we had our homecoming dance after the homecoming game, but we have our homecoming dance a lot later. Homecoming is in mid Nov. this year.

Sunshine, have fun at homecoming!!! And don't worry about SATs till the day after ;) Otherwise, you're not going to be able to enjoy yourself.

Ellemenope- It is true that you don't have to be a math whiz to become a lawyer. Most of the fundamental skills needed seem to be ones that I have, but I have heard that people who are on that path have to take things like calculus in college, which in itself rings an alarm bell for me.

Somehow it feels wrong that my transcripts will only say that I went as far as pre-calc junior year in math, but I have to keep in mind that it was probably smarter in the long run.

By Alita (Alita) on Saturday, October 04, 2003 - 05:35 pm: Edit

Got a dress! My mother payed for it (shocker!). here i was going, oh my god, homecoming is in 5 hrs, i dont have a dress, and I only have 25 dollars, and my mom goes, well ill get it for you. luckily, she approved of the dress I wanted....yay!

By Esmerelda (Esmerelda) on Saturday, October 04, 2003 - 07:35 pm: Edit

*yawn* I am in deep deep trouble! This morning, as planned we woke up the birthday girl at 530. She was really surprized...good surprized. hehe. we watched her brush her teeth, and laughingly she hid behind the cabbinets. It was really good though. We had a nice breakfast and everything was hunky-dorry. She really enjoyed it.
Anyways, I'm in trouble because I went to sleep at 230 the night before and woke at 430 and this is a weekend, so I'm supposed to be making up sleep but I didn't. So I fell asleep at 2 and woke up at 5 this afternoon. urgh. It's not like i got work done on Friday night/Saterday morning either. I stayed up reading. Urgh! I was so so so stupid. YOu know I go to the library now, so that i can finish my hw faster and concentrate more? Well, a couple of days ago I made the mistake of walking past the science fiction and reading list books (they are right next to each other) And I was transfixed. I picked out three books right away: Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Ender's Shadow. STUPID! When did i think I was going to have time to read them? Did I care? NO! I just up and borrowed them and last night, instead of doing the massive work that i still have left, I finnished Ender's Shadow and am almost through with Pride and Prejudice. What is WRONG with me>?!? It's not even like any of the books I borrowed are hard reads; they aren't going to help me vocabulary or grammer wise..... grrr. I should have picked something more achedemic..... or, better yet, nothing at all. I'm going to return them on tuesday and I REFUSE! to borrow any more books until next semmester......probably anyways...
Anyways, now i have all this work and SATs are next week, and homecoming (for us) is in two weeks, as is my Yale interview, for which I have not prepared at all.
ALso, I haven't gotten my stupid homecoming dress yet. MY aunt from NJ and my grandmother wanted to take me to get a dress today, but I told them I had work. THey seemed kinda disapointed. But I just don't have the time. I wouldn't mind going shopping with them, it's just I rarely buy things (I"m really picky) so I think I would just be pressured by them to buy something I really didn't want. I need it to be exactly up to par. Ah, well; NOt like I could go anyways. I had to cancel going to my friends party tomorrow. I feel a bit guilty. NO one seems to be going because everyone is overloaded and has the SATs next week. If my friends didn't already buckle themselves down so tightly they can barly breathe, their parent's would be buckling down and forbidding them to go anyways. But my friends are all frantic, panicy, causing them to be strict on themselves, so their parent's are almost lenient in comparasine

Wow, even after not writing or reading this site for only two days, I feel like i missed a lot. SO here I go, about the past few days:
In regards to the bridge project- Yeah, we also did some bridge project in middle school. THis time, though, ours doesn't have to hold any weight. It's just a model to show where the forces are on the brige... The project is not going to be too hard. Just have to identify compression and tension forces and write a blurb about the bridge's purpose. I don't see why it's worth so damn much> The main thing is making the model. THough, it doesn't directly have much to do with AP PHysics, I think the teacher just wants us to have a hand at building something. Also, he says when you build somehting you really get an understanding of how it works. Which is true, I guess. Still, I need to finish my model. I have the design and the materials, I just need to saw and nail it together ....
In regard to Twinkle's many study halls- One idea for you is possibly just sitting in for classes if they allow you to do that. Ask the administration if you can sit in on a class and do the work, on a trial basis to see if you can handle it. maybe? Because they are just worried you will have to switch out right? Or wont be able to make up the work, right? SO just say, that you can just sit in on the class, try and make up the work, and if you succeed, they can officially switch you in. If not, too bad.....hm....now that I think about it...the administration is probably not going to like this idea..... well.... it's just a suggestion.....Last year my AP World teacher was really really bad, and the other one was really good, so some kids with my teacher went to the other teacher and because they had a free period during one of his classesk, they just sat in on the good teacher's classes unofficially. This way, they could actually learn the material. Unfortunately, he didn't have a class my lunch period. oh well. whatever.
In regart to Alita's homecoming dress- congrats on finding a dress! ALthough....way to waiting to last minute to start looking. hehe. Of course, I shouldn't be talking, I haven't gotten a dress yet either.

oh, hey, apparently I didn't fail math. I"m kinda shocked! I got a 31/33, which is a 94. So yay. I think I was a bit tired during the test because on one of the questions he took off on I answered the question perfectionly, until I reached the end which reads like this: = (6 x 3)/81 = 2/81. WHat I want to know is how I got 2 from 6 x 3... I must have divided for some reason. Still, it was really dumb.
A lot of people did badly though. It made my victory stale. I felt kind of guilty. THe moment I got my paper, I hid the score and put it in my binder. My close friend behind me was sobbing and I felt AWFUL. Only 4 people in our class got As, 7 got Bs, 12 got Cs.....it's a large class....guess what the rest of the people got...
But now I'm determined, I'm going to get my friend's grade up. SHe is a very smart person, but I don't think she completely understood the lessions. Our teacher is vague and not very good at explainign things. I've been explaining warm ups to her during class, but I don't think that's enough. She is NOT going to fail that class though. I will not let her. I think she is breaking. SHe decided to take eight classes this year, and has no lunch period. it's not like she eats lunch anyways, I think it is really getting to her, the fact that she has to work non-stop from 720 to 210. IT's just that she has no break, so she has nothing to look forward to during the day. But, anyways, whether she fails anything else, i've decided that she is going to get an A in Calc (well, if she has to get a B this quarter because of the last few tests, then I will make sure she gets an A on the exam and on the next quarter, so that it is an A on the transcript) I'll do the best i can, studying with her. SHe really really CARES about grades, and it really suffering....
Everyone in my group is slowly deteriorating. Someone brings up colleges at least twice a day, and the stress is really getting to everyone. I'm honestly scared for some of them. They are at their end of their rope and the are only a third of the way down. THey have a long way to fall. I know I must seem to be panicking about colleges and school, but compared to some, i am relaxed. I can't stand to see them like this. One of my friends had 0-2 hours of sleep per night last week. With that little sleep you CAN NOT function. Not for a week. You can't expect NOT to make mistakes on a physics or calc test. When you are tired, it is so much easier to cry.

This is just the begining though, and that kind of scares me. Our school is VERY competitive. Everyone cares about their grades especially people in our class, especially my friends. Last year, first summester was fairly easy emotionally and grade wise. People didn't start pulling all nighters until december. This year? Half of my friends pulled their first all nighter of the year within the first two weeks of school. THe begining of this quarter is like the end of last year...May, anyways, when everyone was scrambling to do APs, SATs, normal classes, and EC at once. Now, with college APPS, the tension is higher than it ever was before, and it can only increase. If people are starting to break down now, what can I expect in a few months? All I can say, is i need to start bringing a box of tissues to class, if we're going to be getting back a test...or taking a test, even.

Sorry about the rant. It's weird, though. I feel almost like a parent to my friends...not all the time, just with achedemics. I feel so so awful when they do poorly, not becaue of their scores, but because of their reaction. I feel almost responsible. And if I do well, it's worse. Even my physics test score was not low enough for me to tell them my grade as a reasurrance that they didn't do that poorly. I want to cry for them, because...I don't know why.

we're all just waiting for this semester to be finnally over.

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Sunday, October 05, 2003 - 01:19 am: Edit

Today was such a WONDERFUL waste of time. It WAS wonderful. But - I did nothing productive. We went to a soccer game then to a party where there were mostly college kids. Not to mention that I fell asleep super late last night (out at a get together... then I couldn't sleep because of my stupid leg... I definitely have to go to the doctor's now because I want to get painkillers that are stronger than regular OTC stuff that is doing nothing to help), didn't sleep much then, took a shower, made breakfast for my sister, picked some clothes off the floor and put them in the wash, then I started to look over stuff for government, but then I randomly got really tired and took a long nap. Then I skipped dinner and went out. This no appetite thing really works wonders for losing weight, but I know it's sooo bad because I can't drop too far if I want be able to dance still. I had yogurt today though, and some carrots too so tomorrow I'll do better. And I will definitely do homework tomorrow, too. Sigh. I really should have been more productive today but I pulled an Adam and Eve and gave into temptation. Oh well, it was **definitely** worth it. School drives me insane.

Alita do tell about your $25 dress!!! I'm curious now because those are really hard to come by.

Esmerelda, that is a good idea about filling up study halls. I don't think they're afraid I'm going to drop classes because it's not like I'm dumb or a slacker, which it may sound like in this thread due to my track record in regard to being in and out of classes, but that's not how I usually am. Calculus and physics didn't work, but I can normally tough it through tough classes. I decided I'm going to see if I can do some kind of math independent study. I'm determined to keep doing math. Things I cannot do drive me crazy.

Which reminds me. Are there any branches of math that fall between pre-calc and calc? ANYTHING that could become between pre-calc and calc. That sounds impossible but I'm desperate and I really want to graduate this year with a GOOD schedule.

Our AP Physics class at school does the coolest things. I really like the conceptual stuff in physics. I wish I was smart enough in that field so I could be in the class because they do awesome projects.


That's odd. Even if we take full schedules (we're on the block, so 4 one day, 4 different the next day) we still get 25ish minutes for lunch. Most of my friends and I don't do the whole eating lunch thing but it is a good escape from classes, and if your third period isn't your favorite class, it breaks it up a little if you have your lunch scheduled in the middle of the period.

LOL @ the books things. Books can be a nice escape though, which is what you may have needed. I owe the library so much money that I can't take out any books from them until I pay them back.


Good luck to your friends... what classes ARE they taking??? Do they do extensive ECs?

I can move up in ballet after Christmas if I continue to improve. YAY!!!!!!! My leg has, must, ABSOLUTELY must get better. Fast. I've concluded being able to dance means that I cannot be in a gym class that makes you run forever and ever and play things like touch football, which actually becomes tackle football the way people play it, or soccer ***eh-hem*** rugby. Eeek. Maybe if my schedule remains messed up I can fit in an adult dance class somehow. Possibly. Something to look into. Now, that would be a splendid use of time.

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Sunday, October 05, 2003 - 12:58 pm: Edit

HOMECOMING WAS AWESOME AHHHHHH!!!!! im so tired though. i was out til 2:30 AM. i need to do my hw which i havent started and i have a LOT. i'll tell u guys about it later.

AHHHHHHHHH!! i was sort of sad though. senior homecoming. it was the best homecoming ever.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Sunday, October 05, 2003 - 01:36 pm: Edit

There's not really anything that falls between Pre-Calc and Calc, Twinkle; I assume you've had Trigonometry as part of Algebra II and Pre-Calc.
Stats is off to the side, not on the Pre-Calc/Calc line. Linear algebra, differential equations, etc., all come after Calc.

A serious question for you: do you have the self-discipline to say "NO" to a party for the sake of homework and/or sleep?

I'll be off-line until tomorrow night. D and I are flying up to the Bay area this afternoon to take a look-see at Stanford tomorrow.

By Alita (Alita) on Sunday, October 05, 2003 - 04:42 pm: Edit

hmm. i didn't end up getting the cheap one. the problem was that it was red and brown, which meant I couldn't wear black shoes w/ it, so I would have to buy more. Since the dress was 20, it would cost me more than i had once i bought shoes. So my mom bought me another dress that we found. it was like 45 dollars but i already had a purse and shoes for it. The first dress was from forever 21 and the second dress from rampage. btw, my homecoming is really informal so they arent really long type dresses.

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Sunday, October 05, 2003 - 04:46 pm: Edit

We did some trig in the second half of pre-calc last year, but nothing in algebra 2. Algebra 2...was straight algebra, from what I can recall. I can't remember if we did trig or not.. I hated my algebra 2 class soph year so I try to repress a lot of it, lol. ;) The thing is, I really need something BETWEEN pre-calc and calc. I'm not ready for calc but I already finished pre-calc and passed with a 95, so it's not as if they'd let me take it again for credit. Plus, I'm sure that's not something adcoms would smile at. I'm so frustrated. I'm hitting the wall with school. It makes me feel like such an idiot, and I *know* I'm not. I've never, ever had to drop two classes before. That alone scares me. I don't know whats wrong with me. Last year chemistry and pre-calc were hell but somehow I got through them. Maybe it's because I have less time this year and calc + physics are harder subjects that deal with different concepts that I'm not capable of. I just... don't know anymore. I feel like my senior year is spiraling into an out of control wreck.

I wonder if stats is something I could handle as an independent study. Stats kind of interests me because it would connect so well to AP Psych, and it relates to social sciences really well... plus from what I can tell it doesn't relate so much to spatially related concepts. I know it will still be tough, given my math track record, but somehow I think it would be more managable than calc. Anything that anyone knows about stats that can be shared would be GREAT...

Do I have the discipline to say "no" to a party for the sake of sleep or doing homework? Usually. I would have to answer most of the time. There is going to be a really great party tonight but I decided I am NOT going because I have homework and I need to do it and get it done and get an A on all of it. Homework vs. party? Homework, mainly because of the sheer fact now that I want that valedictorian status sooo bad that I can almost taste it. I'm not obsessed and I won't be crushed if I don't get it... but getting it for me would be like proving something and having a tangible thing to substantiate it and I'm so scared that I won't get it because of things like GYM. So I have to control all the things that I can control so I know that at least I really gave it 120%.

On the other hand, sleep vs. party... that's where the line becomes blurry. I thought about this and I think it stems from fulfilling both my academic drives AND my social drives. I know I base a lot of who I am (lol, psych does wonders for your analytical skills!) on three things: what I accomplish (i.e school, dance, ECs, and so forth), what I look like on a particular day AND who I am SOCIALLY and skipping parties and stuff detracts from that. See, it's hard to explain this without sounding really shallow because I explained this to my mother, who knows me (of course!) personally and she kind of gets it... kind of. I LIKE projecting the image so I can have people think that I'm smart/talented but also "popular" (I hate that word... I mean it in the sense that I have a lot of friends and people like me... but NOT in a snooty way... I have to be really careful as to how I phrase this all) and fun and cute. I want to be able to go to parties and have awesome grades, etc. and if that means cutting out sleep sometimes so I can feel okay about myself then sometimes... it's almost worth it. It's a nice feeling to have people think that on a lot of levels I really have everything together. I do pretty much have it "together" and I really have nothing substantial to complain about, but that's just how I am, and it's a blessing and a curse in its own right. That would be my honest and serious answer to the question

On the other hand, I got a lecture from the mother on a multitude of things, like needing to get my homework done instead of going out (it gets done either way, but at a cost at times), needing to be less social, needing to eat better, etc. And I know she's right. I just have to get back on the right track before I really screw things up for myself. It really is easier said than done. So, this weekend, I messed up but next one will be better and I am holding myself to that.

Tell us all about Stanford! I have a relative who attends and LOVES it, studies computers and foreign languages and did an internship or semester abroad (i'll check with him) and had *the* best time. He is insanely smart. He got full rides to a couple of schools, and got into just about every elite school he applied to, but he chose Stanford because after he visited he fell in love with it and it became his top choice. I'm curious if the same thing will happen to your D, even though I know Yale is her #1 choice and Smith is #2.


Sunshine~ glad you had fun at Homecoming!! Did any of your choices for queen/king win?

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Sunday, October 05, 2003 - 04:48 pm: Edit

Alita-- was your red and brown dress sparkly by any chance?? Because if it was I think I may know which one you are talking about! How was your homecoming?

By Esmerelda (Esmerelda) on Monday, October 06, 2003 - 10:55 am: Edit

oi, isn't high school great?! *sarcasm*
I hate balancing homework and sleep and parties, but I guess for me, I give up sleep on the weekdays and parties on the weekends.

I've almost stopped caring what I look like. Not totally, but I don't care as much as I did in ninth, tenth, or even eleventh grade. I'm in this huge group at our school, and we are so close, I know they wouldn't care what I wear or look like. Not that I've completely stoped trying.
I guess in another school our group would be consitered nerds or geeks, but since our school is so achedemically oriented, we are not looked down upon, or maybe we are, but I sure don't care. My friends are all so amazing though. Not everyone is insanely smart (I'm definately not!) but everyone tries really hard, and if they need help in one subject or another, they are sure to get it. Plus, we throw the best parties, and organize massive trips to the movies. We got 35 people go to the opening of the Matrix. And if someone is bored after school they can just crash at someone's house. The best thing about having friends who are as achedemically focused as you are, is that most parties are scheduled with the SATs and other tests in mind. hehe. Although, there was one yesterday....which many people couldn't go to. Sorry, just had to blab about my friends for a bit. I love 'em.

Anyways, someone planned a party next week right after the SATs!! I think I'm going to be crying right through it though, we'll see.

I made my bridge yesterday! whoo! And it only took like 3 hours! fun stuff. Now I have to write an essay and study like mad for the SATs. I haven't even started my second Yale essay! And I haven't really studied for the chem SAT IIs and the Writing SAT IIs. urgh. JUst have to keep thinking: this will all be over in January.

oh! a bunch of my friends and I purchased a senior ad, one page. It is so ridiculously expensive! two hundred some dollars for a page! We got enough people so each only paid 10 dollars though. I think I have three pictures or so in there, we'll see. For some reason they thought of a theme of "If we were stuck on a desert island. . . " and then they wrote what each of us would be doing. They wrote that I would be doodling in the sand in my own little world.
heh.
okay, I don't doodle ALL the time...just most of it....:-P

ANYWAYS on to my essay.

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Monday, October 06, 2003 - 10:52 pm: Edit

currently filling out requested brag sheets for teacher recs. this is so annoying.

TheDad, do tell us about Stanford. im interested myself. thinking about applying, although i admit i have too many reaches...

ahhhhhhhh okay i promise to tell you guys about homecoming later.

By Pistolpete (Pistolpete) on Tuesday, October 07, 2003 - 12:22 am: Edit

Don't mind the interruption, but:
The RED SOX WON THE ALDS!! YAY!!

Sorry, continue.

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Tuesday, October 07, 2003 - 01:24 am: Edit

Why is it sooo cold?? I think it's around 35 degrees outside at most. At least we have our heat on, but still, I am freezing!

NOOOO!!! GO A's! They lost Not that I watched every game but I caught the last inning a few times, plus my parents are really into baseball now.

The A's have much cuter players than the Red Sox, anyway, so even though they lost, they are cute losers.

School...school...oh boy. SATs this weekend and somehow it seems futile to me. I know I'm not getting a 1500...a 1400...or even maybe a 1300. I have to be realistic and not get too excited or upset about this. Mantra: Mediocre SAT scores *do not* make for mediocre people.

I had this revelation that wherever I go... it's still going to be an awesome college experience... and I will still BE awesome, as long as I make the most of opportunities and make them if they're not present. I was talking to some of my college friends, some of whom are talented, hard-working, great people who got rejected from their first choice schools and felt like they got ripped off in the admissions process. They ended up at their match schools or safeties and everyone LOVES where they're at... and so far almost everyone is doing well. Maybe it's a matter of adaptability. As long as you go to a good school, you're going to make friends if the school doesn't have too radical of a climate in either direction (unless, of course, you are radical. But not too many people are) and if you really want to, you're going to be successful and really become outstanding if that's what's in you. Granted, a good LAC or university with a lot of attention will give you a better shot of achieving this. But, I think that wherever you go, if you really, really want something, then you're going to find a way to do it no matter what.

I've been contemplating state schools more and more, just in case we don't get enough financial aid (after some of the horror stories I've heard, I'm not holding my breath on anything!) because it would be a nightmare to end up nowhere. The only state school that has dance is Eastern Connecticut State U., which isn't a bad school, but it seems academically down a few notches for where I am right now. UConn is a good school, save big university problems (huge classes, lots of red tape, lots of profs who don't speak English) but it has no dance, and I know that I haven't been doing it long enough where my whole life's work would be shattered if I had no dance. But I do love it, so it becomes more of a priority even though it's not going to be a professional focus.

Esmerelda! Huge party after the SATs too... which I will NOT be crying through- they'll be a done deal at that point, and there's nothing more you can do then.

Sunshine...okay, okay, fine, I'll wait on the homecoming details. hehe. The suspense...the suspense...EEEK!

Back to my Spanish paper... I think I write better in Spanish grammatically than I do in English. Seriously. I have the worst problem with sentence structure in English, but other than that I've been doing great in that class. I have to say that I am actually proud of the fact that I decided to do AP English instead of CP English. I had a 94 in English last year or so, but we always have the option of what level we want to take if we're qualified for all of them. I'm actually starting to get into reading this year because we do it so much and then we analyze it and make connections. It's definitely a lot better of the days freshman year, in my English class that was a complete joke. It was like... OKAY name an image... vocab word... read this... and then we would do a multiple choice test... and move on. Nothing that sparked any interest whatsoever. I discovered I learned more from NOT going to English class toward the end of the year. I didn't have a English class where we did a lot of reading 8th or 9th (instead of reading in 8th grade, I took Spanish. So that year I think I read two books and wrote a LOT of papers. There were two English classes, one that focused more on writing/grammar, and the other focused more on reading. We didn't have to take the reading one if we were qualified to begin Spanish instead... so that's how I ended up in Spanish because I did NOT want to read). My friends think that this is extremely odd, seeing as how you'd have to pull teeth to get me to read anything aside from a magazine over the past couple of years. And even in the past month I've gotten to be a better writer, so it's definitely a great class. Hard, frustrating at times but definitely worth it.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Tuesday, October 07, 2003 - 02:19 am: Edit

Twinkle, re your answer, you put your finger on exactly the problem, in one phrase: "...projecting the image...."

Image can be important but it is often? usually? trumped by substance. By all means go for both if you have the resources but there are far too many people who try to get by on image, to the point where many are suspected of having no other arrows in the quiver.

The bottom line is: if you can't do both justice, you're going to damage both. In sports, they often talk about the need for an athlete to stay within themselves. My cranky message for this night is thus: it's a sign of maturity if you can let the parties go in light of a greater cause. Converse is also true.

===

D liked Stanford *very* much. It's now her #3 school, might score even higher if it weren't in California. I'll try to get a trip report up tomorrow but my to-do list is already hellaciously long, tedious, and time-consuming. Within the next few days, certainly. "Stanford" will now come out of her lips when folks ask where she's applying, along with "Yale" and "Smith."

I agree with her that, given her criteria, Harvard, Wellesley, and Barnard are the second tier, and Skidmore and UC Irvine are the safeties because, well, they're okay but not as appealing as the others.

It's the second tier that might come under pressure when it comes to doing apps. Essays, essays....

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Tuesday, October 07, 2003 - 03:07 am: Edit

I actually *do* enjoy parties, but I have to look at it from a mature view point and understand that if I don't cut something it's going to hurt me a lot. And that something, unfortunately, will be the social. Do I necessarily want to? No. I like being a social butterfly. On the other hand, I don't want to hit a point where I am severely suffering because I haven't slept in a long time because I was too busy trying to juggle social/EC/homework/college apps, etc.

I really don't think I know how to do *anything* in moderation. :/ It's a tough lesson to learn, but at least being conscious of that fact is a good step in the right direction. I have a bad track record for not doing things in moderation... I'm not someone who can do anything halfway. It's always going to be 120%, which is a beautiful trait to have in a lot of aspects, but it can really come back to hurt in a lot of ways *if* misused.

Plus, I can't lie and say that the way I've been doing things isn't hurting me. I know it is. I've been sick already this year more than once, I'm starting to lose too much weight, and I hate not being super-alert and focused. I feel like my energies are all over the place and it makes it hard to pay attention to anything.

You are right about "projecting the image", and it is a combination of image and substance. And image is superficial, yet I enjoy having that for whatever reason. I don't know what it REALLY substantiates, if anything. I'm trying to look at this from an objective and mature view point. It might come back to holding a lot of weight to what people think of me, so if I like having people think that I've really got it together, then *that* is a nice feeling. But, if it's really hurting things in the process then it may not be worth it. I wasn't raised in a way where I was judged on what I did, how I looked, or how people perceived me, but that got twisted some where along the way.

And, I had a 4 hour nap this afternoon/night after coming home from EC stuff. I had the worst migraine ever for whatever random reason, but at least I only get them like 1-2x/year. Now I have to get caught up on work because I slept for too long, but at least I have sleep reserves.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Anxiously awaiting the Stanford report! Does Stanford being in CA bother D because it's too close to home, or does she want to experience a completely different region of the country/lifestyle?

Speaking of essays, I had a brilliant idea for an essay the other day! But, an adcom may think I am weird and am trying too hard to draw parallels between ideas. No matter, tomorrow I'm going to write it anyway.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Tuesday, October 07, 2003 - 01:01 pm: Edit

Twinkle, in a way, you remind me of me in that I was good enough to do well with some very bad habits...until the bar got raised and suddenly I couldn't do well while indulging myself as had been my wont.

NorCal is both similar and different from SoCal and I think D thinks it would be different *enough*. But Yale/Smith still lead. Trip report is unlikely to go up today...ye gods but I have a ton of work to get done and tonight is the College Fair at school...D is going to be very focused and only chat up the schools she's applying to...I think she's thankful that she knows where she's applying to and that part of the puzzle is done. Now for the essays....

By Esmerelda (Esmerelda) on Tuesday, October 07, 2003 - 03:27 pm: Edit

The Stranger is such a good book. I totally recomend it especially, if you read it with a class or with your friends, because it definately needs discussion. But there is so much hidden meaning, and finnally figuring out what Camus is trying to say (or what we think he is trying to say) is gratifying. I'm really enjoying AP Lit. We have just been discussing the book, and while, sometimes some of my classmates misinterpret the text a little, there are other times when they reveal something that I would never have thought of. It would be perfect if I didn't keep getting B's on the inclass essays. I don't know why it is, but I write slowly. While some people's ideas seem to soar through their brain straight into their pens, my ideas are slugish. I imagine they move much like maple surup, sliding slowly through the cracks. My inclass essays are absurdly bad. If I don't improve on them (and I don't really know how, but I'll try) then I'm likely to do worse on the SAT II Writing in November than last year. which is NOT acceptable. I got a 700, and my mom will seriously stop talking to me if I get any below that. She gets upset over anything below a 750 and is not happy with anything below a 790. At least I don't have to get all 800s, right? ....
ANYways, read the Stranger if you haven't if you can. Our out of class essay on it is due monday after the SATs.

Isn't it a bit annoying how everyone talks about colleges at school? I mean, I had... let's see. . . four conversations about colleges today with different groups of people. *sigh* It's so embarassing when I say I'm applying to Yale. . . oh well, at least no one will expect me to get in, so when/if I don't, they wont be shocked.
If I don't get into Yale, (which means I probably can't get into Harvard and MIT) I'd want to go to either McGills or Wellsley. And lower on my list (by preference not difficulty of getting in) are Amherst, Carleton, Rice, Bowdoin. Even lower are UMCP, Westleyan, and Northwestern. well... that's what it is right now. oh well, as long as I don't have to go to University of Maryland I would be happy. DOn't want to stay in the state

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Tuesday, October 07, 2003 - 04:39 pm: Edit

I run in patterns. Freshman year I had horrible habits. School didn't really matter too much to me that year because I figured I was going to get into college based on cheerleading (um... duh... obviously not... even if you're the best cheerleader in the world it doesn't mean anything and it surely doesn't mean that will be your career) but I wasn't mature enough to realize that this was not in my cards and there were more important things to concern myself with. Sophomore year I was super-disciplined for the sheer fact that I was ticked off at a GC who told me about how I stacked up in comparison to other students and really got involved in extracurriculatrs aside from what I was already doing. Junior year was a VERY redlined year... from academics to ECs just being absolutely nonstop, and the whole social thing went to an entirely different level. And this year... EVERYTHING is happening at once, and then you throw in the whole college thing and BOOM. I don't know if I can even say that parties are indulgences because I cut a necessity (sleep) for a luxury, so it's a case of being deprived and indulged at the same time.

I don't feel indulged though. I need to be more appreciative of things. I just feel tired and like I need a nap. Otoh, I have dance in a few minutes, and if it were a choice of nap vs. dance, it's very clear what the winner is

BTW, I forget the name of the ligament, but whatever one it is has a partial tear and will not be better for 3-5 weeks. :/ I can still dance but I have to be **very** careful and not overexert it too much or otherwise my problems will be a lot worse.

~*~*~*~

College fair at our school is approaching, too. My mother is starting to get jumpy over my indefinite list of schools. But I have a list. It just changes every now and then. At least it's coming along... I guess.

BTW.. weird and random question but I must know since we have nothing of this sort here... are there palm trees in the Stanford area? Or are they only in SoCal? (Eh, we have the fall foliage thing, so I guess that's a trade-off. Our leaves are already changing here a LOT and falling off... meaning we are in for bare trees by mid-November-ish)

Esmerelda... basically your mom would be upset over anything than a 800, I take it. Which is a scary thought... a 750 is essentially the same as a 800. Once you hit that number I think it's all the same at that point. My mother's only "hope" - not a must- is for me to beat my last SAT I score on the Math. She knows my track record of a 550-630 is probably where I'll end up, so we're not expecting any miracles BUT if it did happen... even a 650... would be a major jump for joy. She would seriously be thrilled if I got a 650 math. A 650 verbal is small potatoes because I do better than that usually, but either way there would be no disappointment with it.

I've never read the Stranger... hmmmm... we're doing Shakespeare right now.

By Sandy (Sandy) on Tuesday, October 07, 2003 - 06:45 pm: Edit

Hey guys,
You have to hear this story. It is funny, but sad.

My friend and I take this math class in the evening at a local college. After class, we were both driving home. I had to make a right turn, but the light turned red so I stopped. All this time I had my foot over my brake and my brake lights work perfectly well. Bumpp....Something hit my car and my forehead hit the steering wheel. I looked in the mirror and my friend had crashed into my mini car with her mom's big van. She was on the cell phone. When I got out of the car, she hung up. She said, "Is there something wrong?" I was shocked. I told her to get out and look. Her car was worse than mine. I didn't call the cops. I don't know why. She asked me if she should call her parents. I told her, "It is okay. Our parents can talk later. Jus't don't talk on the cell phone next time." If she hit me any harder, I could have been seriously injured or even dead I would be gone, but she would have to live with the utter feeling of guilt. Imagine that.

People, DON'T TALK AND DRIVE! It can be as danger as drinking and driving!

By Digmedia (Digmedia) on Tuesday, October 07, 2003 - 07:18 pm: Edit

esmerelda - have you looked at William and Mary? Good school, not too far away and a *little* less expensive than some of the ones you're talking about...

By Thedad (Thedad) on Tuesday, October 07, 2003 - 07:35 pm: Edit

Ow. Take care of yourself, Sandy. Cell phones & driving are a bad combo. I use a hands-free model but I have no compunctions about cutting off in mid-conversation if I have to pay extra attention and then starting up again when it's clear.

Twinkle, is the ligament going to heal properly with no attention? Is physical therapy out of the question? A torn ligament is Not Good.

By Esmerelda (Esmerelda) on Tuesday, October 07, 2003 - 10:23 pm: Edit

William and Mary, I have looked into there a little. But, hey, just for you, I'll look again! thanks for the suggestion. I'm sure my list will morph as the deadlines near even closer....eeek

Twinkle- my mom WILL allow for a 790 and possibly a 780, so, i have a LITTLE breathing space, right? ....no. ah well, I'll get what I get, and she can't do anything to change my scores. Plus, that is only for the SAT II. She wants me to get above a 1500 on the SAT I, which I didn't get last time, and now I'm probably not going to get, but i can at least try.

My mother is a sneaky sneaky person. If I get a bad score she doesn't yell or anything, she just 'feels bad for me'. It's worse. She makes every slight failure seem like the end of the world. She's also doing this whole "You decide" thing, where she refuses to give me permission to go out with my friends and just says "YOu decide. I'm sure you will make the right choice." And, of course, I can't go becaue I'm just that kind of person. Of course, when she thinks i can go somewhere she quickly gives me permission, so it's not like she's trying to make me more independent, she just doesn't want to definately say 'NO'. *sigh*

OOOOH, did i tell you all about halloween? My friend is throwing a Masquerade party, costumes mandatory on Novemeber 1st (hehe, moved because of the SATS, of course!) If I somehow have a few spare moments between now and then I've designed this gorgeous costume that I'm dying to make. I plan to be a greek goddess (I went backpacking through greece in 6th grade, and love the country to death) specifically Iris (minor messenger goddess of rainbows). Anyways, if i have time to make a pattern and sew it, the dress is to be made of an either snow white or light light pastel yellow, and has a simple long flowing skirt and an ancient greek style top (think poofy tank top...um, it's hard to describe really). It's not that greek, but I was really aiming for making it pretty rather than accurate. Anyways, that's the bottom layer. Around the skirt are three gauzy triangular shaped pieces of cloth, kinda like aprons but angled and overlapping to give an interesting effect that is also difficult to describe. The top layer of gauze is red, the second from the top is orange, and the third is yellow. (note, rainbow). They are very lightly tinted though so they don't clash. They're kind of iridecent. I'm also going to fashion some golden wings (Iris had them) out of clothes hangers and gold ribbon, and have another gauzy few yards of light indigo cloth as a shawl/stole, whatever. And then I'm going to get some leaves and some green tape and make a larrel for my head. Then for my face, i have this shimmery body gliter and several gems to stick around the eyes. To be honest, my design makes me look like a pixie or a fairy or nymph rather than a goddess, but whatever. It's really pretty. Now i just have to get the rest of the cloth (I have some) and make a pattern with newspaper and cut and sew and make it perfect in -what- two-three weeks?? ugh. we'll see how it goes. Still, I really want to make it! it's been so long since i made a dress for myself, and we've FINALLY gotten our sewing machine fixed, and I'm so excited. I hope i make time....eh.

OH yes, i finished my bridge over the weekend. it is made of many many many wooden chopsticks and several sticks of hot glue. I burned my finger pretty badly with the hot glue gun. It blistered and broke and now it's incredibly disgusting and bothersomely painful. Oh well. I hope my physics teacher appreciates it!

Shakespeare!! I can't wait! Which play are you reading, Twinkle? I think we are going to do Othelo and Hamlet and something else, but I'm not sure. Shakespeare was an amazing writer. simply amazing. Although, hehe, I tend to have to read the plays a million times to fully appreiciate it. Last year I literally read Macbeth 6 times. It was the quickest way for me to study for the tests . Still, can't wait....at least if it's assigned, I can read it without feeling guilty about my not doing other work.

By Esmerelda (Esmerelda) on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 12:51 am: Edit

California State Govornor is . . . Arnold Schwarzenegger.
hehe
I don't want to be close minded. . . BUT. . . wow. It's a little sad. THE US looks just a little stupider to the rest of the world. Are we trying to make it easy for other countries to make fun of us? Because it's working.
Anyways, that's my schpeal. I don't want to get too political on this board. sry about offending anyone with what I did say. In any case, Reagan was an actor too....not a good one, but still. Whatever, it's happened, let's all just see how this hand plays out. okay, g'nite all

By Thedad (Thedad) on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 01:07 am: Edit

Well, Ahnold ducked every debate where he didn't have the questions in advance, kept the press at bay, and his history of sexual harrassment is difficult to refute. In short, we have a simplistic hormonally charged idiot as governor. (N.B., I'm not particularly a Gray Davis fan, either, and I thought Bustamante was even worse.) I think we could have done as well if not better by choosing an average poster from College Confidential. One of the students, I mean.

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 07:51 pm: Edit

I have to go back to the doctor Thursday because I'm supposed to see *my* doctor and I saw someone else so basically I know the following...partial ligament tear (I should have mentioned that I shouldn't have been so surprised that this happened, seeing as I've already injured this *same* area before, about 2 1/2 years ago, albeit not as severely. It was already weak though, so that combined with the sheer force of the accident was definitely not a good thing.

Physical therapy and other treatment options will be discussed *tomorrow*...basically, it could heal on its own given enough rest, but everyday life is not going to permit that because I would be constantly putting stress on it. I'm lucky that I only have a partial tear, which heal faster and better than complete ones, usually where sometimes surgical intervention is necessary.

Running is out of the question and so are sports like soccer. (thank GOD!!!) I made a really huge deal of being able to continue to dance, and it's not like I'm going to take off from dance for an extended period of time even if I'm told to. (Unless, of course, my mother refuses to let me go. Then, I would be stuck.)

I'm rambling about this and I won't go into further detail until tomorrow when I really know what's up. But. I regress. Arnold is governor!!! I personally have no problem with it, except for Arnold's lack of a political history. But, considering he doesn't have a political history, wouldn't that mean that he would have a lot of advisors to design programs and help him make decisions?

I think I want to get involved in politics someday after college...maybe law... maybe office...hmmmm.

Sandy... that is exactly why I get so annoyed at my friends who talk on cell phones when driving. It's so distracting and dangerous. Driving itself is hard enough to concentrate on. (BTW, driving *is* getting better, but it's going to be something I have to fully concentrate on. I cannot talk when I'm in traffic or otherwise I won't focus). But thank god you're okay... what ever happened after? How did your parents handle it?

Esmerelda the costume idea sounds awesome!! For Halloween I haven't picked a costume yet but I'm going because this is my last year at home and I haven't been trick or treating since I was 10. My costume will probably be last minute... and plus it will have to be a warm costume because Halloween=30 degrees-ish around here. I have cool things I could wear for costumes, but it won't be warm enough to wear them. Oh well. Such is life.

BTW... can I switch from SAT Is on Saturday to SAT IIs? I decided that I am not ready yet because I'm not consistently breaking 1350 and there is something that tells me that I really need to do this. My SAT scores do not match with the rest of my application and I belief that as they stand now, they put me at a disadvantage at a lot of schools.

A discussion in government class (the land of inspiration, lol. It's a lot of written work but we have great class discussions/debates) has made me decide that I am going to get a 1400. And that's not happening Saturday.

However, I believe anything's possible. An extra month would probably help. Realistically...if I shot for a 670 math/730 verbal that would do it. The verbal is very possible, but the math comes into question. I usually hit a 710 verbal so I'd need a 690 math, which is a major stretch.

The SAT IIs... probably won't improve much. 720 US History could slide back or forth 40 points. I don't prep for it, aside from rereading the REA book. I didn't bother getting Barron's or anything because I'm in my element in history and what I did worked. I can honestly say I think I'm capable of an 800 on the US History because I know my stuff; there are just questions with answers that can be deceiving, and if you're not thinking like the ETS people then you lose out. Writing...let's see. I had a 660. But I know what I did wrong. My essay wasn't formal enough! I basically complained about something for a couple of paragraphs and wrote too big, so I ran out of room and that was it for me. I had to end it abruptly. Math...we won't discuss. If some divine intervention occurs and I get a 600+ that will be **fine** for me, but anything under a 700 on the other two will really irritate me because I know I can do better.

It dawned on me that maybe I have a problem with the SAT because I need to have my own attack plan for it, like I did with the AP, or even on class tests. I notice I do better if I think of it as a game... most points=win. And I have to figure out the best way for me to get the most points, which involves what order to answer questions in, etc. An attack plan is better used on an AP test, though, where you have both a written section and a multiple choice... then you can determine what section you can ace and attack it like that.

That sounds confusing but I swear that it really can work!

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 07:53 pm: Edit

ahhhhhh HELP!

stressful week. im not going into school for sure Friday to chill out before SATs.

okay TheDad, i remember you said your daughter was looking into SKIDMORE? well i was the one lucky person nominated from my school to spend an all-expenses paid trip to skidmore 11/7-11/8 for a sleepover math/science/technology night thing and to compete for a $10,000 merit scholarship. I DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE SCHOOL!!!! and if i remember right, you and your D visited? can you give me some background info? is it in Saratoga Springs NY? i think i remember that...but im not sure. i could look this stuff up, but i would rather ask someone who was actually there. how is the quality? what type of environment? what programs are they strong at? what did u think of it? now that i think of it, im not even sure if you visited...oh wow im going crazy.

i got homecoming pics back! THEY ARE AWESOME! i SWEAR i will update about homecoming after my SAT's this weekend.

my counselor sent in her part of my early app already. now i have to do my part and my teachers have to do theirs. *bites nails*

By Sandy (Sandy) on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 08:22 pm: Edit

Hey,
Twinkle, nothing happened. My parents are so nice that they said that they would let the girl go. They do not want to claim it on her insurance because that would raise her monthly insurance. This is mainly because my mom is friends with her mom If it were someone else, they would have killed him/her. That is the good part. The bad part is that I do not get my car fixed, but, oh well, it is not that bad. It will become a memory of high school, I guess. Every time I look at it, I will be reminded of my crazy friend.

Sunshine, where are you applying Early? You were undecided, so I am just wondering.

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 08:55 pm: Edit

Princeton. *dies*

i know exactly wahts going to happen-im going to get deferred Dec 15th. im not bad enough to get rejected, not good enough to get accepted.

i will get rejected in April. im more or less applying so i will settle my conscience. to stop that little voice that says "what if..." before it gets too out of control. im still focusing a lot on Cornell.

i have my WILLIAMS interview tomorrow and i need to do some major research on SKIDMORE before Nov 7th. eeeeeeeeeeeek.

im still shocked they picked ME out of all the kids in my grade for the skidmore thing. i guess i really AM the math/science nerd they didtn even tell me directly. my AP Bio teacher called my DAD at work to tell him that my AP Calc BC/Honors Physics (from SOPH YEAR), and she decided i was their first choice, and for him to tell me...weird huh?

the two girls in front of my class-rank wise are both incredibly people, both looking into careers in math/science/engineering. i really am still in a state of shock.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 09:45 pm: Edit

Sunshine, I'm actually looking for info on Skidmore myself...D has it as one of her safeties. I've gotten good feedback down in one of the parents' threads that's got nothing to do with Skidmore or anything else. Do a search on "Skidmore" within the past week and you'll find the messages.

Gotta run to an orchestra meeting.

By Esmerelda (Esmerelda) on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 10:39 pm: Edit

you know what's really weird? Whenever I start liking a guy, I stop being able to talk to him. Like if I suddenly up and realize that I really really LIKE a close friend, suddenly I can never say anything to him, and I avoid him, and it's so so stupid, because then he thinks I am ignoring him.

it's getting very very irritating....

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Wednesday, October 08, 2003 - 10:41 pm: Edit

i did the skidmore search. very intersting. sounds like a neat school. i will definitely get back to you on my overnight weekend stay in about a month.

im not sure if its the school for me, but we shall see. its a bit too...artsy/humanities and im a math/science girl.

im going to go check it out though. i missed out on the Williams overnight and im still upset about that, so i'll make it up. it would be some sort of insult to refuse all of my teachres after they nominated me anyways.

Saratoga Springs. I actually lived in NY before i moved to Ohio. We lived an hour or so away from Saratoga. Maybe i can get some people to come up and visit me for the weekend.

i need to get going and start scheduling some overnight visits at other schools.

SATs saturday. AHHHHHH

By Thedad (Thedad) on Thursday, October 09, 2003 - 01:07 am: Edit

In three weeks, D will feel much better...all testing will be done by November 1 and for better or worse, her Yale essays, from which others will probably be derived, will be done and submitted. I'm wincing at how much work she has to do between now and then.

Harvard rep had on-campus info session today.

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Thursday, October 09, 2003 - 01:34 am: Edit

Okay, I want to know why Columbia sent me an application since I am obviously not within their SAT recruiting range. Hmmm, probably an attempt to increase their selectivity.

I did look through the view book though... and I must admit that I liked it and I looked it up online after, but there's no point in applying to a school that is an automatic reject. I have to be realistic here and not waste my parents' money if I don't have to. Maybe I got sent the application because Barnard has been sending me stuff... and since they're linked...maybe. I have no idea.

Testing...testing...I can't even think about that right now. SAT Is in two days. I'll just have to be strategic about this and know that it's do or die if I score lower than last time. A 1290 is such an annoying score because it's so close to a 1300, but you hear "1290" and that seems so much lower than a 1300 which is a nice even number. Of course 1400 is a much nicer number ;)

I wish I could just turn in my Oedipus essay from English and use that as my essay...blah... it is actually something that I would be proud of, but it doesn't really show anything about me which is the whole point.

I just want to be done with this already. I made a "rejections" box and an "acceptances" box so I'm already done with that part of it. Hahaha. The rejections box is slightly bigger ;) I've decided I'm not going to feel bad, though, when I get rejected to x and y schools because college is like dating. You have to keep the mentality that it's *their* loss and *not* yours. I feel senioritis kicking in. Actually, truth be told, I've had it last year, but I just haven't given into yet. But it's definitely there... I just choose not to succumb to it, lol. I think there are a lot of seniors with this serious condition, but then there are others who have it but may not recognize it LOL.

Sunshine good luck with your Williams interview!! And congratulations about the Skidmore deal, that's awesome! Stay optimistic about Princeton; you might be surprised.

Sandy-Yeah, your friend definitely got lucky. Does her car get fixed...didn't it get more damaged in the accident? I have a friend whose car was totaled in an accident :/ Needless to say, his insurance payments are sky high even though the accident definitely was not his fault.

Esmerelda, I think the bottom line is that guys are confusing and that if you treat them like friends when you like them at first then it makes things easier on both of you because you become more comfortable with the person before taking it to another level. That's just my take, though. Whatever floats your boat. (My mother thinks it's extremely odd that I like that expression so much...lol)

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Thursday, October 09, 2003 - 01:09 pm: Edit

I hate half the things about my school to such an extent that it makes me just want to stop going. It's not even my classes/teachers/friends. It's all the other BS and stupid rules and accusations that are getting to me. I love all my classes this year, save one, and I like my teachers and I like my friends. That's the good part. The other stuff is making school really, really difficult for me. I think it was a blessing that I have great teachers/classes and awesome friends because I know I would just cut all the time if it weren't for that.

I have a *major* school predicament but I don't want to post it on the board... so if anyone's curious I will e-mail you, just let me know. Let's just say... I've definitely gotten myself into some trouble and it's getting worse. This year is both horrible and beautiful at the same time.

Eeek.

I get to go to the doctor in a bit so I'm home early...blah...that's not so bad though. I don't actually mind. It would probably be a fun experience in comparison to the crap I had to put up with today.

By Pistolpete (Pistolpete) on Thursday, October 09, 2003 - 04:38 pm: Edit

Twinkle, I'm curious to hear what the deal is. Sounds like this is a sort of discipline issue? I hope not, or that it's not a big deal, b/c I got into some trouble as a freshman and it's caused trouble for me ever since.

I can definitely relate to hating some aspects of your school and loving others. My school provides a first-rate education, but dealing with the administration and its fixation on providing distinct advantages for certain interest groups (dorm students, basketball players, etc) really irks me.

Hope you can get rid of the problem and eliminate the "accusations" you speak of.
Address is in the profile.

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Thursday, October 09, 2003 - 07:44 pm: Edit

Check your email. I don't know if I'll be able to get rid of the problem or not because if it's not handled right and fixed it is definitely going to taint my reputation and scar me for the rest of HS which would be *very* bad.

What happened as a freshman that has come back to haunt you? I think I'm lucky that the trouble I used to get into as a freshman has never come back to haunt me. I got kicked out of class a few for being too talkative and get my seat moved around. However, those same teachers ended up loving me by the end of the year (I can usually convert most to Twinkle-liking) so it never became a problem, and it was never reflected in any of my grades, luckily. I mean, there have been very minor discipline issues, like infractions for being out of class when I shouldn't have, lol, but none have even made a blip on the radar of being in trouble or have affected anything in high school.

However, this is a lot more complex than your usual discipline issue. And with further reaching consequences for something that I honestly committed no wrong in. I mean, I *deserved* to get in trouble for things like being too talkative in class, or for cutting a study hall, or anything of that nature, but this I really don't. I know when I deserve to get smacked with the consequences of an offense and when I definitely don't when no "offense" has been committed.

By Esmerelda (Esmerelda) on Thursday, October 09, 2003 - 07:58 pm: Edit

email me too, please. I'm madly curious.
email in profile.

and btw, you're right. Guys are confusing. I do try and keep thinking of all guys as friends, but sometimes it's hard and the more-than-friends thinking is unconscious.

I have stress until November 1 too, and then all the rest of my apps are due in December and January.

okay, some last minute vocab review....fun stuff

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Thursday, October 09, 2003 - 08:00 pm: Edit

Your email's not in your profile. :/ But if you want to send me a message (I have mine in my profile) then I can send you the tale, lol.

The more-than-friends thing is unconscious but I believe that you can work that out I used to do the same thing. I'd like a guy friend, then suddenly it got awkward because I didn't know how to act because I felt differently, then the guy would wonder what my problem was. If you like him be sure to hang in groups as much as possible then... it makes conversation a lot easier and takes the pressure you're feeling off. Don't overanalyze anything you say and just remind yourself that he is still the same friend you had before (that avoids the pedestal syndrome, and if you can just relax it will take away some of the awkwardness). This is a gradual process...;) The key is not to overthink anything.

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Friday, October 10, 2003 - 08:43 am: Edit

as i promised, i took the day off today. its my first day absent from high school EVER. had i stuck it out this year, i would have joined the elite 720 club=no missed days.

anyways, my Williams interview was AWESOME. it ended up lasting 2 hours and the director of admissions kept buying us random drinks to experiment with (red tea, chais, etc). he was a recent williams grad (2002) and he was from Ohio, but hes the assistant director of admissions now. oh geez we had so much in common. it wasnt really like an interview at all. only a big, long conversation. we honestly spent most of it laughing our heads off talking about JCL Latin Convention and sliding down the hall in ice trays at the hotel or the Toga party. he told me he was going to reject me because our school beat his every year he went it was funny. i still need to write him a thank you email. Williams is super selective, so no promises at all, but im glad the interview went over so well. i was a bit scared

i went to bed as soon as i got home, and just got up now. I, too, will feel a heck of a lot better in 3 weeks when SAT Is, II's, and my princeton app are in. my counselor already sent HER part of my princeton app in, all recs are out, and now its up to me. SAT I's tomorrow. AHHHHHH. im TOTALLY not ready for SAT II's either. but like TheDad said, for better for worse it will all be over but i am definitely scared about the next 3 weeks and how much work there is to be done.

btw Twinkle-EMAIL ME please?

By Thedad (Thedad) on Friday, October 10, 2003 - 02:10 pm: Edit

Good luck to all on the SAT tomorrow.

A great long conversation is my idea of how the best interviews *should* go...nice going, Sunshine.

Yeah, D has to check up on her Yale recs to make sure they're out. She's working on two essays and I'm getting antsy about how late it's getting. Haven't even looked at the Part II to see what else there is *besides* the essays. And then I've got to finish *my* part and get the CSS/Profile thingy for financial aid done by November 1.

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Friday, October 10, 2003 - 03:44 pm: Edit

thanks Twinkle. i DID read that whole email

OK i am DISGUSTED at a thread in the SAT/Testing section. a bunch of kids were trying to CHEAT on tomorrow's SAT by getting kids in ASIA to tell them some of the harder words/questions. they were all going to go into a chat room and discuss it together.

luckily, one of the moderators closed the thread but WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT PEOPLE THESE DAYS? some kids are naturally smart, and some kids CHEAT their way through. ugh the brightest minds of American. yeah right. why would ANYONE sacrifice their integrity to increase a stupid test score by 30 points.

i dont get it. i really don't. that made me sick.

im sure i'll post more tonight because i'll be all jittery. good luck to all tomorrow!

By Digmedia (Digmedia) on Friday, October 10, 2003 - 04:03 pm: Edit

I just bought a new book today whose title reminded me somehow of this discussion. The book is Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder.

The title comes from a Haitian proverb: Beyond mountains are more mountains, meaning that as you get over one hurdle, the next one is there waiting for you, so off you go to get over that one.

I work a lot in Haiti (and yes, it is mountainous), and the talk here about SAT's and essays, and apps, and so on are so far removed from the problems facing those people, and yet they are real hurdles for kids today. They have to live up to not only their parents expectations of them, but their own also. And some of you have very high expectations of yourselves (deservedly).

btw, good luck tomorrow, but don't sweat it...

By Digmedia (Digmedia) on Friday, October 10, 2003 - 04:30 pm: Edit

Twinkle's, twinkle's little thread
Let's us know what's in her head.
The late night vigil that she keeps
Tells us that she never sleeps.

TheDad chimes in with all his views
And tells about his daughter's news.
Sunshine's up and her bright rays
Takes her through some cloudy days.

But I... I read, and seldom post.
I guess I'm less verbose than most.


Sorry, I couldn't resist....

- digi

By Thedad (Thedad) on Friday, October 10, 2003 - 06:58 pm: Edit

Revoke that man's poetic license!

By Twinkletoes04 (Twinkletoes04) on Friday, October 10, 2003 - 06:59 pm: Edit

For some reason I can't login with my usual name so I just made a very similar but new one because I don't know what's wrong with it and I'm not going to bother waiting to find out.

Sunshine, lol first of all I have to say that I must commend you for reading that crazily long email. I looked at it again and it is insanely long... I should have cut it a little before I sent it to you, but hopefully you have a really good idea of what happened and the stupidity of those involved.

Congrats on the Williams interview going so well!!

LOL, how many people actually make the Elite 720 Club? Perfect attendance is definitely hard to get. I never tried for it, so I have had no qualms taking a day or two off a year when I've really needed it. So far altogether I've missed like maybe 8 days in the past four years. I figure as long as I keep it 4 days and under a year, one per quarter, I'm set.

People cheating on SATs is definitely sick. Plus, I bet they give out a different version in Asia than they do here... and furthermore, I can never really remember the exact SAT problems afterwards. Especially in the math section. I'll remember some of the type of problems, but nothing exactly. So I don't know how they would work that anyway. It's pretty sad. If you have to cheat on the SATs to get ahead that shows a lot about your character and that you'd be willing to cheat in other areas to get ahead. I mean, I know most people have cheated at some point or another in their lives. (Plugging extra stuff into your calculator? Sharing answers with a friend? Giving answers to tests to the other class?(i.e., if there's two biology honors classes and one has the test first, then kids from that class give the answers to the next class.)Yeah, I think most people have cheated in some way or another. I don't condone it, but I have done it before- not at all recently and not in a major way, but it's definitely bad no matter what!) Cheating on the SATs is kind of... major.

I'm not actually nervous about the SATs. What else can I do? If I score lower than last time, then I'll still have my 1290 and I'm going to run as far as I can with that. I realized if I'm not going to do ED then I can take them again in December and rush report for some schools. Which is a splendid idea. The extra money spent will be worth it. OMG! I think I am cursed with SATs. WHY do I get sick every time before a major test? I mean, I know I've gotten sick a lot this year because I don't eat/sleep enough and that's my fault but really, the germs could have waited until Sunday. Oh well, that's life.

Digmedia~I like the line "Beyond mountains are more mountains". Hmmm... maybe the hurdles could be looked at as opportunities, though, in some cases, and leaping over the hurdles is what cultivates a kind of self-pride in many people.

Now I'm curious...what do you do for a living? You said that you work a lot in Haiti so now I'm wondering what it is that you do.

BTW I LOVE the poem...so clever and well-written.

~~~~
I'm actually not going out tonight. I'm going to bed at 10ish (REALLY EARLY FOR ME!) and wake up at 5:45ish or so, so I get enough sleep to stay awake through the long, tedious, and boring SATs tomorrow.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

Homecoming is in a month

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Friday, October 10, 2003 - 08:38 pm: Edit

well welll...

im getting realllllllllly nervous now. i took a practice test today and got a...1600 (gasp)...but that was a 1999 and they have gotten SO much harder since then. grrrrrr. i probably jinxed myself today anyways.

*hopes for a 1500*

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

im going to catch a few episodes of my fave show tonight and head in for an early night.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 01:27 am: Edit

Good luck, Sunshine. D's last practice was a 1320, way down from the 1580. Karma. After tomorrow, it will be over and done with.

By Twinkletoes04 (Twinkletoes04) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 02:02 pm: Edit

Okay... important question.

If I paid for the October SAT Is and didn't take them... can I get a refund? Or transfer the money that I spent to December?

How would rush reporting work... so I make sure that all of the scores from the December test get out before 12/31?

I swear that I have the worst luck ever with SATs.

This isn't going to be done for me until December 9th... blah.

Sunshine and thedad (in terms of D) How did the SATs go??

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 02:16 pm: Edit

did you not take them Twinkle?

erghhhh they went okay. i freaked out in the middle of the first verbal section (which i now have confirmed experimental THANK GOD)...the rest of it was okay. i think i will be fine, except i think i missed 2 on the math which would not be an 800...which makes me slihgtly mad because i got 80 math and 800 math and i dont want to go down.

it will be worth it all if math goes up.

Good luck to your D TheDad. tell us how it goes for her today.

Twinkle-usually colleges dont need your SAT scores by 12/31. many of them let you take the SAT as late as the January test day. dont stress.

By Twinkletoes04 (Twinkletoes04) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 02:18 pm: Edit

Nooo... I didn't take them... I'm sick like a 5 year old, which is definitely not a good thing. (Picture the little kids in the waiting room of a pediatrician's office.)

It sounds like your testing went well!! Congratulations!

I want my money back though so I can put it toward December.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 02:25 pm: Edit

I think you're out of look on the money...check with the College Board site, thought.

Sorry that you're sick.

I go to pick up D in about 45 minutes. She was so stressed that she left her wallet somewhere at home and called me from the line to bring a photo I.D.

I hope she did okay...I've had to tell her that stress is part of the equation and that they're looking to see how you do under stress, not to see how you perform when unstressed.

By Twinkletoes04 (Twinkletoes04) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 02:30 pm: Edit

Oh well, at least a standby had a chance to take the test then. I suppose it benefited someone.

I looked at the collegeboard site and got so confused, but I'll try to read through it again. I have a hard time getting around that site for some odd reason.

Did D get her photo ID on time? I'l take it that she didn't take the test at her "home school" because I've noticed that the only time not having a photo ID becomes a problem is if you take the tests at another school. I remember some kids forgot theirs from my school when testing there during the May administration, and they were okay as long as one of the proctors or two of the students could confirm who they were. Now, I don't know if that's legal or not, but that's how it worked out for whatever reason. The kids from other schools that were testing at my school that day, though, had a bigger problem without the IDs.

I hope she did well too... she's certainly done a lot of prepping for them. Let us know how they went for her.

Hmm... I don't get too nervous before the SATs for whatever reason until I'm running out of time and I still have too many problems to answer, like during the Math IC when my calculator stopped working in the middle of the test.

At least I have another 2 months to prep.

This cements my decision not to apply anywhere EA or ED, and perhaps that is a *very* good thing.

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 02:38 pm: Edit

awwwww im sorry Twinkle. i hope you feel better! thats a bummer. (well not really, becuase SAT's would be horrible to take when sick)

i made sure to be extra careful about not getting sick because i AM applying ED and didnt want to send my 1440.

i am flipping through the dictionary like mad trying to figure out answers on some of the ones i guessed/skipped.

a lot of my guesses were right a few were wrong. but ehhhhh.

i missed a few math. but i have 2 800's to back me up and i just needed to go up in verbal.

i hope your D did okay TheDad! yes stress is a BIG factor. my heart rate sped up SO much in the middle of the experimental verbal i thought i was going to pass out. the only thought going through my mind was "oh my gosh i prepped this long to fail THIS miserably"

i dont want to jinx anything by predicting scores.

better luck next time Twinkle!

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 02:38 pm: Edit

awwwww im sorry Twinkle. i hope you feel better! thats a bummer. (well not really, becuase SAT's would be horrible to take when sick)

i made sure to be extra careful about not getting sick because i AM applying ED and didnt want to send my 1440.

i am flipping through the dictionary like mad trying to figure out answers on some of the ones i guessed/skipped.

a lot of my guesses were right a few were wrong. but ehhhhh.

i missed a few math. but i have 2 800's to back me up and i just needed to go up in verbal.

i hope your D did okay TheDad! yes stress is a BIG factor. my heart rate sped up SO much in the middle of the experimental verbal i thought i was going to pass out. the only thought going through my mind was "oh my gosh i prepped this long to fail THIS miserably"

i dont want to jinx anything by predicting scores.

better luck next time Twinkle!

By Pistol (Pistol) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 02:41 pm: Edit

This is Pistolpete; like Twinkle, I couldn't login w/ my original.

Twinkle-according to my admission ticket, "if you cannot test on the date for which you registered, you may request a test and/or test date change and pay the $17 change-of-test fee."

Sorry you felt so bad. I'm still kinda under the weather, but not enough to miss the test. I needed to do my SAT IIs because I'm going ED.

Sunshine-I'm glad you did well! Congrats!

Thedad-I hope your D was able to do as well as she had hoped, regardless of the stress.

By Twinkletoes04 (Twinkletoes04) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 04:57 pm: Edit

Sunshine, was this your 3rd time taking the SAT?

You can get a few wrong and still get a 750+ score, right? It sounds like you did really well. And even if you did get a 750 on the math, you'd still have your 800 from before, plus it sounds like you've improved a lot on the verbal since last administration.

Yeah, I tried not to get sick before the SATs too, but unfortunately I did. This is my plan for next time: Sleep at least 5 hours a night. Take lots of vitamins and eat at least 2 real meals a day. And, AVOID little kids like the plague!

Pistol~ That's not so bad. Paying $17 is better than paying $26.50. How do I change the test date... can I do it online?

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 05:19 pm: Edit

blah i dont think i did as well as i thought. now that i look back, i easily missed 6 verbal questions, and i think the curve will be evil. so the best i can get is something like 730. and i only FOUND 6 mistakes. there were probably other ones i never even thought about. grrrrrrrrrr. *gets hostile*

i hate guessing scores. 13 more days until im paying to get mine.

By Sandy (Sandy) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 05:25 pm: Edit

Sunshine...YOu don't have to pay anymore. They are available for free (early) online.
On the other hand, I, having BOMBED the tests, don't wanna know my scores.
I AM dead..Think about it. This was my last chance for testing and I screwed it. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH................

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 05:30 pm: Edit

wait...are you SURE we dont have to pay? i thought we had to pay to get them early online?

ITS MY LAST CHANCE FOR TESTTING TOO. *KISSES PRINCETON GOODBYE*

i REFUSE to test again too. this is the last straw. i think i missed FIVE math. HORRIBLE considering i was a straight 800 girl for 3 sets of standardized testing and now im going to get like a 720. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

aghhh i am so mad at myself.

there were so many horrible questions (ex. beginner:neophyte::rumormonger:gossip)

*prays for a good curve*
^^doubt it though.

By Sandy (Sandy) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 05:37 pm: Edit

that is the weirdest analogy ever...
sunshine, the new CB policy does not require you to pay. It goes into effect starting from today's test date.

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 05:39 pm: Edit

*cries* i dont want to see my scores

new predictions:

math:720
verbal: 200 (lol)

By Pistol (Pistol) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 08:46 pm: Edit

Today I took Writing, IIC, and Spanish tests. Judging by the posters on The SAT/Act Prep section, many peopl misread the prompt. Wow, even though we are, in a way, competing w/ each other, you've gotta feel bad when somebody does something like that.

By Pistol (Pistol) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 08:52 pm: Edit

Oh, and Twinkle, you asked me how to change the test date...actually, that's not looking good. On the back side of the Correction form, it says to change

1) Test
2) Test date
3) Test center,

you needed to have called 2.5 weeks in advance. Of course, you had no way of knowing you'd be sick today 2.5 weeks ago. It seems like you're getting jipped, but I guess you'll have to pay the full $26.50. Sorry, my bad

By Esmereldasy (Esmereldasy) on Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 10:13 am: Edit

ok, i had to change my username too. EsmereldaSY (senior year)....whatever.
omg, did anyone get that totally screwed up experimental verbal section? It was in a DIFFERENT FORMAT!!! My heart skipped a beat. It was like 3 mini-reading sections and one full one. scared me to death! Granted, the questions weren't that bad, but still! I almost died.
I don't want to think about how badly I did. I have confirmed one verbal to be wrong, but I only checked that one, so whatever. HOW WAS I TO KNOW WHAT A LEVIATHON WAS?? actually, I should have known it, I recognized it but wasn't sure where i heard of it before. I thought that it was a frickin' flower! HOw dumb am i? I thought i had heard it from my uncle who talks about flowers all the time. Doesn't it sound like it could be a flower? But in actuallity, i heard it when I was into mythology and stuff. I am SURE that i have read about it before. Wasn't a Leviathon in Price Caspian (of the Narnia series) ??? damn.
I was worried about a few math questions and I checked them, and I THINK (read: hope) that they were right. Maybe i remembered them wrong. THe thing is, I tend to make stupid mistakes on the math. I got 3 questions wrong last year and got a 740. not cool. If I bring up my math to maybe a 770 and I keep my verbal at a 730, then I still can get a 1500. OR, if my verbal raises to a 780 (never going to happen) and my math stays at 740 then I'd have a 1500. God, I better get a 1500. If i don't...well, i will be severely displeased with myself . Sry, I keep on rationalizing about my score. And of course, I'm not going to be happy no matter what my score is. well, okay, I'd be happy with a 1500-1550, and estatic with a 1550-1600, but none of that is going to happen. Oh well. With my luck, i'm going to go 1250 on this one and the college people will think my first score was a fluke. All the other merit scholar semi-finalists didn't take the test again because they all have 1550+. One girl was going to take it again, but was convinced not to. She went 1570, 1590. yeah. The only reason I got national merit was because I had a 80 in writing and medium good scores in the other two subjects (the subjects that actually count for SATs...grr) ah well.
On a completely different note, I went to a post-SAT party last night, which was fun. It was actually a friend's birthday party. We played DDR and watched a movie, and danced and (haha) played spin the bottle as a kinda joke. It was just cheek kissing, but it was fun because it was just the birthday boy and 15 girls. hehe. Then some other guys came out and it got more interesting. we were all really giddy (SATs do that) so, it was really entertaining.
oh, and there is a mouse in our house. yes. I thought I was okay with mice, but I am apparently not. Not when it is running towards me. It's a super mouse. It is so small the live-traps don't shut on it. What it does is it goes into the trap eats the food, then runs around back and hits it so the door snaps closed. How smart is that?!? weird. We had it barracaded in the bathroom, but somehow it got out. I think it can climb.....scary.
oh, and
Twinkle~ I couldn't find your email on your profile either! Just email me at

Sorry, but it's not allowed to post e-mail addresses or screen names. Repeat offenders may be banned. You can always direct posters to your profile.

--Moderator Obwian

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 11:26 am: Edit

LOL, Pistol, I'm tempted to call ETS and tell them that my psychic powers were out of commission two weeks ago and I wasn't exactly 100% sure I would be sick on the October testing date.

What's the point of changing the test date for any other reason? Most reasons you would miss the testing date aren't things you'd know 2.5 weeks in advance. But, I regress. My parents are okay with paying the $26.50 again, especially since this will be only my 2nd SAT testing...and last one, at that. November has already been designated for SAT II testing.


Esmerelda- "OR, if my verbal raises to a 780 (never going to happen) and my math stays at 740 then I'd have a 1500."

You'd have a 1520 ;) Even though either of which are perfectly respectable scores. I personally know one person who has hit 1500 or above on a real SAT testing. Most of the highest scorers I know of have gotten scores in the low 1400s, but none higher.

Although common on these boards, I think overall 1500s are rarities.

Eeek... a mouse... I freak out at the site of animals when they're not expected. I was coming home from school one day and I went to go open the door...when I felt something brush up against my toes (it was June and I was wearing sandals) and it was a garden snake!!!! I'm not afraid of snakes, but I wasn't expecting that to happen so it completely freaked me out.

By Ellemenope (Ellemenope) on Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 11:37 am: Edit

My D came out of taking 2 SAT IIs yesterday, got in the car and said, "Mom, I am SOOOOO done with standardized testing!!" For better or worse, these scores are here to stay. (PS: didn't have the heart to tell her about the GREs, etc. Maybe it is like childbirth--after a few years, you forget about the painful process and can only remember the lovely baby. . .)

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 12:07 pm: Edit

yeah im rationalizing my score too. my math isnt anything higher than a 750 because i read 4 of the questions wrong (luckily 3 were grid-ins so no penalty), but this was my 3rd shot at SAT I (June soph year, June junior year, Oct senior year) and i had 2 consecutive 800's before and an 80 on my PSAT's so hopefully colleges will accept that i was just not mathematically inclined yesterday (funny because i took my SAT's in my Calc BC room...didnt get any extra math vibes ).

so i figure as long as i have an 800 math, a 700+ verbal this time will make me over 1500 and life will be grand. i just cant prove at all that i got a 700+. there were so MANY horrible questions.

yes Esmerelda that section WAS experimental.

verbal seemed especially subjective yesterday which made me less than happy...

By Thedad (Thedad) on Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 03:12 pm: Edit

D missed the "leviathan" one, too. Also the "perspicacity" one, which is much more forgiveable. Sigh. She thinks she did really well on the math, so-so on the verbal. Heavy sigh. She should be knocking the verbal for 770-800.

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 04:27 pm: Edit

well wait a few days and we'll find out scores. she could be pleasantly surprised!

i missed exactly 6 math problems that i know of (5 grid ins!!!!!), bringing my score down to something like 710. this is just proof that the SAT's do not measure achievement. dropping 90 points does not mean my math skills have gotten worse. i misread 4 of the 6 problems i missed and the other 2 were just plain dumb. i do remember getting a headache during grid-ins and seeing spots. i was a bit sick during the test, but not horribly sick. i think i was so concentrated on verbal i sort of ignored math.

i think/hope all the schools im applying to take your highest from both sections and will disregard my 690-720 score this time.

as for verbal, i missed the Levithan one too, although i originally put elephant:terrestrial, but ended up omitting it. stupid me. i missed neophyte:beginner, demarcate:boundary, and im guessing 1/2 S.C. and 1/2 C.R. just out of stupidity.

the October 2003 SAT is EXACTLY the same as the December 2001 one which irks me a little. also, the fact that people may have gotten an unfair advantage from reading the SAT thread before testing since they began posting answers as early as friday night (internationals...).

somehow i dont think my score will improve at all from 1440 this time. im just praying my verbal score will improve enough...

By Esmereldasy (Esmereldasy) on Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 08:45 pm: Edit

"You'd have a 1520". Hehe. The girl who is hoping for a 1500 can't do basic arithmatic. What a joke! Just like in my math test when I said "6*3=2" *sigh* I don't deserve to go to Yale. I need to go to elementry school again....

Yeah, I'm going to get a 0....:-P

Sunshine, I wouldn't worry about your math too much. One of my friends just told me that she DIDN"T DO THE MATH SECTION (at all) because she got a 800 last time. Most colleges just add your highest score. Still, I have some doubts about her idea. I mean, colleges still see your score adn if you get a 200, they may get a little pissed. Maybe not. But I'm not saying anything to her, because I just found out and she can't do anythign about it NOW.
Whoops! I can't put my email on the board....didn't know that.... Still, thanks for sending me the email, Twinkle.

argh. i have an essay to finish. I'm liking The Stranger less and less, as the night drones on! Stupid Meursalt. Grr. THen I have to study for AP Stat. I have NO idea what we've been doing!!! I'm so so so screwed

I've decided to forget about the SATs for two weeks. WHOOsh, it's gone. ...heh, yeah, THAT'S going to happen.

alrighty, tata. I'm off to work. I'm prepared with coffee and diet soda for a very long, never ending night. I'm tired just thinking about it

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Monday, October 13, 2003 - 01:45 pm: Edit

I have just a squeak under 2 months to hit a 1400. That is my ultimate goal. I will jump for joy if I get a 1400, in ANY combination, i.e, 700 M/700 V, 650 M/750 V, etc, etc. I think it really is possible... I need to have at least 50 or 60 point increase on each section or something compensating, like 20/90, etc, as long as it totals 110 points more.

I love Columbus Day, I really do. It's the most inaccurate holiday out there, but hey, I'm more than willing to honor a man who didn't actually do the thing he was credited with doing if it means I get a day off from school.

I have gotten hardly any homework done at all, seriously I have slept the entire weekend, and that is what I intend to do today. So much for getting stuff done. I did some of the Spanish and read for government but I have no energy whatsoever, except for sleeping.

Thedad- I saw somewhere that D had a Smith alumni interview. Let us know how it went.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Monday, October 13, 2003 - 02:04 pm: Edit

D said it went well but she said remarked that the interviewer said, "It sounds like you really don't like your high school..." which makes me hope that she didn't sound too negative. Lots of things about hs drive D nuts and she can't wait to get out of there but there's an okay and a not-so-okay way to convey that. Otoh, D said the interviewer said that it sounds like she's ready for college. The talked for an hour or so.

I'm sweating her essays.

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Monday, October 13, 2003 - 04:25 pm: Edit

we didnt get columbus day off. how stupid is THAT?

im feeling the blow today. i have friday nights AND tonights homework to do and 3 tests to make up tomorrow as well as 2 tests originally planned for tomorrow. blahhhhhh.

im sweating my essays too. my nonexistant ones *dies*

i agree that i DEFINITELY hate high school and mostly everything about it drives me nuts. i even told my interviewer at Williams this and he told me that that was how he felt too and college was a lot different. it may not be a negative thing...as long as it didnt sound too whiny. i think her interview must have gone well!

i had a nightmare about SAT scores and woke up in a sweat. wow...guess whats taking over my life?

By Thedad (Thedad) on Monday, October 13, 2003 - 04:46 pm: Edit

You're right, Sunshine...it's the "whine" factor I worry about. Actually, it's not D's style to whine...but she is, umm, very opinionated. She thinks she's going to be runner-up in the "Most Know It All" category in the Senior Poll for the yearbook.
Not that she was *trying* for this honor, you understand....

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Monday, October 13, 2003 - 05:21 pm: Edit

I agree with Sunshine...I think that the interview sounded like it went really well. The not liking high school thing is probably in her favor on a lot of levels- it shows she wants something more mature and, like the interviewer said, ready for college.

Which is exactly why I don't want to sound overly eager about HS in interviews because it may make it seem as if I'm too attached to that part of my life and not ready enough to move on. Or, it could be positive.

Depends. Execution's everything.

LOL @ the senior poll thing! We got the "verdicts" back like two weeks ago, lol... *very interesting* results.

Apparently, I'm known as the girl on the cell phone and also the most friendly person (for girls... we have separate categories for boys + girls) in the class (take that, people who said I was snotty) I got votes for other things too, but I didn't "win" any of them.

Sunshine... I thought everyone had Columbus Day off. Did D have school too, thedad?

By Esmereldasy (Esmereldasy) on Monday, October 13, 2003 - 08:07 pm: Edit

we don't get columbus day off because we get all the Jewish holidays off. Otherwise, a third of our school and pretty much half my friends would miss school on the holidays anyways.

*shudder* interviews....
What if they ask "what will you bring to our college" or "what do you think our college will bring to you?" um.....I have no idea! at least for the first one. I don't know what I will bring to the college but myself. I don't know how I will react to any college.
argh
i got a wonderful 10 minutes of sleep last night. total. best 10 minutes of my entire life.
During school I read over my essay made some changes, and then borrowed my friend's care during my free period to go home and make my changes. OH how i love having a pass to leave school at any time. It's like a get out of jail free pass .

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Monday, October 13, 2003 - 08:39 pm: Edit

we dont get Jewish holidays off either. super huh? our school is just stupid. we get longer X-Mas breaks though and we have NEXT Monday off (teacher inservice day or something).

the SAT board is currently making me mad. the Guilt/Regret question is so controversial (i still think its guilt) and some of the people are getting into heated arguments over nothing. and one person (no names mentioned) is the most arrogant prick i have ever seen. its so useless worrying about it all now. i just want to see my scores and know once and for all.

i wonder if i will actually get any senior superlatives...we dont have any interesting ones. only the boring "most likely to succeed" etc.

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 02:43 am: Edit

We get Columbus Day off because it's non-secular. The only religious holidays we get off are Christmas and Good Friday (Easter is always a given, seeing as how it comes on a Sunday). So, our next free days from school are Election Day (yup, we always get Election Day off) and Veteran's Day.

Esmerelda...think about what you bring to your school. And what you bring to your friends as a person and what you've done and all you want to do, and what you think you could give back, on a general level, to wherever you go. Tentatively Of course you don't know for sure, but make it fun and creative. (I'm actually stoked for the interview part, lol, so I have an idea of what I'm going to say, but not too much because I actually enjoy interviews and similar situations)

10 minutes of sleep is not good. It's late now as I finish the remnants of my homework, but I've been napping all weekend from being sick, so it's not as if I haven't slept. And I'm definitely napping briefly after dance at 6:30 because there is no way I am going to make it through the whole day and then embark on a homework mission afterwards. LOL.

Sunshine--- How long is your Xmas break? Ours usually runs from beginning either Dec. 20-23 (depending on when Christmas is) to the day after New Year's. We have the traditional senior superlatives too, then we have some unusual ones, like the cell phone one, most likely to be on America's most wanted, Most Likely to Be cutting class, Most Dangerous Driver, etc.

I saw the guilt/regret question... I'm almost glad I didn't take the test Saturday, despite people saying that this was a "good" administration, that although difficult in some aspects, it was easier than others. I wouldn't know- still holding my breath on what December holds.

By Digmedia (Digmedia) on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 03:43 pm: Edit

OK, it's over 100 again.... time for Part VI


- Digi

By Thedad (Thedad) on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 07:04 pm: Edit

While waiting for Twinkle to make a new thread....

D is a royally p!ssed about school as she's ever been: She realized last night that she had forgotten about a long-term French assignment--writing a fairy tale--that was due today. She stayed up until 1:40 a.m. getting it done...and today the teacher said, "Didn't I tell everyone that the date has been extended and I'm giving you time to work on it in class next week?" No...she hadn't. D would much rather have the 2+ hours of sleep back...horrible way to start the week, especially with the EA essays now becoming Condition Red.

By Rbakerian634 (Rbakerian634) on Sunday, May 09, 2004 - 12:04 pm: Edit

OT post deleted. Thread closed. --Admin