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Martha
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| Posted: Aug 08 2008 at 5:44pm | IP Logged
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so I blogged about preparing my first born "heir"  for college.
I'm curious to know the opinions of others who have btdt down this road already? 
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Martha
mama to 7 boys & 4 girls
Yes, they're all ours!
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Aug 08 2008 at 6:29pm | IP Logged
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Martha,
When my son was in 8th grade I spent a long time looking at the entrance requirements for schools I thought he might want to attend, and I made a chart to use as I planned his high school years. Every college wanted 4 years of English and at least 3 of math and lab science, plus foreign language and 2-4 years of social studies.
So, our college prep plan (half done) looks like this:
4 years of English/Literature/Composition
4 years of Religion (Didache series is excellent!)
4 years of math
4 years of science, three with labs
4 years of social studies (ds loves history)
3-4 years of foreign language...we are switching to French this year
Electives (PE, art, computer class, woodworking, aviation studies, auto repair, ??)
So far it's working. We have not been quite as ambitious as you are; ds will take the SAT this fall and can then take concurrently-enrolled community college courses. I wasn't in a hurry to push him into college at 14 or 15, as he just wasn't ready emotionally. If he can knock out an art class and U.S. History, I will be happy. (Now, I understand your frugality completely...you have a large family and working toward scholarships is important...so I am not criticizing at all!)
My son is a talented artist and because of my job he's had the chance to become a published photographer, which we hope will help his college apps stand out a bit. It's always good to take an "outside the box" look at skills and talents...
It's so worth investing this time in 8th grade - I was very stressed then but I haven't had too many worries since. (Now it's time to visit colleges, so I think I'll be in the stress box again, but that is another tale.)
HTH.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Martha
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| Posted: Aug 09 2008 at 10:05am | IP Logged
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Nancy I responded on my blog, but I will here too.
I am NOT interested in pushing him into college, but I've met quite a few collge kids and let me assure you that maturity is not a requirement of attending. 
I don't know yet what classes he'll take... but I completely agree it doesn't have to be all calculus and physics! A history or comp 1 credit is just as needed towards a degree and just as valid a course. My ds is still trying to find his niche, so that's certainly going to be part of the equation. However, these days at least having an associates is often the minimum required for even basic jobs/careers, much like the highschool graduation requirement used to be. If he doesn't want to go the traditional career paths, that's fine, but I still want him to get at least an associates.
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Martha
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guitarnan
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Martha, LOL! I guess I should take a field trip to our local college...then ds will be less nervous.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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folklaur
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| Posted: Aug 09 2008 at 12:50pm | IP Logged
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Martha wrote:
| I've met quite a few collge kids and let me assure you that maturity is not a requirement of attending. |
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My daughter was so nervous about attending the local community college. After one day she came back totally fine and confident. (And w/o sounding prideful, she came back feeling smart, too...the teachers enjoyed talking with her because they could engage her in conversation and she would ask questions, etc. The main question that most everyone else asked was, "Is this going to be on the mid-term?")
(But she did say that, just like high school, all the girls look exactly the same - brown hair w/blond streaks or blond hair w/dark streaks, and all the same haircut, with the same big sunglasses, and they all must shop at the exact same clothes store. It cracked her up.)
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Aug 09 2008 at 1:37pm | IP Logged
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That is funny, Laura. My son would never notice stuff like that...He of the One Pair of Sneakers...unless there were many body piercings, which he (whew) despises. 
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Angie Mc
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cactus mouse wrote:
Martha wrote:
| I've met quite a few collge kids and let me assure you that maturity is not a requirement of attending. |
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My daughter was so nervous about attending the local community college. After one day she came back totally fine and confident. (And w/o sounding prideful, she came back feeling smart, too...the teachers enjoyed talking with her because they could engage her in conversation and she would ask questions, etc. The main question that most everyone else asked was, "Is this going to be on the mid-term?")
(But she did say that, just like high school, all the girls look exactly the same - brown hair w/blond streaks or blond hair w/dark streaks, and all the same haircut, with the same big sunglasses, and they all must shop at the exact same clothes store. It cracked her up.) |
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This describes my dd's experience to the T .
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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4Real Forums : High School Years and Beyond
Topic: preparing for college
