Freshman Going to College

I am sure it is difficult to see your kids leave. Home will never be the same. Life as you have both(parents and kids) known it will change forever.

Here are some tips I found posted in the Palm Beach Post this AM.

—Talk about the transition — and the contradictory feelings your whole family may be feeling (excitement, sadness, anxiety).

—Be honest about how you're feeling, but also be encouraging. Express excitement about your child's future.

—Give advice, but only when requested. Consider responding with "What do you think?" or "How would you do it?" Don't be in a rush to problem-solve for your freshman.

—Unless there is a serious emergency, let your child find and use the many resources on campus that will help him or her solve those problems.

—Remember that emotions are particularly cranked up during times of transition. Cut each other some slack.

—Talk about how home will be the same, yet different — but don't be in a rush to take over your child's room immediately. Your freshman still needs to know he or she has a place at home, at least at first.

—Make definite plans to see one another and talk about those plans.

—Attend to the feelings of your other children.

—And remember: It's OK to let yourself feel miserable about your college student leaving home, for a while. Then remind yourself that your child is not responsible for your happiness.

State Schools Getting Harder to get Into

This article was in the Palm Beach Post yesterday.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Florida's public universities may inch up their minimum admission standards, restricting high school graduates with C-averages who now make the cut if they earn top SAT scores.

The change, which will be voted on Sept. 24 by the Board of Governors, eliminates a sliding admissions scale for students who have below a 3.0 GPA, or B-average. Students with a 3.0 automatically meet admission standards.

A student earning a 2.0 GPA, must score a combined 1680 on the SAT to currently qualify.

Under the proposed plan, only students with a 2.5 GPA or above will be considered for admission.

Also, a student with between a 2.5 and 3.0 GPA will have to earn a specific number of points on each section of the SAT, not a composite score as is the case now.

If approved, the new standards would go into effect beginning with students applying for admission in summer 2011.

University officials said the change would have little impact on most schools' enrollments.

In fall 2007, just 490 students statewide who were entering college for the first time had below a 2.5 GPA. That's just 1.8 percent of the total 26,380 first-time-in-college students enrolled that year.

At Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, 123 students were admitted in fall 2007 with below a 2.5 GPA.

But an increasing demand for university seats has allowed schools to be more selective, including FAU, which this year admitted just six students with below a 2.5 GPA.

"Admission is really determined by how competitive the applicant pool is and that's a moving measure that changes every year," said Michael Armstrong, FAU's associate provost for academic affairs. "That's important because some people think making the minimum requirement means you are automatically in."

The regulation change is aimed at ensuring students can complete college-level courses and won't need remediation.

While universities may see little effect because of the change, some students will find themselves locked out from a college education, said Christie Ragsdale, Palm Beach County School District's high school guidance specialist.

"Students with the minimum standards aren't applying to the University of Florida, The Florida State University, or the University of Central Florida," Ragsdale said. "But they could be applying to other schools and a change will affect those 200 or 400 students who got in before."

There are exceptions to the statewide admissions regulation which allow universities to admit students under alternative standards.

For example, a student who experienced hardship, has incredible musical talent, or served in the military, could still be considered for admission.

The proposed regulation actually gives individual universities more leeway in making those kinds of decisions, Armstrong said.

"If you get someone with a perfect math score and no verbal skills, the science college might say, 'Hey, we can work with that person,' " he said. "We just want to make sure we admit people who have the best chance of taking advantage of what really is a subsidized education."

Florda AP and SAT info from last year.

This is from The Core, a newsletter sent out to private schools from the Florida Dept. of Education

Florida’s AP and SAT Participation on the Rise
Florida saw increases in both participation and performance on the SAT this year according to information released on Aug. 25 by the College Board. The state’s combined SAT reading and math score climbed two points to 995 in 2009, with a record 100,179 students taking the college entrance exam.

The results also indicate that Florida’s Hispanic and African-American students are outperforming their national counterparts on the reading and mathematics sections of the SAT by 42 points and seven points, respectively. Florida’s participation on the SAT continues to outpace the nation with 58 percent of graduates having taken the test compared to 46 percent nationally. Minority student participation also continues to be high, representing 48 percent of all test takers, compared to 40 percent for the nation.

For the fourth year in a row, Florida had the greatest one-year increase in the number of public school Advanced Placement (AP) exam-takers when compared to all other states. In addition to large increases in the number of test takers, the state also experienced a 13.7 percent increase in the number of AP exams being scored 3-5 (passing range) compared to a 9.4 increase for the nation, according to the College Board.

Minority student participation has helped to fuel our state’s growing AP success. Florida continues to have the greatest number of African-American AP test takers and the greatest number of AP exams scored 3-5 when compared to all other states. Florida also ranks third among all states in the number of Hispanic AP test takers and the number of test takers scoring a 3-5.

For more details on Florida’s performance on the SAT and AP, visitwww.fldoe.org/evaluation.

Some Interesting Numbers

FAU last year....12,800 high school seniors competed for 2,500 seats.

University of Florida....27,223 freshman application for about 6,400 spots...

UCF...22,030 freshman applicants....3,932 enrolled

FSU....23,687 applied.....6,219 enrolled

UNF....8,875 applied...1824 enrolled

USF....18,307 applied.....4,307 enrolled

UWF...3,401 applied.....934 enrolled

FGCU.....4,783 applied....1634 enrolled

These are not rock solid facts, I will not guarantee any of these numbers, but found them all doing a little research...I am sure they are pretty close to accurate....

Out of State Tuition

There were a couple of interesting articles I read last week and thought some of the info would be interesting to share.

If you are an in-state resident you save $13,345 per year at FAU. Over four years that about $54,000 in savings.

A student from up north used to be able to come down here for a year, go to school that year, and then claim Florida residency....thus paying lower tuition. A new Florida law is going to make it harder for college and university students to gain in-state residency for tuition purposes.

The new law basically requires students from out of state to prove residency by living or working here for one year BEFORE enrolling in school. The intent is to prevent students who are in Florida solely for school from obtaining residency.

Out of state parents are fuming. They would pay the higher rates for one year, and then try to gain residency. Schoos in the system used to interpret the law differently, with some more lenient than others. A drivers license, apartment lease or utility bill used to be enough in some cases.

Now, that is no longer permissible. Clear and compelling evidence needs to be shown.

I think this is a good law. It should help bring more funds into the state university system helping alleviate some of the funding that has been withdrawn from the schools. Plus, all of us who live here and do it the right way should benefit from out of state funds coming into the system.

Problem is, our state universities need the money and are looking to out of state students to fill budget gaps, leaving less spots for our kids....

Everything is tough these days...huh??!!

One of Palm Beach County changes this year

Changes this school year

"D high schools: The school day will be broken into eight instead of the traditional seven class periods, allowing students to take additional courses. Students who struggle in science, for example, could take a biology class and a second class focused on material covered in the 11th grade science FCAT."

Does this make sense? Why is the school a "D" rated school in the first place? Demographics? Lack of good teachers? Students who don't care? Parents who don't care? Could be a combination of all of the above. But is adding an eight period going to fix the problem? It is a "D" rated school because of FCAT scores. What are you doing to turn kids onto learning? there are more kids in each class this year than ever before. Less attention for each student. More time for kids to full around, teachers to get frustrated, and the whole educational environment swirls downhill.

I don't have an answer on how to fix it. I do know adding an eight class to a school where kids are already turned off to learning, isn't going to turn them on!!!

Change.....

It's Monday...open house at the elementary schools. Meet your teachers, see your classrooms. Palm Beach County has a new program for elementary kids starting this year. The kids travel from room to room, just like middle and high school students, to learn certain subjects. For example, my daughter, going into first grade, leaves her room and goes to another first grade teacher for math and reading. There are three first grade gifted classes so each teacher sees all the kids. (At least that is how I understand it)

Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? I think, it is a good thing. These kids, as human beings, have to learn to deal with others, learn to deal with leaving good teachers at the end of the year, and learn to deal with bad teachers all year. So why not start the process in first grade? there is no avoiding it? "It" meaning, learning to deal with change, learning to deal with adversity, cause isn't that what life is about? If we are going to bring good citizens into society, our children, shouldn't we assist and promote their dealing with these issues?