I have an 11th grader currently going thru finals and prepping for AP exams (we don't live in the DMV where finals have not existed for years, but we did, for most of his education). He is displaying signs of burn out now. So I hear you, but don't anticipate he can't do things til you're on the cusp of them, he may surprise you. |
He should pick the one he’s most interested in. |
Wait… no final exams?? Why. Please explain. I want to go there! |
He should take the Honors English track that leads to AP. Eighth grade is too early to take himself out of the running for that unless maybe he is doing poorly in English now |
My kids have found AP Lang/lit to be much more beneficial in helping with expectations of college classes. Unless he wants to minor in Spanish, he will likely never use it again in college |
Check out the amazing credits some colleges grant for even mediocre AP Spanish language test scores. Even a score of 4 gets you 15 credits at Penn State, for example. |
What do you mean “the DMV where finals have not existed for years”? My kids are at DC high school and they have finals and the finals count for 20% of their final grade. Also, no credit for late work and no re-takes for tests either. |
English for sure. Languages are important, but English is much more important |
OP back, thank you so much pps for all these comments. It is really helpful to hear from those whose kids are farther along in high school or have gone through the college application process. DS is currently finishing 9th grade so does have a sense of what he can manage and what is too much, but Honors English doesn't become an option at his school til 10th, which is why we're sorting through this now. It does sound like if he feels all honors is too much, dropping down on Spanish is ok. I want to respect his choices which I think are generally thoughtful, even though I know there are downsides to not pursuing the most rigorous track for all major classes.
Any other suggestions are welcome! |
AP Lang & AP Lit, an AP science, an AP math, AP history, FL (4 years--if you don't make it to AP by Sr year--just Language 4-that's fine).
^for elite colleges they like to see an AP in every major discipline, but FL is not one if you take Language 1-4. My current Senior got into an Ivy and another T10 and few T20s unhooked doing this. |
I think he will find it easier than he imagines. Definitely go for more rigorous tracking. He should talk to current students to see how hard it is. |
I think you mis-read that post. |
Moco did away with finals a while ago. |
MoCo is not the DMV, so there’s some unnecessary extrapolation happening in OP’s post. Plenty of DMV kids are taking finals. |
Isn't it time to go upstairs to see what Mom cooked for supper? |